COP30 Pavilion of pacific Island states. It did rain really hard here in Belém…

Thunder loudly echoing in the #COP30 high level plenary. Nature is angry!

Lots of petrostate pavillions at #COP30. Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE, Kuwait, Canada are top 10 oil producers. All have net zero pledges, yet none have joined >60 countries calling for a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. Net zero for me but not for the countries that import my oil and gas!

Can #Cop30 begin the process of phasing out fossil fuels? - Ending use of coal, oil and gas is essential in tackling #climatecrisis – but even talking about it is controversial www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Great piece on Saudi Arabia's obstruction of international climate negotiations including ongoing debate at #COP30 on "transition away from fossil fuels." The Saudi strategy to export as much oil as possible to fund transition of their economy is familiar to Cdns. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Vancouver RISEs!!

In its latest podcast episode, to be broadcast tomorrow, CBC’s What on Earth show interviews Canada’s Environment and Climate Minister Julie Dabrusin and me. Why I am stubbornly optimistic going into #cop30…. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

I did CBC radio interviews on the implications of this week's Government of Canada budget for climate. Link below to the Vancouver On the Coast program segment (November 5). www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Hot takes on climate implications of the 2025 Cdn budget. On one hand, lots of emphasis on investment in the low-carbon economy of the future, and using GHG reductions/$ as a standard for public investments. On the other, embrace of and subsidies for LNG as clean energy. \1

Is anyone hearing anything about timing of publication of the IEA's WEO 2025 report? Yes, saw the Bloomberg piece about US pressure to reintroduce CPS and imagine that would explain rescheduling of an October 20205 release. But til when?!

Could I love him more?

Little trick of treaters are asking for something healthier. The kids these days! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Check out this symposium that @lisasundstrom.bsky.social and I co-edited!

I’m imagining John Fogerty on his way to the stadium, ready to run on the field singing.

Can a team play short-handed if they’ve run out of players and someone is injured?

There's a growing smugness in pieces on EV/battery mftg. Those "bike-loving technocrats" and Trudeau were wrong about "the revolution" and now they've wasted our tax $$! No mention of climate, as if this was a market gamble or plot to shame men's love of cars. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...

Watching this space... BC First Nations make legal challenges to huge Ksi Lisims LNG project www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/23/n...

New article and op-ed out today. FYI, the URL link to the article does work, despite the LinkedIn error message.

Canada take note. Coal *and gas*

This is appalling. A Canadian govt spokesperson is spreading misinformation that TMX is good for climate because "Most of the oil is cracked to make naphtha" which goes into electric cars and electrifying the grid in Asia. That's nuts! A correction is needed. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/10/n...

It's finally here! 100+ scholars, global scope, practical insights. “Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment” shows how organized interests stall policy—and how governance can respond. Open access available now! Or order for paperback and hardcover. cssn.org/wp-content/u...

A group of Yankees hasn’t been beaten in Canada that bad since 1812.

We have a dozen tiny garden gnomes in a garden along the sidewalk. Toddlers often squeal and sometimes play with them. Today a cool-looking ~30yr-old dude stopped, knelt down, and carefully rearranged them into a little party on a stump, then continued on his way smoking a cigar. Happy Saturday all!

Yet another great primer on industrial carbon pricing from @climateinstitute.bsky.social. It's Canada's potentially most impactful climate policy, but it's hanging by a thread as provinces have gamed and, increasingly, flaunted the federal carbon pricing benchmark. Ball's in the feds' court.

This aligns completely with my experience installing a heat pump. Annual savings on energy bills, greater comfort and better indoor air quality in the summer from bonus aircon + social benefit of lower GHGs. But fed, prov, and local incentives were critical for the decision to make financial sense.

Commuting by campus by e-bike I get exercise, save money on gas and parking, and arrive happier -- yes, even when it rains. And that's not counting the social benefit of reducing my carbon emissions (since I would drive otherwise). E-bikes ftw! news.ubc.ca/2025/09/bc-e...

The 2025 UN Production Gap Report is out. Though most fossil fuel producers profess commitment to reduce their emissions, ultimately to net zero, exporters are undermining that effort with production plans that oversupply expected global demand. And it's gotten worse. 🧵 productiongap.org/2025report/

Home decarbonization is a no-brainer to meet Canada's GHG targets. That's being undermined by each and the combination of: repeal of the consumer carbon tax, restricting eligibility for heat pump rebates, and termination of Greener Homes loans. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/18/n...

