Greed and self-interest are being prioritised over the health of the natural world — In the UK, the Conservatives recently gave the green light for a new coal power plant. When Donald Trump came to power in 2016, he made coal a central focus of his economic vision. If Jair Bolsonaro had remained president of Brazil, there was a risk the Amazon Rainforest would…

The free press isn’t as free as the name suggests — By 2040 snow in the UK will be a thing of the past. By 2050, London will feel like Barcelona, Madrid will feel like Marrakech, Milan will feel like Texas, Dallas. Compare these impacts of climate change to the fact that by 2050 the risk of global droughts, which currently…

The collapse of Easter Islands' civilisation gives a hint of what may be in store for us — As the twenty-first century progresses, the climate crisis is going to lead to increasingly hostile weather extremes such as scorching heat waves, and biblical floods. So hostile are potential future conditions that social collapse is a distinct possibility. But what exactly does collapse look like? …

Because we’re like goldfish swimming in a fishbowl — On a fine sunny morning, one fish said to the other fish, “how’s the water today?” To which the other fish replied, “what water?” A few days later, that same fish, no doubt pondering what water is, had the unfortunate fate of being caught in a net. As it was…

Our ego-centric relationship with nature has led to terrible consequences — The climate crisis is always framed as something that has the potential to destroy Earth — but that’s not the case. It has the potential to destroy the conditions humanity needs to thrive on Earth. If those conditions change, the Earth will be just fine; it’s humans who will have…

The increasing ferociousness of weather extremes will wreak havoc on society — Not a day went by in 2022 where there wasn’t some mention of a weather extreme wreaking havoc on a community or country. This was no coincidence. Climate change is leading to more extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, intense precipitation, and floods. These events can cause humanitarian disasters…

Arguments used to justify more economic growth are based on flawed assumptions — Every single country has the same economic goal, to increase economic growth, but why? Economic growth is intertwined with social development. The idea is that economic growth creates a rising tide that raises all boats. More growth leads to wealth creation; more wealth helps to increase incomes; increasing incomes provides…

Corporations have the power to spearhead a transformation of the economy onto a sustainable path — Of the 200 largest economic entities on the planet, 157 are corporations. Given their size and global reach, corporations have the power and leverage to spearhead a transformation of the economy to a sustainable path, so are they leading us in the right direction? Traditionally, the only responsibility corporations have…

Sustainability departments serve ulterior means — You would think a sustainability department is the clearest sign a company is committed to embracing a sustainable philosophy. But more often than not, it’s a sign of the opposite — companies that aren’t so keen to transform their business model or culture but are keen to avoid the reputational…