Lessons in Power: Climate Change w/ Michael Jacobs

Starmer's Labour has secured an overwhelming majority in what will surely be one of the most significant Parliamentary terms in the history of British climate politics. The clock is ticking on decarbonisation, but the new Labour government appears reluctant to take full advantage of the chance to be forever remembered as climate heroes. Will it make the most of this opportunity?

Michael Jacobs, now Professor of Political Economy at the University of Sheffield, was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers at the Treasury from 2004 to 2007 and special adviser to Gordon Brown at No 10 on energy, climate and environmental policy from 2007 to 2010. He joins Mems and guest co-host Chris Saltmarsh (doctoral student and co-founder of the campaign group Labour for a Green New Deal) to discuss the remarkable consensus around the Climate Change Act 2008; failure and success at UNFCCC summits from COP15 in Copenhagen to COP21 in Paris; and the challenges facing Ed Miliband in his new role as Secretary of State for Energy. They also consider the new Labour government's plans on climate, including Great British Energy, and how the climate movement needs to kick itself into gear to pile on the pressure for stronger action.

Lessons in Power is a SPERI Presents... podcast. Professor Michael Jacobs and Mems Ayinla interview ministers and advisors from the New Labour administration (1997-2010) to tease out lessons on a range of issues for Keir Starmer’s newly formed Labour government.