The Tufton St lobbyists and their media enablers have been using the 'scary number' playbook again this week. So we've just updated our factcheck to capture this...

📣 Publication alert Just before the break, a special issue co-edited with Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn on ‘(Post-)Growth Infrastructures’ was published in @econsocjournal.bsky.social. /1 👉 www.tandfonline.com/toc/reso20/5...

💡ICYMI: Catch up on yesterday's webinar where we unveiled our net zero readiness tool! Built on trusted datasets, the tool maps how prepared communities across the UK are for climate adaptation and just transition, from home energy retrofit to supermarket deliveries 🛒 bit.ly/3N5RYXs

Video of this webinar now here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yxz...

The Paris Agreement sent a signal to states to decarbonize & support non-polluting economic sectors. China has seized on that incentive while the United States has not, leaving China in control of the main technologies driving the clean energy transition. That creates geopolitical risks of its own.

A major new book by Paul Tobin, @matpaterson.bsky.social @uompols.bsky.social @officialuom.bsky.social, and Stacy D VanDeveer @umassboston.bsky.social examines why climate strategies often clash—even among those committed to action. www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/w... @sustainableuom.bsky.social

A “Reform vs Not Reform” strategy is only going to work for Labour if they are seen as credibly “not Reform” by LD/Green curious voters. Every hardline intervention on immigration weakens that credibility but without persuading Reform curious voters.

📣 WEBINAR | Where should we put our energy (transition)? A new place-specific approach to reaching net zero. Explore our new web-based mapping tool to assess the readiness of places and communities across the UK to undergo climate adaptation and/or just transition. 🎟️ Register now: bit.ly/3MpOy1u

📣 Call for Abstracts! Workshop on Emotions & Affect in Transitions 🗓 27 March 2026 | 📍 University of Manchester We’re exploring how emotions shape climate action, mobility, sustainability & change. Open to Master’s, PhD & ECRs. 📝 Submit 250–300 word abstracts by 15 Dec 2025 🔗 bit.ly/48tVSlo

“We can’t all be expected to bike.” Fair. But that’s not the point. “Not everyone can or wants to bike. But some people can & do—and they deserve a safe, efficient, affordable way to move through the city. It’s about freedom of choice.” This & other useful comebacks, in @momentummag.bsky.social.

Many were optimistic about Carney on climate when he came in, given what he did at the BoE. But the Liberals are clearly back in the incoherent middle where in practice they decisively promote climate collapse when forced to choose. Worse now than when Trudeau came in but similar contradictions.

Bill Gates, Tony Blair, CFR are rethinking climate change in the Trump era: more "realistically." Can we dismiss this trend or do we need to understand what it means global climate politics? 🧵 @fgenovese.bsky.social and I write for @iojournal.bsky.social #IOFoGG www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Shall we all bookmark this for when the Budget decides the Bike to Work scheme is unaffordable? www.gov.uk/government/n...

📢 SCI Annual Lecture 2025🚗 with Professor Dame Henrietta Moore Join us on Tue 2nd December at AMBS for an inspiring lecture on the hidden costs of car culture, drawn from her new book Roadkill. 🎤 Includes panel discussion + Q&A 📍 AMBS Theatre 2.008 | 🕓 4:00–5:30 👉 Register: bit.ly/SCIannuallec...

Why do global environmental institutions multiply and persist even when they seem unable to address biodiversity loss and environmental governance failures effectively? Our new OA article with @jacquelinebest.bsky.social in @risjnl.bsky.social tries to answer this question. 1/7 cup.org/4hZNlcX

The #Fridays for Future Movement and the Repoliticization of #ClimateChange #Policy in #Germany (Chapter 2) - Stability and Politicization in #Climate #Governance - #COP30 #ActOnClimate #ClimateCrisis @matpaterson.bsky.social @frankbiermann.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...

#US- #China Relations and the Competitive Turn of #Green Industrial #Policy-making (Chapter 15) - Stability and Politicization in #Climate #Governance @jonasnahm.com #COP30 #GreenNewDeal #Trade #Tariffs #Energy #ActOnClimate #ClimateCrisis #IndustrialPolicy - www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...

Can the world quit #coal? #COP30 #energy #ActOnClimate #Brazil #China #India @matpaterson.bsky.social @leahstokes.bsky.social theconversation.com/can-the-worl...

Steve Reed has told Labour MPs to vote down amendment to the new planning bill intended to protect British wildlife and its habitats from destruction. First Swifts, now hedgehogs and dormice. Nothing is sacred... just betrayals by this govt at every turn www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

If CO2 emissions go to zero in 2050 (top), the sinks (green) will bring atmospheric CO2 back down (middle), & temperature will stabalise at ~1.7°C (bottom). Going to zero today will keep us <1.5°C Constant emissions leads to 2.6°C, rising rapidly thereafter. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Canada is such a filthy fossil fuel nation. Even their so-called “good leaders” are filthy fossil fuel fools. Oh Canada!

