Green  House is a think tank founded in 2011.  It aims to lead the development of green thinking in the UK. ​ Read more about Green House

Climate Reality – Facing Up or COPping Out?
​On line event, 30 November 2021, 7-9pm

Did COP26 face up to climate reality? We apply some tough tests to its outcomes, and think about the hard challenges ahead.
Green House's book, Facing Up to Climate Reality sets key benchmarks for the kind of transformative change which we shall need if we are to avert climate catastrophe.  It is now clear that the outcomes from COP26 have badly failed to measure up to these, most evidently in the vital areas of energy transition, adequacy of commitments, follow-through on commitments and international compensation for loss and damage.
Join Rupert Read, Elsie Luna and John Foster for a searching assessment from three different perspectives, followed by a lively discussion.

New Gases 

Stopping fossil fuel extraction – a lockdown approach
Anne Chapman argues that we should shift attention from carbon emissions to stopping the extraction of fossil fuels. The climate crisis really requires that we stop extraction now, but just as in the pandemic lockdowns there were exceptions to the general 'stay at home' rule, there would need to be exceptions to the ban on fossil fuels, with permits given for essential uses. These should just be for a limited period of time during which economic activity would be directed to replacing these essential uses with renewable energy, then increasing the supply of renewable energy for other uses.
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​COP26: Asking the Wrong Questions?
Peter Sims argues that the wrong questions are being asked at COP26 because of the priority given by governments to economic growth.

Measuring what matters: Updating the Treasury’s “Green Book” for the Climate Emergency  
The Green Book is the UK Treasury 'manual' for evaluation of projects and policies. Emma Dawnay proposes that it be updated to take greenhouse gas emissions out of the cost benefit analysis, and rather show them separately alongside a greenhouse gas emissions budget for the relevant sector or geographical area.   

New Green House reports

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Booklet Exploring Intervention in our economy needed to reach zero carbon launched
Global Public Investment requirements for Zero Carbon
Rethinking international climate finance, aid and transport investment
By Jonathan Essex, Peter Sims & Joseph Eastoe, Oct 2021
​This report calls for a significant shift in global public investment as currently climate finance is dwarfed by fossil fuel subsidies. The report strengthens the calls for climate finance agreed at COP26 to be sufficient to address the climate emergency. Global fossil fuel subsidies of $450 billion dwarfed additional international climate finance of $43 billion in 2020.
Transport Investment: ​ The Zero Carbon Challenge​
By Jonathan Essex and Peter Sims, August 2021
The report quantifies the massive scale of transport infrastructure investment plans across the UK and EU and how this fails to align to existing climate targets. Heavy goods transport, shipping and aviation are some of the hardest secctors to decarbonise but demand for these transport modes is not being managed or constrained in line with climate commitments. 
The report is part of Green House's collaborative Climate Emergency Economy project with the Green European Foundation. 

Recent publications

The Social and Environmental Requirements of a Climate Emergency Economy
By Peter Sims and Jonathan Essex, May 2021
The report is part of Green House think tanks collaborative Climate Emergency Economy project with the Green European Foundation. 
The Potential for Green Jobs in Cumbria  March 2021
This report, published by Cumbria Action for Sustainability, includes work by Green House on estimates of jobs from a transition to zero carbon, made using our climate jobs model.
A Just Transition in Agriculture
​This report looks at the destructive impacts of modern farming and two ways forward to restore nature, the health of soil and farming livelihoods: regenerative ​agriculture and 'farming for nature'.  READ MORE
The Economisation of Nature and its Services; The path to salvation or the wrong track? 
Reinhard Loske - March 2021 
A translation by Ray Cunningham of an article published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.  Professor Loske takes a critical view of the 'economisation of nature' as epitomised by the recently published Dasgupta Review.

Green Reads

Latest additions to our book review page: 
By Green House People
Anne Chapman on The Future of Farming in Green World.
Anne Chapman on Cumbria and green jobs in Left Foot Forward.
Extinction Rebellion: Insights From The Inside  by our former chair, Rupert Read.  A print version is available here..
Available to order here.  It takes as its starting point the fact that the climate crisis is going to get much worse whatever we now do. The book explores what this means and how we might be able to confront escalating climate chaos while not giving up hope. READ MORE
Listen to the audio of our London launch event.
In late 2019 Green House adopted a strategy for taking forward our work on facing up to climate reality.  You can download it here.

Interviews with Green House

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Order The Post-Growth Project book.
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