The BC Climate Solution's annual report is now posted on the govt website. 🧵 - BC has huge economic advantages in a decarbonizing world, but investors require consistency and predictability of climate policies. - Kudos to BC for expanding renewable electricity. /1 www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...

The BC Climate Solutions Council's advice to the BC government as it reviews the ZEV Act is (finally!) posted on government website. We do not recommend relaxing the 2035 goal of 100% ZEV sales, but do support credits for increasingly long range plug-in hybrids.#bcpoli www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...

Pravda anyone? Trump Administration Live Updates: President Says Broadcasters Risk Losing Licenses When Hosts Criticize Him www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

The authors conclude that wildfires are already causing 41,000 premature deaths per year in the US and it's getting worse. Obvious implications for Canada too. Link to peer-reviewed article in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/s41... wapo.st/41ZNjv7

@climateinstitute.bsky.social reports Canada won't meet its 2030 GHG target. Rather than shrug cynically, consider why we're failing. Fed and prov govts haven't adopted promised policies (oil/gas cap, methane) and weakened others (EV subsidies, C pricing). OUR governments. Tell them what you think.

In 2022, now-BC Premier David Eby stated, "We cannot continue to subsidize fossil fuels and expect clean energy to manifest somehow. We cannot continue to expand fossil-fuel infrastructure and hit our climate goals." Today.... thenarwhal.ca/ksi-lisims-l...

Under the UNFCC Canada is not responsible for the downstream combustion emissions of the fossil fuels we export. So we conveniently ignore them (as in Ksi Lisims Assessment and BC and fed announcements today), though those GHGs are more than Canada's territorial emissions to the global atmosphere.

I'm looking forward to speaking at this event on October 9 and especially to hearing reflections from other speakers, including Catherine McKenna. It's free but in-person tickets are running low. It will also be livestreamed. Link to register below. www.eventbrite.ca/e/climate-at...

My take: several of these projects rest or may rest on fossil fuel subsidies. - LNGCan phase 2 has fed and prov approvals in hand. They could've gone ahead yrs ago, but presumably seeking govt support. /1 www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

The PM stated that relaxing the ZEV standard, which invariably will increase Canada's GHG emissions, is "part of a broader strategy on climate competitiveness, to look at all our measures to help get greenhouse gasses down." OK.... www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Canada’s review of the electric vehicle mandate—and other climate policies—must be swift and grounded in evidence. Read our full statement on today’s announcement ⬇️ climateinstitute.ca/news/canadas...

Fellow profs, has anyone used Ministry for the Future in (non-literature) undergraduate climate courses? Curious how students handled very intense content.

Some very long transmission lines to follow.

In landmark ruling, World Court judges unanimously agree that countries must tackle fossil fuels — both burning & extraction — and that failing to curb climate change compromises human rights. Great summary of last week's ruling by @chrishatch.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2025/07/28/o...

BC's Premier just announced $200M for transmission and compressors to electrify the Cedar LNG terminal. The fed govt also announced $200M in March. Here's the thing: Cedar LNG was approved 2 yrs ago conditional on electrification and its investors gave it a go-ahead 1 yr ago. Why do they need tax $?

Reflecting on the implications of last week's International Court of Justice decision, UBC prof Michael Byers concludes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney"can no longer justify including fossil fuel projects among his infrastructure goals." #cdnpoli #icj www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

A passage of note for Canada from the International Court of Justice climate change decision. Canada tends to focus selectively on consumption, disregarding responsibility for the emissions from fossil fuels we export released in other countries. We also deem many projection subsidies acceptable.

We’ve been camping between Nelson and Vancouver this week. BC is glorious, but heartbreaking evidence of climate change is all too clear, eg driving west side of Lake Okanagan through burnt forests. A symbol of our time that access to a lovely campground on the Kettle R was through this landscape.

I grew up in this hockey town, wish any of it surprised me. My lessons: “boys” can get away with (convenient) memory lapses from drinking but a woman isn’t credible if she can walk; proving guilt is even harder when it’s not just him vs her but a whole team against 1. www.nytimes.com/athletic/642...

that's right! e-bikes replace *car* trips they're the greatest climate mobility hack invented yet governments should be giving them away