
Kevin Anderson
@KevinClimate
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Prof. of energy & climate change - translating climate science into carbon budgets, policy commitments & mitigation options. @kevinclimate.bsky.social
Joined September 2012
It takes a child to reveal the nakedness of the emperor(s), the economic priesthood & the ‘expert’ acolytes In so doing @GretaThunberg weakens hierarchy & powerstructures, prising open space for new voices & ultimately opportunities for meaningful action.
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The real danger of ‘net zero’ exemplified on @BBCr4today when head of UK Oil & Gas Authority claimed proposed development of large new UK oil field (Cambo) is all part of delivering UK net zero. We urgently need to escape the deeply corrupt net-zero framing of climate change.
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Interview with the wonderful & indomitable @GretaThunberg by @jonathanwatts But let's remember that this 16year old is not our climate change saviour, rather she is a inspiring catalyst for engagement & action by others. It's about team work not celebrity.
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We’ve emitted 1/4 trillion tonnes of CO2 since Paris in 2015 when our ‘so-called’ leaders signed up to cut emissions in line with 1.5-2°C. Yet here at #COP26 world leaders collectively chose to sign a death warrant for many of our own children tomorrow &poorer communities today.
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Streaked in tears we may look back on this time when our children cried out but we were too arrogant to listen. Or perhaps we’ll look back & smile, we listened, & began to cooperate rather than compete. Heady days. #Academics4ClimateStrikes @TyndallCentre @CEMUSUPPSALA @UoMPolicy
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Let’s lighten the load on @GretaThunberg ‘s shoulders. Use her speech as a call to arms and emulate her bravery. Call out the selfish & morally bereft at Davos, the subterfuge in politics, the cowardice & sychofancy in academia. But then let’s act with cogency, honesty & courage.
My full speech at the World Economic Forum in print. #wef19 #WhateverItTakes
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On climate change @GretaThunberg demonstrates more clarity & leadership in one speech than a quarter of a century of the combined contributions of so called world leaders. Wilful ignorance & lies have overseen a 65% rise in CO2 since 1990. Time to hand over the baton.
”So we have not come here to beg the world leaders to care for our future. They have ignored us in the past and they will ignore us again. We have come here to let them know that change is coming whether they like it or not.”. From my speech yesterday at #COP24
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@ChadFrischmann 1) the painting wasn’t damaged. 2) the first IPCC report was in 1990, almost 1/3 of a century ago & well before these protesters were born. Since then the action I, you & our generation have tried has failed to stop annual CO2 emissions rise by over 60%. So, what is “the way”?.
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Why is there so little critique of @theCCCuk ‘net-zero’ report by academics &the wider climate community? It is designed to fit with the current political & economic status quo,& in so doing proposes cuts in CO2 far smaller than those needed to meet our Paris 1.5-2°C commitments!.
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@GretaThunberg Also concerning is the UK Govt spending £1 billion of tax payers money to co-fund an LNG facility in Mozambique (gas for export), set to emit an additional 4 billion tonnes of CO2 over the coming years. Clearly the UK Govt prefers rhetoric over real leadership on climate change.
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New post: "a habitable Earth can no longer afford the rich - and that could mean me & you". I was asked to write the piece by @ConversationUK, but as it was about to go live a senior editor had it pulled, so here it is now on the @Clim8Uncensored site.
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1. Listening to #BBCInsideScience with @AdamRutherford my colleague @clequere noted the UK had cut its CO2 by over 40% since 1990. However, include CO2 from aviation & shipping, along with our imports & exports & the UK's cut in its total carbon emissions is much nearer 10%.
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We need more of this level of clear & informed engagement on climate change (& many other issues). I know little of @AOC, but here she demonstrates how integrity & surgical analysis trumps the nonsense that so often masquerades as debate. There are lessons for us all here.
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Things are changing! I’m laid back in a sculptured chair whilst my blood fills a pint bag. The UK election is tomorrow, & the nurse starts chatting about climate change @GretaThunberg & what we need to do. This is no isolated moment, climate change is becoming mainstream.
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In just a few months a new global constituency has emerged, whose voices are loud and demands cogent. It’s up to the rest of us to listen to, engage with and then act for & with them. We owe them thanks for saying what most of us know, but have been too afraid to acknowledge.
