Andrew MacKillop was on The Ecologist’s editorial team during what is considered by many to have been the magazine’s glory years. 

Andrew and his fellows – Teddy goldsmith, Peter Bunyard, Jimoh Omo-Fadaka – strove to deliver the environmental message to a wider audience, buoyed by the political and economic uncertainty that followed in the wake of the first oil shock and the breakout success of A Blueprint For Survival (1972).

Alternative technology 

Andrew was born on 4 December 1944 in Berne, Switzerland, the ninth child of Douglas MacKillop and the third of his second wife Phyllis (nee Jackson). Another son was to follow ten years later – myself.

At the time, Douglas was working at the British Embassy (he gets a mention in Martin Gilbert’s Auschwtz and the Allies); at the cessation of hostilities, the family returned to London, finally settling in Dorset.

Andrew was sent to a boarding school at Iwerne Minster, from which he soon decamped; he was then allowed to continue his secondary education as a day boy at Blandford Grammar School. He went to University College London (UCL) in 1964; he was to remain there for the best part of a decade.

It was at UCL that he first became interested in more sustainable ways of living. Even in the sixties, the problems of ever increasing energy demand had begun to manifest themselves in such incidents as the power cut that affected the entire East coast of the USA in 1965.

This drew him to what was then known as “alternative technology”; strange, new ideas such as solar panels, wave powered generators and electricity generating windmills – all of which are widely available today at ever decreasing prices.

Into reality

In 1970 he managed to persuade UCL (where by now Andrew was lecturing) to allow him to establish a Building Ecology course for diploma students at its architecture department, with a view to incorporating this technology into housing stock.

His first book, Talking About the Environment, appeared in 1973 (Wayland). He also took time out to start a family, marrying Patricia Jacobs in 1969; their son Sol was born in 1971.

But Andrew was anxious to see his ideas pass from the printed page to reality; so when, in 1973 the editorial staff of The Ecologist invited him to join them with a view to developing some property they had acquired in Cornwall, he jumped at the chance.

His first act was to establish a company – Low Impact Technology – to promote and market the new technology. There was no shortage of interest; at its peak there were over 500 enquiries a week coming in, which began to overwhelm him.

I can attest to this; in the summer of 1974, he invited me to join him “for a holiday”. It turned out to be of the busman’s kind, when he presented me with the backlog of his correspondence; I cleared it in two weeks.

Focus on writing 

But the correspondence wasn’t the greatest problem; rather, it was the failure of the magazine to come up with the money he needed to get his ideas off the ground.

So as well as the company and his regular work for the magazine, he produced a slew of books; Hydropower and Methane (both published by Wadebridge Ecological Centre, 1975) and Why Soft Technology? (Methuen 1975) in the hope that one of them might sell well enough to provide the money he needed. None did.

The strain began to tell; he and Patricia separated. He ended up going to Papua New Guinea to advise the newly independent government on energy policy.

On his return, he severed his connections with the magazine and decided to concentrate on writing. Two more books followed; The Oil Crisis and Economic Adjustments (Pinter, 1983) and Technology Employment and Development Implications of New and Renewable Sources of Energy (International Labour Office, 1983).

Andrew came to the notice of the European Parliament and worked there as an adviser for a short time. He moved to France, near Lyons and remarried, to Clare Mulkeen; two more children followed, Fionn (1980) and Sophie (1986).

False dawn

It proved to be a false dawn; book commissions dried up, forcing him to take on translation work to make ends meet. When this marriage broke down in turn, he began to cut himself off from his family and friends.

He returned to the UK. One last book followed; The Final Energy Crisis (Pluto, 2005). An ironic title, perhaps.

A smoker for many years, his health began to deteriorate until he died of pneumonia in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on the 11 December 2018. Patricia, Sol, Clare, Fionn and Sophie all survive him.

This Author

Ian MacKillop is Andrew’s younger brother. He makes a living as a locum pharmacist.

What do Barclays and Steve Buscemi have in common? One is a multinational bank and the other a respected actor. So not much. Except if Barclays’ brazen sponsorship of Pride parades was a meme, it would be the queer version of Steve Buscemi in 30 Rock adorning a reverse baseball cap, skateboard and ‘music band’ t-shirt asking “how do you do, fellow kids?’ 

