Event: Beyond ‘Hopeium’ and ‘Doomism’, Chatham House
As part of London Climate Action Week (LCAW), I chaired a fantastic panel that explored how to maintain focus and attention on reducing emissions even as horrifying climate impacts grow, featuring: Nina Jess, Schwarzman Academy Fellow, Environment and Society Programme, Chatham HouseDr Jesse Reynolds, Executive Secretary, Global Commission on Governing Risks from Climate OvershootLoretta Hieber…
Event: Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
Part of an event on “Governing in the climate crisis: how should future leaders prepare?”, I explored how the environmental crisis is creating a more chaotic – or ‘turbulent’ – world, what challenge that poses for the sustainability transition, and how emerging leaders need to be supported in their journey to senior leadership under these…
Interview: #Britain Debrief with Ben Judah, Atlantic Council
Ben and I had a chat about how fossils fuels fuel Putin and the climate crisis, both of which are drivers of global insecurity, and what we can do the tackle them simultaneously.
Event: How can future leaders prepare for an environmentally-destabilized world?
At this Chatham House Sustainability Accelerator event, I was joined by an excellent panel to discuss the huge challenges facing future leaders and what we can do about it: Ana Yang, Executive Director, Sustainability Accelerator, Chatham HouseMay Boeve, Executive Director, 350.orgDr Kate Guy, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of StateGadir Lavadenz, Global Coordinator, CBD AllianceDr Daniel Quiggin, Senior Research Fellow, Environment…
Interview: Nigel Farage, GB News on COP26
I spoke with Nigel Farage on GB News about the importance of COP26 and how these years are the crunch time for climate action.
Interview: Nigel Farage, GB News on gas prices and climate change
I spoke with Nigel Farage on GB News about gas prices, how the green transition will mean we’ll become less reliant on high prices, and how government could have insulated homes and made us less reliant already.
Interview: Olive Oil Times
I was interviewed by Paolo DeAndreis at the Olive Oil Times about the joint editorial from 200+ health journals on climate change, of which I was a co-author. Read the interview here: https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/world/editors-from-200-health-journals-warn-climate-change-is-creating-global-health-crises/98679.
Interview: Nigel Farage, GB News on the IPCC report
I spoke with Nigel Farage on GB News about the IPCC’s latest report and how it’s a ‘code red’ for humanity.
Seminar: Into the Storm – Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter
24th May 2021 I gave a talk at the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter that explored the grand strategy for re-stabilising the natural world – or lack thereof – and how this will have to increasingly contend with the destabilising consequences of the environmental emergency. Check out the video below and read…
Interview: It’s Freezing in LA!
Mat and I had a great chat with Martha Dillon at It’s Freezing in LA! about Planet on Fire – which they also reviewed. Check it out: https://www.itsfreezinginla.co.uk/post/a-primer-for-ecosocialism
Interview: Reasons to be Cheerful with Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd
Mat and I chatted to Ed and Geoff about Planet on Fire and the dream of a better world as well as the nightmare into which we head.
Event: Planet on Fire at the World Transformed
We launched Planet on Fire at an online event with the World Transformed, chaired by Grace Blakeley.
Interview: Novara Media Downstream
Mat and I joined Aaron Bastani on Novara Media’s Downstream to talk about Planet on Fire.
Interview: A World to Win
Mathew Lawrence and I joined Grace Blakeley to discuss Planet on Fire on the A World to Win podcast.
Event: IPPR launch of Planet on Fire
We launched Planet on Fire at an IPPR webinar and were joined by Fatima Ibrahim and a lively audience.
Interview: The Social Review
Mat and I joined Joe Hamm to talk about Planet on Fire on the Social Review podcast.
Interview: The Owen Jones Show
Mat Lawrence and I spoke with Owen Jones about Planet on Fire, how we face an overall environmental emergency, it’s caused by (deeply unjust) economic systems over individuals – so our response can and must be political and transformational.
Interview: The Nomiki Show
I spoke to Nomiki Konst on the Nomiki Show about the environmental emergency, the role of economic systems in driving the disaster, and how our response can and must be political and transformation. I joined by Mat Lawrence and we also spoke about our new book, Planet on Fire.
