Patrick Bigger
@pmbigger.bsky.social
Research Director @cplusc.bsky.social // co-director @transitionsec.bsky.social Political economy in the climate+ecological crisis. Terrible taste in music. climateandcommunity.org // transitionsecurity.org // https://bit.ly/pb_pubs
As the US ramps up brutality from Chicago to Venezuela, the state takes equity stakes in mining firms, & the economy perilously hinges on AI fool's gold, it's critical to reshape how war, climate, economy & geopolitics are intersecting. That's why we're launching @transitionsec.bsky.social next week
October 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
As the US ramps up brutality from Chicago to Venezuela, the state takes equity stakes in mining firms, & the economy perilously hinges on AI fool's gold, it's critical to reshape how war, climate, economy & geopolitics are intersecting. That's why we're launching @transitionsec.bsky.social next week
Why can't capitalists figure out how to value nature other than through its destruction? Come find out when I talk to Alyssa Battistoni about her new book, Free Gifts, at @redemmas.org next Thursday, October 9! redemmas.org/events/alyss...
October 1, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Why can't capitalists figure out how to value nature other than through its destruction? Come find out when I talk to Alyssa Battistoni about her new book, Free Gifts, at @redemmas.org next Thursday, October 9! redemmas.org/events/alyss...
I'm so excited to share the launch of a new collaboration between @cmmonwealth.bsky.social and @cplusc.bsky.social: The Transition Security Project. TSP will be a home for research, analysis, and new policy thinking at the intersection of climate, economy, & the military industries of the US and UK🧵
September 10, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I'm so excited to share the launch of a new collaboration between @cmmonwealth.bsky.social and @cplusc.bsky.social: The Transition Security Project. TSP will be a home for research, analysis, and new policy thinking at the intersection of climate, economy, & the military industries of the US and UK🧵
It's not the most important reason to hate what's going on with the US government, but getting an error message on a govt publication and not knowing if it's a normal error or the erasure of knowledge because the title has 'transition' (as in, minerals, not gender) in the name sure does suck
September 2, 2025 at 12:24 PM
It's not the most important reason to hate what's going on with the US government, but getting an error message on a govt publication and not knowing if it's a normal error or the erasure of knowledge because the title has 'transition' (as in, minerals, not gender) in the name sure does suck
Not to mention the unacceptable opportunity costs of spending more on war industries and weapons imports.
June 25, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Not to mention the unacceptable opportunity costs of spending more on war industries and weapons imports.
Here's why debt cancellation is absolutely imperative for climate safe development- imagine trying to build out renewables, shore up infrastructure, recover from catastrophic flooding, and do all the other things that government needs to do when 47% of your national budget goes to debt service!
June 20, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Here's why debt cancellation is absolutely imperative for climate safe development- imagine trying to build out renewables, shore up infrastructure, recover from catastrophic flooding, and do all the other things that government needs to do when 47% of your national budget goes to debt service!
What an absolute catastrophe for building a just, peaceful, and prosperous society. Big ups to @stephensemler.bsky.social for crunching the numbers on this incredibly violent budget.
May 14, 2025 at 4:14 PM
What an absolute catastrophe for building a just, peaceful, and prosperous society. Big ups to @stephensemler.bsky.social for crunching the numbers on this incredibly violent budget.
Saturday night in Charm City! After our last attempt to talk about Sandeep's book was snowed out, we're going to be talking Democracy in Power at @redemmas.org. Why not go have a nice dinner then have a drink with us and learn about the past, present, and future of energy democracy in the USA?
March 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Saturday night in Charm City! After our last attempt to talk about Sandeep's book was snowed out, we're going to be talking Democracy in Power at @redemmas.org. Why not go have a nice dinner then have a drink with us and learn about the past, present, and future of energy democracy in the USA?
It's a full house for public power tonight folks
December 17, 2024 at 11:21 PM
It's a full house for public power tonight folks
Huge missed opportunity to put the iconic cover of Big Black's Songs About Fucking on the back of this land barge.
November 24, 2024 at 9:30 PM
Huge missed opportunity to put the iconic cover of Big Black's Songs About Fucking on the back of this land barge.
Of all the astonishingly brutal stats that have emerged over the course of the genocide in Gaza the one that pops into my mind everyday is that Israeli attacks are the 4th leading cause of violent deaths for kids under 5 in the whole world. Heartbreaking and beautifully illustrated by Mona Chalabi.
November 22, 2024 at 12:38 PM
Of all the astonishingly brutal stats that have emerged over the course of the genocide in Gaza the one that pops into my mind everyday is that Israeli attacks are the 4th leading cause of violent deaths for kids under 5 in the whole world. Heartbreaking and beautifully illustrated by Mona Chalabi.
There is no easy path to climate justice in the Caribbean, and it will be harder as the rich world continues to obstruct, deny, and delay on climate finance. But climate finance is only one aspect. Reform of the international financial architecture for debt and tax justice will also be critical.
November 21, 2024 at 6:09 PM
There is no easy path to climate justice in the Caribbean, and it will be harder as the rich world continues to obstruct, deny, and delay on climate finance. But climate finance is only one aspect. Reform of the international financial architecture for debt and tax justice will also be critical.