Barclays’ insistence on affirming their LGBTQ+ credentials every Pride season is largely indicative of the corporate co-option of the marches that have their roots in radical protest. 

Barclays have spent months occupying the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: their financing of fossil fuels and climate breakdown; and (now cleared) charges of fraud levelled at former CEO John Varley. You might have thought they’d appreciate a summer off? Wrong. No rest for the wicked. 

Fossil fuels

Plastering their logo over anything with a rainbow, and indeed a rainbow over their logo, is Barclays’ way of portraying itself as ‘cool’ and ‘progressive’. The irony here being Barclays’ significant contribution to accelerating planetary heating and profiting from a financial system which relentlessly dispossess, emmiserates and deepens inequality. Groovy. 

Someone, concerned: “Barclays, please stop funding fossil fuels.” Barclays, pink-washingly: “How do you do, fellow gays?”

Despite years of grassroots and NGO pressure for them to stop profiting from climate breakdown, between 2016 and 2018 Barclays provided $85.176bn to companies behind fossil fuel extraction. Banking on Climate Change – a report produced by BankTrack, Rainforest Action Network and others – ranked Barclays as the worst bank in the UK and Europe when it comes to fossil fuels financing. They’re sixth worst in the world. 

Although Barclays have excluded coal projects from their financing, they continue to fund the companies behind coal mining alongside tar sands pipelines, oil and gas. 

Just one week before Barclay’s 2019 AGM, however, the bank sold its majority stake in fracking company Third Energy. This was the company seeking to frack at the Kirby Misperton site in North Yorkshire. 

After persistent grassroots campaigning from students to grandmas and a coalition of organisations, Barclays told its 2017 AGM that it would exit fracking. At the 2018 meeting, the Chairman indicated that they would sell Third Energy only when fracking had begun. This was met by disruption of the meeting by People & Planet activists. 

Protest

Barclays’ eventual sale of Third Energy has set a precedent for public pressure influencing the bank’s energy policy. Campaigners can use every tool at our disposal to wreck Barclays’ reputation, including frustrating their pursuit of the ‘pink pound’, to force them to drop fossil fuels. 

Black Pride and Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants have kept the spirit of “Pride is a protest!” alive in recent years. We can learn from them to organise resistance to the cynical use of Pride by Barclays and other corporate behemoths to bolster their reputations? Without this, the LGBTQ+ movement cannot reasonably seek to reaffirm the radical history of Pride through placards, chants and think-pieces while passively participating in its co-option by capital. 

It’s time queer organisers face up to the cosy proximity of the community to the corporations driving climate injustice. And take action accordingly. It’s time Barclays is made explicitly unwelcome at Pride as they continue to profit from the imminent planetary heating that will cause so much death and suffering. Not unreasonable. 

Organisers of Pride parades should take the initiative to drop Barclays’ as sponsors. If they don’t, participants should disrupt Barclays’ presence at the parades. In 2020, queer students from People & Planet will be making it clear there can be no pride in Barclays; no pride in climate breakdown; no pride in greedy banks. 

This Author

Chris Saltmarsh is co-director of climate change campaigns at People & Planet. He tweets at @chris_saltmarsh. 

UK climate change laws should be extended to other areas of “environmental breakdown” with binding targets to protect natural systems, a think tank has said.

A new “Sustainable Economy Act” should set legal targets in areas such as wildlife, soil fertility and air quality, in addition to the greenhouse gas limits set by the Climate Change Act, IPPR argues in a new paper.

And there should be deeper changes to economic thinking to ensure the UK is living within its natural means.

Binding

A new Sustainable Economy Act should include binding targets, a new committee on sustainability to advise the Government similar to the expert Committee on Climate Change and a new enforcement body to hold ministers to account on environmental regulations.

IPPR warns that existing European Union safeguards on the environment will fall away without new legislation after Brexit.

The Government’s draft Environment Bill for protecting the environment post-Brexit could provide the way to do this, but currently fails to introduce legally binding targets or interim goals needed to drive improvements, it said.

Crucial

New targets should also cover the wider environmental impact of all economic activity on these natural systems including on countries that export goods and services to the UK, the think tank’s paper argues.

