After the Gazprom-Naftogaz arbitration: commerce still entangled in politics

In this Oxford Energy Insight, on the big arbitration case between Russian and Ukrainian gas companies, I argue that "Commerce has been unable to disentangle itself from politics".  

Russia: democracy, oligarchy, repression

Russia with its oligarchs, precarious workers, FSB officers and anti-fascists. An interview (9 March 2018) with Tom Rowley and me by James Butler on Novara FM, the Novara Media/Resonance FM show.

How fossil fuel use became unsustainable

A video of a talk I gave, on "How Fossil Fuel Use Became Unsustainable", at the Radical Anthropology Group in London on 20 February 2018, is now available on line.

Why haven't we turned our backs on hydrocarbons yet?

Why haven't we turned our backs on hydrocarbons yet? Interview with Pro-Ved (a Russian economic news web site), 19 December 2017. In English here, and Russian original here.

The social history of the Russian revolution, a century on

Here's a video of a talk I gave, on 23 November, about "the social history of the Russian revolution, a century on", in the Social Histories 1917 series at Birkbeck University London.

Workers and the Soviet state: lessons from the 1920s

Here's a video of a talk I gave on 3 November, on "Workers and the Soviet state: lessons from the 1920s", at the international conference on "1917-2017: hopes, utopias and legacies of the Russian revolution" at the Institut Marcel Liebman in Brussels.

Why unsustainable fossil fuel use keeps growing

On 19 September I presented at the LSE Grantham Centre on "how global fossil fuel use became unsustainable, 1950-2017". The slides and notes from my presentation are here. And my guest post for the LSE Grantham Centre is here. "The shocking thing about the rate of fossil fuel consumption since 1991 – by which time the scientific evidence for climate change was clear – is how inexorably it has risen."

Tracking the corporate power in fossil fuel production and use

The Carbon Majors Report 2017, published last month, showed that 71% of all greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 can be traced back to just 100 fossil fuel producing companies. It’s a useful way of looking at the production half of the fossil fuels picture – and needs putting together with the other half: the companies that consume the fuels. More here (on the London Green Left blog).

The Paris climate agreement after Trump

The chorus disapproving Trump's damaging gesture - withdrawing from the Paris agreement - "should not obscure the fact that the international climate negotiations process [...] has been a monumental failure". See article published in Labour Briefing here.

Adversity and reform: Ukraine's gas market prospects

This Oxford Energy Insight looks at the rapid changes in the Ukrainian gas market over the last three years, and how it is likely to develop from here.

The long, troubled Russia-Ukraine gas marriage is over

"Whatever happens next, the long, troubled Russia-Ukraine gas marriage is over, and the lawyers are arguing about who gets what". See my article in the latest Oxford Energy forum here (scroll down to page 15).

Pavel Sheremet, Belarussian journalist

My tribute to my friend Pavel Sheremet, published on the Pensive Quill site.