Foul is no longer fair: Towards an economics for planetary stability
Talk to the Council for the Human Future conference, 21st March 2021 It is never hard to find commentary on why we are collectively failing to address the accelerating environmental emergency. ‘We’re not wired to empathize with our descendants,’ laments a psychology professor in the Washington Post. ‘We lack courage,’ concludes President Macron to world…
Interview: Blick
I was interviewed by Fabienne Kinzelmann at the Swiss paper Blick about the environmental crisis and how we best respond (link is not in English): https://www.blick.ch/ausland/physiker-und-wirtschaftswissenschaftler-laurie-laybourn-langton-31-ueber-die-waldbraende-in-kalifornien-greta-und-die-schweiz-beim-klima-verlieren-wir-die-kontrolle-id16111422.html
Presentation: at The Great Unraveling? Confronting Accelerating Environmental and Social Stresses.
I gave a presentation before a panel discussion as part of the Great Unraveling? conference, organised by the Post Carbon Institute and Anthropocene Actions.
Video: What now? A personal reflection on the future as part of the Great Unraveling? series
In this final video of the series, I challenge the false binary beliefs that tell us we still have time to prevent crises like climate breakdown or that it’s too late and hopeless, and argues strongly for honest appraisal of our predicament and urgency in responding to the interconnected environmental and societal challenges we face…
Video: Emotional and Psychological Resilience to Current and Looming Crises. Leslie Davenport
More and more individuals and communities are struggling to cope with the psychological and emotional toll of environmental and social systems gone awry, with this trend likely to get more severe in the coming years and decades. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Leslie Davenport joins me to explore the emotional and psychological…
Video: The Cycles of Societies and Where We Find Ourselves. Interview with Daniel Hoyer
Around the world today you see societies in varying degrees of stability and instability. Looking back throughout history, we may be able to identify certain patterns in how societies develop, change, fall into crisis, and evolve into new phases of development. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Daniel Hoyer joins me to explore…
Video: The Critical Need for and Challenges Facing the Energy Transition. Interview with Richard Heinberg
Access to energy is of foundational importance for societies, but constraints on our abilities to meet societies’ energy requirements are growing. Foremost among them is the pressing challenge of transitioning to a zero-carbon energy system. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Richard Heinberg joins me to explore the crucial role of energy in…
Video: The Rise of Far-Right Counter-Revolution around the World. Interview with Walden Bello
Regressive political movements have increased in size and power over the last decade, with dissatisfaction with the status quo and political conflict on the rise. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Walden Bello joins me to explore the factors behind the rise in political fragmentation in both the global south and global north,…
Video: Growing Economic and Environmental Inequality. Interview with Jason Hickel
Despite prevalent claims that economic well-being has been on the rise in recent decades globally, the post-colonial period has been one of increasing, not decreasing, inequality between the Global North and Global South. Growing economic and social inequality is a driving factor in a range of major problems, from poor health to political fragmentation, but…
Video: Geopolitical Balance in an Increasingly Unstable World. Interview with Christine Parthemore
The coronavirus pandemic is impacting the global geopolitical balance, the shifting of which was already underway. As ever, this opens up new threats and opportunities for peace and security across the world. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Christine Parthemore joins me to discuss how growing destabilisation, in part driven by the worsening…
Video: What’s Driving the Migration of Humans and Other Species? Interview with Sonia Shah
Over 70 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, with large increases in recent years having been driven by a complex mix of factors, including environmental shocks, conflict, and economic crisis. As ever, the vast majority of these people stay within countries or regions and suffer. Meanwhile perceptions of migration — which are often incorrect…
Video: Fragility in Economic Systems. Interview with Nate Hagens
Ten years after a financial crisis, the inherent instability of financial markets has been further confirmed by the coronavirus pandemic, while fragilities in wider economic systems have been exacerbated, from precarious work to the consequences of high levels of debt in the global south and across the corporate sector. In this episode of the “Great…
Video: Fragility in Food Systems. Interview with Raj Patel
Food systems around the world are dependent on supply chains that connect the fate of consumers in one region to producers in another. A range of major problems are already buffeting these systems, from the chronic failure to provide adequate nutrition to growing environmental shocks. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Raj Patel…