Laurie Laybourn-Langton, the paper’s lead author, said: “The Climate Change Act and the UK’s target of net-zero decarbonisation by 2050 effectively places a greenhouse gas constraint on the economy.

“It is vital that similar constraints are extended to all the areas of environmental breakdown. A Sustainable Economy Act can do this.

“We urgently need to rethink economics so that we can continue to live within the UK’s and the planet’s means – protecting the many natural systems that are crucial to everyone’s ability to lead good lives in a way that is just, sustainable and prepared.”

Extensive

Luke Murphy, head of IPPR’s Environmental Justice Commission, said the Climate Change Act was a “revolutionary” piece of legislation that required the Government to limit greenhouse gas emissions to levels set in law – but climate change was not the only environmental threat.

“The Climate Change Act was a revolutionary piece of legislation that required the Government to limit the total carbon emissions of the UK to levels set in law.

“With much of the UK’s environmental policy deriving from our membership of the EU there is an even greater and more urgent need to put in place a Sustainable Economy Act to protect all aspects of our environment after Brexit – with or without a deal.

“This should be supported by a new Committee on Sustainability to advise the Government and a new enforcement body with extensive powers to hold the Government to account.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Sales of plastic carrier bags in England’s largest supermarkets have fallen by 90 percent since a 5p charge was introduced in 2015, according to government figures.

Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons and The Co-operative Group sold 549 million plastic bags in 2018-19, which was half the number purchased in the previous year.

The country’s plastic bag fee came into effect in England on October 5 2015, with all supermarkets and large stores required to charge a minimum of 5p for every single-use plastic carrier bag they handed out.

Throwaway

Environment secretary Theresa Villiers said the measure “continues to deliver results”. She added: “No one wants to see the devastating impact plastic waste is having on our precious wildlife.

“Today’s figures are a powerful demonstration that we are collectively calling time on being a throwaway society.”

There is a minimum 5p charge for plastic bags at all retailers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales but in England the fee only applies to shops with more than 250 employees.

Giant

A consultation was launched by the Government in December last year to investigate raising the minimum fee to 10p.

In recent months, hundreds of companies have made pledges to cut back the amount of plastic and packaging they use.

Supermarket giant Asda recently vowed to ditch plastic carrier bags for online shopping, while Boots announced in June that it will get rid of them completely in favour of paper bags.

This Author

Benjamin Cooper is a reporter with PA.

Activists from the direct action group Reclaim the Power stopped construction at a new gas power station in Lincolnshire yesterday and held a hundreds-strong protest at energy company Drax’s London office, to protest their attempt to build a new gas power station in a climate crisis.

The site of SSE’s new Keadby 2 gas power plant in Lincolnshire was shut down, with both entrances blocked and activists occupying two cranes, stopping work on the new plant, the only currently in construction in the UK.

SSE has plans to develop more gas power stations – supported heavily by government subsidies. SSE are one of the dirtiest energy suppliers in the UK, the campaigners claim, with 65 percent of the energy they sell comes from polluting gas.

Crisis

Hundreds of activists gathered at Drax’s offices in London, dressed in white boiler suits and with a four-metre high model gas tower. They were protesting Drax’s proposed new gas plant in Yorkshire, which would be responsible for as much as 75 percent of the emissions budget for the entire UK power sector.

New Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom is due to make a decision on the proposal by October.

The campaigners claim that the UK cannot afford to build any additional fossil fuel infrastructure in the UK if it intends to stay within national legally binding climate targets. Activists have also targeted branches of Deloitte and Barclays who provide services to the gas industry.

Speaking from Keadby, Ellie Groves said: “New gas spells climate disaster, that’s why we’re here today at Keadby.

“Temperatures hit 38 degrees in the UK last week, and extreme weather is already devastating many parts of the world. We’re standing with the people most impacted by the climate crisis.

Coal

“Polluting gas power stations like Keadby line the pockets of Big Six energy bosses at our expense. We need clean, cheap, community-controlled renewable power.”

Speaking from the Drax protest in London, Milo Phillips said: “The government’s promises to act on climate change are meaningless while dirty gas power stations are still being built.

“Drax’s gas plant in North Yorkshire would be the largest gas power station ever built in the UK. Drax and Keadby are the first in a possible wave of a new generation of dirty mega projects, built to pollute for decades.”

