Shell to Fight Chinese in Nigeria

October 30, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Shell is facing the humiliation of having to reduce its workforce by 5000 as part of a radical cost-cutting drive due to the falling oil price. As the oil giant’s profits had plummeted an amazing 73 per cent, Peter Voser, the chief executive, said “the outlook remains very uncertain, and we are not expecting a … Read More

EU “Deadlocked” over Climate Deal

October 29, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post 1 Comment

Much of the political chatter across Europe this morning is about the prospect of ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair becoming the new President of the European Council, if and when the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all Member States. But behind the scenes at today’s Brussels Summit a huge political row is raging over not … Read More

$3 Billion to Keep Amazon Oil in the Soil

October 27, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post 1 Comment

There has been a growing movement amongst communities from the South that are affected by oil exploitation to keep the “oil in the soil.” Campaigners from both Nigeria and Ecuador have long mooted the idea, and so have some governments. For the last two years Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has proposed that his government should … Read More

Forest Agreement is “Fundamentally Flawed”

October 26, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

There will be many twists and turns in the run up to Copenhagen. Most people believe that there will not be a comprehensive climate agreement in December, or if there is, it will be so compromised it will not solve the problem. But what if the agreement actively makes things worse? According to the Independent … Read More

Get Ready to Join 350

October 22, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Are you ready for Saturday’s International day of climate action? The campaign organisation 350.org is calling on people around the world to organize an action this Saturday on October 24. What started out eighteen months  ago as a idea promoted by author/climate-change activist Bill McKibben and a few students, 350.org has gone global. The Web-based … Read More

Drilling in the Arctic? Yes We Can…

October 21, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post 2 Comments

The joke going round Europe is that the only reason that President Obama won the Nobel Peace prize is that he is not President Bush. It’s not who he is but who he is not, that matters. He might not be President Bush but Obama is continuing the mistakes of the Bush era. In fact … Read More

The Yes Men Prank US Chamber of Commerce on Climate

October 20, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Their motto is “sometimes it takes a lie to expose the truth”. And yesterday that is what happened. It was billed as a dramatic announcement: the US Chamber of Commerce, the old dinosaur business organisation that leads the business lobby in opposing climate change had suddenly reversed its position. At a press conference at the … Read More

Brown: “For the planet there is no Plan B”

October 19, 2009By Andy RowellBlog Post

Gordon Brown may be a dead-man walking when it comes to domestic politics in the UK. But the old man still believes he can pack a punch on the international scene, whether it be the financial or climate crisis. Addressing the Major Economies Forum in London today, he used most undiplomatic language in predicting that … Read More