This Friday am not going to school. I am going to lead fellow students for #ClimateStrike #FridaysForture I call upon my age mates to do the same. I've today joined @GretaThunberg and @Fridays4FutureU
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Most academics I've spoken with (apart from those close to oil & gas companies) do not see the UK Govt's £22 billion CCS plan as a wise & Paris-compliant investment, yet few speak out directly. In his inimitable style @GeorgeMonbiot fills the void:
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@BritishCycling @Shell_UKLtd Is this irony from @BritishCycling ? @Shell_UKLtd has spent decades undermining urgent action on climate change (& still does). @BritishCycling, & much of the arts & sports world, needs to develop a backbone, & fast, rather that sacrifice future generations for a few oil£s today!.
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A little gathering in Glasgow (see attached) … far removed from a private jet transporting a world ‘leader’ from their vacuous #COP26 speech to a ‘Gentlemen-only’ club in London to dine with a well known climate sceptic (quiz question - who could that so-called leader be?)
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.@ClimateHuman strips away the misleading & dangerous nonsense that so many climate experts use to hide the profound scope & scale of mitigation necessary to meet our 1.5-2°C climate objectives. Why are many experts so afraid of saying it as it is?.
Climate experts who suggest that we'll be able to get out of this by basically just building out renewables - that no one will be be forced to use less energy or be inconvenienced in any way - are doing a grave disservice to humanity. And this seems to be most climate experts.
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. @GretaThunberg is herself a force of nature who catalyses thoughts and actions in others that are usually held in check by the abnormal world we’ve sadly normalised.
The climate crisis doesn’t go on holiday. Nor do we! Climate strike tomorrow as usual. #climatestrike #fridaysforfuture #schoolstrike4climate
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@GretaThunberg The UK PM & her cabinet reveal their climate denier credentials by overseeing shale gas development (75% carbon by mass), the new Clair Ridge oil platform (1/4 bill tonnes of CO2), the Glengorm gas development (100 mill tonnes CO2) & airport expansion. Take no lesson from them!.
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.@BBCWomansHour include emissions from aviation & shipping plus those from imports & exports & UK emissions are down by around 10% since 1990 - not the cheery story of partial accounting that gives us the dodgy 44% figure. That’s is only a 0.4% cut in our CO2 each year.
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@WolfgangFeist @keithalexander @ScotClimateCA So let’s tell poor climate vulnerable communities &our children that us hi-emitters have decided we’re not prepared to cut CO2 in line with our Paris commitments &therefore they’d better prepare for 3-5°C of warming. At least that would be an honest, tho not honourable, position.
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Disturbing piece by Climate scientist Peter Kalmus @ClimateHuman one of the few experts who does not sugar-coat his engagement with the public. Telling it straight is key to an informed debate.
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. ouch! The truth hurts - but can be revealing & inspiring. @GretaThunberg on the nose again. Keep at it!.
Some people say that we are not doing enough to fight climate change. But that is not true. Because to ”not do enough” you have to do something. And the truth is we are basically not doing anything. This film was shown inside the #wef today. #FridaysForFuture #WhateverItTakes
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It's "fossil fuels stupid". I've never warmed to @algore's climate framing, but this TED talk thread hits the nail on the head: . Don't trust the CEOs of BP, Shell, Exxon, etc - they have lied on climate change for decades. Thanks to @Jumpsteady for compiling the thread.
»Do you take us for fools? Do you think you can just completely remove the disguise and we won’t notice?«. #COP28 is going to be a disaster. And the whole COP process is in the hammerlock of the fossil fuel industry. Al Gore exposes all their plans in a brilliant way! 👏. 🧵 1/7
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@GlobalEcoGuy Include aviation & shipping, imports & exports, and the pre-Covid drop in CO2 was nearer 15% in 30years. That's an average fall of a little over 0.5% each year for a nation with a long history of engagement on climate change, a huge renewable energy potential & is very wealthy.
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A big thank you to all those having their voices heard today. Without vociferous public engagement we will only ever deliver the incremental greenwash nonsense that my generation typically favour. Attached is a an example of the scale of action we urgently require. #ClimateStrike
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The nonsense of Net-Zero revealed again on @BBCr4today where @SuellaBraverman says Ok to weaken 2030 climate goals as we’ll still meet Net Zero 2050. The climate doesn’t care about net zero 2050, only total emission. Journalists @JustinOnWeb & @BBCJustinR fail to understand this.
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For “well below 2°C” China needs to peak CO2 by 2025 &be zero by 2050, at the v.latest; earlier still for 1.5°C. We must not run scared of what the science & maths tell us! See: &related piece @MattMcGrathBBC
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Bill Gates on @BBCr4today @BBCJustinR epitomises our near term failure to cut CO2. To salve his conscience he takes biofuel away from its use in buses to fuel his private flights. His proposals misunderstand cumulative CO2 &the need for a triage approach.
