Wind and Solar have saved the UK £1.7bn in gas imports since the Iran war began. Record renewables pushed gas generation to historic lows in March and April. Wind and solar have now outproduced fossil fuels for 15 months straight, Carbon Brief analysis reveals. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-win...

Tony Blair Institute is once again issuing press releases attacking climate policy in support of a report that seems to be mainly calling for more better managed grids and faster electrification.

Short but highly informative thread. Please read 👇

Nick Robinson on the Today programme this morning was quick to repeat a misleading line about why we should support new North Sea oil & gas extraction in the UK on the grounds that it's MUCH (4x) cleaner than importing LNG. It's incorrect on several grounds: 🧵

NEW: Where are voters landing on the North Sea oil debate post-Iran? A quick thread on some of the fluidities and ambiguities, which I think can tell you something about polling/public opinion itself. Includes some new polling and message testing via @yougov.co.uk for @persuasionuk.bsky.social 🧵

🔴 ReCommon condemns ENI’s decision to file yet another frivolous lawsuit against the association in an attempt to silence its representatives. 👇 www.recommon.org/en/new-slapp...

The UK's approach to net zero sets the tone for much of the rest of the world because of the amount of "soft power" we have (the US has forfeited most of its soft power in the past year). Our continued insistence on no new oil and gas isn't bad for us, and it's good for lots of other countries.

Important piece in the Guardian today about the outsized influence that the UK’s approach to fossil fuels, including approving new oil & gas fields, has on the rest of the world, especially on countries in the global South www.theguardian.com/environment/... (cont'd)

How much does an illegal war in the middle east cost?

The latest oil shock has led to a resurgence of North Sea petro nationalism. I’ve written for @the-breakdown.bsky.social on the illusion of plenty behind Reform, Tory and SNP claims that red-green wreckers are sabotaging our energy security by blocking drilling. www.break-down.org/north-sea-na...

This is a must-read thread.

@edconway.bsky.social's recent piece in Sky rightly acknowledges that most of the UK’s gas reserves have already been extracted, but he also suggests that "a decent if not overwhelming amount of oil & gas" could still be pumped out, although it's harder & more expensive to extract. A few thoughts:

This is excellent from Andrew on the best approach to tackling the latest fossil fuel crisis. On the North Sea, worth bearing in mind that more than 80% of the oil produced in the UK is exported (& what's left in the NS is mostly oil) so the impact of more oil production on net imports is v limited

Despite chat about the potential windfall from N Sea oil & gas thanks to the war, the UK govt is rightly focused on support needed for the O&G workforce, which has been in decline for years as the basin matures. Its committed to creating a “world-leading” North Sea Jobs Service--some thoughts below⬇️

Tbf there are also arguments why it won’t make much difference to the tax base either. Maybe there’s a big find out there that would change that calculation, but that’s a much longer shot than the original article implies. bsky.app/profile/tess...

More likely, the output won’t arrive for 10 years…

Helpfully Tim Leunig accepts as a premise that more North Sea drilling won’t make oil nor gas more affordable in the UK. But his arguments about tax and the strategic benefit of allowing more North Sea licensing are flawed in key ways (as well as in ways that James has pointed out). Long 🧵 below:

Apropos of nothing, nothing at all, you should follow @tessakhan.bsky.social and @zoeavison.bsky.social. For all the hard truths and realism you need about the North Sea

Last year Scotland's only oil refinery closed at Grangemouth, leading to more than 400 job losses and threatening thousands more. I worked with @riyokoshibe.bsky.social interviewing Grangemouth workers as they faced redundancy. On Tuesday we're presenting research at MMU in Manchester. Come along!

Missions succeed when public finance delivers public value. While the UK is on track to deliver its Clean Power mission w its expansion in offshore wind, it must learn from the failures of PFI era and financialisation of utilities like Thames Water: don’t socialise risks & privatise rewards.

6️⃣ So many benefits will flow if we break free from business-as-usual. Here is energy expert @tessakhan.bsky.social explaining why a renewables-based energy system is so superior. Yes, the Government is pushing to green our grid, but that is only around a fifth of our energy use. #NEB2025

New post just out: "Power to the People" Today we have a guest post from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social on how Labour can counter the "Britain is Broken" narrative by investing in civic life and giving people more control over their community. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...

Very helpful thread ⬇️

Great to see!!

Have to take a moment to celebrate this historic win for the climate. Even though everyone knows it’s needed, it’s no small thing to commit to leaving fossil fuels in the ground. Epic work from the likes of Uplift and a Secretary of State who is doing the absolute best he can with what he’s got.

Huge news from the UK today: after UN climate talks in which there was a massive fight over language on fossil fuels, the UK government today announced that it will in fact be keeping many millions of barrels of oil & gas in the ground. Deeds rather than just words for a change! 🧵

Now discussing Jobs and Skills with @tessakhan.bsky.social, Richard Hardy of TU Prospect, Kenny MacInnis, Forth Valley College & Claire Mack of Scottish Renewables...

