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Past Events

A Green New Deal for Leeds City Region​
Friday 3rd December, 2-3pm, online

This event, organised by Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) who are opposed to the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport, launched the report, A Green New Deal for Leeds City Region: GALBA's Vision for a Sustainable Local Economy .  This has been written in collaboration with Green House and published by the Green European foundation with the support of Green House.
​Climate Reality – Facing Up or COPping Out?
Tuesday 30th November, 7-9pm, online.
​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.
Speakers:
Rupert Read is professor of philosophy at the University of East Anglia. A former chair of Green House think tank, he is also a former Extinction Rebellion spokesperson and Green Party of England and Wales councillor, spokesperson, European and national parliamentary candidate. He is presently a leading member of GreensCAN, the recently-formed network of Green Party climate activists. His new book Parents for a Future (2021) is out now.
Elsie Luna is a 13-year old who began protesting in solidarity with Greta in October 2018. She won a Green Heart Hero Award in March 2019 (presented by Caroline Lucas MP) for Individual Inspiration after confronting fossil fuel companies in London. She was a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion during the 2019 rebellions and founded XR Kids. Born and mostly raised in England, she has been living in Colombia for the past year and is focusing on ecofascism and indigenous resistance.
John Foster is an ageing environmentalist, a grandfather lately retired from university teaching and currently co-Chair of Green House. He is the author of After Sustainability (2015) and edited Facing Up to Climate Reality. His Realism and the Climate Crisis: Hope for Life comes out with Bristol University Press in February 2022.
Events in Glasgow during COP26:
Thurs 4th Nov 4:30-6pm:
​Reshaping our global economies for the Climate Emergency ​
Sun 7th Nov 3-5pm:
​Climate Emergency Economy — What’s missing from the agenda at COP26?​
Overseas Development Finance and the Climate Emergency Webinar
Wednesday 29th Sept 2021 
​International development specialists, campaigners and politicians from Europe and the UK to discussed how aid and climate finance must change to support an equitable 1.5°C world.
Reaching Zero Carbon Transport: What will it take?
Monday 12 July 2021,
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). This ​event was part of the Climate Emergency Economy Project and recording is available to watch here.
This event was organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
Green Jobs and Airport expansion
24th May 2021, 

This online event heard from authors of the report, A Green New Deal for Gatwick along with trade unionists and local airport campaigners on how to challenge the local jobs case for airport expansion and make the case for a different route. A summary of the event is available here.
This event was organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.
Future Cities: Rethinking tomorrow
23 March 2021
An online discussion about the future of cities and urban development, with Maya De Souza, Jonathan Essex, Duncan Baker-Brown and Rebecca Tunstall.  More information and presentations are available here.  
Achieving zero carbon trade, investment and industry
25th September 2020
At this online event some of the results from Green House's report Trade and Investment Requirements for Zero Carbon were presented, plus there were presentations by other partners in the Green European Foundation, Climate Emergency Economy project.  Full details and recordings of the event are available here.
COVID-19 and Facing up to Climate Reality
Saturday 6th June, 2020, on-line discussion about what the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to contain it may mean for the climate and ecological crisis.  With John Barry, Anne Chapman, John Foster, and Reinhard Loske.  For information about the speakers and links to their papers please click here.
What now for Green Politics?
Friday 24th April, 2020 on line debate

What would a serious Green political movement now be doing in face of the climate emergency? With Rupert Read and John Foster
Following the disaster of last year’s Tory general election win, how should the Green movement now respond to the ever more pressing climate emergency? Especially in the context of the ‘test-run’ presented by the sudden, terrible Covid-19 emergency? In this webinar, Rupert Read of the University of East Anglia and XR suggested a shift in focus from mitigation to deep adaptation and a move beyond electoral politics to non-violent direct action. John Foster of Green House think tank argued that the movement should stay political, but reconceive its role as that of an explicitly revolutionary vanguard. The discussion was moderated by Anne Chapman, co-Chair of Green House'.
An edited version of the 'chat' from this debate, with questions and comments from participants as well as links to several publications, can be downloaded here.
Climate Jobs and a Just Transition: responding to our climate emergency
Saturday 9th November 2019, 9.30-17.30
Canada Room/Main Lanyon Building, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN
The final event of our Climate Jobs project for this year at which Jonathan Essex and Peter Sims will be presenting the results of our climate jobs modelling for Northern Ireland. This one day conference is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green Foundation Ireland.  
Climate Emergency Conference - Raising Ambition
Saturday 14th September, 10-5pm
Bloomsbury Central Baptists Church, London.
A one-day conference for those looking to act on the climate emergency. 
Why we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground and how we can shift to a zero carbon economy. What scale of change do we need to be looking at?  What would the benefits be for jobs and local economies?
The conference was organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House think tank and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.  