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Symbolising our concern for both climate change & plastics in the oceans? @WHSmith now selling plastic bottles of water imported from Fiji to the arid city of Manchester! We managed to land on the moon in 1969, surely we can develop policies to stop this madness in 2018?
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In desperately pushing thro hi-CO2 shale gas, whooping for joy over evermore N.Sea oil & gas, & now overseeing a new UK coal mine for home use &export, @claireperrymp & UK Gov demonstrate their disdain for the concerns raised in last Fridays school strike.
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This is a key issue that is so often ignored - often deliberately.
Gains in global renewable energy capacity from 2010 to 2020 have been outstripped by growth in fossil fuel use by a factor of three. Scaling up renewables is not enough. We need to actively scale *down* fossil fuels. And right now none of our leaders have plans to do this.
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Classic Greta … uncompromising, informed, perceptive & always one step ahead of the latest ruse.
“Many are asking what it’ll take for people in power to wake up. But let’s be clear - they’re already awake. They know exactly what they’re doing. They know exactly what priceless values they’re sacrificing to maintain business as usual.”. My speech from today’s march in Glasgow.
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With offsets the 'mitigation' of choice for many hi-emitters, this 2016 piece may be of interest. Solely in terms of temperature I suggest offsets are likely to be worse than doing nothing (tho the projects may well be of value).
“A 2016 study found that 73 per cent of carbon credits provided little or no environmental gain, as they supported projects that would have happened anyway. That figure rose to 85 per cent of projects under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism.”
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@GretaThunberg Such lies & hate are not really aimed at you. They much more reflect the low self-esteem & deep inadequacy of those making such comments. Your clarity, honesty & insights are too uncomfortable & disarming for some to deal with.
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Letter to EU & other leaders on what climate & ecological leadership needs to deliver For specific focus on EU Paris-compliant mitigation see: & underlining paper at: @GretaThunberg @IsakStoddard @UoMPolicy.
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@afneil Fine to have your views on Just Stop Oil, but your comments on the IPCC both misunderstand its role & how strong what it says actually is (eg. see attached from WGII). Your light-touch style of journalism is ok for fun/provocation, but we also need serious journalism/reporting.
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Denmark has certainly led the way on electricity, but its total CO2 has barely changed since 1990 once aviation, shipping, imports & exports are taken into account. Just shows how far we have to go & how consumptions levels & distribution are pivotal to addressing climate change.
This is what it means to be a 'world leader' in decarbonisation. Countries like the UK, which reduced its carbon emissions by around 10% over the last several decades, are nowhere. Time for some fast bowling, not spin, in UK politics. @beisgovuk @claireperrymp.@KevinClimate.
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Interviewed on @BBCr4today @grantshapps misunderstands climate science. It is not about what future policymakers & technology may deliver in 2030, 2040 & 2050, but for 1.5-2°C is most importantly about our emissions today & over this decade - a timeframe he conveniently ignores.
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The language may be a little ripe for some listeners - but the message is spot on for COP26 ….
The Australien Government has made an ad about the policies it's taking to the #COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative. 👉 We're on Patreon:
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I wish those you engaged with (& other's working on these issues) would much more often (& repeatedly) make their views known & vociferously counter the litany of optimistic crap that dominates/twists the climate debate (& which journalists all too often unquestioningly peddle).
Climate experts were increasingly saying that keeping heating below 1.5C is near impossible, yet it remains the global goal. So I asked hundreds of top IPCC scientists what they thought. What they said shocked even me….🧵 1/n #ClimateCrisis.
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. also a useful guide to academics working with or engaging on climate change (tho' probably need to take the wider interpretation of science so as to include the social sciences, etc.).
Some rules and recommendations for those on #schoolstrike4climate.And if you think that “following the Paris Agreement and IPCC” is too vague - then make sure everyone study them. They are the global tools we have at hand today. Let’s use them! #FridaysForFuture #ClimateStrike
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This disturbing article demonstrates how oil majors are puling out every scam& PR stunt to divert attention from the fact that Paris requires a rapid phase out of fossil fuel energy. By contrast @eni @BP_plc @Shell @exxonmobil explore for evermore oil&gas.
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@Sir_David_King Whilst the analysis of Hansen et al is at the high end of the IPCC's climate sensitivity range, given the dire consequences if they're correct, it's this value that should guide the scale & timeline of mitigation. Yet rhetoric & lies remain the currency of most political leaders.