🔈We've got two exciting short-term opportunities at Uplift: a 3-month research consultancy to start ASAP and a 6-month policy advisor role starting in January 2026. Get in touch with any Qs! More details on our website: www.upliftuk.org/jobs

Delighted to have contributed to this important report with a piece on a fairer approach to taxing North Sea oil & gas. In short, we need tax policy that's aligned with the govt's clean energy & climate goals & that serves the long-term interests of the workforce, communities & the broader public.

The Scottish Affairs Committee's report on North Sea policy is absolutely right to conclude that, in recent years, there has been a disastrous failure to plan for job losses at Grangemouth and in North Sea oil & gas. But its findings are unfortunately already out of date. More detail in the 🧵:

Fascinating new case against Shell, pegged to new attribution science and fresh off the heels of the RWE opinion.

Scotland has everything it needs to win big from the energy transition: a proud industrial heritage, skilled energy workforce & world class renewable resources. As the 2026 elections approach, Uplift has developed our proposals for making energy work for Scotland: 🧵 www.upliftuk.org/post/make-en...

If you're at SNP Conference on Sunday, we've got a brilliant line up at our panel on how the SNP can help make a fair North Sea transition a reality, including the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy. Details 👇 - come along for a timely & vital discussion (& breakfast spread 🥐 !)

While the Tory party's energy & climate policy grows increasingly detached from reality, worth reflecting on a remarkable, under-reported event at Labour conference: the launch of Climate Jobs UK, a campaign by GMB, Prospect & other TUs focused on the creation of good jobs in the energy transition 🧵

Nick Robinson on Today this AM was completely wrong to suggest that pumping more oil & gas from the North Sea would lower bills, something even former Tory Energy Secretaries have accepted. We’ve burned most of the gas and export the vast majority of the oil—and oil is basically what’s left…

Ministers are considering a green light to expand existing North Sea oil and gas fields despite Labour’s manifesto pledge to ban new ones. @tessakhan.bsky.social says industry figures for those expansions are a "fantasy" Labour says manifesto will be met Story 👇 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Before we get swept away by Trumps latest stream of consciousness, quick reflections on how the future of the Nth Sea played out at Lib Dem party conference which just wrapped. In short, LD declared themselves parliament's climate champions & underlined the importance of bringing communities along.🧵

"This isn't a choice between more North Sea drilling or imports — that ship has sailed. It’s between more imports or ramping up renewables. The transition must be better planned...but as long as the spectre of more drilling hovers, governments will continue to delay." My letter in today's FT:

"The reality is that the small print in the industry's own reports show that there is vanishingly small amounts of gas thats left to be extracted from the North Sea." Tessa Khan, Executive Director & Founder at Uplift, @tessakhan.bsky.social. On LBC with Clare Foges @lbc.co.uk.

If you're in sunny Bournemouth today, come along to the cracking panel we've organised to discuss how to secure a fair transition for the North Sea. Speakers include Lib Dem climate spokes @pippaheylings.bsky.social MP, Alastair Carmichael MP, Elliot Chapman-Jones & @dominicmhinde.bsky.social (& me)

If I get to Bournemouth (currently stuck on a train in the dark in Hampshire) I’ll be speaking tomorrow at the Marriott together with @tessakhan.bsky.social and @amcarmichaelmp.bsky.social at 11.30 on the future of the North Sea. Come, bring questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Some highly questionable industry assertions about ‘tiebacks’ and new oil & gas exploration licensing covered by the Sunday Times this morning, incl. the volume of potential production & the impact on jobs & supply chains. Let's take a closer look: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

🚨New survey finds oil & gas workers want decisive action from the UK government, Scottish government and industry to support the transition – but they aren’t getting it. Here’s what workers want: 🧵 www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2547...

"Almost all of those surveyed want more public investment in domestic wind manufacturing, as well as in UK ports so they are fit for energy projects." Must-read op-ed from @rosiehampton.bsky.social reflecting on their recent survey of UK oil & gas workers. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2547...

The FT’s John Gapper has offered his advice on North Sea oil and gas drilling this morning. Let’s start with what we agree on: The UK government needs a proper plan for the future of the North Sea. This is unarguable. 🧵

Dale Vince’s latest bright idea — giving even more subsidies to oil and gas giants and "optimising" production — is about as sensible as his plan to mass produce gas from grass. Let's discuss!

Only 1 in 5 Britons want less to be done to tackle climate change, and drivers of concern remain if lower down the pecking order, 60% of Brits worry about future heatwaves and nearly 80% think climate change at least partly responsible for weather this summer.

But Brits still overwhelmingly back renewables 64-10 *and* even those Britons who oppose net zero tend to support investment in renewables - 43% of those who think the target on net zero is a bad policy support investment in renewables, more than the number who oppose it (34%)

Somewhat sensationalist headline here obscures some really interesting research - which tallies with other available tracking data - on shifting attitudes to climate in the UK. Below are a few quick thoughts on how to understand this, in my view 👇 t.co/gDqlQgQBHn