It is odd how climate change has almost entirely left the conversation - and yet it, and the attempt to address it, lies at the core of so many of the challenges that Britain, Europe and the world are facing right now

65 climate scientists write to party leaders urging the UK to prioritise renewable energy as a more cost-effective response to the fossil fuel crisis than turning to the North Sea, where 90% of reserves have already been extracted, and more extraction would have little, if any, impact on prices.

This looks like a complicated chart, but in fact it's some of the simplest and best news imaginable: batteries are quickly turning night into noon. Worth a read if I say so myself open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

When someone tells you they'll base the country's future energy security off of North Sea gas, they're not being honest with you. 14 years & a policy of 'maxing out' the basin produced only 36 days worth of gas to date www.theguardian.com/business/202...

On new North Sea drilling - letter in today’s Times:

Ministers ignored report warning that climate change, habitat loss and geopolitical instability were undermining Britain’s food security to such a degree that it could be “at strategic risk of catastrophic failure” by 2030: www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

"If fertiliser isn’t moving through Strait of Hormuz in two weeks’ time, we won’t be debating any more, we’ll be sending in aid. If it’s not moving in four weeks, we’ll be managing instability. It’s time to act on agricultural calendar, not the diplomatic one." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Earth's climate is further out of balance than at any time in recorded history, warns @wmo-global.bsky.social Last 11 years were Earth's 11 warmest years in records going back to 1850 Levels of atmospheric CO2 are at their highest for at least two million years www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

If Kemi Badenoch thinks drilling the North Sea is the answer to the energy crisis that really should be disqualifying. If she understands it’s more complex than that, then why is she peddling such transparent bullshit to voters? www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03...

Drilling for oil and gas "will not ⬇️ bills or deliver energy security" and new lisences for "marginal projects" could lead to ⬆️ "state support and overall decommissioning costs for the taxpayer." Here’s why, according to the UK Energy Research Centre @ukerc.bsky.social 🧵 👇

Yet more evidence EV drivers are going to save a lot of money in the coming months. www.businessgreen.com/news/4527285...

Analysis of official UK oil and gas statistics and projections suggest that 93% of the oil and gas that is likely to be produced from the North Sea has already been extracted: eciu.net/media/press-...

"Squeezing additional oil and gas production from the UK may be technically possible, but it will have negligible impact on the UK cost of living." Why calls for more North Sea licensing are simplistic, via @ukerc.bsky.social ukerc.ac.uk/news/drillin...

rightwing media narratives are fuelling a false backlash against climate action An echo chamber of elite opinion, has led to MPs significantly underestimating public support for climate policies and overestimate public opposition to local clean energy projects www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Analysis finds that a UK powered entirely by clean energy could save households up to £441 annually on their bills, whereas maximising oil and gas extraction from North Sea would offer just £16 to £82 in annual savings per household: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

NOAA issues an El Niño Watch, indicating conditions are favorable for it to develop during the next 6 months. More details (updated story), including info on its potential far-ranging impacts and intensity: www.cnn.com/2026/03/10/w...

Fair play to the auto industry for calling for a review of the planned transition to EVs just as soaring petrol prices highlight why a fast transition is so important. www.businessgreen.com/news-analysi...

Achieving 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, says CCC: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Amusing and enraging story of IPSO somehow concluding clearly misleading comparisons were not misleading, only for polling from @eciu.net to show readers were indeed misled. pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/new...

Tehran residents warned of acid rain after oil storage attack ft.trib.al/1vHcns1

Qatar warns war will force Gulf to stop energy exports within weeks ft.trib.al/JQxKy5e

EV drivers about to enjoy even more substantial financial savings (although this will come as very cold comfort if oil prices do soar past $120 a barrel and trigger full blown economic crisis). www.businessgreen.com/news-analysi...

Qatar to fully shut down gas liquefaction and won't be ‌able to return to normal production and export levels of super-chilled gas for ​at least a month: www.reuters.com/business/ene...

Breaking: China's official statistics report a 0.3% drop in CO2 emissions from energy&industry in 2025, the third time that annual emissions have fallen this century and the first fall predominantly driven by clean energy growth. 🧵

NEW STUDY: Winter downpours are getting heavier in parts of Spain, Portugal and Morocco as the region recovers from a month of relentless storms. Between mid-January and mid-February nine named storms brought torrential rain hurricane force winds causing major damage and disruption. 1/5

UK's first geothermal power plant set to go live in Cornwall. Plant will also provide the UK's first domestic supply of lithium, crucial for green technologies such as batteries: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New ONS stats out on the Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (the thing Farage wants to destroy): - 2024 revenues up 12% to £77bn (in an economy that grew 1.1%) - Revenues up by more than 91% since 2015 - Employment up by over 50% since 2015 at over 300k www.businessgreen.com/news/4526135...

