climate change

Cici Washburn speaks to socialist activist Jonathon Shafi about the upcoming Cop26 and the planned protests and strikes in Scotland

In this collection of socialist explainers, we’re giving quick responses to the questions that loom largest for us today

As Cop26 approaches, Feyzi Ismail explains why it looks unlikely to deliver and outlines a socialist approach to averting climate catastrophe 

Johnson’s carbon-reduction plans are grossly inadequate, and his inept diplomacy is on display during a vital moment in the climate crisis, argues John Westmoreland

Elaine Graham Leigh weighs up the solutions and non-solutions on offer to deal with the climate emergency.

The Tory crisis, an interview with Ken Loach on Starmer and the next steps for the left, urgent demands to stop climate breakdown and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

This month's Counterfire Schools Bulletin on Tory cuts, climate change and refugees

Activists take to the streets against the extension of a toxic incinerator in Edmonton, reports Orlando Hill

Alex Snowdon on universal credit crimes and building the Cop26 protests

Climate chaos will hit the poor and the working class the hardest. A fighting movement is needed to demand climate justice, argues John Clarke

Climate policies have to be connected to and central to the demands of every movement, making it clear that we won't accept anything less than radical change, argues Feyzi Ismail

Elaine Graham-Leigh explains how the People's Assembly demonstration outside the Tory conference in October presents another opportunity to build the movement against climate change

With the Tories revamping austerity and Starmer focused on attacking the left in Labour, the real opposition is on the streets

We must consider the most deprived as we adapt our cities to deal with climate change, argues Alistair Cartwright

As the climate emergency deepens, Extinction Rebellion have once again occupied the streets of London to demand action, reports Jamal Elaheebocus

The left must force the government into taking the climate crisis seriously, argues Feyzi Ismail

As fires rage and anger intensifies, swingeing cuts amid climate chaos have put the government on dangerous ground, reports Kevin Ovenden

Lindsey German on Starmer’s Labour, imperialism and climate catastrophe   

Following on from Johnson’s provocation about Thatcher and the miners, John Westmoreland speaks to a Yorkshire miner who fought the pit-closure programme

Amid the hot air at COP26 in November, radical arguments need to make themselves heard, argues John Westmoreland

The extreme weather experienced across the globe recently is a direct result of a climate crisis caused by the capitalist mode of production and activists must pressure world leaders to act, writes Nathan Street

Lucy Nichols reflects on the recent flooding in East London, arguing that it is working people who suffer the consequences of extreme weather events, while the wealthy and property developers adapt 

Elaine Graham-Leigh discusses the damage capitalism is doing to the planet and the social transformation needed as part of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival

As the movement prepares to mobilise for the Cop26 Summit, Jamal Elaheebocus speaks to author and activist Elaine Graham-Leigh on the role of the left

The record-breaking heatwave in the US and Canada is the latest example of the deadly consequences of climate change and the urgent need for systemic change, argues John Clarke

Jonathan Neale’s Fight the Fire shows that solving climate change requires a movement based in the working class to succeed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

With a record breaking heatwave sweeping North America and the continued failure of world leaders to take action, Nathan Street explains the socialist strategy for combating climate change

United against the Tories, why solidarity with Palestine is critical, a socialist guide to combating climate change and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

The G7 fantasy of returning to the pre-pandemic 'normal' isn't going to solve the economic crisis or the breakdown of the climate, argues Michael Roberts

What we are seeing from summits like the G7 is a governmental equivalent of producing ever more elaborate revision timetables, without ever getting down to doing any revision, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

All the talk of solving the world's problems at the G7 summit is just that - all talk, says Lindsey German

Dawson’s People’s Power argues for localised renewable infrastructure, but central, collective and democratic planning is what is needed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Shabbir Lakha reflects on a tumultuous year and what we must remember for the fight ahead

Willis in Too Hot to Handle? rightly says that more democracy is needed to deal with climate change, but this needs to go beyond neoliberal limits, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

