Sustainable Street Fighter - Ep132: Jon Burke

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Links and Related Episodes 

Watch Episode 104 with Yanis Varoufakis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLbm8fg08hc

You can read Michael's piece The Secret of Eternal Growth from 2018 here: https://ifreetrade.org/?/article/the_secret_of_eternal_growth_the_physics_behind_pro_growth_environmentalism

Jon wrote about the reality of 40C heatwaves coming to UK cities in 2022: https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/heatwaves-are-now-reality-we-must-transform-our-cities-green-infrastructure/

Jon called to nationalise the UK’s energy system in Big Issue in 2021: https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/power-for-the-people-its-time-to-renationalise-the-uk-energy-system/

You can read Jon's piece on Sadiq Khan in Architects' Journal  here: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/opinion/londons-mayor-talks-the-talk-on-climate-pity-he-doesnt-walk-the-walk

Michael cites the book Into the Cool:  Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life. Read more about it here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo3533936.html

Jon cites the work of Carly Ziter at Concordia University: https://www.carlyziter.com/

Guest Bio

Jon Burke is Climate Change and Decarbonisation Lead at Gloucester City Council. From 2014 to 2020, Jon was Councillor for the London Borough of Hackney, where he was Cabinet Member for Energy, Sustainability, Transport and Public Realm. In the role, he oversaw the largest urban tree planting campaign in the UK, the roll-out of low-traffic neighbourhoods, and established the borough’s first publicly-owned energy company in a century. From 2012-2016, he was Senior Policy Advisory to the London Assembly’s Labour Group.

Jon holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Liverpool John Moores University and an MA in Political Economy from the University of Manchester. He is a Chartered Environmentalist, and sits on the advisory board of Climate Emergency UK.