Film review: The Plan that Came from the Bottom Up
Steve Sprung’s retelling of the story of the Lucas Plan provides an inspiring lesson in how workers might build a sustainable future for all, writes Zareen Taj.
London and Edinburgh stand with the Wet’suwet’en
On 1 March, there were demonstrations in London and Edinburgh standing up in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and their allies, demanding that the Canadian government end this cycle of colonial violence.
North Sea oil: devastating new report
The UK’s North Sea oil tax regime spearheaded a wave of privatisation across Britain and the rest of the world, argues Juan Carlos Boué in a new report published today.
Borders and the climate emergency
Ida Picard analyses the function that borders play in extinction capitalism and argues that we must be uncompromising in calling for all borders to go.
revolutionary reflections | Endgames of US petro-imperialism?
Brian Parkin explains some of the contradictions of the energy markets and the process of US imperial decline in an era of climate catastrophe
Ecuador: Indigenous peoples fight back
Statement by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) on the revolt triggered by austerity measures demanded by the IMF.
Against ‘consumption’
What would a realistic leftist response to the climate crisis look like? Taisie Tsikas argues that we must shift our perspective from consumption to radically reorganising society.
Interview: the Algerian uprising continues
Supporters of the Algerian uprising will be gathering once again this Saturday (6 April) at 1pm, Marble Arch, London. Seth Uzman speaks to one of the volunteers and reports on the protests so far.
revolutionary reflections | ‘Green Capitalism’: a critical review of the literature: part 3
Part III of Stephen Graham’s critical review of the ‘Green capitalism’ literature examines debates between advocates of ‘green Keynesian’ approaches and supporters of de-growth.
revolutionary reflections | ‘Green Capitalism’: a critical review of the literature: part 2
Part 2 of Stephen Graham’s critical review of the ‘Green capitalism’ literature examines the relationship between capitalism and fossil fuels.
revolutionary reflections | ‘Green capitalism’: a critical review: part 1
Today, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world have been taking part in climate strikes. Stephen Graham dissects the discourses of sustainability, Green capitalism and the Green economy.
Just Transitions in Scotland: Scot.E3 Employment, Energy & Environment
Report on a conference planning a rapid and just transition to a sustainable energy economy in Scotland.
Planning a Just Transition in Scotland: 17 November
On Saturday 17 November, there will a one-day conference in Edinburgh to discuss the transition to a sustainable low carbon economy.
Reflections on BiFab
BiFab’s transition from oil-based fabrication to wind illustrates how those skills can be employed in developing a low carbon economy.
Battle for BiFab: Scottish renewables factory in occupation
Through the combination of the defiance of an occupying workforce and a vision of a green industrial strategy, the prospect of democratic resistance is possible.
“Buried alive by the National Coal Board”: the fiftieth anniversary of the Aberfan Disaster Tribunal
At 9:15am on Friday 21 October 1966, a colliery spoil tip collapsed, and slid down the mountainside onto the mining village of Aberfan in South Wales.
Petrocide: Hydrocarbons, Conflict and Climate Chaos
What lies at the deadly intersection of further imperialist carbon wars and the inexorable threat of catastrophic climate change?
‘Solidarity Saturdays’ see hundreds continue to fight against fracking
Ewa Barker reports on the continuing fight against fracking in Lancashire.
Apocalypse postponed: the oil price crash two years on
The world of hydrocarbons is still driven by the same speculative greed and climate crisis disregard as ever.
#NoDAPL: How the water protectors won at Standing Rock
We republish eyewitness accounts from activists from New York who were at Standing Rock this weekend.
North Sea oil and gas strikes and the industry crisis
As offshore workers on oil rigs operated the Wood Group continue their 48 hour strike, Brian Parkin puts the strike in the context of the wider crisis facing the oil industry.
Troubled oil on troubled waters: First North Sea oil and gas strike in 30 years
400 workers are currently taking part in the first strike in 30 years on North Sea oil rigs. Brian Parkin reports Since the downward oil price shock of November 2014, oil and gas companies worldwide have been struggling to stay in business by any means possible. For some, this has meant abandoning marginal fields or selling-on […]
Climate crisis, jobs crisis, crisis of democracy
Pete Cannell and Brian Parkin discuss how the oil price crisis is leading to tens of thousands of jobs losses in Scotland, and what we could do about it.
Hands Off Our Forth: 2000 protest against unconventional gas extraction
Mike A and Pete C report on the communities in Scotland organising against the growing threat of fracking. Around 2,000 people joined hands across the Forth Road Bridge on Sunday in a protest against plans for unconventional gas extraction. Organised by grassroots anti-fracking campaigns across Scotland, Hands Over Our Forth was an uplifting event that […]
Review: The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
Just over 40 years after it was originally preformed, the Dundee Rep ensemble has revived the play The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil (running until 26 September). The original was written and performed by the 7-84 theatre company (named after the statistic 7% owned 84% of the wealth). Last year’s independence referendum in […]
As Middle East goes nuclear, climate change goes critical. Part 3: Imperialism and climate
In the final part of Brian Parkin’s article, he shows that imperialist wars, arrested development and impending climate catastrophe are all linked through industrial capitalism’s continuing dependence on oil. He argues we need to replace capitalism before it causes any more irreparable damage to our societies and our world. (See parts 1 and 2. See […]
As Middle East goes nuclear, climate change goes critical. Part 2: Saudi Arabia
Here we publish the second part of Brian Parkin’s article, where he looks at Saudi Arabia’s own nuclear ambitions, and an emerging reconfiguration of imperial alliances in the Middle East. (See part one here.) The regional nuclear domino effect: Saudi Arabia and ‘friends’. To a large extent eclipsed by Iran’s more controversial bid for nuclear […]
As Middle East goes nuclear, global warming goes critical. Part 1: Iran
Over the next three days we will be publishing a major new article by Brian Parkin exploring the inextricable links between climate catastrophe, capitalist crisis and imperial competition. The three parts taken together form a single argument with serious ramifications for our approach to the international climate talks this autumn, and to the continuing bloody […]
8 things you need to know about the oil crash
Kate Deer, Amy Gilligan and Brian Parkin answer some of the key questions surrounding the recent crash in oil prices. Why has my petrol got much cheaper? Anyone who drives, or has passed a filling station won’t have failed to notice that petrol prices have plummeted recently. The average price in the UK for a […]
The spectre of social unrest is haunting Putin’s Russia
The Russian economy is in serious trouble. Gabriel Levy analyses the roots of the problem and what this means for ordinary Russians, Ukrainians, and the rest of us. This article was originally posted on the People and Nature blog. On Russia’s “Black Tuesday” this week (16 December), the Central Bank tried to stop the rouble’s […]