Pollution – The Green Tau

Green Tau: Climate loss and damage – who suffers and who pays?

3rd November 2026

Since 1954 the oil giants have known that burning fossil fuels causes climate change; that burning fossil fuels causes air pollution; that methane gas – what the industry calls ‘clean’ or ‘natural’ gas – is an even bigger contributor to rising global temperatures. They have known that oil and gas leaking from pipelines pollutes the soil, water supplies and the air. They have known – and seen – how oil spills kill wildlife, seabirds and marine life, how these spills cause ecological devastation. (1)

Yet for all this, oil giants have continued to expand production and make ever larger profits. They have continued to promote their products to new markets – especially in developing countries where renewable energy would be cheaper and easier to sustain. They have used advertising to present their products as natural, as necessary for economic growth, as good for households and industry, and – unbelievably – as good for security. They have employed lobbyists and sponsorship deals to ensure governments and other big institutions stay on their side. (2)

It is clear that the oil industry has caused £ billions of damage to people’s lives, to the environment and to the climate. Yet are they obliged to make good the damage they have caused? To compensate those who have suffered loss? To pay fines for their continuing intransigence?

Oil companies do not willing pay for the damage they cause but serious attempts are being made to ensure that they do! Here are three examples.

Campaigning – Make Polluters Pay

The Make Polluters Pay coalition in the UK is campaigning to highlight the impact of climate change on people here and across the globe: –

£3000 per year from higher food costs and insurance bills – and for other nations it is much more.
2877 excess deaths during the heatwaves in May and June 2026 – and again far worse in other countries
£4.4 billion lost to the economy due to lost output and reduced working hours – and that doesn’t include the losses suffered by farmers as this year’s harvest is yet again down.
$120 billion losses from the ten costliest global disasters in 2025 alone
250 million people displaced by climate disasters over the last decade.

And all the while oil giants were making $2.8 billion that oil giants have been making every day for the last 50 years!

Make Polluters Pay is demanding that the UK government impose windfall tax these oil companies so that they do not profit from rising oil prices solely driven by the war in the Middle East. They advocate that this money should be used to:-

1. Keep schools, hospitals and care homes safe during extreme heat.

2. Give firefighters and emergency services the resources they need to respond to floods and wildfires.

3. Protect homes, transport and other vital infrastructure from climate impacts.

4. Accelerate the transition to clean, affordable British energy.

5. Support communities around the world recovering from climate loss and damage and adapting to a changing climate. (3)

Court Action – The Odette Case

In December 2021, Super Typhoon Odette tore through the Philippines and upended the lives of more than 8 million people. Typhoon Odette remains the third strongest storm ever recorded

in the Northern Hemisphere. New research shows that the likelihood of storms like Typhoon Odette has doubled in the Philippines due to human-induced climate change. In a landmark 2022 report, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights found that companies like Shell are partly to blame. (4)

On the basis of this a group of Filipinos, victims of the Typhoon are using the law to hold Shell accountable for its contribution to Super Typhoon Odette. They filed their claim, first stage of these proceedings, at the High Court of Justice on 9 December 2025.

“Backed by UK law firm Hausfeld, this case will be filed in the UK, where Shell is based, but will follow Philippine law since the harm occurred there. This case puts the power in the hands of the communities demanding justice for the harm caused by Shell’s dangerous activity.
“The claimants are seeking financial compensation for the damage they suffered, in line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle. The claim alleges that Shell’s actions contributed to anthropogenic climate change, making Typhoon Odette significantly more likely and more severe.” (5)

UN Loss and Damage Fund – Nepal

The collapse of the glacier in the Himalayas this Autumn and the tsunami floods that then flashed through valleys below caused catastrophic damage in Nepal and Tibet. The rapid melting of the glaciers resulting from accelerating climate change was clearly a significant contributory factor.

The damage which decimated communities, demolished essential infrastructure, killing and injuring thousands of local people and tourists, was colossal and as further land slips and floods occur, is increasing. The Nepali government estimates the cost of physical damage nd economic losses as $2.7bn. The Nepali government has now requested $20 million – a mere 0.7% of the total – from the UN fund for loss and damage.

