Paywall now lifted: Analysts from the world’s foremost economic forum have rebuked the Government’s plans to import liquefied gas and spark a renaissance in domestic fossil fuel production. newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/11/o...

Atmospheric CO₂ of 340 ppm

So last night the NZ game industry had it's annual awards, the Pavs. And while the awards are almost all about video games they do have a board game award for locally published games. And we won it with Shadow moon syndicates, which was really nice. Big congrats to the team at arkus.

Well that was a very harrowing drive home from Wellington. If you can avoid being out at the moment, I'd do so. Hutt Rd has surface water, as does SH2 (I avoided SH1, too many lanes, very limited visibility). Everyone driving voluntarily at 60-70km north, SH2 southbound closed due to an accident.

I've also written up an analysis on the implications of these findings for MPs: The report must be a wake-up call to politicians. Decisions around cost-sharing and managed retreat may be unpopular, but kicking the can down the road is an abdication of responsibility. newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/07/t...

Good morning! The Climate Change Commission has just released the first National Climate Change Risk Assessment in six years – and I've read the key document. In short: Climate change is here, we're not ready, but there's lots we can do to prepare. For more: newsroom.co.nz/2026/05/07/l...

Incredible. And incredibly fast. Whoever says the renewables revolution is over is wrong. It's just beginning. Death to fossil fuels! insideclimatenews.org/news/0505202...

Solar plus storage: $54 Coal: $70-85 Gas (methane): $100 The math gets pretty simple.

The traditional New Zealand value is 'self-deprecating about being a New Zealander'

I heard some of you are looking for European tech alternatives, let’s not gatekeep: Chrome, Edge, Safari -> Vivaldi iCloud, Google Drive -> @proton.me, @infomaniak.bsky.social, @jottacloud.bsky.social Google Search -> @startpage.com, @qwant.bsky.social, @ecosiasearch.bsky.social, @mojeek.com (1/2)

Amsterdam becomes world's first capital city to ban public adverts for fossil fuels and meat | Euronews www.euronews.com/2026/02/06/a...

I have got tears rolling down my face. It's only taken 4 Select Committee's , 2 of them under petitions in my name but finally we got the words we always wanted to hear. "The committee recommends to the Government that the public sale and private use of fireworks be banned."

It's not *quite* as "bad" when you add back in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Ref: climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_dai...

Otago public health people - do any of the student halls have decent ventilation? The new hall is 5-star green building so must do, but any others? Thanks!

At a physics talk at Otago Uni open day. Lecturer giving laser pointers and memory sticks for prizes. Teen asks "what even is a memory stick?"

It is now 51 working days since I requested an unredacted version of MBIE's BRIEFING-REQ0017895 "Addressing the Energy Gap" So it's now 31 working days overdue. The redacted version is here. Draw your own conclusions about what's under all those withholdings.

Tell him he's dreamin'. The claims around this lignite gasification boondoggle already looked pretty suspect (it's not going to be zero carbon; that's fairy tales), but there's more: mining the lignite in a sensitive catchment. (Thx Carbon News for lifting the paywall on this one)

Indeed.

New Zealand is incredibly fortunate that our electricity prices aren't tied to volatile international LNG. Here's Japan, looking at needing $3 billion in subsidies for electricity and gas users due to the current price spike.

ruh roh

Genuinely historic day

As my colleague @javierblas.bsky.social says here, there is only one reason the UAE would leave the group it has been with since 1967: to pump oil faster. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti... But why does the UAE want to pump oil faster?

Let's say my entire section is planned disestablishing for budget reasons (please, no "that's insane" replies, I know). For a sidestep, it'd be helpful if any bluefriends with professional data titles are prepared to attest to my understanding of not just data but the humanity it makes up. If so DM.

EV share of new car sales in Singapore: 2021: 3.8% 2022: 11.7% 2023: 18.1% 2024: 34% 2025: 45% 2026 (1st 3 months): 60% Game over: 150 years of petrol dominance wiped out in 6 years

Stupid trivial gripe but I'm annoyed by the current trend of using "our north star" in NZ corporate-speak. We can't even see the North Star from New Zealand FFS, how can that be our guiding direction.