“Today we’re sending a clear message. We can’t afford any new climate-wrecking gas plants.”

Despite industry claims, research shows that additional gas capacity is not necessary for the UK’s energy supply – surging renewables are directly replacing old coal.

This Author

Marianne Brooker is content editor of The Ecologist. 

One of the world’s most endangered animals could face extinction within a year if illegal fishing nets continue to be used, it has been claimed.

Researchers at the University of St Andrews have warned urgent action is needed if the rare vaquita porpoise, which only lives in the upper Gulf of California in Mexico, is to be saved.

According to a study by Royal Society Open Science, the number of vaquita porpoises may have dropped to fewer than 10 – with the worldwide population in 2016 estimated at 30.

Expert

Despite a ban by the Mexican Government on the use of the gillnet – which causes porpoises to be killed as a by-catch – illegal fishing has continued

Since the ban was introduced in 2017, 10 dead vaquita porpoises have been found, with all deaths where deaths could be determined attributed to drowning in the nets.

Professor Len Thomas, from the University of St Andrews Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM), was invited to participate on an international expert panel of ecological statisticians to analyse the data.

Acoustic

He said: “The ongoing presence of illegal gillnets despite the emergency ban continues to drive the vaquita towards extinction. Immediate management action is required if the species is to be saved.”

It is estimated the number of vaquita has fallen by 98.6% since monitoring began in 2011 and by nearly 50 percent each year since a 2016 study.

Researchers’ best estimate is there were nine animals remaining at the end of the last acoustic survey in August 2018.

This Author

Lewis McKenzie is the PA Scotland reporter. 

The UK’s 10 hottest years in records stretching back to the 19th century have all occurred since 2002, the Met Office has said.

Analysis of temperature records which have been extended back to 1884 also reveals that none of the 10 coldest years have occurred since 1963, showing how the climate is warming.

In the Met Office’s latest annual state of the climate report, the temperature series for the UK has been extended back by 26 years from 1910, as the data was added as part of ongoing work to digitise historic weather records.

Snap

Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s national climate information centre, said: “Looking back further into the UK’s weather reveals a very interesting timeline, with the top ten warmest years at the most recent end, since 2002.

“Extending the record back by 26 years from 1910 to 1884 didn’t bring in any new warm years, but it did bring in a number of new cold years, including several that are now within the top ten coldest years.”

The records now show 1892 as the coldest year, with the average temperature of just over 7C, while the warmest year was 2014, with an average temperature approaching 10C, he said.

The top 10 hottest years are (in order): 2014; 2006; 2011; 2007; 2017; 2003; 2018; 2004; 2002; and 2005. The coldest years in the record are: 1892; 1888; 1885; 1963; 1919; 1886; 1917; 1909; 1887; and 1962.

The annual report shows that 2018 joined the top 10 warmest years at number seven, despite the severe “beast from the East” cold snap early in the year.

Accelerate

The cold weather saw the UK having the most significant snowfall since 2010 last year, though generally snow events have declined since the 1960s, the Met Office said.

In a year of extremes, the UK also saw a heatwave last summer, which the experts said was made 30 times more likely by climate change, and the season was the equal-hottest summer on record along with 2006.

Commenting on the report, which is published in the International Journal of Climatology, Dr Michael Byrne from the University of St Andrews, said it was “hugely significant, though not surprising” the UK’s top 10 warmest years had occurred since 2002 and summer 2018 was the joint-hottest ever.

He said: “The world has warmed 1C since pre-industrial times, meaning that hot years are the new normal. Not only is the UK getting warmer but also wetter, with 13 percent more summer rain compared to last century.

“With global emissions of greenhouse gases on the rise, the UK will continue to get warmer and wetter as global warming accelerates.

Future

“The science of climate change is now clear. The UK Government must ramp up preparations and ensure that our infrastructure and citizens are prepared for what is to come.”

A Government spokeswoman: “The impact of climate change is clear and demands urgent action, which is why we are the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions and eliminate our contribution to global warming by 2050.

“We’ve seen first-hand the effect climate change is having on our environment, and we share people’s passion to tackle this issue and protect our planet for future generations.”

Dr Katherine Kramer, global climate lead at Christian Aid, said the findings were just the “latest alarm bell to go off as we fail to grapple with this growing climate emergency”.