The government's latest regulations are an attempt to hamper political learning and organising in schools, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

Students all over the world took part in the first climate strike since the pandemic broke out, reports Jamal Elaheebocus

The climate crisis is headline news, but the role of Western military policy in it is still not well known enough, argues Maddalena Dunscombe

The extreme weather and wildfires ripping through parts of the US show clearly why we need fundamental change to stop the climate crisis, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

Protesters defied the police in the new wave of “rebellion” and called on Parliament to declare a climate emergency, reports Yonas Makoni

Neither the government nor Starmer's Labour party are taking the climate crisis seriously - real action must be led from outside parliament, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

Donald Trump's approval ratings are low, but can that be converted into an election defeat? Kate O'Neil looks in more detail

The wide range of essays in Socialist Register 2020 provide important reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of recent left movements, finds Sean Ledwith

Giorgos Kallis criticises Malthus’ ideas and their modern influence, but sustainability requires structural change to move beyond capitalism, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

In the second of two extracts from her new book Marx and the Climate Crisis, Elaine Graham-Leigh explains why climate destruction is a structural feature of capitalism

In the first of two extracts from her new book Marx and the Climate Crisis, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at why individual behaviour has received so much attention and why this is an inadequate approach to the climate crisis

Elaine Graham-Leigh shows how Marx's analysis of capitalism explains the climate breakdown and how we fight for system change to protect people and the planet

The lockdown is confirming just how damaging air pollution has been, we must demand a Green New Deal to make sure we don't go back, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

Elaine Graham-Leigh recommends five books to add to Counterfire's Lockdown Library

Capitalism is subjecting itself to great strain and we must be prepared to help it on its way, writes John Clarke

Over 30,000 school students and activists shut down Bristol on Friday with Greta Thunberg to raise the alarm on climate change, reports Jennifer Van Heerden

The police are an institutionally racist, anti-working class organisation and no amount of love-bombing will change that, argues Shabbir Lakha

Kevin Potter reports from Wales on the impact and causes of record flooding

Outrage at government inaction is growing in the country's flood-hit areas, reports John Westmoreland

Time is running out but the Tories don't care, join the Valentines Day climate strike and build the resistance, writes Shabbir Lakha

The Japanese government is planning to dump millions of tons of radioactive water into the ocean, reports Pete Morgan

Bushfires to firestorms, what is happening in Australia? Gordon Hewitt speaks with a firefighter.

Want to turn the world upside down in 2020? Philosophy Football’sMark Perrymanhas found ten books to help us on the way

Lucy Nichols reports on twelve months of student-led protest

Labour leadership contest, general strike in France, growing protest movement in India, why socialists oppose imperialism, a year of climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

As the wild fires rage, Laura Morales gives a personal view of the situation in Australia

The Australian government was warned, but it chose to ignore the warnings and the evidence, repeatedly, writes Pete Morgan

As part of a series of opinion pieces on the election result, Elaine Graham-Leigh argues that the movement must turn to class on climate

The Green Party's electoral alliance with the Lib Dems is a tactic that will prevent a Corbyn government instead of getting the Tories out, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman provides a handy reading guide for the 12^th December General Election

Mass mobilisation against the Trump alliance will give the left a big election boost, argues Chris Nineham

The flooding of hundreds of Doncaster homes was probably caused in the first instance by climate change, but the devastation wreaked on families was avoidable, argues local resident John Westmoreland

Electing a Corbyn government that can implement a green industrial revolution is the essential next step to taking on climate change, argues Alex Snowdon

The speech given by the 12-year-old school student and climate striker to Unite the Union’s Suffolk Area Activists Committee

In defiance of the police ban on Extinction Rebellion protests in London, thousands protested in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday, reports Chris Nineham

The threat to our civil liberties from the police banning Extinction Rebellion protests is dangerous and we must resist, argues Sweta Choudhury

At a climate emergency conference organised by the National Education Union, teachers and union activists discussed how to build the movement against climate change, reports Orlando Hill

Tory crisis, Corbynism, drive to war with Iran, austerity, climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

We need a bigger, stronger extra-parliamentary left.

