Michael Jacobs
Michael Jacobs has been a visiting researcher at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment since July 2010, and was appointed Visiting Professor in January 2011.
He is a consultant on climate change and energy policy, and a writer, academic and commentator on social democratic thought and British politics.
Background
Michael was Special Adviser to UK Prime Minister (and previously Chancellor of the Exchequer) Gordon Brown from 2004-10, with responsibility for energy, climate change and environment policy. As a member of the Council of Economic Advisers at the Treasury he helped originate ‘The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change’ and oversaw environmental tax and spending policy, alongside policy on health, public service reform and the third sector. At 10 Downing St he helped direct the changes to UK domestic energy and climate policy after 2007, and was closely involved in the international climate negotiations leading up to and at Copenhagen.
Michael has also been General Secretary of the think tank and political association the Fabian Society, an ESRC Research Fellow at Lancaster University and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and Managing Director of a public and voluntary sector consultancy business.
He is the author of a number of books, reports and academic papers on environmental economics and philosophy, politics and public policy.
Research interests
- International climate change negotiations and international relations;
- Public and private climate finance;
- UK and EU energy policy;
- Environmental taxation and emissions trading policy;
- The role of social enterprises in energy production and consumption;
- The politics of climate change.
Research
Research - 2012
Green growth: economic theory and political discourse Read more
Policy
Policy - 2012
Summary An overriding challenge for many European governments and policy-makers is to reduce major fiscal deficits with the least collateral... Read more
Events
Events - 2016
News
News - 2016
Independent, 27 May Read more
Guardian, 18 April 2016 Read more
New Scientist, 15 December Read more
News - 2015
Visiting researcher, Michael Jacobs, on why the Paris Agreement provides a strong basis for future global action on climate change. Read more
Guardian, 16 October Read more
Visiting Professor Michael Jacobs explains the key findings of the latest report by The New Climate Economy which outlines 10 practical measures to boost economic growth & reduce climate risk. Read more
Guardian Economics Editor, Larry Elliott, looks at how the world can move away from fossil fuels without sacrificing economic growth. Includes inputs from Nicholas Stern, Michael Jacobs, Dieter Helm and others. Read more
Michael Jacobs predicts a legally-binding agreement at the Paris 2015 climate conference. Read more
News - 2014
The agreement removes the longstanding division of the world into developed and developing countries and paves way for a model of unity. Read more
Avoiding dangerous climate change depends on the strength of emissions reduction targets countries collectively adopt. And this remains a major concern Read more
Guardian, 26th September 2014: The UN climate summit in New York decided nothing – but it has helped put climate... Read more
News - 2013
Experts from the Grantham Research Institute at the LSE will be speaking at the London Climate Forum, one of the largest student-led conferences on climate change and sustainability. Read more
Financial Times – registration is required. Read more
The government’s refusal to commit to a decarbonisation target is preventing the creation of tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs.... Read more
We are living through not one but two crises of capitalism. The first one – the economic crisis which has... Read more
News - 2012
With time running out to tackle global warming, sustained global pressure must be put on governments to reach a deal... Read more
Michael Jacobs: UN negotiations in Doha are just a sideshow. The real climate change battle is being staged elsewhere the... Read more
Michael Jacobs: PM’s announcement was the latest mixed message from the government on energy – and we have a vital... Read more
Radio 4 (Today programme), This content is no longer available online. Read more
A summit meeting of heads of government is needed to strengthen global ambition on climate change — we should start... Read more
News - 2011
Canada’s reversal on Kyoto won’t undermine the sense that the Durban climate conference achieved more than many expected. Inside Story Read more
United Nations climate change conferences don’t of themselves cut greenhouse gas emissions. Negotiations about targets and texts cannot do that;... Read more
Michael Jacobs: The latest climate change conference will help to strengthen the fight against global warming the Guardian Read more
Michael Jacobs: The goal of holding global warming to 2C will be missed if the world’s largest economies insist on... Read more
These two weeks might turn out to be more interesting than expected, writes Michael Jacobs. The stakes are certainly high... Read more
Michael Jacobs: The coalition’s proposed electricity market reform is radical, but Labour could go further with a green growth strategy... Read more
Mainstream economics is beginning to recognise the opportunities alongside the climate threat, writes Michael Jacobs. Inside Times Read more
This Background Note focuses on how public finance and risk mitigation instruments can remove the barriers to private sector investment and thereby leverage significant amounts of private capital for climate change mitigation. Michael Jacobs|, Visiting Professor at the Grantham Research Institute, is co-author. Read more
China’s Five Year Plan could turn out to be a turning point for global climate policy, writes Michael Jacobs. Inside... Read more
As policy in Australia begins to move, Michael Jacobs surveys the international climate landscape: the latest science, the emissions targets... Read more
News - 2010
Cancun will restore confidence among governments and business that action is going to occur, writes Michael Jacobs, and that makes... Read more
Michael Jacobs: This deal, easy to write off, is a crucial advance for the global co-operation needed to halt runaway... Read more
Michael Jacobs: Although Copenhagen fell short of delivering a legally binding global treaty, Cancun is another step towards that ultimate... Read more