“While these hottest years have made life uncomfortable in parts of the UK, just imagine what it’s like for people in even hotter places in the global south, often forced to work outside without access to air conditioning or even shelter.

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

“With climate change, the only way we can avoid this becoming the new normal is if we take action and reduce our emissions radically and rapidly,” she said.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg will sail from Europe to north America in August, kicking off a climate tour through the Americas over the next few months.

The sailboat is outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to allow for a zero-carbon, trans-Atlantic voyage.

Greta will join large-scale climate demonstrations on September 20 and 27 and speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, hosted by Secretary General António Guterres in New York City on September 23.

Journey

Greta is taking a sabbatical year from school, and aims to attend a number of events during her time in North America, meeting with people most impacted by the climate and ecological emergency, climate activists, and decision-makers. She also plans to visit Canada and Mexico.

Greta will then travel to the annual UN climate conference (COP25) in Santiago, Chile, between December 2-13, with plans to visit other sites in South America that are important in tackling the climate crisis.

Greta doesn’t fly because of the tremendous amount of emissions caused by air travel – emissions that are strongly amplified due to the fact that they are released high-up in the atmosphere. She will therefore choose the least carbon-intensive modes of transportation throughout her travels across the Americas.

After months of research and considering different options for her journey, Greta will sail across the Atlantic in a zero-carbon racing boat called Malizia II, a foiling sailboat built in 2015, which is fitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate electricity on board the vessel.

Greta will be joined on board the boat by her father Svante Thunberg and filmmaker Nathan Grossman of B-Reel Films, who will document the journey.

Young

The boat will be captained by professional race skipper Boris Herrmann and Malizia team founder Pierre Casiraghi, who have donated their time and skills to help Greta cross the Atlantic without flying. The voyage is jointly organised by Greta, Team Malizia, and B-Reel Films.

The Malizia team also developed the Malizia Ocean Challenge, a project to support ocean climate education and the monitoring of ocean CO2. This project is affiliated with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a charitable organisation that supports work on environmental and climate change issues.

The boat will depart from the United Kingdom in mid-August and arrive in New York City approximately two weeks later, making no stops on the way. Exact departure and arrival dates will depend on the weather conditions.

Greta said: “The science is clear. We must start bending the emissions curve steeply downwards no later than 2020, if we still are to have a chance of staying below a 1,5 degrees of global temperature rise.

“We still have a window of time when things are in our own hands. But that window is closing fast. That is why I have decided to make this trip now. During the past year, millions of young people have raised their voice to make world leaders wake up to the climate and ecological emergency.

Humanity

“Over the next months, the events in New York and Santiago de Chile will show if they have listened. Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging.

“We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it. The science is clear and all we children are doing is communicating and acting on that united science. And our demand is for the world to unite behind the science.”

Mr Herrmann said: “Greta is amazingly courageous to be standing up against ignorance and injustice regarding the climate crisis. I am not surprised that she considers this trip as something perfectly achievable for her – taking into account her courage in speaking up in a loud and clear way even in front of the most powerful people.

“I am conscious about Pierre‘s and my responsibility. We will make sure she will reach New York in the safest way possible. I am thrilled that our sport ambition and sailing project can play a small but hopefully important role in increasing awareness for the most important challenge humanity faces today.

“I feel humbled that Greta accepted our offer as the lowest-carbon option to cross the Atlantic – despite the lack of comfort for her.”

Beauty

Mr Casiraghi said: “I believe in increasing awareness about rising global emissions and pollution due to human activity. Convincing Governments and international institutions to make the step and enforce laws that will protect mankind and biodiversity is of utmost importance for the future of humanity. 

“Greta is an ambassador who delivers a fundamental message both for our society and for the survival of future generations.

“Team Malizia and I are proud to take Greta across the Atlantic in this challenging mode of transport, unfortunately today this is the only way without fossil fuel emissions. Hopefully this will change in the near future. I respect Greta’s courage to take on this adventure and fully commit, sacrifice, and fight for probably the greatest challenge humanity faces.”

Mr Grossman said:“Like many I have been amazed by Greta and her fight to raise awareness about the climate crisis. In the documentary we get to follow from within how Greta goes from sitting all alone outside the Swedish parliament to becoming a world famous activist.