Video: Fragile and Interdependent Systems in a World of Worsening Crises. Interview with Nafeez Ahmed
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the fragilities and interdependencies of the world’s complex socio-economic systems, and the challenge of predicting and planning for known threats, let alone the unknown. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Nafeez Ahmed joins me to explore some of these dynamics and what they might mean for how we…
Video: The Relationship Between Imperialism, Racism, and the Environmental Crisis. Interview with Asad Rehman
The expansion of colonial empires and the emergence of a globalised economic system brought about a rapid increase in the destabilisation of local and global environments, as well as the exploitation and destruction of indigenous peoples. In doing so, they created structures and dynamics that exist to this day. In this episode of the “Great…
Video: Who’s Already Suffering the Consequences of the Environmental Crisis? Interview with Nnimmo Bassey
The consequences of environmental degradation have impacted people across the world for hundreds of years. In recent decades, the negative social, economic and health impacts of global environmental problems have fallen disproportionately on those least responsible. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Nnimmo Bassey joins me to explore how environmental destruction has impacted…
Video: How Bad Is the Wider Environmental Crisis? Interview with Johan Rockström
Human destabilisation of the environment encompasses a range of critical natural systems and processes. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Johan Rockström joins me to set climate breakdown within the full picture of overall environmental breakdown, explore destabilisation of natural systems, and the consequences. Professor Johan Rockström is a world-leading global sustainability scientist…
Video: How bad is the climate crisis? Interview with Michael Mann
Average global surface temperatures have passed 1.1º Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Michael Mann joins me to explore the current status of the climate crisis and the unprecedented minefield we enter as we head to and exceed 1.5º Celsius. Dr. Michael E. Mann is a world renowned expert…
Video: Introduction to the “Great Unraveling?” Series
Here I introduce the Great Unraveling? interview series: its purpose, what topics will be covered, and why we’re initiating this timely discussion. Over summer 2020 I conducted brief interviews with some of the world’s foremost experts on a broad range of environmental and societal challenges, to set a foundation for understanding the accelerating and interrelated…
Panel: Changing Behaviour, The Happold Foundation
I spoke at a panel event on the environmental crisis organised by the Happold Foundation.
Panel: We Are Not Ready
I spoke at and chaired a panel at the launch of the final report of my IPPR programme on environmental breakdown.
Quote: Tackle UK carbon emissions by working with nature, government urged
I spoke with the Guardian about how the UK is not ready to respond to the challenges of the environmental emergency at the launch of the final report of my IPPR programme on environmental breakdown: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/24/tackle-uk-carbon-emissions-by-working-with-nature-government-urged
Panel: Change Only Through Crisis?
I spoke at a Forum for a New Economy, Berlin conference about the role of pandemics in driving political and economic change.
What’s Causing the Environmental Crisis? Interview with Julia Steinberger
Human destabilisation of natural systems is related to a range of factors, including technology, population, and, importantly, levels and types of consumption. In turn, these factors are affected by a host of economic, political, legal and cultural considerations, which differ markedly throughout the world. In this episode of the “Great Unraveling?” series, Julia Steinberger joins…
Video: Our Responsibility: A new model of international cooperation for the era of environmental breakdown
We introduced the themes of a new IPPR report on the threats to and type of international cooperation we need to respond effectively to environmental breakdown.
TV: International cooperation and environmental breakdown
I spoke with Adam Boulton on Sky News about international cooperation and environmental breakdown on the day we launched an IPPR report on the subject.
Quote: UK should contribute £20bn to UN climate fund by 2030, report says
I spoke with the Guardian about how the environmental emergency requires a new type of International cooperation – and is also a threat to it – at the launch of my new IPPR report on the subject: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/29/uk-should-contribute-20bn-to-un-climate-fund-by-2030-report-says
Quote: How the UK economy – and you – must change to reach net zero carbon emissions
I spoke with the Daily Telegraph about the huge benefits and changes that will have to occur in the UK to overcome environmental breakdown: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/09/27/uk-economy-will-have-change-reach-zero-net-carbon-emissions/
Podcast: Back to the Future
I spoke on Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd’s Reasons to be Cheerful podcast about the intergenerational issues at the heart of the environmental emergency.
