How economic power leads inexorably to environmental destruction. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 29th November 2023 Don’t they have children? Don’t they have grandchildren? Don’t rich and powerful people care about the world they will leave to their descendants? These are questions I’m asked every week, and they are not easy to answer. […]
climate breakdown
The structure of the climate summits ensures that the most lethal interests prevail, by design. Here are some better models. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian Let’s face it: climate summits are broken. The delegates talk and talk, while Earth systems slide towards deadly tipping points. Since the climate negotiations began in 1992 more […]
It’s because the climate crisis is now visible to everyone that governments are giving the fossil fuel industry everything it demands. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 1st August 2023 To understand this moment, we have to recognise that there is an existential struggle on both sides. While environmental scientists and activists fight for […]
The spectacular implosion of a popular delusion about livestock farming. By George Monbiot, published on monbiot.com, 2nd August 2023 Every industry has its apparatus of justification. The more damaging the industry, the greater the effort spent constructing it. Few if any industries are as damaging as meat production, especially meat production from ruminant animals, such […]
The power of the very rich prevents us from addressing our two greatest existential threats. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 15th July 2023 According to Google’s news search, the media has run more than 10,000 stories this year about Phillip Schofield, the British television presenter who resigned over an affair with a younger […]
French environmental action puts the UK to shame. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 24th June 2023 While we remain transfixed by a handful of needy egotists in Westminster and the crises they manufacture, across the Channel a revolution is happening. It’s a quiet, sober, thoughtful revolution, but a revolution nonetheless. France is seeking […]
Why the climate crisis and the global rise of fascism are inextricable. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 15th June 2023 Round the cycle turns. As millions are driven from their homes by climate disasters, the extreme right exploits their misery to extend its reach. As the extreme right gains power, climate programmes are […]
Fossil fuel companies walk away from the lands they have devastated, often without paying a penny to restore them. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 1st June 2023 When you’re in a hole, keep digging. This is the strategy of opencast miners across the world: our past debts and future liabilities can one day […]
Should we blow up pipelines? By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 28th April 2023 There’s a fundamental principle that should apply to every conflict. Don’t urge others to do what you are not prepared to do yourself. How many wars would be fought if the presidents or prime ministers who declared them were obliged […]
This government runs on dirty money. That’s why it’s torching the planet. By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 29th March 2023 Money for the criminals, prison for the heroes: this, in brief, is the government’s climate policy. If something is damaging to the public interest, it’s likely to be rewarded and subsidised. If it’s […]