“On this trip I will capture Greta and the teams strenuous effort to get to the Americas with as little carbon emissions as possible, letting the audience close to both the challenges and beauty of travelling this way.”

This Article

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg will sail from Europe to north America in August, kicking off a climate tour through the Americas over the next few months.

The sailboat is outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to allow for a zero-carbon, trans-Atlantic voyage.

Greta will join large-scale climate demonstrations on September 20 and 27 and speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, hosted by Secretary General António Guterres in New York City on September 23.

Journey

Greta is taking a sabbatical year from school, and aims to attend a number of events during her time in North America, meeting with people most impacted by the climate and ecological emergency, climate activists, and decision-makers. She also plans to visit Canada and Mexico.

Greta will then travel to the annual UN climate conference (COP25) in Santiago, Chile, between December 2-13, with plans to visit other sites in South America that are important in tackling the climate crisis.

Greta doesn’t fly because of the tremendous amount of emissions caused by air travel – emissions that are strongly amplified due to the fact that they are released high-up in the atmosphere. She will therefore choose the least carbon-intensive modes of transportation throughout her travels across the Americas.

After months of research and considering different options for her journey, Greta will sail across the Atlantic in a zero-carbon racing boat called Malizia II, a foiling sailboat built in 2015, which is fitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate electricity on board the vessel.

Greta will be joined on board the boat by her father Svante Thunberg and filmmaker Nathan Grossman of B-Reel Films, who will document the journey.

Young

The boat will be captained by professional race skipper Boris Herrmann and Malizia team founder Pierre Casiraghi, who have donated their time and skills to help Greta cross the Atlantic without flying. The voyage is jointly organised by Greta, Team Malizia, and B-Reel Films.

The Malizia team also developed the Malizia Ocean Challenge, a project to support ocean climate education and the monitoring of ocean CO2. This project is affiliated with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a charitable organisation that supports work on environmental and climate change issues.

The boat will depart from the United Kingdom in mid-August and arrive in New York City approximately two weeks later, making no stops on the way. Exact departure and arrival dates will depend on the weather conditions.

Greta said: “The science is clear. We must start bending the emissions curve steeply downwards no later than 2020, if we still are to have a chance of staying below a 1,5 degrees of global temperature rise.

“We still have a window of time when things are in our own hands. But that window is closing fast. That is why I have decided to make this trip now. During the past year, millions of young people have raised their voice to make world leaders wake up to the climate and ecological emergency.

Humanity

“Over the next months, the events in New York and Santiago de Chile will show if they have listened. Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging.

“We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it. The science is clear and all we children are doing is communicating and acting on that united science. And our demand is for the world to unite behind the science.”

Mr Herrmann said: “Greta is amazingly courageous to be standing up against ignorance and injustice regarding the climate crisis. I am not surprised that she considers this trip as something perfectly achievable for her – taking into account her courage in speaking up in a loud and clear way even in front of the most powerful people.

“I am conscious about Pierre‘s and my responsibility. We will make sure she will reach New York in the safest way possible. I am thrilled that our sport ambition and sailing project can play a small but hopefully important role in increasing awareness for the most important challenge humanity faces today.

“I feel humbled that Greta accepted our offer as the lowest-carbon option to cross the Atlantic – despite the lack of comfort for her.”

Beauty

Mr Casiraghi said: “I believe in increasing awareness about rising global emissions and pollution due to human activity. Convincing Governments and international institutions to make the step and enforce laws that will protect mankind and biodiversity is of utmost importance for the future of humanity. 

“Greta is an ambassador who delivers a fundamental message both for our society and for the survival of future generations.

“Team Malizia and I are proud to take Greta across the Atlantic in this challenging mode of transport, unfortunately today this is the only way without fossil fuel emissions. Hopefully this will change in the near future. I respect Greta’s courage to take on this adventure and fully commit, sacrifice, and fight for probably the greatest challenge humanity faces.”

Mr Grossman said:“Like many I have been amazed by Greta and her fight to raise awareness about the climate crisis. In the documentary we get to follow from within how Greta goes from sitting all alone outside the Swedish parliament to becoming a world famous activist.