Facing up to Climate Reality book launches and events
Tuesday 26th November, Hastings, 7-9 pm
Back room of The Pig's Palace, 37 White Rock, Hastings TN34 1JL
With Hastings and Rye Green Party
Speaker: Jonathan Essex.

Thursday 28th November, Leeds, 7-9pm
Former Bridge Street Church, Bridge Street, Leeds, LS2 7QZ
Hosted with Our Future Leeds
Speakers include Anne Chapman from Green House
Saturday 7th September, 1-4pm Edinburgh 
Without Growth or Progress: Adapting our culture to the New Climate Reality
University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy Centre
A World Café workshop looking at how we can adapt as a culture to the coming climate changes in a way which preserves our humanity. ​ Organised with the Climate Psychology Alliance Scotland.  
​​Are We Facing up to Climate Reality?
Friday 26  July, 7.30- 9pm, The Dorford Centre, Dorchester
Brian Heatley, Anne Chapman, John Foster, and Jonathan Essex from Green House
Are We Facing up to Climate Reality?
​Tuesday 11 June 2019, 4-6pm, Lancaster University,
in the Lancaster Environment Centre training room 1 & 2

John Foster and Anne Chapman from Green House with Mike Berners-Lee from the Institute for Social Futures.  
Part of the Global Futures series of events run by the Institute for Social Futures. 
​
Facing up to Climate Reality, Honesty, Disaster and Hope Launch event
Monday 3rd June 2019
, 7 - 9 pm, London
Wolfson Lecture Theatre, Paul Webley Wing (Senate House) SOAS, London
John Foster, Rupert Read, Helena Paul and Jonathan Essex. 
To listen to a recording of this event please click here.
​The Future We Want: Shaping Environmental Politics
Friday 26th October 2018, Woburn House, 20 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9HB.

Green House co-hosted this event with the Environmental Politics group of the Political Studies Association (PSA). It was primarily a networking event for policymakers, academics and environmental NGOs to discuss environmental policy-making in a shifting political landscape. 
Climate Jobs in the UK
Bristol City Hall, Room IP05, 18.30 - 19.45, Friday 5th October 2018

Policies to reduce greenhouse emissions are often attacked for threatening existing jobs. Would there be a net loss of jobs from the transition to a zero-carbon economy, or a net gain? This event presented the results of modelling to estimate the net number of jobs that could be created in each local authority area by the transition to a zero carbon economy, in the key sectors of energy, transport, waste management, buildings and food, farming and forestry.  It was a fringe event as part of the Green Party conference.  A revised version of the presentation given at this event can be downloaded here.
​This event was organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House think tank and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.  ​
Facing up to Climate Reality, Norwich, 29th September 2018
What is the reality of climate change that is facing us?  How likely is it that we will limit warming to 1.5, or 2 degrees?  If we did take the science seriously and set targets and policies that reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the amount required what would that mean for our economy?  How many jobs could we create?  This one day conference will considered these questions, as well as what we can learn from past extreme weather events for how we might cope in the future. 
For more information click here.
The conference was organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House think tank and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation.  
Just Transition, Climate Jobs: Liberty Hall, Dublin, 23 June 2018, 10am- 4pm.
Jonathan Essex and Peter Sims spoke at this conference, organised by Green Foundation Ireland (GFI), the SIPTU and Dublin Council of Trade Unions.  It is part of a Green European Foundation project on climate jobs which is being co-ordinated by Green House.  Green House is currently working with GFI on estimating the numbers of jobs that would be created by a transition to a zero-carbon economy in each region of Ireland and the results of that work will be presented at the conference.
More information is available  here.
Workshop on Post-growth Economics
​Friday 26 January 2018, Oxford Brookes University

