Avebury and the infrastructure of community
Jan 15, 2018
Over the Winter Break I walked at Avebury in Wiltshire with Nick Robins, a long term Platformer, who’s worked on several projects and was a Trustee. We had the chance to reflect on time and community. The soft whale back curve of the Ridgeway rose to the left, its skyline punctuated by barrows ringed with...
Transitions Just and Unjust – the question of power
Jan 9, 2018
We’re descending from the peak of A’ Chailleach (The wise old Woman). Trudging down the steep slope of Sron na Goibhre (Under the Nose/promontary of the Goats) on the northern edge of the Fannich mountain range. My knees are exhausted as they absorb the shock of each step on this sodden mass of grasses and...
‘How you would have loved these times’ – A conversation with Doreen Massey
Dec 10, 2017
The days tip towards the darkness of Winter. The world of the North comes into our lives. The year stops and takes a breath. It pushes me to reflect on the months past. It makes me think of you Doreen and how you would have loved these times. You’d have been everywhere. In your element, plugged...
No TAP. No TANAP. Not here. Not anywhere.
Nov 13, 2017
Earlier this morning, a group of us demonstrated outside the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to demand that the bank rescinds its Oct 18th commitment to finance $500 for TANAP – the middle and largest pipeline of the Southern Gas Corridor, and does not fund the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) or any part...
Today, remembering the Ogoni Bill of Rights
Nov 10, 2017
10th November 2017 marks the 22nd anniversary since the executions of nine Ogoni men from the Niger Delta who had been protesting against the exploitation of oil in their homelands. These Nigerian activists – outspoken author and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John...
Revealed: UK council pensions are banking £16.1 billion on climate disaster
Nov 9, 2017
Today we’re releasing new data analysis showing that UK councils invest £16.1 billion in fossil fuel corporations through their workers’ pensions. These investments are bankrolling the companies most responsible for climate change, like Shell and BP. The councils with the biggest investments in fossil fuels – Manchester, Galloway & Dumfries, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Torfaen...
The Great Gas Lock-in
Oct 31, 2017
New Report out on the gas industry’s lobbying power This year we have seen devastating hurricanes and floods, deadly wildfires, and other extreme climate catastrophes. But rather than facing up to the problem and focusing on renewable energy and energy reduction, the European Union is locking itself into another 40-50 years of fossil fuel infrastructure....
How would you measure our effectiveness?
Oct 9, 2017
A few weeks back, Matt Shardlow, CEO of Buglife, tweeted the chart underneath. It shows Platform apparently outstripping other UK environmental organisations in terms of our impact relative to our income. We were startled by this, and looked into the criteria and source. The data was collected for the Environmental Funders Network’s interesting 2017 report ‘What...
Boom! – Historic Union Vote for Climate Transition
Sep 13, 2017
A worker led movement for climate justice came one step closer to reality yesterday as the UK trade union movement unanimously passed a motion calling for a just climate transition for workers, divestment from fossil fuels and putting energy under public, democratic control. The motion was passed unanimously by the 5.7 million member TUC. What...
The River Resurfaces – reflecting on politically engaged art from the 1970s to today
Sep 12, 2017
I’m sitting talking with Caroline Tisdall, a friend who has known Platform since 1986. We first came into contact with her via the producer and curator Richard Demarco: along with him, she was among the first to champion artist Joseph Beuys in the English-speaking world. Beuys’ art and politics were critical influences in...
Bribes, bulldozers and BP: what makes a gas mega pipeline?
Sep 7, 2017
Earlier this week, the Guardian’s Azerbaijani Laundromat investigation uncovered thousands of covert payments totaling £2.2bn from Azerbaijan’s ruling elite to prominent Europeans through a network of opaque British companies. Today, Platform and other organisations had a letter published in the Guardian, filling in the blanks in the story. Azerbaijan is particularly keen to present a...
There is no magic money tree, except for handouts for BP
Jul 3, 2017
The UK government paid oil companies $312 million to drill in the North Sea during the fiscal year 2016-2017 according to a new report by the HMRC, The Times reports. Successive UK governments insist “there is no magic money tree” to fund public hospitals and schools, or to insulate cold homes. But apparently the magic...
