Fossil Fuels

Keep Coal in the Hole: is the Controversial Cumbrian Coal Mine Being Reconsidered?

What’s Going On Here? After pledging to phase out coal, the UK government allowed planning of the first new deep coal mine in 30 years. After pressure from environmental groups, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and head climate figures, the county council may now be reconsidering the application.  What Does This Mean? Last October Cumbria County Council permitted planning permission for…

Shell’s Greenwashing Tweet Backfires

What’s Going On Here? On Tuesday morning, fossil-fuel major Shell had the audacity to post a poll on Twitter asking the public what actions they were willing to take as individuals to reduce their carbon emissions, sparking spectacular backlash. What Does This Mean? High profile responders included US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Greta Thunberg and climate scientists Prof Katharine Hayhoe and Peter Kalmus.…

Investment gets political…divestment from anti-climate lobbyists!

What’s Going On Here? One of the biggest financial asset management firms has moved its investments out of major petrochemical and mining companies due to their actions lobbying against green policies. What Does This Mean? Storebrand, a Norwegian firm with investments of $90bn, has divested from (moved money out of) major oil, gas and mining companies including ExxonMobil, Rio Tinto and Chevron.…

Fuelling the Climate Crisis

What’s Going On Here? Sometimes good news comes from the most unexpected of places. So it was this week with a report leaked from JP Morgan that acknowledged, in no uncertain terms, the threat posed by climate change: “we cannot rule out catastrophic outcomes where human life as we know it is threatened” JPM’s economists warned their shareholders. What Does This Mean? Feel like…