Our chair, Rupert Read and advisory group members Molly Scott Cato and Pritam Singh spoke at this PRME Faculty Development Workshop aimed at business and management academics.
Follow up to 'Apocalypses Now?' public lecture by John Foster
Wednesday 17th January 2018, University of East Anglia
A discussion of John Foster's public lecture looking at where we find hope in the face of a bitter climate reality.  For information about the public lecture please click here.
Brexit and the green transition in the UK and Europe
11 November 2017: Conference, Europe House, London
Dealing with Extreme Weather 
28 October 2017: Conference, Friends Meeting House Lancaster
Towards a Localised Future: A New Economy Convergence
An event hosted by Local Futures and Green House Think Tank,
17th September 2016, Friends House, London
EU Referendum Debate
2 June 2016, Friends House, London
Progressive Politics in Britain
Launch event for e-pamphlet, Green Politics and the Left

16 February 2016, Aston University, Birmingham
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9 January 2016, Friends Meeting House, Lancaster:
Facing up to Climate Change: Optimism, Pessimism and Realism after Paris

This public debate was linked to the recent Green House Gas Paris: Optimism, Pessimism and Realism by Brian Heatley. A packed house of over 70 people joined in a thoughtful, even sombre debate following a presentation by Brian Heatley and responses from John Foster of Lancaster University (author of 'After Sustainability') and Stuart Parkinson of Scientists for Global Responsibility (you can download their responses by clicking on their names).

27 November 2015, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex:
'Development without Growth?'
At this IDS lunchtime seminar, Jonathan Essex, Tom Lines and Ray Cunningham outlined Green House's 'Post-Growth Project', which argues that further economic growth in the UK in the medium term is neither feasible nor necessary nor desirable, and asked what this might mean for the UK's place in the world and for the currently dominant model of development.

5 November 2015, Central London:
How do we shift from an extractive to a circular economy?

This event, funded by the Green European Foundation, brought together analysts and activists for an interactive discussion not only on some of the key debates within the green movement - divestment and renewables, resource use and recycling, inclusivity and social and political cohesion – but also some of the hitherto isolated ideas and examples emerging in different European countries and regions. Speakers included Prof. Molly Scott Cato, MEP;Rebecca Newsom, Fossil Free SOAS; Roderick Kefferpütz, European Parliament; Dirk Holemans, Oikos Foundation; Jane Stephenson, Resource Futures.​

Molly Scott Cato Pt 1 The Circular Economy from John Blewitt on Vimeo.


Friday 24th of July, 2015,talk by Rupert Read, with South Somerset Green Party in Yeovil on the ‘Post Growth Project’ – Green House’s book that demonstrates that an “alternative to the false objectives of growth and austerity is necessary, possible and desirable.”

18-21 June 2015, Seminars and public debate, Rosebery House, London
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Green House's John Blewitt with Natalie Bennett and young journalists
Green House partnered the Green European Journal in hosting a four day participatory event, held in London between 18-21 June, for young journalists from across Europe. The event consisted of talks from established journalists, activists and political figures including UK Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, skills workshops, panel discussions and debates. John Blewitt represented Green House delivering a practical session on image based communication and chairing the public debate, Alternative media - a force for openness and inclusion, with Tom Jeffrey from www.newshub.com, Egyptian journalist Abeer Saady, Adam Ramsey from www.opendemocracy.net and Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party.

 20 March 2015, Panel debate and public discussion, Europe House, London
On 20 March Green House, together with the Green European Foundation and the Belgian think tank Oikos, held a panel debate and public discussion on 'Green growth or de-growth? Alternatives to Austerity in Europe' at Europe House in London, hosted by Jean Lambert, London's Green MEP. Speakers included experts from southern, eastern and western Europe talking about the differing challenges being mounted in their countries and regions to austerity policy and how the Green alternative to austerity fits into this broader political picture.  For videos of this event please click here.

University of Sussex, 19 March, talk with Green House's Jonathan Essex and Ray Cunningham on 'Britain in a post-growth world' at the University of Sussex as part of the University’s ‘One World Week’.

