Jessica Green

press.princeton.eduExistential PoliticsA new way to tackle the real politics of climate change through asset revaluation

7 Oct 2025

Today is the day!!! Existential Politics is out in the world! Read about why we’re doing climate policy wrong (too focused on measuring emissions) & what we should do instead (focus on $$ to constrain fossil asset owners & expand green asset owners). Just in time for #COP30.

Go vote Toronto!

tandfonline.comWhy climate policy misses the forest for the treesPublished in Carbon Management (Vol. 18, No. 1, 2027)

many thanks to @ghgpolicy.org for this kind review of my book, Existential Politics, and to the @ghginstitute.bsky.social for publishing it!

Spotted on the streets of Toronto

Spotted on the streets of Toronto

Honored to be joining the 2027 class of Canada’s Clean50!

Doug Ford will start ripping out bike lines in Toronto today. Expect more memorials like this. Bike lanes save lives.

nytimes.comFort Hood Shooter’s Execution Will Be Public and Streamed Live, Pentagon SaysIf carried out, the public execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad set for Dec. 3 would be the first in modern U.S. history.

US government is now making snuff films. Cool cool cool.

ft.comStarbucks retreats from green goals amid drive for $2bn in cost cutsEarly corporate champion of climate action scales back or reviews targets to halve emissions, waste and water use

Starbucks’ rollback of its climate commitments is just the latest example of why voluntary climate standards like net zero are only useful when coupled w/ credible threats of regulation or (gasp!) *actual* rules on climate action. Mini 🧵

theguardian.comClimate target organisation faces staff revolt over carbon-offsetting planEmployees at SBTi have called for their CEO to resign over controversial plans which they fear will enable greenwashing

3/ There was a similar problem at @sciencebasedtargets.org -- another voluntary climate standard.

press.princeton.eduExistential PoliticsA new way to tackle the real politics of climate change through asset revaluation

4/ As I argue in Existential Politics, this fixation on emissions is the wrong model for climate policy. It allows industry to pretend like it’s taking action AND walk away when that action becomes too costly. It's time to change course. FIN

ft.comStarbucks retreats from green goals amid drive for $2bn in cost cutsEarly corporate champion of climate action scales back or reviews targets to halve emissions, waste and water use

link.springer.comThe strength of weakness: pseudo-clubs in the climate regime - Climatic ChangeThe political utility of clubs hinges on their ability to provide excludable benefits to members. But in some cases of climate clubs, membership is not easily demarcated, and excludable benefits may b...

1/ Some enviros / academics have been very big on voluntary standards. But this enthusiasm hasn’t withstood the test of time. Voluntary climate action is unsurprising. It works best under the threat of gov’t regulation, which is ahem, limited, these days. I made this argument 11 years ago here 👇

newrepublic.comDid the Forestry Industry Just Get to Write Its Own Emissions Rules?Accusations of industry capture, allegedly secret working groups, and the resignations of two researchers—a scandal is rocking the world of carbon emissions accounting.

2/ The recent scandal abt the GHG Protocol shows another weakness of voluntary standards – they can be co-opted by industry. Indeed, the incentives for so-called “green” standard-setters to allow undue industry influence are huge – otherwise these green groups lose their followers.

nytimes.comWho Owns the Moon?A treaty from the 1960s declared that nobody can own outer space. Half a century later, billionaires and superpowers see fortunes to be made nonetheless.

IMHO this piece vastly understates the shitshow that currently constitutes space governance. there is no functional multilateral space agreement & the US-sponsored Artemis Accords are fundamentally at odds with basic principles of int'l space law. carving up of this global commons is coming soon

nytimes.comHow Meta Uses A.I. Data Centers to Avoid Billions in Federal Taxes (Gift Article)Meta is exploiting a lucrative tax break intended to support research and experimentation. Its own accountants say the gambit is risky.

Like I have said many times before, tax policy is climate policy. Data centers are driving a huge demand for natural gas. US tax policy is turbo-charging this demand.

