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.

Over three years from 2019-2022, Green House is exploring how trade, industry and infrastructure need to change to meet zero carbon goals. In 2022 this project is organised by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House Think Tank, Green Foundation Ireland, and Etopia, and with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. In 2022 the project is focused on 'Rethinking Demand'.

At the bottm of this page you can find all the reports and events that make up this project. These build 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

Latest Report:

This 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 introduced in Green House’s August 2020 report, Trade and Investment Requirements for Zero Carbon. Other key reports in this project include:

• Infrastructure Requirements for Zero Carbon
• The Social and Environmental Requirements of a Climate Emergency Economy
• Transport Investment: The Zero Carbon Challenge

Project Video

Zero Carbon Policy Toolkit

Related Publications

COP26: Asking the Wrong Questions?

This gas by Peter Sims asks whether COP26 will succeed and argues that it needs to stop asking the wrong questions in order to take the opportunity to change direction

Green House Think TankPeter Sims

Another Brexit is Possible

This report considers that the option of remaining in close alignment with the EU is too politically difficult to achieve. Having made this assumption, it argues that the only viable option is building national resilience through more localisation combined with deeper global cooperation.

Green House Think TankEmma Dawnay

Open Letter to the Committee on Climate Change

The following letter was sent to Lord Deben and Chris Stark (Chair and Chief Exec) of the Committee on Climate Change on the 10th December 2020.

Green House Think TankGreen House Think Tank