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Environment
Environment
Cop27: From a fragile win to a wasted year
Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at the results of the Cop27 conference in Egypt, and argues that lack of action on climate change is not accidental, but a result of failings in the system
Social democracy sides with fossil fuels: British Columbia’s NDP blocks green leadership challenger
The pattern of vicious attacks on left challenges to social-democratic leaderships continues in British Columbia, Canada, argues John Clarke
From crisis to catastrophe: Climate change is a class issue
As we face another heatwave, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at what's at stake and the urgent course of action we need
The climate battle is the fight of the haves against the have-nots – weekly briefing
Lindsey German on environmental crisis and the holiday tailback blame-game
The Tories fiddle while the planet burns, but protest is growing - weekly briefing
Lindsey German on unfolding economic and environmental crises, and how we should respond
Climate chaos: 'The time for action is now'
Nathan Street discusses the latest IPCC report on the severity of the climate crisis and the urgent need for fundamental political change
Climate change and war: The whole social structure needs to be overturned
The latest IPCC report points to the structural change needed to avert disaster. Our leaders driving war at this time is further proof that they don't have the solutions, writes Feyzi Ismail
The road to more environmental destruction: Stop the Wensum Link
Activists in Norwich came together to protest the City Council's destructive plans at a time of climate crisis, reports Jacqueline Mulhallen
The anti-capitalist struggle against environmentally-destructive neoliberalism in Serbia
Vladimir Unkovski-Korica analyses the movement against the Rio Tinto mine in Serbia and the prospects for the left
Austerity won’t save London’s environment: It’s time for a peoples’ transport policy
Sadiq Khan's "clean air charge" plan is a greenwashing ploy while implementing cuts to London's public transport, argues Kieran Crowe
Blockades at a crossroads: can the movement in Serbia stop Rio Tinto?
Anja Ilić reports on Saturday's road blockades against Rio Tinto's plans to open a new lithium mine in Serbia and analyses the state of the movement
Social democracy doesn't deliver
Canadian social democracy, in the form of the NDP government of British Columbia, has sided with business against the environment and indigenous rights, reports John Clarke
EU mining troubles: what unites striking coal miners and protesting anti-mining activists in the Balkans?
Vladimir Unkovski-Korica joins up the dots as mass struggles from below kick off in the Balkans
The COP verdict: snatching failure from the jaws of success
With world leaders failing to agree to any meaningful action at COP26, Elaine Graham-Leigh argues now is not a moment for despair, but for stepping up the fight
The predictable failures of COP26 and the seeds of hope on the streets
Elaine Graham-Leigh assesses the first week of the COP26 summit and the coming together of a mass movement of working people
Climate action now: As world leaders dither at COP26, thousands take to the streets
On the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice, thousands of people marched in towns and cities across the UK to demand urgent climate action
“This here is leadership”: 100,000 march in Glasgow for climate justice
Demonstrators from around the world marched through Glasgow where the COP26 is taking place to demand climate action, reports Doncho Atanassov
Capitalism will cost us the earth - Counterfire Freesheet November 2021
Climate briefing for activists, more Tory Covid failure, Clarks strikers fight fire-and-rehire, Scotland's wider crisis, socialism explained and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
Climate and growth: Why driving down living standards won’t stop climate chaos
Averting climate catastrophe demands reorganising production, not ‘de-growth’, argues Dominic Alexander.
Glasgow on the edge: why you should join the Cop26 protests - video
Cici Washburn speaks to socialist activist Jonathon Shafi about the upcoming Cop26 and the planned protests and strikes in Scotland
How do we put out the flames? Bad science and good sense on the climate crisis
Elaine Graham Leigh weighs up the solutions and non-solutions on offer to deal with the climate emergency.