Big ups to @katearonoff.bsky.social for covering this seemingly boring but actually really important story about the GHG Protocol. Standards are technical & opaque AND they’re where the politics happen. This is a classic case of “managing tons.” 🧵

4/ Fortunately, carbon accounting crusader @ghgpolicy.org , who was on the technical board overseeing the revisions, resigned & brought a formal complaint. This has brought the whole process under scrutiny & a reboot of the process.

press.princeton.eduExistential PoliticsA new way to tackle the real politics of climate change through asset revaluation

5/ This whole mess is managing tons at its worst – an obsessive focus on carbon accounting that literally fails to see the forest for the trees. Managing tons justifies the status quo thru technical processes that can easily slide under the radar. FIN

2/ Industry captured the process of revising forest methodologies, resulting in an insane proposal that would allow firms to claim emissions reductions credits even as their emissions increased. @worldresources.bsky.social, the institutional home of the GHG-P, backed this new methodology.

3/ Why did WRI push this very questionable approach? Because private rulemakers have no authority unless someone adopts their rules. So the pressure is on WRI to ensure that the revisions were palatable to business interests.

press.princeton.eduRethinking Private Authority

1/ GHG Protocol is how firms measure their emissions. It’s a form of private authority – created by non-state actors and now the de-facto global standard for firm level carbon accounting. My first book explains the history of this now ubiquitous set of rules.

Shout out to @nilskupzok.bsky.social for the thoughtful and generous review of my book, Existential Politics, in @gepjournal.bsky.social! direct.mit.edu/glep/article...

Such a blast to host the inimitable @leahstokes.bsky.social for her book event here at @uoftenvironment.bsky.social!

corporateknights.comA solution for failing climate policy: Make fossil fuels unprofitable | Corporate KnightsINTERVIEW | Trading emissions won’t solve climate change, Jessica Green argues. Instead, we need to go after the owners of fossil assets.

Many thanks to @green-economy.bsky.social for this great interview abt my book! Excellent reading for the run up to #COP31 corporateknights.com/climate/a-so...

giftarticle.ft.comNobel economists throw support behind California billionaire taxProgressive laureates say November ballot measure could ‘start reining in the power’ of ultra-wealthy

22 Sept

The proposed CA billionaires tax is not just abt CA policy. Taxation is also climate policy. 1/2

press.princeton.eduExistential PoliticsA new way to tackle the real politics of climate change through asset revaluation

22 Sept

Chap 6 of my new book rxains how tax, trade and finance institutions can serve as the foundation for multilateral climate action. 2/2

8 Sept

Ok, I'm ready for summer!

unep.orgLimiting Overshoot - Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways towards returnLimiting global warming to 1.5°C remains a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement, yet under current policies and alternative near-term trajectories, exceedance of 1.5°C is now widely assessed as unavoida...

@unep.org new report on climate overshoot: shows how UNEP & other enviro int’l orgs have little leverage in accelerating climate action. 🧵 on the good, the bad and the ugly from the report

5/ BAD BUT UNDERSTANDABLE: Since the real problems of decarbonization are about disempowering fossil asset owners and building the political power of green asset owners, overshoot is not a problem that UNEP can really address.

amazon.comExistential Politics: Why Global Climate Institutions Are Failing and How to Fix ThemBuy Existential Politics: Why Global Climate Institutions Are Failing and How to Fix Them: Read Books Reviews - Amazon.com

6/ TL:DR: UNEP is doing the best it can given its limited leverage. At the int’l level, real climate action will come from tax, trade and finance institutions, as I explain in my book, Existential Politics. FIN

@unep.org new report on climate overshoot: shows how UNEP & other enviro int’l orgs have little leverage in accelerating climate action. 🧵 on the good, the bad and the ugly from the report

3/ BAD: Says CDR is now necessary for getting back to 1.5, but ALSO says that its effects will be limited and that “guardrails” will be needed. No acknowledgement of politics or the well-known fact CDR is being touted by fossil asset owners as a way to delay decarbonization.

4/ YIKES. Notes “credibility risks” to CDR which are basically about measurement. This is what I call “managing tons” in my book, which sidesteps the REAL problem about how we manage dollars in the global economy. Credibility ain’t the issue.

@unep.org new report on climate overshoot: shows how UNEP & other enviro int’l orgs have little leverage in accelerating climate action. 🧵 on the good, the bad and the ugly from the report

1/ GOOD: Shifting the framing to overshoot is helpful for understanding the magnitude of action required. BUT, it also brings CDR front and center into the convo, which is risky.

