Or Something Worse : Why We Need to Disrupt the Climate Transition

The push for net zero has become a new arena for class conflict, where the powerful profit and the rest suffer.

Or Something Worse exposes the bleak realities of the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Greening the economy has become a one-sided war, as governments and businesses squeeze the living standards of ordinary people. We need to seize control of the transition in order to reshape it to equitable ends.

Nicholas Beuret’s incisive critique and actionable strategies empower us to fight for a truly sustainable and equitable future - we're thrilled to welcome him to the bookshop to disccuss tools to disrupt green capitalism, not only to stop climate change, but to build a fairer future.

Existing policies won’t limit global heating to anything close to a safe level. Claims of sustainability disguise a zero-sum battle where the powerful profit and everyone else foots the bill. Green growth was supposed to bring increased wealth for all.

Instead, work has been degraded, energy bills have soared, and the most basic necessities have become expensive and scarce. We need to disrupt green capitalism. Nicholas Beuret follows those already fighting back through ‘don’t pay’ campaigns, blockades of fossil-fuel infrastructure, and community counter-planning.

Author Bio:

Nicholas Beuret is an activist scholar and has been engaged with questions of justice, labour rights, ecological politics and political economy for thirty years. He works as a lecturer at the University of Essex where he teaches environmental and economic politics. He is an active UCU member and has been involved in strike action at his workplace for the last eight years and previously was a Unite rank and file organiser. His writing has been featured in the Guardian, The Ecologist, Open Democracy, Novara Media and Undercurrents. His first book Or Something Worse: Why We Need to Disrupt the Climate Transition is out in September 2025 with Verso.

Before completing his PhD at University of Leicester, Nicholas was a campaigner for Friends of the Earth and co-founded the This Is Not Art Festival in Newcastle (Australia) in 1997 to support local emerging and experimental artists. He is a member of The Institute for Commons, the Centre for Commons Organising, Values Equalities and Resilience (COVER), and The Breakdown Institute.

Discussants:

Kate Whitaker, Head of Movement Building, Friends of the Earth Scotland. Kate supports local groups, communities and activists working towards climate and environmental justice across Scotland. Previously, she worked on network development for Young FoE Europe co-ordinating international exchange projects, campaigns and trainings.

Nik Matheou, UCU member and global economic and social historian, specialising in medieval Afro-Eurasia.