The Robbery of Nature. Capitalism and the Ecological Rift - book review
The Robbery of Nature
raises important questions about means and strategy for solving the ecological crisis, and the role of work in society, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Protesting against pollution: don’t incinerate our climate
Activists take to the streets against the extension of a toxic incinerator in Edmonton, reports Orlando Hill
We have to make Cop26 a turning point for the climate movement
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
Why I’m marching in Manchester: take the fight to the Tories over the climate crisis
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
The uninsurable future of British cities
We must consider the most deprived as we adapt our cities to deal with climate change, argues Alistair Cartwright
Demand the impossible: Extinction Rebellion take the streets
As the climate emergency deepens, Extinction Rebellion have once again occupied the streets of London to demand action, reports Jamal Elaheebocus
Capitalism and the climate emergency
Elaine Graham-Leigh discusses the damage capitalism is doing to the planet and the social transformation needed as part of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival
Empty G7 promises are not going to solve the climate crisis
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
Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah: how the air that we breathe became a killer
The system’s poisoning of the planet has crossed a morbid threshold, notes Jamal Elaheebocus
Students strike for climate as deadly US wildfires rage on
Students all over the world took part in the first climate strike since the pandemic broke out, reports Jamal Elaheebocus
US wildfires and extreme weather are a warning: we need system change to stop the climate crisis
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
Extinction Rebellion marches in London to demand action
Protesters defied the police in the new wave of “rebellion” and called on Parliament to declare a climate emergency, reports Yonas Makoni
Dust Bowls of Empire. Imperialism, Environmental Politics and Injustice of ‘Green’ Capitalism - book review
Holleman’s
Dust Bowls of Empire
shows that ecological crisis on the Great Plains of America is rooted in racism, imperialism and capitalism, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Sunak's 'Green Homes Grant' only scratches the surface
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
Limits: Why Malthus Was Wrong and Why Environmentalists Should Care - book review
Giorgos Kallis criticises Malthus’ ideas and their modern influence, but sustainability requires structural change to move beyond capitalism, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Capitalism as a dynamic system: Marx and the Climate Crisis - extract
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
Marx and 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
No return to pre-lockdown air pollution
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
New horizons during Covid-19: beyond the limits of capitalist realism
Through the Covid-19 crisis we glimpse the need for change and the possibility of change, argues Mike Wayne
Shamrocks and Oil Slicks - book review
Wilcox’s
Shamrocks and Oil Slicks
recounts the inspiring resistance in county Mayo against their government and Shell Oil’s collusion to force oil development, finds Ellen Graubart
Coronavirus, climate, and capital: capitalism's destructive irrationality
Capitalism is subjecting itself to great strain and we must be prepared to help it on its way, writes John Clarke
Why HS2 is on the wrong track
Opposing HS2 in the name of reduction damages the working-class green movement, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Rail blockade: indigenous resistance shakes the Canadian state
Indigenous groups resisting a destructive gas pipeline have blockaded one of Canada's busiest rail lines bringing business as usual to a grinding halt, reports John Clarke
If you love the climate, you hate the Tories: reasons to join the Valentine's Day strike
Time is running out but the Tories don't care, join the Valentines Day climate strike and build the resistance, writes Shabbir Lakha
Fukushima: environmental vandalism on an industrial scale
The Japanese government is planning to dump millions of tons of radioactive water into the ocean, reports Pete Morgan
Coronavirus: an effect of global agribusiness
Growing profit first and food second is the reason for the virus. Look to modern industrial farming for the culprit, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
As Australia burns, climate strikes set for a new phase
Lucy Nichols reports on twelve months of student-led protest
Australia fires: where climate inaction leads to
The Australian government was warned, but it chose to ignore the warnings and the evidence, repeatedly, writes Pete Morgan
Protest has helped define the first two decades of the 21st century – here’s what’s next
We’re living in an unprecedented moment - the fortunes of popular protest will depend on the collective leadership of the movements, writes Feyzi Ismail
The climate election that never happened
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
What are the Greens' true colours?