The UN Loss and Damage Fund was finally established at COP27 in 2022. 2022. The fund is intended to be a multilateral fund that will support communities when adaptation strategies are inadequate or implemented too late, and damage and risk has already happened. It is intended to support poorer countries, funded by financial contributions from the richer nations according to the Paris Agreement mechanism. (6)

The claim by the Nepali government is the largest ever made against this fund. It joins the 176 claimants who have already requested compensation for numerous climate-induced damages, totally $2.8bn. Sadly the current fund stands at a mere $0.8bn as richer nations have failed to pledge sums previously agreed. (7)

Where does the UK stand vis a vis the Loss and Damage Fund? The following comment was made by the Save the Children Fund in November 2023:-

“While the UK’s £60 million pledge towards loss and damage is an important contribution to a vital fund, it is not new or additional finance, but a repackaging of existing commitments. And it rings hollow in the face of a string of broken climate pledges. We’ve already seen £1.6bn stripped from the existing £11.6bn climate finance commitment by redefining what goes into it – effectively creative accounting. The government is giving with one hand while taking with the other. Today’s pledge does not reflect what countries on the front line of the climate crisis are calling for or need. The UK must not recycle finance and disguise it as progress, but provide the additional funds required to confront the climate crisis with the urgency it needs.” (8)

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/12/big-oil-fossil-fuel-warning?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

(2) https://influencemap.org/pressrelease/Big-Oil-s-Big-History-of-Blocking-Climate-Action-da8364692983184477b5f4347e77d761

(3) https://www.makepolluterspay.co.uk/ There is also a link so that you can email your MP. Greenpeace and Oxfam have an online petitions:-

https://action.greenpeace.org.uk/make-polluters-pay

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-oxfam/make-rich-polluters-pay/donate/?crm_event_code=22CMSPEM81

(4) https://www.odettecase.org/ There is an online petition too

(5) https://www.odettecase.org/about

(6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_and_Damage_Fund

(7) https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-nepals-20m-loss-and-damage-claim-only-covers-0-7-of-flood-costs

(8) https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/2023/loss-and-damage-fund-uk-giving-with-one-hand-while-taking-with-the-other

(NB a shorter version appears on the Green Christian website)

Counting on … day 110

22nd October 2026

The Impact of fertilisers

Having explored agriculture in terms of carbon, land-use and water, Goulson next turns to fertilisers and pesticides and their effect on our food and our environment. Fertilisers are used to improve crop yields by improving nutrient levels in the soil. Wood ash, guano and other manures, blood, ground up bones, etc have been used to increase levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil. Organic farming uses techniques such as growing nitrogen fixing crops – clovers, beans and peas – well as adding animal manure, plant compost and sea weed, and ploughing in sacrificial green cover crops.

Non-organic farms now use primarily synthetic fertilisers made from fossil fuels (which is why the price of fertilisers is currently rising as fuel prices rise because of the conflict in the Middle East).

Synthetic fertilisers have certainly contributed to a significant rise in crop yields but they have also caused pollution. In their production and use they release substantial greenhouse gases. They cause poisonous algal blooms as they leach into water ways, killing of aquatic plants and creatures. These consequences of fertiliser use are known as eutrophying emissions.

As with other issues, some foods are more reliant on fertilisers than others. When it comes to meat and animal products – which again are at the top end of the table – much of that fertiliser is uses to produce animal fodder).

Counting On … 198

3rd December 2025

Phosphorus is another key mineral for the health of plants and animals. It derives from rocks and through erosion finds its way into the soil, where as soluble phosphates (HPO4 and H20P4) it is absorbed by plants, and through eating plants into plant eating creatures and so up through the food chain. Bacteria in the soil aid the absorption of phosphates.

Organic phosphorus is released back into the soil through defecation and the decay of plants and animals. During the process of decomposition the organic form of phosphorus is converted to an inorganic firm such that it can overtime be reformed into sedimentary rocks. This comprises the natural phosphorus cycle.

Because phosphorus improves crop yields it is added as an artificial fertiliser. This input disrupts the cycle. Excess of phosphorus is the primary cause of algal bloom in water sources, reducing the amount of oxygen present and so killing off many plants and creatures. (1)

The following data comes from Planetary Boundaries Science:-

“Before human intervention, phosphorus flows were low ~2.5 Tg P pa (tetragrams of phosphorus per year) from land to freshwater and ~1.3 Tg P pa of export to the ocean. Human activities have increased flows from land to freshwater systems through a global application of mined phosphorus to cropland of around 18.2 Tg P pa and have increased phosphorus flows to the ocean to around 4.4 Tg P pa, largely due to fertiliser use.”

At the same time, the sage planetary boundary for phosphorus flow is between 6.2 and 11 Tg P pa. (2)

Counting on … 197

2nd December 2025

The imbalance of the nitrogen cycle also causes air pollution. Whilst nitrogen based fertilisers in the soil and water are being consumed by various microbes, processing nitrites in to become a nitrates which can be absorbed by the plants, nitrogen oxide (NO) is released as a bi-product. (1)

Nitrogen oxide, like carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas, but with 300 times the warming potential.