2/ GOOD: Emphasising that we have 3 policy imperatives that all have to happen concurrently (don’t love the graphic tho). We are now in a multi-front battle.

ft.comDisasters to cost world $450bn a year from climate change and developmentMore than half of losses not covered by insurance as carriers carve out risk and cut exposure

2 Sept

Insurance companies are critical to distributing risk in the global economy. Climate catastrophe is destroying the market for risk distribution. Without that market, gov'ts (i.e. taxpayers) will be picking up the tab....if they choose to. This is very dangerous territory.

nytimes.comMilo Yiannopoulos, a Right-Wing Provocateur, Is Arrested by ICEMr. Yiannopoulos, a prominent early supporter of President Trump, was detained at the New Orleans airport. The Trump administration publicized his arrest and shared a mug shot.

29 Aug

LOLOLOL

27 Aug

I have picked up many very nerdy books in sidewalk boxes in Toronto. But this is the nerdiest, hands down.

lci.utoronto.caDr. Leah Stokes on The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Protect Our PlanetThe School of the Environment and the Lawson Climate Institute invite you to join us on Thursday, September 24th, 2026, from 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm in Seeley Hall (6 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto, ON M5S 1H8) for...

24 Aug

hey torontonians! me and my pal @leahstokes.bsky.social are gonna talk about her new book @ UofT on Sept 24. it's gonna be a great event! deets below 👇

Jessica Green reposted

Real Climate Info

@ditchyourgascar.bsky.social

19 Aug

Recommended

Jessica Green@greenprofgreen.bsky.social

@diplopolis.bsky.social review of my book is everything an excellent book review should be: concise summary with smart and reasonable critiques that promote further discussion rather than needlessly shut it down. highly recommend!

diplopolis.comThe Politics Beneath the Promise — A Review of Existential Politics by Jessica F. GreenJessica F. Green argues climate failure is political, not technical. Existential Politics is powerful and necessary. The DiploPolis review asks whether defeating fossil assets is enough — or whether t...

19 Aug

@thierryaaron.bsky.social

10 Aug

hey academics: i need help. i'm 20 yrs into my academic career. that's a lot of documents and data. my filing and back up systems are shit. crowdsourcing on: 1) what you keep from past projects and what you trash 2) how you back things up (UofT only gives you so much space) all ideas wlecome!

Jessica Green reposted

Albert Pinto

@70sbachchan.bsky.social

5 Aug

Replying to @70sbachchan.bsky.social

Taxing the ultra-rich is *very effective* climate policy. -- @greenprofgreen.bsky.social

Jessica Green reposted

Dr. Aaron Thierry

1 Aug

Replying to @thierryaaron.bsky.social

14/ Which brings me to @greenprofgreen.bsky.social Existential Politics. Her argument is that thirty years of counting tonnes has let us avoid the real fight, which is over who owns assets worth trillions and what happens to them. That fight is what a licensing decision is.

press.princeton.eduExistential PoliticsA new way to tackle the real politics of climate change through asset revaluation

theglobeandmail.comOn prediction markets, people are betting big money on climate disastersWeather disaster predictions are on pace to attract a billion dollars by the end of the year on Kalshi alone

27 July

Cool cool cool

theglobeandmail.comFederal government declines to allow jets at Billy Bishop airport ‘at this stage’Ottawa’s rejection delivers a major blow to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s agenda

25 July

NO JETS!!!

theglobeandmail.comWhy a multibillion-dollar electricity infrastructure gap is threatening Ontario’s housing goalsThe province’s strained grid is already thwarting its ambitious plans to build 1.5 million homes. Who will pay for a massive expansion?

24 July

Not enough electricity infrastructure to help address housing crisis but let’s expand #BillyBishop airport lol. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

bloomberg.comHeat Wave in June Cost the UK Economy $1.5 BillionScorching temperatures exposed shortcomings in Britain’s homes, workplaces and public transport.

23 July

Anyone who argues that decarbonization is “too expensive” is full of shit.

Laura Millan@lauramillan.bsky.social

The worst heat wave on record for Europe resulted in over 2,700 excess deaths in England and Wales and cost the whole of the UK $1.5 billion My story via @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

19 July

This thread takes @dandrezner.bsky.social Toddler in chief thread to the NEXT LEVEL

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social

I try not to overdo this bit but ... my man is begging for it. Let's go.

18 July

This 👇