February 11, 2015, Panel debate and public discussion, Birmingham
Post Growth Project: the Regional Dimension took place at Aston University on 11 Feb 2015. Speakers included Andy Dobson and Jonathan Essex from Green House and Karen Leach from Localise West Midlands. Seventy people attended and a lively and interesting discussion on the regional implications of a post growth world followed the three short presentations. Audience members were particularly interested in exploring how post growth would be realised in terms of practical economic and social actions The event was chaired by John Blewitt.

January 20, 2015 Panel debate and public discussion, Brighton
After the Scottish referendum, with massive pressure building for real decentralisation within the rest of the UK given the further powers that are going to Scotland, the future of local government in the rest of Britain may be starting to look rosier - for the first time in a generation. The think tank Green House believes that this opportunity needs to be seized. Green House Chair Rupert Read outlined at this meeting what the possibilities are for constitutional change including a revivification of local government. Jason Kitcat, Leader of Brighton Council, responded with his thoughts about what a restoration and expansion of local government finance would mean to the city. The meeting was chaired by Greenspeak’s Alison Plaumer.


November 5, 2014 Book launch and debate, House of Lords, London
Green House launched its first book - 'The Post-Growth Project: How the End of Economic Growth Could Bring a Fairer and Happier Society' - with a presentation and discussion at the House of Lords, hosted by the Green Party's Baroness Jenny Jones. The panel of speakers included the Guardian's Zoe Williams, Aurélie Maréchal from the Green European Foundation and Green House's own Molly Scott Cato MEP. Speakers and audience were escorted from the building by police (see Homepage for more details).


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April 30 2014 Report launch and debate, House of Commons, London
Green House was in the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday April 30 to launch the latest report from the Post-Growth Project. This was part of Labour MP John McDonnell's initiative to open up Parliament through a series of talks under the title 'People's Parliament'. Green House's Andrew Dobson kicked off with a presentation of his paper on 'The Politics of Post-Growth', arguing that the era of economic growth we live in now is one of exception rather than normality, and that it will inevitably come to an end. He went on to identify the preconditions for benign rather than catastrophic degrowth as:equality, democracy, a vigorous public sphere, feminism and a culture and politics of sufficiency. The event was chaired by Michael Meacher MP, and the respondents were Caroline Lucas MP and Molly Scott Cato, Green House member (and now Green Party MEP for South West England). The presentation prompted a very lively debate, which you can join in if you download the report here.April 30 2014 Report launch and debate, House of Commons, London.


Friday 14 February 2014 Report launch and debate, Europe House, London Greening the EU - is it possible?
Jean Lambert MEP hosted the launch of the Green House Report "Greening the EU" by Professor Alex Warleigh-Lack. The event was jointly organised by Green House and the Green European Foundation, and there was a showing of GEF's "Creating a People's Europe" video. You can see a video of the event here.


Thursday November 14, 2013 Library of Birmingham Public Services: Smaller but better
Green House presented its far reaching ideas on public policy as expressed in the report Smaller But Better? Post Growth Public Services. Greenhouse presenters included Andrew Pearmain, Brian Heatley (report authors) and Professor Andrew Dobson.


10 January 2012 House of Commons, London Guardians of the Future
We launched this report at a packed meeting at the House of Commons . The report argues that we need a specialist jury of Guardians to protect the interests of future generations, who are disenfranchised within our existing political system. Comments on the proposal were offered by three senior parliamentarians: coalition government minister Norman Baker MP, Caroline Lucas MP and Jon Cruddas MP, who welcomed the 'interesting intervention' that the report represented as a contrast to the shrinkage in the ambition of political thought and the paucity of big ideas. He called for 'hundreds of these sorts of ideas' and Green House members are keen to oblige. The policy community were also well represented, and questions came from representatives of the Intergenerational Foundation, the Transition Network, UNICEF, and the World Association of Girl Guides, among many others. We also received a message of support from the Hungarian ombudsman for Future Generations, Mr. Sándor Fülöp. The report, by Rupert Read, can be downloaded here Click here to download (pdf, 830 K) A video of the whole event is available on YouTube: "Guardians of the Future"

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