"Not since the ransacking of the Library of Alexandria have we witnessed such a wanton, intentional assault on scientific knowledge."

Reports suggesting pressure to weaken or delay the application of EU methane requirements are deeply concerning. Read our chair Sir David King’s open letter to the EU commissioner here: www.ccag.earth/news/an-open...

NSF is about to dismantle NCAR at Russell Vought's direction to protect the fossil fuel industry. It's hard to communicate just how much NCAR does, so let's take a look: I've never worked at NCAR, and I've worked with NCAR researchers once ever. What scientific discoveries has NCAR made possible? 👇

NCAR is quite literally our global mothership. Everyone who works in climate and weather has passed through its doors and benefited from its incredible resources. Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet. Unbelievable.

🇪🇺 EU: We are watering down the 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars 🇨🇳 China: Thanks very much #electriccars www.theguardian.com/business/202...

I said it before, will say it again -- generative AI fetishizes "ideas" while sneering at effort, execution, and education. That, despite Gen-AI being built on and out of other people's effort, execution and education.

The Trump National Security Strategy is bonkers in many ways but this objective stood out: "Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" Making their strategy of supporting radical right and extremist parties explicit.

My friend @manueky.bsky.social is organising this event Sunday to raise money for the victims of the floods in Sri Lanka. Why not go along?

We have huge gaps in our knowledge about the ground beneath our feet, so this is a fascinating initiative (and don't get me started on the fetishizing of space rocks at the expense of understanding our own planet)

Three of the five worst harvests on record have now occurred since 2020. Now, I'm not completely sure, but I think this might be bad.

New CEO of Diageo writes: "Environmental shocks, from flooding to soil degradation to heat stress, pose direct threats to commercial viability Recent evidence found that the share prices of companies most exposed to biodiversity risk underperformed those less exposed" www.ft.com/content/5094...

It's part of the electionification of everything, which is why we as a country are failing to have a proper conversation about our actual problems. It's bad for the left *and* the right.

Here is a list of reasons why some of my hearings and trials this year have been delayed and kicked off into the long grass, stuck in our record court backlog. Serious allegations which will now be tried *years* after the event. 🧵👇

Related: Bottom trawling in protected waters? What does 'protected' mean today again?

Powerful message on national security from Lt Gen Richard Nugee "We are not yet acting as if peace and tackling climate change are two sides of the same coin. Cascading risks mean we face instability at home, the potential of an ungovernable state, the very breakdown of the norms of society."

Prof Paul Behrens crystal clear on food and diet: @profpaulbehrens.bsky.social "We need a great food transformation. That means far less meat and dairy. I know it's politically difficult, but we have to be honest. When families can't feed their children, society breaks down."

Hard hitting words from Chris Packham to politicians and leaders at the National Emergency Briefing on climate and nature: "You MUST listen to the science. We didn't just elect you. We've given you our trust. You are about to hear from leading scientists. I beseach you to hear their truth"

Farmers bringing chaos to roads in & around the capital today with protests against tax changes. I strongly support their right to protest. Worth pointing out that none of them face arrest & prosecution for these actions. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.

After two weeks of #COP30 negotiations, countries agreed to BEGIN DISCUSSIONS on fossil fuel phase out. And as the article says, "they achieved this incremental progress only in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries." THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.

I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.

We apologise for using the 'C' word in Nov, but if you happen to be Christmas shopping (sorry), @chemtrust.bsky.social has written a guide on how to avoid gifts containing harmful chemicals like PFAS. It's sad we live in a world where we need to think about that, but they are in a lot of products.

As COP30 heads into crunch time, I thought I'd post a piece I did a couple of weeks ago about the fact we are now heading - in a best case scenario - into a rocky, decades long period of 'overshoot' above 1.5C warming before then bringing temperatures back down. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Without US satellites, 'we go dark', tells climate monitor - @kellymacnamara.bsky.social @afp.com via Andrew ZININ @sciencex.bsky.social phys.org/news/2025-11...

Good thread from Dave about the new IEA "Current Policies Scenario" making a lot of the headlines. Here is a very quick mock-up I made of what this scenario assumes for solar PV additions through to 2035, with historical context. I'll let you decide whether this seems likely.

“People don’t want energy; they want hot showers and cold beer.” This is what Amory Lovins once said and so true. Most primary energy we use is wasted in converting heat to work. We don’t have to replace all primary energy - we only need to deliver the energy services more efficiently.