Nitrogen oxide readily reacts with other gases in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide which is a healthy hazard inflaming airways and increasing susceptibility to respiratory infections and allergens.

Together nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide are nitrous oxides or NOx. (2)

Whilst agriculture is the main source of nitrous oxides, they are also emitted through the burning of fossil fuels – including from petrol and diesel power vehicles, diesel powered shipping and railway engines, and from aviation.

(1) https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20210603-nitrous-oxide-the-worlds-forgotten-greenhouse-gas

(2) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants/emissions-of-air-pollutants-in-the-uk-nitrogen-oxides-nox

(3) https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector

Counting on … 194

25th November 2025

Returning to a focus on planetary boundaries (see https://greentau.org/2025/10/22/counting-on-170/) one boundary that may not automatically spring to mind is that of ‘novel entities’. A novel entity is a substance created by humans from synthetic chemicals and/or natural chemicals that processed in wholly new ways to produce a new – ‘novel’ – entity. Or it is something created by us by modifying the genetics of living organisms or the like, again producing a completely new entity. (1)

Examples of novel entities includes:

numerous synthetic fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides – whilst these may increase harvests they also pollute soil and water and kill off pollinators and other essential insects. DTD is one such infamous example.
chloroflurocarbons – these were used in fridges and aerosols before being restricted, because they were damaging the ozone layer.
PFAs which are petrol based chemicals that offer amazing properties in resisting heat, oil, water, grease et such that they have been widely used in creating non-stick cooking ware, waterproof clothing, stain resistant and fire retardant fabrics etc. However they also cause infertility and various cancers, and have such a long life (remaining active pollutants) such that they are termed ‘forever chemicals’.
BPA (Bisphenol A) is widely used in hard plastics cups, baby bottles, toys, food boxes, etc and can linings. It too can damage fertility, disrupt hormones, and cause eye damage, skin reaction and respiratory irritation.
Artificial food additives are used to enhance flavour, smell, texture or shelf-life of foods, with the word artificial indicating that these are synthetic rather than natural ingredients. Whilst they are regulated for safety, there is still evidence that they can harm health. For example, the consumption of artificial sweeteners is linked to both cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and nitrates and nitrites (found in products such as bacon) may also have links to these diseases.
Genetically modified organisms includes such things as golden rice (a GM rice that produces Beta-carotene); Bt Crop Maize which is toxic to certain pests; and AquAdvangage salmon that grow at twice the rate of conventional salmon. Again there are concerns around links between GM food and cancer, allergic reactions etc but before they enter the food chain there are safety assessments to be passed. Another concern is that GMO will disrupt the DNA of their natural counterparts. And with F1 hybrid plants we already know that their seeds have a lower germination success rate.
Plastics generally – much has been written about the problems with plastics, that they hang around in the environment for centuries, and that when they break down into micro and nano-particles they enter into every part of our bodies and into every part of the global environment. As yet we don’t know whether the impact on humans is neutral or harmful. We do know that plastic does maim and kill wildlife and damage ecosystems.

Novel entities are widespread in the world – The Chemical Abstracts Service maintains a database of chemical names which has identified 204 million new chemicals! (2) – yet what we don’t know is the extent to which they are damaging the world’s environment. It is therefore instructive to read this from a report by the American Chemical Society:-

“We submit that the safe operating space of the planetary boundary of novel entities is exceeded since annual production and releases are increasing at a pace that outstrips the global capacity for assessment and monitoring.” (3)

Counting on … 177

31st October 2025

When I googled (using Ecosia) “How much single use plastic is bought for Halloween” the first response was from Amazon: “Buy Halloween Plastic: Shop Halloween Plastic Now”!!!

I’m sure it doesn’t occur to people as they decorate their homes with hazard tape, fake gossamer cobweb material, plastic bones and the like, that much (if not all) of this plastic is going to end up polluting the environment.

Even as it hangs there, fluttering in the wind, it will be shedding micro-particles (especially the cobweb material that will likely snag on twigs), and gathered up and binned next week it will invariably end up in landfill where micro- and nano-plastic particles will leak into the air and the water system. En route bits of plastic will be blown away to ‘decorate’ tree and fences, or be ‘eaten’ by animals, or will wrap themselves in a stranglehold around other creatures.

Nor do I think it occurs to them how this sale and purchase of single use plastic feeds the profits of oil industries seeking to find ongoing markets for their lethal product. Nor do I think it occurs to them that many of these items will have been made in sweat shops in far distant parts of the world.

