London Lectures

Nationalising the Fossil Fuel Industry

In this lecture, filmed in May 2022, we hear from Fergus Green and Ingrid Robeyns on why the fossil fuel industry should be nationalised.

Part of the London Lectures Series, A Philosophers’ Manifesto.

In this lecture, filmed in May 2022, we hear from Fergus Green and Ingrid Robeyns on why the fossil fuel industry should be nationalised.

Should governments bring privately-owned fossil fuel companies into public ownership, with a view to managing their wind-down in the public interest? Green and Robeyns make a conditional case in favour, arguing that – under the right conditions – this would allow the government to take ten actions that would enhance social justice, enable a fair division of burdens and benefits, and strengthen democracy.

  • Speakers

    Fergus Green is a consultant and lecturer in Political Theory & Public Policy at University College London. His research traverses political theory, political economy, public policy and law. Much of his work is concerned with the transition to a low-carbon economy.

    Ingrid Robeyns works on issues in political philosophy and applied ethics, and holds the Chair in Ethics of Institutions at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University. She is director of the Fair Limits Project, which examines the distributive rule that there should be upper limits to how many resources it is morally permissible to have.