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
Fracking must stop for good, not just for the election: interview with activist at Preston North Road site
After the government’s sudden u-turn over fracking, Counterfire’s Katherine Connelly spoke to Allan Todd, a Green Left member and Extinction Rebellion activist, about the cynical politics behind the announcement, the importance of the anti-fracking campaign and how we can ensure the victory isn’t as short-lived as the election campaign
Election 2019: the chance for a green industrial revolution
Electing a Corbyn government that can implement a green industrial revolution is the essential next step to taking on climate change, argues Alex Snowdon
“We need to work together”: school student climate striker speaks to trade unionists about the way forward
The speech given by the 12-year-old school student and climate striker to Unite the Union’s Suffolk Area Activists Committee
Police ban on Extinction Rebellion is an attack on our civil liberties
The threat to our civil liberties from the police banning Extinction Rebellion protests is dangerous and we must resist, argues Sweta Choudhury
Education is a key front in the battle against climate breakdown
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
William Morris: father of socialist ecology
William Morris is one of the greatest environmentalists of the socialist tradition and his work becomes more relevant by the day, writes Gabriel Polley
Glasgow strikes for climate justice
This is an issue that unites the class, writes UCU activist Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
There are no jobs on a dead planet: we want system change not climate change
The message from Newcastle is clear
The Biofuels Deception: Going Hungry on the Green Carbon Diet - book review
Biofuels turn out not to be a sustainable replacement for fossil-fuels, but just another way for agribusiness to maintain profits, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Why we all have to support the climate strike
On 20 September, it is essential that socialists and trade unionists support the climate strike, writes Richard Allday
The planet is on fire: build the climate strike
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 Amazon fire: a neoliberal crime scene
The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is no accident, it is the product of Bolsonaro's neoliberal policies, argues Nathan Street
Amazon fire: our lungs are on fire
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 take global steps to fight climate disaster
Universities around the world are organising together to declare an emergency and combat climate change, reports Pete Morgan
The environmental cost of the United States war-machine
The sheer scale and perpetual nature of US military operations make it unimaginably destructive for the planet, argues Pete Morgan
School striker for climate: join the Trump demo
Ahead of the Together Against Trump: Stop the State Visit Demonstration on Tuesday 4
th
June, Nathan Street interviews Elijah Mckenzie-Jackson
Listen to the kids: school strikes for climate continue - video
Thousands of students walked out of school once again to protest against inaction on climate change
Manual for Survival. A Chernobyl Guide to the Future - book review
An important new book rigorously examines the impact of nuclear accidents. The evidence underlines just how destructive nuclear is, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Dump Trump: Protest the State Visit, June 3/4/5 - Counterfire freesheet May 2019
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
Climate emergency and the power of protest
The school strikes and Extinction Rebellion protests changed the political agenda, leading to Parliament declaring a climate emergency, reports Ellen Graubart
We need the labour movement to win the fight against climate change
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
Extinction Rebellion: a movement recharged
Environmental politics has been given a much-needed shot in the arm, reports Bill Perry
Capitalism and climate change - can we avert disaster? - video
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
The kids are still alright: the climate fightback continues
Climate change is bringing young people on to the streets, where they are talking about system change, reports Newcastle Counterfire
Seven demands for stopping climate change
Environmental activist and author, Elaine Graham-Leigh, highlights seven key demands the movement against climate change needs to be making
Strike to demand action on climate change
Joanne Davis reports on the young activists leading the fight for our futures
Keep fighting for Corbyn: Stop the attacks - Counterfire freesheet March 2019
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
Climate strikers: ‘capitalism is ill-equipped to deal with the crisis’
School students spoke to Feyzi Ismail at the second Youth Strike 4 Climate in London on Friday. They are informed, defiant and resolute
US military: the world's biggest polluter
The fight against ecological disaster must include fighting the war machine of the US state, argues Jago Corry
Global school strike for climate kicks off
Thousands of school students across the world have already taken to the streets in today's coordinated stand against climate change, reports John Westmoreland
Climate Leviathan and A Foodie's Guide to Capitalism - book reviews
Two books on environmental crisis say that anti-capitalist politics are needed, but mistakenly reject the existing revolutionary tradition, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
School's out for the Tories – weekly briefing
Students have put politics back on the streets again: this is an object lesson for everyone who wants a better world, argues Lindsey German
Youth Strike 4 Climate: we're fighting for our future
A video report from the YouthStrike4Climate in London
National school students' climate strike in pictures
The hugely inspiring national school students' strike against climate change should be the start of a coordinated, international campaign, reports Jago Corry
School climate strike: thousands of students shut down Parliament Square
School students brought Westminster to a standstill as around ten thousand protested against government inaction on climate change, reports Richard Pratt
What would a ‘Green New Deal’ look like in Britain?
A Green New Deal, now a popular idea in Britain as well as the US, can help to merge environmental struggle with class struggle, argues Jago Corry
Climate chaos is the most political issue of our time, to stop it we need systemic change
Climate breakdown is a political issue, and to stop it we need to tackle it at the root, argues Jim Scott
Revolt in France: could Macron be under threat?
