And here's Josh Barro, who also came after my climate expertise, scolding the Democrats for "prioritizing" climate policy without once mentioning what science says may happen if we don't halt heating under 2C.

Vote Reform. Or we will house *dangerous migrant centres* in your village. And if you vote Green, it will be even worse for you. It's beyond disturbing. The chill wind of threat, thuggery and menace of a kind never before seen in Britain.

I would expect the same is true of the pushback against low carbon biobased construction materials

Worse than coal says another top scientist, expert in the matter:

This is totally bonkers proposal, it goes in the exact opposite direction to where we need to go 🤦 Restricting timber in construction further would mean we burn through the remaining carbon emissions much quicker. It needs a robust rebuttal during consultation.

This is a really stupid move

This is madness!

Here is the offending extract from the proposed new Approved Document B

Just ridiculous. Grenfell optics with no basis in reality

The UK Government is making a move to try and restrict timber from being used in a significant proportion of new buildings, proposing to significantly extend the "external wall ban" which has been in place for residential buildings residential buildings of more than 7 storeys since 2022.

The UK Government is making a move to try and restrict timber from being used in a significant proportion of new buildings, proposing to significantly extend the "external wall ban" which has been in place for residential buildings residential buildings of more than 7 storeys since 2022.

Wes Streeting has changed his tune. It's clear he wants to delay. Do you think it could be because he hasn't come out looking good from the mandelson scandal, perhaps?

Just imagine how different the world could have been if Bernie Sanders had won the democratic nomination in 2016

Spain's renewables build-out has structurally decoupled its electricity prices from gas markets. Gas now sets the price in only 15% of hours, compared to 90% in Italy. Countries that invested early in clean power are far less exposed to fossil fuel price shocks. Those that didn't now pay the price.

Some people have their heads screwed on. Others don't.

We are doing Labour, that's what we're doing

Excellent explainer from @georgemonbiot.bsky.social on how those arguing net zero is causing the UK’s high energy bills are talking mendacious nonsense. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Timber Development UK on how crisis in the middle east will affect the price of wood; UK timber is more exposed to trade disruption from the East than in the past as Russian timber – in particular Birch – was abandoned in favour of Asian alternatives following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine (1/2)

Over the weekend I was in Hampshire in a village where all the houses have oil heating, and of course people with low tanks are just turning the heating off. If we'd done the national retrofit thing, and rolled out heat pumps, this would be a non issue...

All welcome, but the Future Homes Standard was actually launched by a conservative government, years ago. And most industry experts agree that it's already out of date, the day it came into force, under Labour.

Today in "no shit Sherlock" news

"Achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 will cost less than a single oil shock and bring health and economic benefits while insulating the country against future costs, the government’s climate advisers have forecast." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Lol:

Last year I moved to #Lewisham and my god, the waste management is bad. These photos are 1 week apart, outside my front door. Every single week the bins overflow, foxes get at the contents. Flytipping is a twice weekly occurence. Old mattresses, smashed up sofas, dirty nappies.

The US Israel war on Iran is raising gas prices and you will feel this in your pocket. Our dependency on global fossil fuels, and their cost, hurts us, again.

Green surge was inevitable now the “wasted vote” argument no longer holds. Labour will need to offer positive reasons to think again rather than simply saying Greens couldn’t win an election.

And it will be even more funny if the first Government led by a party other than labour or the conservatives, is the Greens 💚 and not Reform

YouGov has the Greens in second place for the first time

81 homes in Nantes, designed by Atelier Ramdam. Built in timber with external walls from hemp straw (hemp shivs) & lime. This material is usually sprayed or poured on-site. In this case the hemp panels were prefabricated in the carpenter's workshop and lifted in place. Completed 2025.

81 homes in Nantes, designed by Atelier Ramdam. Built in timber with external walls from hemp straw (hemp shivs) & lime. This material is usually sprayed or poured on-site. In this case the hemp panels were prefabricated in the carpenter's workshop and lifted in place. Completed 2025.

Hannah Spencer's victory speech this morning is worth watching in full. Fantastic, straight talking, highly effective political communication Congratulations Hannah @greenpartyhan.bsky.social

I've missed this. That sweet feeling of hope

Meanwhile in South London, another defection from Labour to Green, this time in Southwark. Added to Lewisham (where I live), Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Barking and Dagenham. These councillors all know what's coming in May: Green surge, Labour wipeout. www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

46% of middle class people in the UK think that they are working class

Life on the island

Let's not downplay how dangerous & regressive this is from Reform UK: "Tice, a longtime sceptic of net zero policy, pledged to end what he called the “madness” of clean and renewable energy, to focus instead on offshore oil and gas and fracking." www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Let's not downplay how dangerous & regressive this is from Reform UK: "Tice, a longtime sceptic of net zero policy, pledged to end what he called the “madness” of clean and renewable energy, to focus instead on offshore oil and gas and fracking." www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

a gorgeous 8-story single stair social housing development in paris w/ flats and maisonettes from 1-3 bedrooms. great stuff. stunning interiors. divisare.com/projects/551...

This is a good piece but @jburnmurdoch.ft.com is incorrect when he says the UK has: "enhanced environmental regulations more stringent than those in other European countries" In fact the opposite is true. UK's env. regulations for new builds are v. weak www.ft.com/content/05fa...

The biggest threat to our national security is the US. China's emissions have peaked, their renewables rollout is charging ahead. Meanwhile the USA backslides, it's emissions will continue to grow. As a result, we are all less safe. The US is the threat.

Last week Metabolic published a report which has reinvigorated the debate on how much harvested wood is eventually wasted by being burnt for energy or used in short term products (think packaging) This material flow diagram highlights the scale of the problem

All of this was wilfully ignored by the Labour Party - by the Prime Minister himself - when Mandelson was brought into Government in 2024

TL/DR: Philanthropic funding won’t support organizing, confrontational tactics, front-line decision making—what builds real power over time. Funders want immediate deliverables (ie “reports” and “strategies”) that perform non-partisan academic competence. 😭 drlennecefer.substack.com/p/i-said-env...

New handbook of construction details for mass timber residential buildings published in the Netherlands. 30 reference details - aiming to help design teams use the same principles and acheive the same quality in design. English version coming soon www.ucarchitects.com/onderzoeken/...

just saying...

Highest ever vote share for greens?

Say hello to Hannah Spencer—councillor, plumber, greyhound lover and your Green Party candidate for Gorton and Denton 💚

The merging of green conservatism and right-wing anti migration politics:

This is much bigger news than you might realise. Reform have hired Ben Goldsmith to advise them on nature policy. Why does this matter? Because they have realised they can divide nature and climate in two, and capture the green conservative vote www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Ed Miliband looking like a good bet for next prime minister.