The way out of this crisis is to keep left, fight for Corbyn and stay on the streets, argues Chris Nineham

William Morris is one of the greatest environmentalists of the socialist tradition and his work becomes more relevant by the day, writes Gabriel Polley

Lindsey German on the Tom Watson debacle, global climate strike and fresh Egyptian protests   

The message from Newcastle is clear

On 20 September, it is essential that socialists and trade unionists support the climate strike, writes Richard Allday

Business as usual makes a climate catastrophe inevitable. It is time to stop business as usual. Join the global climate strike on 20 September, writes Bill Perry

The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is no accident, it is the product of Bolsonaro's neoliberal policies, argues Nathan Street

Chrissy Brand joined the demonstrators outside the Brazilian Embassy in London on August 23rd. She is one of millions who realise that climate change can only be held at bay by a fundamental system change

Universities around the world are organising together to declare an emergency and combat climate change, reports Pete Morgan

As a citizens' assembly to deal with climate change is announced, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at the idea’s limitations

Ahead of the Together Against Trump: Stop the State Visit Demonstration on Tuesday 4^th June, Nathan Street interviews Elijah Mckenzie-Jackson 

Thousands of students walked out of school once again to protest against inaction on climate change

Protest against Trump's state visit, austerity and record levels of inequality, Algeria in revolt, Marxism made easy, Palestine, eco-demands and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

Recent climate activism has shifted the debate but unless the system of profit-seeking is addressed then the ecological danger will remain, argues Bill Perry

The school strikes and Extinction Rebellion protests changed the political agenda, leading to Parliament declaring a climate emergency, reports Ellen Graubart

The fight for workers' rights and jobs goes hand in hand with the fight against climate change, so we need the environmental movement and trade unionists to work together, writes Richard Allday

Environmental politics has been given a much-needed shot in the arm, reports Bill Perry 

At a London public meeting, Elaine Graham-Leigh explains why climate change is a product of capitalism and the solution has to be one that confronts the system

Climate change is bringing young people on to the streets, where they are talking about system change, reports Newcastle Counterfire

The school students' mass movement against manmade climate catastrophe has lost none of its vitality, reports Ellen Graubart

Environmental activist and author, Elaine Graham-Leigh, highlights seven key demands the movement against climate change needs to be making

Joanne Davis reports on the young activists leading the fight for our futures

The soft coup against Corbyn and the weaponisation of antisemitism, Tory Brexit crisis, Winston Churchill, Venezuela, climate change, Palestine and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

Students striking over climate change know exactly who to blame for endangering the world that they will inherit, Newcastle Counterfire reports

The fight against ecological disaster must include fighting the war machine of the US state, argues Jago Corry

Thousands of school students across the world have already taken to the streets in today's coordinated stand against climate change, reports John Westmoreland

Two books on environmental crisis say that anti-capitalist politics are needed, but mistakenly reject the existing revolutionary tradition, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

A video report from the YouthStrike4Climate in London

The hugely inspiring national school students' strike against climate change should be the start of a coordinated, international campaign, reports Jago Corry

School students brought Westminster to a standstill as around ten thousand protested against government inaction on climate change, reports Richard Pratt

Mike Davis punctures many myths about Marx and shows how important the history of working-class struggle remains for today, finds Dominic Alexander

National walkouts from schools, colleges and universities on Friday are taking the fight to the government over climate change, writes Elaine Graham-Leigh

Climate breakdown is a political issue, and to stop it we need to tackle it at the root, argues Jim Scott

We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months

Profit and powerful interests are precipitating planetary disaster. Protests such as Saturday's in London must be developed into a mass movement to force political change, argues Feyzi Ismail