But numbers don't tell the whole story. Histories of genocide, slavery, imperialism, and structural adjustment all contribute to climate vulnerability in the Caribbean. And that vulnerability has massive impacts- on average, the countries in our sample lose 4.4% of GDP to climate disasters annually
November 21, 2024 at 6:09 PM
But numbers don't tell the whole story. Histories of genocide, slavery, imperialism, and structural adjustment all contribute to climate vulnerability in the Caribbean. And that vulnerability has massive impacts- on average, the countries in our sample lose 4.4% of GDP to climate disasters annually
The policy brief synthesizes the research in our report from last month, Reparative Fiscal Justice for Caribbean Climate Action. We find that the anglophone Caribbean loses about $3.2 billion through debt service and tax avoidance- more than the projected cost of climate action in those countries
November 21, 2024 at 6:09 PM
The policy brief synthesizes the research in our report from last month, Reparative Fiscal Justice for Caribbean Climate Action. We find that the anglophone Caribbean loses about $3.2 billion through debt service and tax avoidance- more than the projected cost of climate action in those countries
Love to see the protests at COP make the link between debt cancellation and climate action. Given the ruinous state of COPs because of their capture by petrostates and fossil fuel firms, protest seems to be the best way for much of civil society to use the space www.theguardian.com/environment/...
November 20, 2024 at 12:41 PM
Love to see the protests at COP make the link between debt cancellation and climate action. Given the ruinous state of COPs because of their capture by petrostates and fossil fuel firms, protest seems to be the best way for much of civil society to use the space www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Some pics from my field trip to the Loudon county, Virginia data center clusterfuck today with @marxist.af. The scale of some of these things is massive +the proximity to the companies and infrastructure projects that are the fruit of 20 years of forever war are v in your face
November 18, 2024 at 9:00 PM
Some pics from my field trip to the Loudon county, Virginia data center clusterfuck today with @marxist.af. The scale of some of these things is massive +the proximity to the companies and infrastructure projects that are the fruit of 20 years of forever war are v in your face
Extremely cool event in DC next month! Join @cplusc.bsky.social for a conversation ft @jbozuwa.bsky.social @advaitarun.bsky.social & Kate Aronoff with Sandeep Vaheesan on his new book, Democracy in Power on the history and future of public power. Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/looking-to...
November 14, 2024 at 11:03 AM
Extremely cool event in DC next month! Join @cplusc.bsky.social for a conversation ft @jbozuwa.bsky.social @advaitarun.bsky.social & Kate Aronoff with Sandeep Vaheesan on his new book, Democracy in Power on the history and future of public power. Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/looking-to...
Great explainer on why debt swaps are no silver bullet for the combined debt and climate crises facing much of the Global South. With COP29 dubbed the 'finance COP', expect to see a lot of chatter about this mechanism over the next two weeks debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/u...
November 8, 2024 at 12:19 PM
Great explainer on why debt swaps are no silver bullet for the combined debt and climate crises facing much of the Global South. With COP29 dubbed the 'finance COP', expect to see a lot of chatter about this mechanism over the next two weeks debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Just saying, per the original skeet- you're not going to see this at an NBA stadium but it's a message that aligns with ours.
November 7, 2024 at 8:08 PM
Just saying, per the original skeet- you're not going to see this at an NBA stadium but it's a message that aligns with ours.
I don't usually love it when a cartoon scoops the argument of an op-ed that I'm writing but this one is good enough that I'll make an exception
November 1, 2024 at 12:43 PM
I don't usually love it when a cartoon scoops the argument of an op-ed that I'm writing but this one is good enough that I'll make an exception
This is an absolutely brilliant (& beautiful) resource that synthesizes virtually all of the important research of the last 15 years on the links between militaries and the climate crisis, including case studies and pathways to work toward true security & climate justice wri-irg.org/sites/defaul...
October 23, 2024 at 1:35 PM
This is an absolutely brilliant (& beautiful) resource that synthesizes virtually all of the important research of the last 15 years on the links between militaries and the climate crisis, including case studies and pathways to work toward true security & climate justice wri-irg.org/sites/defaul...
If anyone is thinking about heading to Detroit for AAGs this year, Malini Ragnathan and I are organizing sessions on "Climate, Labor, and Global Racial Capitalism" - abstracts due 10/25
October 17, 2024 at 4:44 PM
If anyone is thinking about heading to Detroit for AAGs this year, Malini Ragnathan and I are organizing sessions on "Climate, Labor, and Global Racial Capitalism" - abstracts due 10/25
Was just digging through a box and found a copy of the program for the 2nd Dimensions of Political Ecology conference. Now I'm struggling to contain the nostalgia +pride in this group of grad students who bootstrapped a new & important space into existence that is still going strong after 13 years!
October 17, 2024 at 4:35 PM
Was just digging through a box and found a copy of the program for the 2nd Dimensions of Political Ecology conference. Now I'm struggling to contain the nostalgia +pride in this group of grad students who bootstrapped a new & important space into existence that is still going strong after 13 years!
I'm sure the guys who won the econ nobel this year have hearts in right places so I'm happy for them, but I'm even more happy for the discipline of economics to join the 20th Century 40 years after Neil Smith's Uneven Development and 111 years after Rosa Luxemburg's The Accumulation of Capital
October 14, 2024 at 12:29 PM
I'm sure the guys who won the econ nobel this year have hearts in right places so I'm happy for them, but I'm even more happy for the discipline of economics to join the 20th Century 40 years after Neil Smith's Uneven Development and 111 years after Rosa Luxemburg's The Accumulation of Capital
Ran my first trail race, did good, won a lil prize. The race was at a really delightful little state park in Western MD, true public luxury hours (if you like your recreation to be a little suffer-y)
October 13, 2024 at 7:31 PM
Ran my first trail race, did good, won a lil prize. The race was at a really delightful little state park in Western MD, true public luxury hours (if you like your recreation to be a little suffer-y)