Video: A Toxic Inheritance
I did a video on my latest IPPR report – Inheriting the Earth? – which looked at the huge intergenerational issues at the heart of the environmental emergency.
Video: Lessons from the 1930s for a Green New Deal
I spoke at a Forum for a New Economy, Berlin conference in Paris about the lessons from the economic change that happened before, during and after World War II.
Panel: The Big Tent Ideas Festival
I spoke at the Big Tent Idea Festival about a new economic system capable of dealing with the challenges of the present and future.
TV: The Amazon isn’t being burnt for laughs…
I spoke on Channel 5 about the Amazon fires, climate breakdown, and international food supply chains and the profit making that sits behind it all.
TV: IPCC land report
I spoke on Sky News about the new IPCC report on land.
TV: The Bank of England and climate breakdown
I spoke with Helia Ebrahimi at Channel 4 about the role of the Bank of England in tackling climate breakdown.
Vide: Facing the Crisis
I introduced my latest IPPR report in a video for IPPR.
Quote: UK needs sustainability act to avert economic collapse, says IPPR
I spoke to the Guardian about the idea of a ‘sustainable economy act’ in response to environmental breakdown, at the launch of my latest IPPR report on the subject: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/01/uk-needs-sustainability-act-to-avert-economic-collapse-says-ippr
Quote: Feeling the heat? The economy might wilt in the sunshine too
I spoke with the Daily Telegraph about the impacts of climate breakdown on the economy: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/07/24/feeling-heat-economy-might-wilt-sunshine/
Video: Resilience and Africa
I spoke at the Wilton Park Climate Resilience Conference on the role of younger generations in responding to the huge challenges of environmental breakdown.
Speech: This is a Crisis, University of California, Irvine
I spoke about my IPPR research on environmental breakdown at a conference organised by the University of California, Irvine.
Podcast: Bossed in Space, TRASHFUTURE
I spoke with the good people on the Trashfuture podcast.
Quote: ‘New economics’: the way to save the planet?
I spoke with Reuters about progress on a new political economy fit for the challenge posed by environmental breakdown: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-extinction-idUSKCN1SE2CN.
TV: London introduced Ultra Low Emission Zone to combat air pollution
I spoke with Euronews about the new ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) being introduced in London.
Quote: The Climate Change Paper So Depressing It’s Sending People to Therapy
I spoke with Vice about climate breakdown, collapse and the paper Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy: https://www.vice.com/en/article/vbwpdb/the-climate-change-paper-so-depressing-its-sending-people-to-therapy
Video: This is a Crisis
The introductory video for the IPPR This is a crisis: Facing up to the age of environmental breakdown report.
TV: Environmental breakdown and BBC News
I spoke on BBC News about environmental breakdown.
Interview: Environment in multiple crises – report
I was interviewed by the BBC for the launch of the IPPR report, This Is A Crisis: Facing Up to the Age of Environmental Breakdown: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47203344
Interview: Climate and economic risks ‘threaten 2008-style systemic collapse’
I was interviewed by the Guardian for the launch of the IPPR report, This Is A Crisis: Facing Up to the Age of Environmental Breakdown: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/12/climate-and-economic-risks-threaten-2008-style-systemic-collapse
Quote: Call for living walls to be installed in polluted schools
I spoke with Sky News about action to reduce air pollution and improve health around schools: https://news.sky.com/story/call-for-living-walls-to-be-installed-in-polluted-schools-11551086
Quote: Healthcare bodies demand fresh Clean Air legislation
I spoke with Air Quality News about the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change’s demands for action on air pollution: https://airqualitynews.com/2018/10/29/healthcare-bodies-demand-fresh-clean-air-legislation/
Quote: Top UK health bodies demand new clean air act
I spoke with the Guardian about the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change’s demands for action on air pollution in the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/28/top-uk-health-bodies-demand-new-clean-air-act
Video: How Do We Democratise Data?