“On this trip I will capture Greta and the teams strenuous effort to get to the Americas with as little carbon emissions as possible, letting the audience close to both the challenges and beauty of travelling this way.”

This Article

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg will sail from Europe to north America in August, kicking off a climate tour through the Americas over the next few months.

The sailboat is outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to allow for a zero-carbon, trans-Atlantic voyage.

Greta will join large-scale climate demonstrations on September 20 and 27 and speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, hosted by Secretary General António Guterres in New York City on September 23.

Journey

Greta is taking a sabbatical year from school, and aims to attend a number of events during her time in North America, meeting with people most impacted by the climate and ecological emergency, climate activists, and decision-makers. She also plans to visit Canada and Mexico.

Greta will then travel to the annual UN climate conference (COP25) in Santiago, Chile, between December 2-13, with plans to visit other sites in South America that are important in tackling the climate crisis.

Greta doesn’t fly because of the tremendous amount of emissions caused by air travel – emissions that are strongly amplified due to the fact that they are released high-up in the atmosphere. She will therefore choose the least carbon-intensive modes of transportation throughout her travels across the Americas.

After months of research and considering different options for her journey, Greta will sail across the Atlantic in a zero-carbon racing boat called Malizia II, a foiling sailboat built in 2015, which is fitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to generate electricity on board the vessel.

Greta will be joined on board the boat by her father Svante Thunberg and filmmaker Nathan Grossman of B-Reel Films, who will document the journey.

Young

The boat will be captained by professional race skipper Boris Herrmann and Malizia team founder Pierre Casiraghi, who have donated their time and skills to help Greta cross the Atlantic without flying. The voyage is jointly organised by Greta, Team Malizia, and B-Reel Films.

The Malizia team also developed the Malizia Ocean Challenge, a project to support ocean climate education and the monitoring of ocean CO2. This project is affiliated with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a charitable organisation that supports work on environmental and climate change issues.

The boat will depart from the United Kingdom in mid-August and arrive in New York City approximately two weeks later, making no stops on the way. Exact departure and arrival dates will depend on the weather conditions.

Greta said: “The science is clear. We must start bending the emissions curve steeply downwards no later than 2020, if we still are to have a chance of staying below a 1,5 degrees of global temperature rise.

“We still have a window of time when things are in our own hands. But that window is closing fast. That is why I have decided to make this trip now. During the past year, millions of young people have raised their voice to make world leaders wake up to the climate and ecological emergency.

Humanity

“Over the next months, the events in New York and Santiago de Chile will show if they have listened. Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging.

“We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it. The science is clear and all we children are doing is communicating and acting on that united science. And our demand is for the world to unite behind the science.”

Mr Herrmann said: “Greta is amazingly courageous to be standing up against ignorance and injustice regarding the climate crisis. I am not surprised that she considers this trip as something perfectly achievable for her – taking into account her courage in speaking up in a loud and clear way even in front of the most powerful people.

“I am conscious about Pierre‘s and my responsibility. We will make sure she will reach New York in the safest way possible. I am thrilled that our sport ambition and sailing project can play a small but hopefully important role in increasing awareness for the most important challenge humanity faces today.

“I feel humbled that Greta accepted our offer as the lowest-carbon option to cross the Atlantic – despite the lack of comfort for her.”

Beauty

Mr Casiraghi said: “I believe in increasing awareness about rising global emissions and pollution due to human activity. Convincing Governments and international institutions to make the step and enforce laws that will protect mankind and biodiversity is of utmost importance for the future of humanity. 

“Greta is an ambassador who delivers a fundamental message both for our society and for the survival of future generations.

“Team Malizia and I are proud to take Greta across the Atlantic in this challenging mode of transport, unfortunately today this is the only way without fossil fuel emissions. Hopefully this will change in the near future. I respect Greta’s courage to take on this adventure and fully commit, sacrifice, and fight for probably the greatest challenge humanity faces.”

Mr Grossman said:“Like many I have been amazed by Greta and her fight to raise awareness about the climate crisis. In the documentary we get to follow from within how Greta goes from sitting all alone outside the Swedish parliament to becoming a world famous activist.

“On this trip I will capture Greta and the teams strenuous effort to get to the Americas with as little carbon emissions as possible, letting the audience close to both the challenges and beauty of travelling this way.”

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Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist.