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Andrew Hopkins

Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Australian National University

Andrew Hopkins is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the Australian National University in Canberra.

He was a consultant to the US Chemical Safety Board in its investigation of the Texas City accident. His book on that accident, was titled Failure to Learn: the BP Texas City Refinery Disaster. He was again a consultant to the Board for its investigation of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster and has written a book on that subject - Disastrous Decisions: The Human and Organisational Causes of the Gulf of Mexico Blowout.

In all he has written some fifteen books, with more than 90,000 copies sold.

He was the winner of the 2008 European Process Safety Centre safety award, the first in time it was awarded to someone outside Europe.

In 2016 he was made an honorary fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers in recognition of his “outstanding contributions to process safety and to the analysis of process safety related incidents”.

He has a BSc and an MA from the Australian National University, a PhD from the University of Connecticut and is a Fellow of the Safety Institute of Australia.

His current research interests are in responses to climate change.

To avoid crisis, the gas market needs a steady steer, not an emergency swerve

Sep 27, 2017 16:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Rising gas costs are the single biggest factor in the current rise in electricity prices. What is most noteworthy about this statement is not the fact that it is true, but that it was made by Prime Minister Malcolm...

Tax and dividend: how conservatives can grow to love carbon pricing

Feb 25, 2017 12:59 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

In some political circles, hostility to climate policy has become a way of showing off ones conservative credentials. But a suggestion for pricing carbon, grounded in classic conservative principles, has now emerged in the...

Economy

EUR/USD Eyes 1.17 as Fed Decision Could Weigh on Dollar

EUR/USD could climb back toward its summer highs near 1.17 if next weeks Federal Reserve decision sparks a sell the news reaction in the U.S. dollar, according to Citi strategists. However, geopolitical tensions and...

Central Banks Could Buy 20,000 Tonnes of Gold: BofA

Central banks may have significant capacity to continue buying gold even after several years of record demand, according to Bank of America (BofA). The bank estimates that institutions currently underweight in gold could...

UK Businesses Urge Government to Cut Electricity Levies

British businesses are pressing the government to remove levies from electricity bills as high energy costs put increasing pressure on energy-intensive sectors such as steel, chemicals and manufacturing, Bloomberg reported...

UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July, Beating Forecasts

Britains economy expanded by a stronger-than-expected 0.4% in July, maintaining solid momentum from the first half of 2026 despite economic pressures linked to the U.S.-Iran war, according to data released Friday by the...

US Treasury Yields Near 5% as Oil Fuels Inflation Fears

Global bond markets came under heavy selling pressure on Friday, pushing the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield close to the critical 5% threshold as soaring oil prices and expectations for higher interest rates intensified...

Politics

Sweden Election Puts Far Right and Centre Left in Tight Race

Swedish voters head to the polls on Sunday in a closely contested parliamentary election that could either bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time or return the country to centre-left...

Russian Strikes Across Ukraine Kill Nine, Injure Dozens

Russian air strikes across multiple Ukrainian regions killed at least nine people and injured dozens on Saturday, damaging homes, businesses and critical infrastructure as attacks intensified away from the front lines....

Ukraine Prepares for October Peace Talks With Russia and US

Ukraine is preparing for a possible resumption of trilateral peace talks with Russia and the United States in October as diplomatic efforts to end the more than four-and-a-half-year war regain momentum. Kyrylo Budanov,...

Trump Backs United Ireland During Dublin Visit

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would love to see Northern Ireland unite with Ireland, breaking with the traditionally neutral position taken by previous U.S. presidents on the politically sensitive issue. Speaking...

BRICS Calls for Restraint as Middle East War Escalates

BRICS leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration on Saturday, expressing deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East and calling for maximum restraint as fighting between the United States and Iran...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Hyundai Delays In-House ADAS, Turns to Nvidia

Hyundai Motor Group plans to introduce vehicles running its proprietary driver-assistance software in late 2029, delaying the technology by about two years as the South Korean automaker expands its partnership with Nvidia....

SpaceX Nasdaq 100 Weight Set to More Than Double

SpaceX is poised to receive a substantially larger weighting in the Nasdaq 100 later this month, potentially driving billions of dollars in purchases by passive investment funds that track the technology-heavy index....

Meta’s AI Shopping Push Grows as Agentic Commerce Remains Below 1%

Agentic commerce still accounts for less than 1% of overall e-commerce activity, despite a wave of new AI shopping agents from Meta, Anthropic and other technology companies. Meta this week launched Muse, a personal AI...

OpenAI Rules Out 2026 IPO as Altman Prioritizes AI Safety

OpenAI will not pursue an initial public offering in 2026 as the artificial intelligence company focuses on mounting safety and alignment challenges, CEO Sam Altman said in an interview with Fortune published Saturday....

OpenAI Agents Linked to RubyGems Cyberattack

OpenAIs AI agents were involved in a previously undisclosed cyber incident that disrupted RubyGems, a widely used software package distribution service, in May, according to a Wall Street Journal report. OpenAI confirmed...