I spent a really long time amassing everything you need to know about Labour's vast deals with fossil gas-loving, Trump-donating AI giants out to pepper the world with climate-wrecking data centres...so you don't have to! My reporting for @desmog.com 📖👇

A scoop that I’m not happy to report: CBS News has gutted its climate change reporting team, one of the best in the business, and one of the only ones on cable news that consistently called out fossil fuels as the main source of climate pollution. heated.world/p/cbs-news-k...

The great irony of all of this? Most of these climate change impacts will be borne, most immediately and acutely, by poorer nations in the Global South--precisely those on whose behalf the memo authors are ostensibly advocating. That's why this memo makes me viscerally uncomfortable. [13/n]

I’m really starting to suspect that most of the tech bros haven’t actually read Tolkien, as they certainly don’t understand it. The gentle hobbits save the “hard men” of Gondor, largely through compassion and selflessness. Not the other way around. The Christian parable is barely hidden!

*** 1 metre of rain ***

But the Spanish example shows that the opposite can also occur Climate impacts could create anger and confusion, which is exploited to delay climate action Impacts could also crowd out resources that would otherwise be used for climate action We call these vicious cycles: derailment risk

Finland has a goal to be net zero GHG emissions by 2035. Emissions were declining, the LULUCF removals were strong, the plan was looking good, but then LULUCF collapsed. Net GHG emissions have actually risen over the last decade! www.treasuryfinland.fi/investor-rel... 1/

"The idea of deporting people with settled status is disgusting, and anyone proposing it should be immediately drummed out of polite society. Breaking promises made in good faith to our friends and neighbours is racist, extremist and immoral." I'm basically shouting at the sky here, but still.

This is such a great idea. If you must have new data centres on the grid, finding a lot of that extra capacity by permanently upgrading homes to make them more efficient. Whether you actually need the data centre at all is another q. H/t @billmckibben.bsky.social

why did this take two fucking days though? did the Prime Minister have his notifications switched off? was he stuck in the bath? why, exactly, is this obviously true thing something that apparently needs running past the boss anyway? what is *wrong* with their comms operation?

📣 The "U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters" data is back today through @climatecentral.org! And more soon! ➡️ Explore our new interactive website at www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv..., which is now updated through the first half of 2025 & totaling over $101 billion from 14 events.

The draft bill removes ILR once somebody's income drops below £38,7000 for 6 months. As drafted - it reads as mandatory, not discretionary There is no maternity leave exemption in the draft bill. (Would be unlawful discrim - but Bill disapplies HRA + Cons leaving ECHR) bsky.app/profile/rich...

"Viewpoint diversity" about whether human activity is warming the planet, or whether vaccines work, is like "viewpoint diversity" about whether the sky is blue or whether the Earth is round. It falls outside the range of good faith scientific and academic discourse. #ScienceUnderSiege

Here’s the way to think about climate change that I learned from @drkatemarvel.bsky.social: We’re creating an increasingly chaotic and dangerous world, sending our children and grandchildren there, and they’re never coming back.

I tried this on Twitter and the two answers I got were the current Pakistan government expelling undocumented Afghans and Erdogan’s Turkey expelling undocumented Syrians. Neither of which is an example of revolving permanent settlement grants, nor are they encouraging company to keep.

In 'Some Thoughts on the Common Toad', Orwell attacked those who think that "nothing is to be admired except steel and concrete" & argued that love of nature "makes a peaceful and decent future a little more probable" Rachel Reeves should take note www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f...

“Instead of protecting the tiny creatures that allow us to thrive, the Government is framing them as an obstacle that needs to be overcome.” - Well said, Jamie Robins of Buglife. The mask has well & truly slipped from Labour - the genocide & ecocide party. www.buglife.org.uk/blog/in-defe...

A journalist from Mon State fled Myanmar to continue her passion but said she had to stop working or risk losing her pregnancy. "The moment I left my job, our family's financial struggles returned. My father... began secretly collecting rubbish to make money." kite-tales.org/en/article/b...

Time for 2025 updates to my annual “opinions about solar” thread. If you like these, you might like the second edition of my book, Solar Power Finance Without The Jargon. A 30% discount code WSQ0437 is valid on publisher website until end of November 2025. www.worldscientific.com/worldscibook...

“Year after year, land and environmental defenders—those protecting our forests, rivers, and lands across the world—continue to be met with unspeakable violence.” 146 environmental and land defenders were murdered or disappeared in 2024

Critics slam renewables for land use but ignore fossil fuels' huge impact. Germany's Hambach lignite mine: 85 sq km pit, 300m deep, snapped from ISS. My first ever energy research protect professionally was on the externalities of lignite. In short: they are very significant!