SPOTLIGHT

Labour Economics: Economy in 2020

Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘Economy in 2020’ is admirable for the working class in its principles but ultimately has its flaws. Battered and bruised, with knees rocking after a haymaker, Labour’s current predicament within British politics resembles that of a boxer that has been tactically outclassed for ten rounds, it’s close to a stoppage. Granted, politics has […]

The UK response to the “refugee crisis” is theoretically sound but practically counterproductive

The UK Conservative government has a strategy for tackling the current “refugee crisis” that is theoretically convincing but practically contradictory. The strategy consists of letting as few refugees onto UK soil as it can get away with, whilst increasing efforts to tackle the source of the crisis. The former is implicit in the numbers: until […]

Sport

Athletics’ Quick Fix: How the politics of doping is taking athletics to the brink of ruin

June 2003 As most sport-crazy 9 – 90 year-old boys do, I began reading my copy of the Mail on Sunday from the last page to the first. But on this particular day, my eyes were strangely captivated by the side column rather than the main headline. “World’s Fastest Couple give birth to baby boy”. […]

The fall of oil and the environment


The Fall of Oil and the Environment Bane or Blessing? The recent rapid decline of the price of oil, from around $115 per barrel in mid-2014 to below $50 per barrel by August 2015 (Brent Crude), has prompted widespread concerns about negative impacts of cheap oil on the environment. These concerns can be roughly divided […]

Human Rights

Rufgee crisis: Lessons David Cameron can learn from Lebanon’s example

In the midst of the current refugee crisis it’s easy to get caught up in numbers. Germany is expecting 800,000 by the end of the year – and 500,000 annually for years to come. Australia says they’ll let in 12,000 and David Cameron announced that the UK will accept 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian […]


 
 
 

 

COP20: Australia tightens belt on environmental spending

Australia’s federal government has slashed funding to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) by AU$4 million ahead of UN climate talks in Lima. Australia’s environment minister, Greg Hunt, said that other issues took precedenc...
by Sydney Pead
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COP20: An equitable understanding

Fairness and justice tend to be what comes to mind when asked for a definition of equity, a term that has haunted the discourse of climate conferences for years. Outright refusal of an agreement that is “equitable” is unhea...
by Malcolm Johnson
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COP20: Gambling on INDCs

By refusing top-down assessments of intended climate change efforts, some countries are gambling with the future of our planet. Another clunky acronym was introduced into the negotiating process at the Warsaw climate conference...
by Cleo Verkuijl
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COP20 Fossil Of The Day: And the Swiss take the cake

Fossil of the day: Switzerland’s fear of commitment, Brazil’s struggle to count and AOSIS shines bright with ambition. Switzerland took out first place in the daily Fossil of the Day awards today, with a spin around a Lima ...
by Sydney Pead
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COP20: Climate change at home and abroad

The United States’ recent agreement with China over carbon emissions was substantial in kick-starting negotiations. However, the Obama administration still faces many challenges on the domestic front to legitimise their commi...
by Malcolm Johnson
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COP20: Day two sees things heat up

It was another hot day at Cuartel General del Ejército, the military barracks where this years COP is being held. Due to a last minute venue change, many of the buildings on site have been constructed in the past six weeks and...
by Evan Weber
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