Home page feature articles

Rob Hopkins

What the Transition movement can teach us about how to ‘bounce forward’
May 2020

George Monbiot 

Coronavirus shows us it’s time to rethink everything. Let's start with education
May 2020

Eva Schonveld and Justin Kenrick

Politics, Trauma and Empathy: Breakthrough to a politics of the heart?
August 2020

James Rebanks

How to save British farming (and the countryside)
September 2020

Richard Heinberg

What if preventing collapse isn't profitable?
Published on 23 September 2020  by Common Dreams.

Neil Kitching - Carbon choices

Scottish author's new book on climate change

Scottish geographer and energy specialist Neil Kitching has sent us a summary of his new book 'Carbon Choices' on the common-sense solutions to our climate and nature crises.
February 2021

Rob Hopkins 

From What is to What if?

The founder of the international Transition Towns movement asks why true creative, positive thinking is in decline, asserts that it’s more important now than ever, and suggests ways our communities can revive and reclaim it.

(An article from the publisher's website about Rob Hopkins' 2019 book  'From What is to What if?', now newly available in paperback.)

Nobel Prize Summit  April 2021

Our Planet, Our Future - An Urgent Call for Action

A statement inspired by the discussions at the 2021 Nobel Prize Summit, issued by the Steering Committee and co-signed by over 100 Nobel Laureates and experts.

Interview with Johan Rockstrom

The Observer   29 May 2021   Jonathan Watts

Johan Rockström is one of the world’s most influential Earth scientists and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.  He advises governments, corporations and activists about the latest research on the climate and biodiversity and argues for better science communication. 

Two views on the run-up to COP26

Paul Mason in The Ecologist  of 12 April 2021, and Catherine Brahic, Environment editor of  The Economist, on 6 September 2021, offer cautiously pessimistic views of the prospects for COP26.

UK’s net zero plan falls short on ambition and funding, say critics

The UK government’s long-awaited strategy for reaching net zero emissions falls short on ambition and is not backed up with adequate funding, experts and campaigners have warned.
October  2021

Think big on climate: the transformation of society in months has been done before

Fatalism creeps across our movements like rust. In conversations with scientists and activists, I hear the same words, over and again: “We’re screwed.” 
Monbiot  October 2021

A Farewell to Copitalism - Reflections on COP26

Brendan Montague  editor  'The Ecologist'  magazine and online
12 November 2021

The COP26 conference has failed to usher in a new era where capital is constrained to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown.

Levelling up or Localism  -  Simon Kaye

Dr Simon Kaye  for CapX ( a British online newspaper and 'news aggregator'  founded by the Centre for Policy Studies in 2014), reprinted in Scottish Community Alliance newsletter 26 January 2022.

IPCC Human Impact press release February 2022

This introduces the report of the second working group of the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report.  This group examined the human inpact of climate change, the vulnerability of human societies and the possibilities of adaptation.

Fifty years after 'The limits to Growth', Dennis Meadows is interviewed by Richard Heinberg

Short-termism and self-interest in reaction to climate change.

George Monbiot on feeding the world

Starting with a close look at the amazing nature of the soil beneath our feet, on which we depend for the vast majority of the food we eat, George Monbiot previews his new book  'Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet'.

Kate Pickett on the inequality paradox

Even when it is widely understood that for society to tolerate inequality is to everyone’s disadvantage, it seems that some perverse (possibly unconscious) beliefs held by the more advantaged groups continue to bake inequality into the system. Kate Pickett explains this paradox.

James Lovelock obituary

James Lovelock, inventor, independent scientist and principal proponent of the Gaia hypothesis, died on his 103rd birthday on 26 July.  This obituary appeared in The Guardian on 27 July.

Thomasina Miers disagrees with Monbiot

Restaurateur and food Writer Thomasina Miers agrees with George Monbiot that we must eat less meat, bur rejects his conclusion that we should give up livestock farming alogether.

Fiona Harvey - Doing a deal at COP27

Fiona Harvey, the Guardian's Environment correspondent, speaks to Archie Bland during the COP27 UN Climate Conference, for the Guardian's 'First Edition'  daily news email.

Fiona Harvey - Climate review of 2022

Fiona Harvey, the Guardian's Environment correspondent, offers a climate review of 2022, for the Guardian's 'First Edition'  daily news email.

Greta Thunberg - The Biggest Story in the World

The most forceful and passionate of Greta's own contributions to 'The Climate Book'  which she curated in 2022.

Antonio Guterres - humanity is on thin ice

Address by the UN Secretary General on the launch of the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Synthesis report in March 2023.

Rob Hopkins visits Transition  London April 2023

In April 2023 Rob Hopkins, joint founder of the Transition movement, made an extended four-day tour of Transition and kindred groups in London. 

Community Councils - Scottish Parliament Information Centre

Fifty years ago, the Local Government (Scotland) Act created community councils in order to provide a ‘bridge’ between communities and local authorities.  This article describes some of the key issues that community councils face 50 years on, and the opportunities that there might be to transform them.  (May 2023)

Craig Dunn - It's so disorganised!

"It's so disorganised!" claimed a friend in a recent conversation about the plethora of organisations working locally to combat the climate crisis.

Which led to a deep discussion about whether the environmental movement's  response to the climate crisis is disorganised, and whether that might not be a good thing.

George Monbiot - a new way of doing politics

In the 2019 general election 229 seats (35%) were won with a minority of the votes cast in that constituency.  George suggests a remedy.

Robin McAlpine - What next for climate targets?

Robin McAlpine, former Director and currently Head of Strategic Development at Common Weal , argues that in the wake of the abandonment of its 2030 carbon emissions target, the Scottish Government needs a new approach to climate policy.

Antonio Guterres address on World Environment Day

“It’s climate crunch time” when it comes to tackling rising carbon emissions, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday, stressing that while the need for global action is unprecedented, so too are the opportunities for prosperity and sustainable development.

Caroline Lucas: environmental NGOs need to be more radical

The environmental NGO sector must challenge the economic and political rulebooks or risk colluding in maintaining the status quo, according to outgoing Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.

Jeremy Leggett - the US election and biodiversity in Scotland

A Donald Trump win in the US election on November 5 coupled with a failure at international talks on the global nature crisis could result in a bonfire of what remains of Scotland’s biodiversity.

Antonio Guterres at COP29

"The sound you hear is the ticking clock. We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.  And time is not on our side."