Professor Paul Ekins OBE (born 1950) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

academic in the field of sustainable economics, currently co-director of the

UK Energy Research Centre The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He is a former member of the Green Party.

Political career

Ekins was a prominent member of the Green Party UK (now the

Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...

) in the 1970s and 1980s. He left in 1986 after controversy over reforms he and others were promoting to streamline Green Party structures. This group, known as "Maingreen", was seen as a forerunner of the moves to reform the party's internal structures by a later group known as

Green 2000 Green 2000 was a movement to streamline the constitutional arrangements of the Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply t ...

.Wall, Derek, ''Weaving a Bower Against Endless Night: An Illustrated History of the Green Party'', 1994

Career after politics

Ekins has been a prominent green academic in the field of sustainable economics. He has also worked as a consultant. In 1996, he set up Forum for the Future with

Sara Parkin Sara Parkin (born 9 April 1946) is a Scottish nurse and political activist. She started her working life as a nurse in Edinburgh but rose to prominence as a green political activist during and after the 1989 European Parliament election, in whi ...

and

Jonathon Porritt Sir Jonathon Espie Porritt, 2nd Baronet, CBE (born 6 July 1950) is a British environmentalist and writer. He is known for his advocacy of the Green Party of England and Wales. Porritt frequently contributes to magazines, newspapers and books ...

.Press Notice footnote from Forum for the Future
The Forum says: “When Paul Ekins set up the Sustainable Economy Unit as part of Forum for the Future back in 1996, he argued that ‘many of today’s environmental problems are really economic problems in disguise, and getting the economics right lies at the heart of any solutions agenda.’ He aimed ‘to show that radical moves towards environmental sustainability are compatible with prosperity’. This remains a central part of Forum's mission.”Forum for the Future Annual Report 2006, p6
He worked as head of the Environment group at the

Policy Studies Institute The Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is a British think-tank and research institute. PSI began in 1931 as Political and Economic Planning and became the Policy Studies Institute in 1978 on its merger with the Centre for Studies in Social Policy (est ...

.University College London Biography
/ref> He has worked as an advisor to the

Environmental Audit Select Committee The Environmental Audit Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine how government departments' policies and programmes will affect both the envir ...

of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

. In 1994, Ekins received a

UN Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

Global 500 Award ”for outstanding environmental achievement”. Ekins was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to environmental policy.

Academic career

Paul Ekins took a Ph.D. in economics at

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

. He became Professor of Sustainable Development at the

University of Westminster , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...

, from October 2002 – 2007. He is currently Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. His academic work examines the "conditions and policies for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy". Ekins has predicted that substantial reserves of fossil fuels should remain in the ground and not be burned if humans are to prevent temperature increases beyond 2 degrees. His original work with Christophe McGlade in 2015 has been supported by more recent analysis.

Author

He is author of a number of books: * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Policy Studies InstituteForum for the Future
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekins, Paul Green Party of England and Wales politicians Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Academics of the University of Westminster Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1950 births Living people Sustainability advocates