Mathew Lawrence and I talk about our new IPPR report: The Digital Commonwealth: From private enclosure to collective benefit.
Interview: ‘Drive to combat fake news could give tech firms more muscle’
I was interviewed by Sky News about the power of the big digital platforms and what to do about it: https://news.sky.com/story/drive-to-combat-fake-news-could-give-tech-firms-more-muscle-11511880
Quote: Is the future of the economy a doughnut?
I spoke with Ozy about Kate Raworth’s doughnut model: https://www.ozy.com/the-new-and-the-next/is-the-future-of-the-economy-a-doughnut/88546/
Presentation: Paradigms Shifts and Major Economic Institutions
Along with Michael Jacobs and Laurie Macfarlane, I gave a presentation at the OECD on how economic ideas and policies have changed and are changing in major institutions: http://www.oecd.org/naec/10-years-after-the-crisis/M_Jacobs_NAEC_13-Sept_2018.pdf
Quote: Air pollution may claim 36,000 lives a year in UK
I spoke with the BMJ about the health toll of air pollution in the UK: https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k3632.full
Podcast: Summer heatwave takes a toll on health
I spoke on the FT News in Focus podcast about climate breakdown, heatwaves and health: https://www.ft.com/content/10c3c437-99cf-412c-8c1d-de6e06a30efa
Quote: The struggle to break the UK’s addiction to big energy firms
I spoke with Wired about the huge potential of municipal energy in London: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/big-six-energy-bills-local-councils-uk-fuel-poverty
Panel: How is pollution affecting our health?
I spoke at an FT event about air pollution and health: https://www.ft.com/video/85a6f6e6-5bf3-4a60-96be-aca27b8c0ed2
Quote: Robin Hood Energy, the company bringing power to the people
I spoke to the Economist about municipal energy: https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/05/03/robin-hood-energy-the-company-bringing-power-to-the-people
Podcast: Getting to grips with air pollution
I was on the FT News in Focus podcast to talk about air pollution: https://www.ft.com/content/2359ec7d-caf8-4e13-99a3-aacf8bf2fced
Quote: 3 Far-Flung Cities Offer Clues to Unsnarling Manhattan’s Streets
I spoke with the New York Times about London’s record on air pollution: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/nyregion/congestion-pricing-new-york.html
Quote: Nitrogen oxides hit ‘record low’, Defra reports
I spoke with Air Quality News about the UK’s progress on air pollution: https://airqualitynews.com/2018/02/15/nitrogen-oxides-hit-record-low-defra-reports/
Quote: Cleaner shipping fuels could prevent hundreds of thousands of emissions-related deaths, finds new study
I spoke to the Independent about shipping, air pollution and health: https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/cleaner-shipping-fuels-deaths-emissions-related-save-lives-illness-study-asthma-a8197581.html
Video: An introduction to the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
In this video for the BMJ, I introduced the work of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change and discussed the importance of seeing climate breakdown as a health problem.
Quote: Air pollution from UK shipping is four times higher than previously thought
I spoke to the Independent about air pollution and shipping: https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/air-pollution-uk-shipping-levels-record-environment-fumes-damage-nitrogen-dioxide-sulphur-a8189691.html
Speech: The future of transport
I spoke at the launch of my IPPR report on the future of transport in the digital age
Radio: BBC Five Live and air pollution
I spoke with BBC Radio 5 Live about air pollution in the UK
Radio: BBC Radio London and air pollution
I spoke to BBC Radio London about the city’s new air pollution charge
TV: Al Jazeera on air pollution
I was interviewed for Al Jazeera about air pollution
Quote: Local Authorities Struggle to Tackle Air Pollution Due to Government Cuts
I was quoted in a DeSmog article about why local authorities are struggling to combat air pollution: https://www.desmog.co.uk/2016/11/28/local-authorities-struggle-tackle-air-pollution-due-government-cuts
Quote: UK government taken to court over failure to cut air pollution
I was quoted in the New Scientist on air pollution: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2109362-uk-government-taken-to-court-over-failure-to-cut-air-pollution/
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Laurie Laybourn 