The most dangerous response to the latest United Nations climate report would be to conclude that the battle has been lost. The second most dangerous would be to pretend that nothing has changed. The UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report 2026, published on 21 October, says the opportunity to hold global warming to 1.5°C with … Continue reading Missing 1.5°C does not make delay cheaper
Tag: northern-ireland
No water charges is not a water strategy
There is a familiar temptation in Northern Ireland politics: to announce what government will not do and allow that to stand as an explanation of what it will do. Water is becoming a particularly expensive example. Protecting households from another bill may be a defensible choice. It is not, by itself, a plan for the … Continue reading No water charges is not a water strategy
A red warning is not a flood defence
Spain’s current flood emergency shows why warnings must be backed by planning control, resilient buildings and funded adaptation—including in Northern Ireland.
There is a phrase beloved of unionists: what we have, we hold… but what if what we have is not enough?
No amount of barricades and rallies will deliver change for Northern Ireland. To do so will require vision and a common purpose 26 Feb 2021 7:18 AM Add as a preferred source In a few weeks' time, I will turn 60 and, in my time, I've played a small part in the history of this … Continue reading There is a phrase beloved of unionists: what we have, we hold… but what if what we have is not enough?
Northern Ireland’s brain drain is the wrong diagnosis
New evidence suggests Northern Ireland’s real challenge is not an exceptional student exodus, but weak inward mobility, poor graduate-job matching and a failure to track who returns.
When diplomacy becomes a favour
Trump’s Irish visit showed both the appeal and the danger of personalised diplomacy: small economies and contested societies need durable rules, not temporary favours.
The Haass Process
Originally published: 28 December 2013. As Richard Haass and Megan O’Sullivan work to bring this current process to a conclusion it is clear that there will be no surprises. Many years ago the republican movement ceased to believe in the rapid achievement of its objectives by political or military means and settled instead for a … Continue reading The Haass Process
Peace
Originally published: 5 July 2012. Republished on the Cicero’s Voice Blogger site on 10 December 2013. Posted on July 5, 2012 by stephennicholl Recent events have been promoted as representing continuing progress in what is termed our “peace process” yet the truth is that while a handshake can mean a lot, it can also hide … Continue reading Peace
The tide does not stop at the border
A new Irish coastal-exposure map shows how Northern Ireland could move from fragmented responsibility to evidence-led preparation for flooding and erosion.
A baseline to start from.
The Chief Executive of Marks and Spencers, speaking at an event in Northern Ireland in 2025 stated that “Northern Ireland, with 3% of the UK population produced 25% of UK food”. While M&S have one of the strongest commitments to British farming amongst all of the UK supermarket chains his statement masks frailities in Northern … Continue reading A baseline to start from.