Pop quiz: What's the number one cause of death among pregnant women in the US? No googling.

Potentially hyper-cheap sodium batteries are becoming commercially available and are getting LFP battery specs. This is nuts! This could lead to *incredibly* cheap batteries! electrek.co/2026/04/27/c...

New peer-reviewed finding: Have you tried plugging it in? (Eight models confirm electrification of transport and buildings is the primary driver of emission reductions in every scenario consistent with the Paris Agreement… and can lower energy wallet spending)

IT. IS. HAPPENING. China's State Counsel has announced that provinces will be graded on their efforts to peak emissions before 2030. "Authorities ranked as making unsatisfactory progress ... could be subject to disciplinary processes if issues aren’t rectified." 💥 🧵

It's hard to breathe under the chokehold that mining lobbyists have on this government Together, we can break the grip of the fossil fuel lobby, and elect a government that protects the air we breath, the water we drink, and the places we love.

Colombia's fossil-fuel roadmap is led by Prof Piers Forster, head of the Priestley Centre at the University of Leeds It says Colombia can cut total energy emissions by 90% on 2015 levels by 2050 This will require "considerable" upfront investment, but could end in a net economic benefit of $280bn

Singapore continuing to surge ahead, with 61% of new passenger cars sold in March being battery-electric models. robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/?la...

Cost to Build a Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Surges by 66% in two years, BNEF Says. The average project expense for a US gas power plant with combined-cycle turbines, the more efficient CCGT type, rose to $2,157 per kilowatt last year from less than $1,500 in 2023. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

"A “coalition of the willing” – including 54 countries and various subnational governments, civil society groups and academics – will try to chart a new path to powering the world with low-carbon energy." But no NZ. Because our country is run by idiots. #nzpol www.theguardian.com/environment/...

With apologies for the cross-posting, OIA from MBIE on LNG scenario analysis here:

"When you haven't had a rainfall event for a long, long time, people look at flood maps and think it's over-dramatised. After the fact, we find that the flood maps are generally very, very accurate."

Yes, Swiss scientist Fritz Zwicky coined the term “dark matter” which is impressive, but he also coined the term “spherical bastard” to describe people who are bastards no matter which way you look at them, and I think that should be celebrated more.

MBIE has now partially released a slide deck from Concept Consulting on LNG scenarios. BUT they witheld the first three pages in full as well as other key explanatory comments. We have gone to the Ombudsman as we believe the grounds used for withholding aren't appropriate or justified. 1/2

Went and checked out the strongest fence ever built:

One of the reasons I flag this is because if you happen to be a Green voter, know that the entire NZ landscape I study daily is often mobilised against the two party leaders esp., sitting MPs, and party’s policies intersects with this hugely influential, well-funded, industrial grade disinfo engine.

Let's be clear: much as they try to dress it up, this would amount to a new coal-fired power station in Southland. Please, can we just NOT? #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

Andrew Bayly looking like he just sold Luxon a flood damaged car here. #nzpol

Most people don't know this, but the UK's Fossil Fuel CO2 emissions peaked decades ago, and are now down to levels reached in the mid-1880s

Notably absent: 🇳🇿

Seeding the storm: Climate change denialism from Cyclone Gabrielle to Cyclone Vaianu www.linkedin.com/pulse/seedin... (LinkedIn) sanjanah.wordpress.com/2026/04/20/s... (WordPress) #nzpol #ClimateChange #Disinformation @caadcoalition.bsky.social @counterhate.com

In China battery electric trucks and hybrid trucks now outsell diesel trucks for the first time.

I see metservice says the trains are working but recommends getting out while you can www.metlink.org.nz/alerts/train...

🌧️🔴 Update - Red Heavy Rain Warning 🔴 🌧️ - Red Heavy Rain Warning for Wellington (2pm Mon – 9pm Tue) - Red Heavy Rain Warning for Wairarapa (2pm Mon – midnight Tue) More information: metservice.com/warnings

Bad new for the Hutt: a lot more rain on the way.

Most developed countries have now submitted the 2026 editions of their formal greenhouse gas emissions inventories to the UNFCCC. You can check out how their 2026 edition compares to earlier editions on my website: robbieandrew.github.io/country/?cou...