Why Halloween Waste is the Scariest Monster of Them All in 2025

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-have-plastic-free-halloween

https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/conjuring-crafty-halloween

Green Tau: issue 117

16th October 2025

What are the problems with plastic?

Is plastic simply a litter problem?

“Plastic is a useful everyday item but has grown to become a global problem. Every year the world produces over 460 million tonnes of plastic, 90% of which pollutes almost all areas of our planet, it can be found at the bottom of the ocean, and on our tallest mountains. This pollution can cause harm to habitats and wildlife, impact livelihoods of people around the globe, and carries growing risks to human health. At the current rate, global plastic pollution could triple by 2040 unless we act now” – a quote from WWF. (1)

Could the answer be ‘more recycling’?

Yet last week an article in the Guardian reported that “in the past two years 21 plastic recycling and processing factories across the UK have shut down due to the scale of exports, the cheap price of virgin plastic and an influx of cheap plastic from Asia, according to data gathered by industry insiders.” (2) The UK now exports 600,000 tonnes of used plastic – making it the third largest in the world. Rather than being recycled within the UK, this plastic ends up in countries with neither the infrastructure nor the legal safety constraints to ensure that it is recycled without injuring either the environment or the local populace. The plastic is typically either burnt or allowed to build up in huge waste heaps where it invariably finds its way into rivers and oceans. Much of the UK’s plastic waste is exported to Turkey where, the Guardian reported two people are crushed, ripped, or burned to death in this work every month.

A combination of legislation to end the export plastics waste and taxes to discourage the use of virgin instead of recycled plastic is clearly needed. Rather than letting them close, recycling facilities should be seems as essential parts of the UK’s infrastructure: “If we were to stop exporting plastic waste, and we were to meet our increased recycling target of a 65% recycling rate for municipal waste by 2035, we would need to build 40 new factories across the UK – 20 of them would be sorting facilities and 20 would be processing facilities turning the material back into products,” said an industry source.

Or could the answer be ‘make less plastic’?

Earlier this year, an international gathering sought to agree a global plastics treaty. Work on this treaty began back in 2022 when growing scientific evidence highlighted the risks posed to humans (and other living organisms) by the toxic chemicals that can leach out of plastic as it breaks down. The ambition was not merely to ensure higher levels of recycling, but to to curb in absolute terms the amount of plastic produced globally each year. Plastic production had risen from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 475 tonnes in 2022. However the treaty was successfully opposed by the large oil-producing nations and members of trade associations representing plastic producers. (3)

What if plastic pollution is a health problem too?

This week there was another newspaper article this time reporting on the spread of plastic into our bodies. “Microplastics have been found almost everywhere: in blood, placentas, lungs – even the human brain. One study estimated our cerebral organs alone may contain 5g of the stuff, or roughly a teaspoon.” (4)

What are micro plastics and where do they come from?

Microplastics are fragments of plastic that is between 1 nanometer and 5 millimetres wide. They come from two main sources:-

plastics specifically manufactured as microbeads which are added to face ashes, shower bells and other personal care products – they make the liquid both smooth and sufficiently thick that it does run off like water. Think of the difference say between an antiseptic hand spray and an antiseptic hand-gel. These are known as primary microplastics.
Plastic particles that derive from the disintegration of larger plastic items – eg plastic film and wrapping, takeaway containers, synthetic clothes , care tyres, paints and plastic turf etc.. These plastic particles may be shed as drinking from plastic bottles and take away cups (more plastic is shed when heat is present such as with hot drinks or microwaved food), from wearing and washing clothes, from friction between roads and tyres etc. These are known as secondary microplastics. (5)

Both types of microplastic can pass into water systems, can be present in the air we breathe, and can pass into the food chain and so into the food we eat. Microplastics are to be found all over the world – from the hops of mountains to the depths of the oceans and everywhere in between.

Nanoplastics are even smaller – less than 1,000 nanometers in diameter, or 100 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. They are small enough to slip through the walls of the cells in our bodies and can be found in our blood, lungs, brains, bones, the placenta and breast milk. (6)

Do these pieces of plastic harmful?

We don’t yet know whether having such buts of plastic in our bodies is good for us (unlikely), neutral or harmful. Nor do we know whether there is a limit below which they are not harmful but above which they might be. It is possible that they may aggravate complaints such as asthma, dementia, cardiovascular disease, cancers etc. (7) The issue is further complicated as plastics contain toxins such as bisphenols (BPA), alkyphenols, and phthalates and dioxins etc, which are also thus passing into our bodies.

