Brit's eye view by Ben Tuxworth
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Climate change policy as prescription for British health care? 0
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago Britain’s National Health Service could be getting a climate-change makeover. New studies suggest that greening the NHS would save money, jobs, and lives. Read More -
It's hot. It's cool. It's a box.
Kyoto stove wins $75,000 FT climate change innovation competition 17
Posted 7 months, 2 weeks ago The Kyoto box, a solar-powered cardboard cooker, has been named the year’s best climate change-tackling innovation. Read More -
Brit's Eye View: Where's Britain's green stimulus?
Will a shortage of green investment leave the U.K. behind in the race to develop clean tech? 0
Posted 8 months ago With "green stimulus" all the rage this side of the Atlantic too, there's a fair amount of interest in a) how much we're going to spend and b) on what. Read More -
Brit's Eye View: Is Barack Obama the American Tony Blair?
Is Obama up to the challenge on climate and the economy, or will he disappoint like Blair? 0
Posted 9 months, 2 weeks ago It already seems so long ago, when, like you, we anxious eco-Brits spent a tense few minutes on Jan. 20 deconstructing Obama's inauguration speech.There was plenty to cheer: "The ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet." (Well spotted!) "Without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control." (Bloody good point!) "We will restore science to its rightful place." (Yes! Stuff the creationist nutters!) "The success of our economy always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend… Read More
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Brit's Eye View: Wise after the event
The insurance industry is making strides on climate, but has further to go 2
Posted 11 months ago After another year full of unpleasant surprises, you'd think the insurance sector would be ratcheting up its response to big risks like climate change. The U.K. industry has about $15 trillion of assets under management, so the potential to play a significant role in getting others to factor in climate change looks substantial. A new initiative in London is showing the global industry how to go about it.ClimateWise was launched in 2007 by the Prince of Wales. His view was that "if insurance companies could take a strategic view across all aspects of what they do and look… Read More
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Brit's Eye View: Obama-rama
The British love Obama too, and hope he’ll inspire climate action 2
Posted 1 year ago First things first: We love Barack Obama here in Britain, maybe almost as much as you do. Possibly there are disappointed Republican sympathizers in the U.K., but I haven't met any, and relief at the retreat of Sarah Palin as political force is almost palpable. Across much of Northern Europe we liked Obama so much that it began to make you guys suspicious and we had to back off -- like parents being too enthusiastic about a nice new boyfriend.As Iain Martin put it in the Telegraph, "[T]his is about more than race. Many Britons will simply… Read More
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Brit's Eye View: Is this the end of capitalism as we know it?
The financial crisis could open up new opportunities for sustainability thinking 2
Posted 1 year, 1 month ago It's official: we haven't had a financial crisis like this since at least 1603, and commentators here in the U.K. seem to agree that things can never be the same again. Capitalism, if not in question, will be a very different beast from now on. Think donkey on short leash.It's all a bit frightening, and though we're still in the midst of the storm, a growing band of voices here in the U.K. is beginning to see the opportunities for sustainability thinking to emerge strengthened by an unwelcome catharsis.
Take Sir Nicholas Stern, for instance. In his landmark… Read More
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Brit's Eye View: You say you want some devolution ...
Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales are pursuing dramatically different environmental strategies 2
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago Over the past decade, the current British government has taken a crack at devolution, giving Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales a level of operational government unseen for a century or more. The fledgling administrations of these three "devolved nations" have embarked on very different policy trajectories on the environment, among other policy areas. The sustainable development strategy for the U.K. launched three years ago seems to have got its title right at least: One Future, Different Paths.Northern Ireland's journey to democracy has, of course, been long and troubled, so perhaps it's not surprising to find their ruling Democratic Unionist… Read More
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Brit's Eye View: Summer skirmishes
A roundup of energy and climate news from the U.K. 1
Posted 1 year, 3 months ago Like pretty much every other English person I know, I'm currently on holiday in France. The Vendee region makes for a pleasant alternative to Britain at this time of year, and just down the road is La Rochelle, which was part of England until, oh, about 500 years ago. The two nations are deep in a classic love-hate relationship: They look enviously at our pop music and entrepreneurial flair while understandably scorning our food, ugly cities, and unsophisticated habits. We meanwhile grudgingly admire their ability to take themselves seriously, build proper infrastructure, and keep the country looking impeccable -- all… Read More -
Check out the carbon
Will eco-labeling contribute to consumer shopping confusion? 5
Posted 1 year, 4 months ago Ben Tuxworth, communications director at Forum for the Future, writes a monthly column for Gristmill on sustainability in the U.K. and Europe.-----
British supermarket shoppers face increasingly bewildering claims about the ethical qualities of products. In one of retail giant Tesco's stores, shoppers can opt for goods branded with the Soil Association's organic standard, the Fairtrade Foundation's logo, the British Farm standard, or chain-of-custody marks from the Marine Stewardship and Forest Stewardship Councils. They can linger over footprint information from the Carbon Trust or dolphin-based evaluation of the fishing methods used to catch their tuna. On another… Read More