Rachel Reeves perhaps not yet noticed that the GP was second to Labour in 40 seats in 2024, and is polling about twice as high as it was then... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Now getting a briefing from Louis W @thecccuk.bsky.social on how rail decarbonisation interacts with national carbon budgets. This is very welcome as the government’s new CBDP is very vague on transport emissions reduction, plus noises about rail electrification being unaffordable have sown doubt

Donald Trump has snubbed COP30. COP29 was defined by hostility and division. Global heating limits of 1.5C are increasingly unlikely. So how can pro-climate actors agree on strategy? @matpaterson.bsky.social and Dr Paul Tobin explore how to pull back from climate change. doi.org/10.64628/AB....

This book is now out: www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b.... A successor to the very much liked book of the same name edited by Andrew Leftwich. very pleased to be in the new one, edited by Colin Hay, with a chapter on 'politics as crisis management'.

This is the single most important way that the Labour government could connect up climate action with reducing inequality, and also having a chance to undermine support for Reform in 'red wall' places. Barmy to cut it on every possible ground. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A fun question. In 5 years time, what looks better? The US’s enormous bet & capex on AI? Or China’s equally enormous bet and capex on renewables?

As COP30 begins, here's a gentle reminder that well-intentioned half measures aren't going to solve the climate crisis. The era of fossil fuels must come to an end. My latest in The Guardian... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Some thoughts on what our book Stability and politicization means for COP30. theconversation.com/why-even-pro... @stacydvandeveer.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/books/s...

As COP30 approaches, policymakers must ensure that the integration of climate and biodiversity action by non-state and subnational actors is anchored in spatial data. #UNFCCC #ClimateAction #CBD @sanderchan.bsky.social @tlustym.bsky.social @conresglobal.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s44...

good piece on some of the ongoing problems of relying on Carbon offsets to get to zero... www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Very pleased to be in this podcast series 'Voices in Global Environmental Politics' hosted by Hayley Stevenson. open.spotify.com/show/5e4fjD0.... It's connected to her book on the topic: www.cambridge.org/highereducat...

Is climate stability enough to drive change or do we need social movement to spark action? A new book from @matpaterson.bsky.social and Paul Tobin @manchester.ac.uk explores how politicisation and protest might be key to real climate progress. 📚🌍 Read more: www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/a...

❇️ Check out our new OA article in the BJPS! You'll find everything you love (hate?) like public perceptions of climate policy risk, IO backlash, devolution concerns, and trust politics in the UK. Tldr: climate blacklash should be read through regional lenses. Past thread: bsky.app/profile/fgen...

This week we launched the West Yorkshire hub of @justcentre.bsky.social with 30+ regional partners to explore how to put social justice at the heart of climate change conversation and action. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, we are excited for what lies ahead!

4️⃣ Rich frequent flyers will benefit most. Communities near airports will face more noise and air pollution. Just 3% of the UK population take a quarter of all flights and around half don’t fly at all in any given year. 🛫

Finally came in the post!

Check it! What a great opportunity!

Amazing opportunity to join the Politics Department and the JUST centre at the University of Manchester!

PhD scholarship opportunity, to work with @sherilynmacgregor.bsky.social and myself on the 'local politics of climate backlash' at @uompols.bsky.social and @justcentre.bsky.social. Please circulate to anyone who might be interested! www.findaphd.com/phds/project....

Bit of an awkward coincidence that our paper comes out on the day Kemi Badenoch pledges to scrap the UK Climate Change Act, but perhaps provides also a bit of an explanation: Many UK politicians, and Tories especially, still don't fully grasp the urgency of cutting greenhouse gas emissions! 👇👇👇👇👇👇

another good analysis of Badenoch's dodgy claims in support of abandoning net zero from @granthamlse.bsky.social www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminst...

Fantastic paper. Data by sector, geography, investor entity & distributional impact (in terms of wealth, race, education). @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social's conclusion below: "taxing incremental 2022 US profits as excess could've doubled clean energy investments or paid each US household $1,715".

NEW PUBLICATION - in this article Will Hopkinson, Paul Tobin, @matpaterson.bsky.social and I show how Australian climate policy has changed since the Climate Change Act in 2022 after the ‘Lost Decade’. The article is Open Access - www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The new book Stability and Politicization in Climate Governance asks: When it comes to climate change ... is it better to ‘lock in’ steady, long-term policies, or do we need dramatic political conflict and protests to force real change? Open access link: buff.ly/KNNv8Sr

What if the UK’s path to Net Zero meant digging backwards? Pawan Srikanth & Daniel Welch explore how landfill mining could reclaim land, recover resources, and boost circular economy — sparking discussion on costs, benefits & risks for the UK. 👉Read it here: blogs.manchester.ac.uk/sci/2025/09/...

As @carlymclachlan.bsky.social is fond of saying, more zero, less net please. the evidence against carbon offsets keeps stacking up. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A reminder of two launches of our new book, on the 8th and 16th October.

Good hatchet job on Badenoch's announcement of abandoning the net zero target (and climate action more broadly) here: www.theguardian.com/environment/...