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Climate Emergency Economy Project

What would an economy that faced up to the reality of the climate emergency look like? To truly meet the challenge, the UK must rethink our industrial and economic dependency on materials and products sourced from around the world. 
Events at COP26
Over three years from 2019-2022, Green House is exploring how trade, industry and infrastructure need to change to meet zero carbon goals. This work forms part of a wider project led by the Green European Foundation involving Green House in the UK, Wetenschappelijk Bureau Groenlinks in the Netherlands and Green Foundation Ireland. It builds on our recent work envisioning a postgrowth Britain and our focus on climate jobs, which quantified the employment that could be created across the UK in facing up to the climate emergency. Read the strategic vision
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Explore Toolkit Infographic

Latest Report: 

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Project Publications

Trade and Investment Requirements for Zero Carbon (August 2020)
Radical changes are needed in the way the UK economy functions if we are to meet the demands of the climate emergency. This report analyses UK trade data to explore the carbon impacts of the UK’s trade – and outlines how trade needs to be smaller, with shorter supply chains and slower transport. It introduces Green House’s new ‘Blockers and Enablers’ toolkit to aid policymakers to shift trade and infrastructure choices from global growth to facing up to the climate emergency.
Infrastructure Requirements for Zero Carbon​: Why we can’t build our way out of the climate emergency
(December 2020)
This report explores how incompatible our society’s current and planned infrastructure is with the rapid decarbonisation of the UK economy needed to deliver on the climate emergency. It focuses on three key sectors: freight transport, aviation and steel, and considers what changes are required to bring these into line with zero carbon goals, using the ‘blockers and enablers’ toolkit introduced in Green House’s August 2020 report (see above)
The Social and Environmental Requirements of a Climate Emergency Economy
Jonathan Essex and Peter Sims, May 2021
Our economy is not currently zero carbon, stable or sustainable, even in economic terms. What interventions are required to deliver the rapid transition required? What must these interventions achieve and how should these requirements be defined? This report explores measures introduced in Green House’s Zero Carbon Policy Toolkit. The report is part of Green House think tanks collaborative Climate Emergency Economy project with the Green European Foundation. Explore the report
Global Public Investment requirements for Zero Carbon - Rethinking international climate finance, aid and transport investment
By Jonathan Essex, Peter Sims & Joseph Eastoe, Oct 2021
Report calls for 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, Aug 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. This highlights that whilst heavy goods transport, shipping and aviation are some of the hardest to decarbonise, demand for these transport modes are not being managed or constrained in line with climate commitments. The report is framed using the Zero Carbon Policy Toolkit.
Expert Meeting Report - Green Industrial Policy
Our Dutch project partner Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks summary in english of expert round table event in May 2020. This event looked at how to transform the dutch industry towards being CO₂ neutral and 75 percent circular by 2040, and reaching complete circularity in 2050. Such an industry should contribute to broad prosperity and therefore respect planetary boundaries and create jobs, income and useful products.


A Question of SCALE
This paper is published by the Green European Foundation, with the support of Green Foundation Ireland and Cultivate. 'SCALE' is an acronym for Supply Chains and Local Economies and the paper looks at Imagining a cooperative, community-led approach to regional resilience.

Blockers and Enablers for Decarbonising the Dutch Chemistry, Refinery and Basic Metals Industries
This paper is published by the Green European Foundation, with the support of Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks. It explores challenge involved in getting Dutch energy-intensive industries to zero carbon using the Blockers and Enablers Toolkit produced as part of this transnational project. See video outlined Green Industrial Policy.

Videos and Podcasts


Zero Carbon Policy Toolkit

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Related Publications

Article: COP26: Asking the wrong questions?
Peter Sims, who is member of Green House Think Tank's core group has written article published in Bright Green exploring the agenda at global climate conference November 2021 and whether it's likely to tackle the big issues.
What would a UK climate emergency plan that faces up to climate reality look like?
The UK does not yet have an economy-wide plan that responds to the severity and urgency of the climate crisis. This Green House report, written by Jonathan Essex in May 2020, sets out some of the ingredients needed for climate emergency planning.

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Another Brexit is possible
Strategy for Brexit in the era of COVID-19 and climate chaos: 
Build resilience and security through greater national self-sufficiency together with global cooperation
This report argues that Brexit is an opportunity to build greater resilience by increasing local, regional, and national self-sufficiency together with increasing the way we cooperate globally to tackle global crises. 

Open letter to the Committee on Climate Change
In response to 6th Carbon Budget report for the UK Government and National Infrastructure Strategy - Dec 2020

This work forms part of a wider project led by the Green European Foundation exploring what a ‘climate emergency economy’ would look like through a rethinking of trade, industry and infrastructure investment. The project involves Greenhouse Think Tank in the UK alongside Groenlinks in the Netherlands and Green Foundation Ireland.

Events:

Nov 2021 - Events in Glasgow during COP26:
During COP26 we hosted to events in Green Hub for which recording are available:
  • ​Reshaping our global economies for the Climate Emergency ​​
  • Climate Emergency Economy — What’s missing from the agenda at COP26?​
July 2020 — Reaching Zero Carbon Transport: What will it take?
Green House Think Tank and the Green European Foundation hosting an Online event discussing what ‘zero carbon’ means for transport - and how we get there. Speakers include  Natalie Bennett (Green Peer) and Professor Julian Allwood (University of Cambridge). 
September 2020 — Achieving zero carbon trade, investment and industry
Green House Think Tank and the Green European Foundation hosted an online conference to share ideas on how to break through the obstacles currently preventing us reaching zero carbon goals – and what new policies could enable us to meet zero carbon goals. With speakers from the Netherlands and Ireland, panel discussions, breakout sessions, a political panel and chances for networking, please join us to explore what a climate emergency economy could look like. See recording

Published by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House think tank. GEF Project coordinator: Sien Hasker, Green European Foundation. This publication has been realised with the financial support of the European Parliament. The Polden Puckham charitable trust have contributed to report design costs. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this project.
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  • Home
  • About Green House
    • Core Group
    • Advisory Group
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Reports
    • Gases
    • Pamphlets
    • Responses
  • Green reads
  • Events
    • COP26 Events
    • Past Events
  • Projects
    • A Just Transition in Agriculture >
      • A Just Transition in Agriculture case studies
    • Climate Emergency Economy
    • Facing up to Climate Reality
    • Climate Jobs
    • Brexit
    • Post Growth Project
    • Precautionary Principle
  • Support us