Government

The Water War of the West

Colorado River Canyon aerial photo

What’s Going on Here?  Seven American states face a showdown over water rights relating to the Colorado River. The river is one of the main sources providing water to the Southwest United States. The river is a vital source of water for seven states, supporting over 40 million people.  However, a twenty-year drought, shrinking water supply, combined with rising demand as populations…

Pressure mounts at COP15 for business to disclose harm to nature

Rainforest in Costa Rica

What’s going on here? The UN biodiversity conference COP15 closes on 19 December and there’s mounting pressure for the agreement to require companies to disclose their harm to nature. What does this mean? Target 15 in the draft Global Biodiversity Framework would require all large business and financial institutions to disclose their impacts and dependencies on nature. It also contains an objective…

The United States will Provide Millions in Funding to Native American Lands Threatened by Climate Change

River and Mountains in Alaska, USA.

What’s Going on Here?  The Biden Administration announced last Wednesday (Nov 30th) that it would provide USD $135 million (£110m) to Native American tribes facing imminent threats from climate change. The funding represents one of the largest efforts by the United States to relocate communities due to the physical impacts from global warming.  What Does This Mean? The funds are being provided…

COP27 – Just another cop out?

Egypt satellite map

This weekend will see the start of COP27 in Egypt. The 27th UNFCCC Conference of Parties calls on governments around the world to “to rise to the occasion and tackle effectively the global challenge of climate”.
However, before it has even begun, COP27 has been heavily criticised and campaigners have little hope that it will bring about the action we desperately need to address the climate crisis.

Dunking GDP for the Doughnut

As we’re hearing a lot at the moment from politicians on both sides of the political spectrum, ‘growing the economy’ is a key underpinning of their economic manifestos. The recent party conferences were abuzz with promises of growth, with the Conservatives promising to ‘grow, grow, grow’ our economy and Labour arguing for their own ideas to boost economic growth. Indeed, ‘growth’ has…

A de-facto windfall tax on renewables? 

What’s going on here? Earlier this month the UK Government introduced the Energy Prices Bill to the House of Commons. The bill would give the Government emergency powers, intended to help households and businesses with increasing energy costs. What does this mean? In light of massive energy price rises, many have welcomed the financial support for consumers and businesses. But, industry and…