It is not just human bodies that maybe adversely affected. Micro and nanoplastics are already known to be adversely impacting the health wild life – eg damaging the gut biomes of seabirds, increasing the number of pathogens present and reducing antibiotic resistance. (8)

Should we panic?

No. We don’t yet know enough to know how dangerous, or not, micro and nanoplastics are. We don’t know whether or not our bodies have a way of eliminating such particles from our bodies. And realistically there is no way we can avoid ingesting these particles given their presence in very part of the environment.

In many instances using plastics can be lifesaving with benefits outweighing the – as yet unclear – disadvantages. For example the use of plastic syringes to give vaccines, plastic pipes to provide clean drinking water, plastic bags for collecting blood donations, waterproofing coats that keep us warm and dry.

But we could cut back on our use of plastic

We can reduce our exposure to plastic particles by reducing the amount of unnecessary plastic we have around us and by adjusting how we use those plastics. For example we might use a reusable water bottle and a reusable cup when out and about (and often cafes give discounts when you bring your own take away cup). You might use glass or metal dishes for storing food and wax wraps or foil instead of cling film. You might use wooden spoons and chopping boards rather than plastic one; metal colanders and metal washing up bowls etc. Equally you might avoid body care products with microbeads and use solid or liquid alternatives. You could try a milk delivery service and get milk in glass bottles rather than plastic cartons. And following that line of thought, you may have a local refill store that allows you to buy various food ingredients and household items without the need for lots of plastic packaging.

There are plenty of guides on line about switching to a plastic free life. eg https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/living-without-plastic and some of my earlier blogs have explored this topic – https://greentau.org/tag/plastic-free/ and https://greentau.org/2022/01/27/eco-tips-zero-waste/

However we should remember that not everyone can afford the plastic alternatives – a metal drinks bottle can cost more that a plastic one. A sliced loaf in a plastic bag will be cheaper than it paper wrapped alternative.

What about changing the system?

If we are going to be fair for everyone and everything – wildlife, ecosystems, future generations, then the whole system needs to be changed.

Nations need to agree on a workable plastics treaty that will cut the amount of plastic produced. The plastics industry needs to develop alternative safe and sustainable substitutes. Governments need to implement a combination of legislation, taxation and investment to ensure that the changes needed do actually happen.

We can advocate for change by supporting groups like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, and we can raise awareness about the issue by talking with others – particularly if they are intrigued about the efforts we are making to reduce our use of plastic!

Forgive our oily sins

6th September 2025

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Deuteronomy 30: 15-29

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live

A response –

When oil is pumped from the ground

it leaves a sticky trail

that reappears

as polluted soil, polluted water and polluted air.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When seeds are sown in the ground,

the energy of the sun is absorbed

and reappears as waving heads of corn.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Praise to you for the generosity that gives life.

When oil becomes petrol it powers the car

but then reappears

as an exhaust that pollutes the air and pollutes our lungs.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When the corn is cut the grain is milled

and the straw reappears as mulch,

and the grain reappears as bread.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Praise to you for the generosity that gives life.

When oil becomes plastic it can become anything –

but then reappears

as pollution in the rivers and pollution in the seas,

it reappears

as micro particles in the air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat –

it even reappears in our blood!

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When the bread is shared and the people fed,

the energy reappears

as hearts that love,

as hands that heal and as minds that learn,

as feet that walk alongside and as shoulders that share the load.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Praise to you for the generosity that gives life.

The Grace.

Counting on … Lent 7

13th March 2025

“I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land and made My inheritance detestable.” Jeremiah 2:7

Degraded soils create vulnerable habitats for people and animals. Without good soils, plants do not thrive and hunger and starvation follow. Microplastics are now to be found everywhere across the globe. Where they infiltrate the soil, they are polluting the soil and damaging the growth of plants. For the convenience of our lifestyle we are damaging the very thing – the land – that provides us with the means of sustenance.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/10/microplastics-hinder-plant-photosynthesis-study-finds-threatening-millions-with-starvation

Counting on … day 221

25th November 2024

Today sees the start of the final round of negotiations at the Global Plastics Treaty taking place in Busan, Korea. The aim is to reach a global agreement to cut plastic production. At present it is predicted that global plastic production will increase by 300% by 2050 whilst consuming between a fifth and a third of our remaining carbon budget. (1)

Whilst recycling is a key part of reducing production, even the fossil fuel industry now agrees that recycling is not easy and will not be possible in many cases. (2)

For more info – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/24/world-unable-cope-10-years-talks-un-global-treaty-to-end-plastic-waste?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other