One shock could spark social unrest and even food riots in the UK, according to dozens of the country’s top food experts, because chronic issues have left the food system a “tinderbox”: www.theguardian.com/food/2026/fe...

British beef farmers face double blow from changing climate as relentless rain forces them to keep cows indoors, after last summer’s drought stopped them storing away enough hay for the winter:

An extraordinary new column in the Daily Telegraph (no, that's not a typo!) by Ambrose Evans Pritchard. Yes, it includes two charts by Carbon Brief, sure. But stay for the concluding few paragraphs about the electoral suicide of climate denial... www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

France issues red flood alerts after ‘exceptional’ rainfall Climate experts "have been warning us for a long time that events like this will happen more often - in fact, tomorrow has arrived”, says minister #climatecrisis www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

In today's environment newsletter I wrote about the rain. If you doubt global warming is real, just look out of the window. link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...

China's Xinhua news agency has just published this editorial cartoon in response to Trump's rejection of climate policies. It is pretty clear that China views this as a HUGE geopolitical fumble by the US leaving the field clear for China's to win the global race to clean-tech hegemony

Tony Blair’s oil lobbying is a misleading rehash of fossil fuel industry spin - Ex-PM’s thinktank urges more drilling and fewer renewables, ignoring evidence that clean energy is cheaper and better for bills #climatecrisis By @fionaharvey.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/business/202...

FACTCHECK: Centrica's Chris O'Shea got blanket coverage for claiming electricity will cost more in 2030 than in energy crisis (Chris Stark: "he's wrong on this") I asked Centrica for evidence – they didn’t reply (Bills in crisis were >2x today, before huge govt subsidies) 1/4

Trump administration reverses “endangerment finding” which states that a range of greenhouse gases are a threat to public health: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Point-of-no-return’: Lock-in of a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, warn scientists - Continued global heating could set an irreversible course by triggering tipping points, but the public and politicians are largely unaware #climatecrisis Story by me www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Breaking: China’s CO2 emissions fell by 1% in the final quarter of 2025, likely securing a decline of 0.3% for the full year as a whole. This extends a “flat or falling” trend in China’s CO2 emissions that began in March 2024 and has now lasted for nearly two years.

Trump administration set to roll back the endangerment finding determining CO2 and other greenhouse gases harm health: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

UK backs biggest English onshore windfarm in a decade among 190 green energy projects - Government also offers contracts for record number of solar schemes as it aims to create clean electricity system by 2030 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

BREAKING: UK govt auction secures 4.9GW new solar at £65/MWh and 1.3GW new onshore wind at £72/MWh, 13% and 21% below the price cap respectively. All due online by 2029.

NEW: Reform UK’s flagship council, Kent, has been accused of telling a “blatant lie” after its claim of nearly £40m in savings on net zero were found to be based on hypothetical projects for which there was no documentation. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

UK plans to slash its aid to poor countries stricken by climate change by more than a fifth, despite promises to increase assistance and warnings from campaigners that the move will cost lives and livelihoods: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

If China’s clean energy industry was a country, it would be the 8th biggest economy in the world cf - China makes more from clean tech exports than US makes from fossil fuel exports cf2 - China's Belt & Road project is bigger than US Marshall plan after WW2 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Flawed economic models mean the accelerating impact of the climate crisis could lead to a global financial crash. Combined extreme weather disasters could wipe out national economies, experts warn: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Britain generated more wind power in January than in any month on record, as a succession of severe storms pushed turbines to produce 10.6TWh of electricity, analysis shows: www.independent.co.uk/climate-chan...

How much will it cost the UK to reach an 87% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040? In a new letter, @thecccuk.bsky.social confirms about £4bn a year (£26bn a year of costs minus £22bn a year of savings). www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/u... 87% by 2040 is a stepping stone to net zero by 2050

“Paris is only a disappointment if you had inappropriately high expectations in the first place.” @cameronhepburn.bsky.social  @bloomberglp.bsky.social 

66% of recent increases in UK energy bills has come from wholesale gas prices, say @ukerc.bsky.social - 17% from grid charges, 13% from extra policy costs Despite gas accounting for 1/3 of generation, its price drives cost of electricity up to 90% of the time www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

UK and nine other European countries agree to build an offshore wind power grid in the North Sea in a landmark pact to turn the ageing oil basin into a “clean energy reservoir”: www.theguardian.com/environment/...