Yellow Vests mass protests enjoyed a third weekend of militant action across France, with trades unionists and other groups supporting. John Mullen reports from Paris
Averting chaos: class, climate change and the movements
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
The People's Assembly launch the Britain is Broken campaign
Austerity has failed but it continues to wreak havoc for millions of people. Shabbir Lakha reports from the launch of a new campaign to end austerity
The public supports urgent action on climate chaos: it's government that is failing
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
Stop Tommy Robinson, All out for 17 November - Counterfire Freesheet November 2018
Opposing the far right, people's vote, police racism, precarious workers, climate chaos, universal credit and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
Marx and the fight against climate change - Counterfire Media Podcast
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
Decarbonisation, jobs and justice
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
Project Macron in crisis
From the Benalla affair to the Hulot resignation and plunging poll ratings, there's no end in sight for the troubles of the French President, writes Susan Ram
UK councils invest over £9bn in fracking industry
Newly released data shows that councils in the UK are investing billions in fracking, we need to keep pushing for divestment commitments
The summer of climate chaos
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
The dynamics of disaster
Capitalism will destroy humanity. Only working class mass mobilisation and struggle can stop this, argues John Westmoreland
Adrift: A Secret Life of London's Waterways - book review
The fight against rapacious developers is at the heart of a new account of life on London’s canals, says John Rees
Town and country attitudes
Is there really the great divide? John Rees examines the changing landscape of the countryside
Justin Trudeau's dirty deeds for dirty oil
He reps for poisonous pipelines whilst claiming climate piety; Trudeau’s slick cynicism springs protest from London to British Colombia, reports John Clarke
A Redder Shade of Green - book review
Ian Angus’ essays range across many issues at the intersection of politics and environmental science, illuminating the meaning of ecosocialism, finds Kevin Crane
Marx the ecologist
Some criticise Marx as anti-environmental, but understanding his ecology is essential to grasping his critique of capitalism, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Environmental entropy is inescapable in capitalism
No truly effective green politics can do without a coherent argument against the capitalist mode of production, argues Nathan Street
Creating an Ecological Society: Towards a Revolutionary Transformation - book review
Magdoff and Williams provide a powerful case that ecological disaster can be overcome by a revolutionary transformation of social relations
Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System - review
The Anthropocene is the result of post-1945 capitalism, according to Ian Angus, in a vital contribution to the ecosocialist argument, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Suez Sita’s brand of eco-capitalism is a trap
Hippy styled waste management in Doncaster has got workers’ resistance to look forward to, reports Mick Wattam
Capitalism in the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital
Jason Moore shows that capitalism is innately destructive of its environment, but the solution is revolutionary socialist organisation, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Monbiot and the media
George Monbiot’s essays are a valuable and stimulating exception in the mainstream media where dissenting voices are rarely heard, argues Ian Middlebrook
Only a People‘s Brexit will bring the change we need
We need to get organised in order to avert the economic and ecological disaster that the Tories' Brexit will cause
Beneath the bonnet: capitalism and cars
A clash of new and old forms of capitalism exposes the anarchy and wastefulness within our rotten system, writes Chris Bambery
Austerity Ecology And The Collapse-Porn Addicts
Austerity Ecology
provides a valid critique of lifestyle greenism, but its techno-fix approach is no replacement for a mass movement for system change, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Turquoise Tories? The government and climate change
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
The Anthropocene. The human era and how it shapes our planet
Our effect on the planet may well mean that we’re entering a new geological epoch, but what really matters is organising to fight for the world we need, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
A Diet of Austerity
A Diet of Austerity
argues that to fight climate change, we need system change, and the blame must not be shifted onto individuals, finds Orlando Hill
A Diet of Austerity: Class, Food and Climate Change
How and why the working class are being blamed for climate change, and what we can do about it
Time to Act against climate change
On March 7th more than 20,000 people marched in London against climate change. Elaine Graham-Leigh reports
The Burning Answer. A User’s Guide to the Solar Revolution
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
The Green surge and the new politics in Britain
The surge in membership of the Green party shows that British politics is not marching to the right - James Meadway looks at the implications for the Left
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate
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
Green Capitalism: Why It Can’t Work
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
The People’s Climate March: thousands demand action
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
Direct action success for anti-fracking camp
Matt Bonner reports how activists from Reclaim the Power targeted thirteen companies, government departments and academics who stand to profit from the industry