James Dyke

James Dyke

Academic | Writer | Consultant
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President Trump 2.0 accelerates US decline

You could say it’s 2016 again. But this time it’s worse. It’s worse because back then we could only really guess what a Trump presidency would do. Now we know. And beyond the presidency, the Republican Party now controls the Senate, Congress and has a conservative majority in the Supreme …

If you try to recycle perfectly, you’ll recycle nothing

A version of this article was published by inews, October 15, 2024. Putting out the recycling bin is not my favourite household chore. But it’s one I always used to try to do, because I could argue I didn’t have to sort and wash the recycling beforehand. It’s not that …

The overshoot myth: you can’t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°C

James Dyke, University of Exeter; Robert Watson, University of East Anglia, and Wolfgang Knorr, Lund University Record breaking fossil fuel production, all time high greenhouse gas emissions and extreme temperatures. Like the proverbial frog in the heating pan of water, we refuse to respond to the climate and ecological crisis …

Parasites in our taps are the terrible legacy of water privatisation

Billions have been funnelled out of the country while pipes leak, and faeces pollutes our water The i paper, 17th May 2024. Around 16,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area of Devon have been told not to use their tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first. …

The ECHR ruling that could shame our Government into climate action

inews 11th April 2024 For more than 30 years governments have been wrestling with the climate problem. While we may or may not get the politicians we deserve, what seems abundantly clear is that no mainstream political party has demonstrated the sufficient gumption to keep humanity safe from dangerous climate …

Climate tipping points are nearer than you think – our new report warns of catastrophic risk

James Dyke, University of Exeter and David Armstrong McKay, Stockholm University It’s now almost inevitable that 2023 will be the warmest year ever recorded by humans, probably the warmest for at least 125,000 years. Multiple temperature records were smashed with global average temperatures for some periods well above 1.5°C. Antarctic …

Recycling plastic is doing more harm than we realise – so what’s the alternative?

Published 29th May 2023, i news. For many of us, doing the recycling is now a normal part of housekeeping. We separate out our paper, glass and tins before putting them in the green bin. Increasingly, plastics have the recycling logo on them. So we rinse them out and save …

To Tackle Climate Change, Stop Farming the Planet to Death

Published in World Politics Review 24th January 2023 There is something very wrong with global food production. From farm to fork, the food system as it currently exists is the most environmentally destructive of all human activities. More than half of the Earth’s habitable land is used for agriculture, and …

University of Exeter’s new partnership with Shell is a mistake

This week, the University of Exeter announced a new net zero collaboration with Shell. This five-year deal represents a significant amount of income to the University. This money will pay for research in the UK and Brazil that “is part of a wider Shell-led research programme focussed on carbon sequestration, …

Acknowledging global warming will exceed 1.5 does not mean we give up on the aims of the Paris Agreement

Are we going to limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C since pre-industrial times? Back in June I gave a talk at a TED event about carbon offsets and net zero in which I answered “no”. This week I was told that my talk at TED is being circulated …

Net zero article shortlisted for 2022 Covering Climate Now Journalism Award

The Conversation article “Concept of net zero is a dangerous trap” authored by Wolgang Knorr, Bob Watson and myself has been nominated for the Covering Climate Now Journalism Award. A bit of a surprise as I did not know we were nominated. Winners decided in May apparently. In any event, …

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