There's just 12 years left to keep our environmental inhabitable. Campaigning from below is crucial; we can't depend on the climate dealmakers, writes Nathan Street

Opposing the far right, people's vote, police racism, precarious workers, climate chaos, universal credit and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

Elaine Graham-Leigh and Tom Lock Griffiths discuss the Marxist perspective on ecology and the fight against climate change in the third episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

As the IPCC report stresses the urgent action needed to tackle climate change, we must challenge the narrative that an ecologically sound economy would be bad for workers

Newly released data shows that councils in the UK are investing billions in fracking, we need to keep pushing for divestment commitments

The heatwave seems to be over, but with floods in Kerala to wildfires in California making history, capitalism still can’t fix climate change, writes Elaine Graham-Leigh

Capitalism will destroy humanity. Only working class mass mobilisation and struggle can stop this, argues John Westmoreland

He reps for poisonous pipelines whilst claiming climate piety; Trudeau’s slick cynicism springs protest from London to British Colombia, reports John Clarke

As a blast of cold Siberian air has frozen the UK over, Tim Hinson explains how increasing temperatures in the Arctic is to blame

Trump's presidency is a highly dangerous force, but to defeat its reactionary policies, its nature must be understood, argues Graham Kirkwood

Storm Harvey was as severe as it was because of climate change, but it is capitalism that made it a disaster, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris accord shows that he thinks climate change is trivial enough to be used for short-term political positioning

Trump's attacks on environmental protection prove once again that he's only on the side of the capitalists, never the working class

The struggle at Standing Rock can only be overcome by challenging the system as a whole, argues George Mueller Waite

Climate change is driven by the demand for profits, but the ruling class is recasting it as a security issue, finds William Alderson

A turning point in human history? Elaine Graham-Leigh takes a closer and more critical look at what the Paris talks really mean for our planet

Cameron argued that his government would be the greenest ever, but market solutions are turning out to be no solutions at all, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

In the run-up to the climate change demonstrations in London and Paris, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at what's at stake in the UN climate talks

A Diet of Austerityargues that to fight climate change, we need system change, and the blame must not be shifted onto individuals, finds Orlando Hill

How and why the working class are being blamed for climate change, and what we can do about it

How the working class is blamed for the world’s ills: The final extract from Elaine Graham-Leigh's new book, A Diet of Austerity: Class Food and Climate Change

Casting food choices as a major cause of climate change may provide another justification for cuts explains Elaine Graham-Leigh in this extract from A Diet of Austerity

In this extract from her new book Elaine Graham-Leigh argues that food production and consumption is now a mainstream explanation for climate change - and part of shifting blame onto the poor

To address climate change, many people agree we have to change the system. But what does ‘changing the system’ mean, and how can we do it?

On March 7th more than 20,000 people marched in London against climate change. Elaine Graham-Leigh reports

A range of campaign groups, including organisations responsible for some major forthcoming demonstrations in London, have announced that they would not be paying for traffic management for their protests. This follows the recent announcement that the Metropolitan Police intend to withdraw from this role, which they have carried out in the past

The Burning Answer shows that all our energy could come from clean, renewable sources without much technical difficulty, but getting there is a political problem, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

System change not climate change: ultimately revolutionary change is needed. This is the message of Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Following the fantastic global demonstrations for action on climate change a few weeks ago, which saw hundreds of thousands protest around the world, we republish this interview between Bill Blackwater and Marxist ecologist John Bellamy Foster

The urgency of action on climate change is undeniable, but Green Capitalism: Why It Can’t Work, shows clearly why capitalism is the problem, argues Marienna Pope-Weidemann

Elaine Graham-Leigh: The People’s Climate March sent a clear message to the politicians - climate change remains an issue of central importance and we are watching what they do

Matt Bonner reports how activists from Reclaim the Power targeted thirteen companies, government departments and academics who stand to profit from the industry