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This is a debate that really needs to enter the mainstream. The nonsense of infinite growth is massaged away by reference to mythical (at a timely scale) ‘decoupling’, .At the same time degrowth is dismissed by those disproportionately benefitting from the current Ponzi scheme.
Our newest @Nature commentary on how "Degrowth can work — here’s how science can help".with @jasonhickel @g_kallis @JKSteinberger . Wealthy countries can create prosperity while using less materials &energy if they abandon economic growth as an objective.
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The carbon budget for a flip of a coin chance of ≤1.5°C is now just 5-8 years of current emissions. Yet the #COP28 chair & many co-opted academics/experts still bang on about 1.5°C & 2050. At what point do we say it as it is, not as us wealthy hi-emitters would like it to be?.
Important new report: Just as in the IPCC, it shows that if we go beyond 1.5, we enter a high-risk zone of crossing tipping points. We need to move fast to avoid moving to a point where the Earth system takes over & pushed us in a direction with unmanageable conditions.
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In a recent discussion with @jrockstrom he explains why we need "to phase out fossil fuels . as fast as we ever can". Full interview for @Clim8Uncensored at: Other "Climate Uncensored" videos & blogs at:
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“Market forces not enough to halt climate change” by @ft writer @martinwolf_ Two concerns with the piece:.1) it’s taken till 2024 to realise this! 2) simplistic dismissal of degrowth is as dangerous as the “market forces“ nonsense he recently believed in.
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Good to hear a question about ‘net-zero’ vs. ‘real zero’. Worth noting that @theCCCuk latest report is relying on ~40% higher negative emission technologies (by 2050) than their previous analysis. As we fail on mitigation, we simply turn up the NETs dial. @medicsforfuture.
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I’m shocked … well not really. For decades now fossil fuel executives have hollowed out the integrity, intelligence & independence of repeated governments. This is why we desperately need robust, cogent & caring politicians (& yes they do exist) to be in ministerial positions.
It's now looking increasingly like the UK govt's £22bn CCS plan was the net result of multiple ministerial meetings with oil company representatives.
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.@BBCJustinR @amolrajan @bbcr4today If the PM is serious about responding to the 'climate emergency', attached is an indication of the policy landscape necessary in relation to energy. Other changes would be required in regards to food, etc. We need action to cut CO2 not more PR.
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@DrSimEvans @JimSkeaIPCC @BillGates I suggest we ignore @BillGates on midwifery, football tactics, pension planning, train design & climate change. If want an expert on abusing monopoly powers of beta software companies, Bill's your man. But let's ignore his nonsense on subjects he patently knows nothing about.
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I see the @theCCCuk 'net zero' report as the swan song of an old framing of responses to climate change. Things have moved on, the rates of mitigation are no longer amenable to green tweaks, future tech, colonialism & passing the buck to the next generation. My comments attached.
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. reversal of roles again; adults regress to childish games, whilst a child demonstrates leadership. Parenthood is surely about much more than just doing what’s convenient. It’s about time us grown-ups grew up!.
I 4 månader har politikerna försökt få ihop en regering. Klimatet har nästan inte berörts. Nu har vi en ny regering vars politik inte ens snuddar vid vad som krävs för att vi ska vara i linje med Parisavtalet och IPCC-rapporten. Vi kommer få sitta kvar utanför riksdagen. Länge.
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My brief response to the UK Govts ‘net-zero’ proposal is at - as @AlexSteffen notes ‘winning slowly is the same as losing outright’. @vicky_UoMEnergy @UoM_MACE @TyndallCentre @CEMUSUPPSALA @UoMPolicy @crisortunity @keelingcurve @RHarrabin @labourlewis.
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I was asked for my view on the new paper from Jim Hansen "Global Warming Has Accelerated: Are the United Nations & the Public Well-Informed?" . My full quote at: Jim's paper at: @insideclimate piece at:
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This was my first direct engagement with XR, & I can only say what I found: a welcoming & eclectic bunch across ages & ‘class’ (less on ethnicity?), well informed, open minded, courteous, deeply committed & a desire to more fully understand issues & their role in driving change.
WATCH: Hope From Despair: transforming delusion into action on climate change. @KevinClimate of @OfficialUoM and @UU_University at @XRWalthamForest. "The Paris Agreement now demands the rapid and profound re-shaping of contemporary society.". #TellTheTruth.
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@ProfMarkMaslin @climateactiontr Given the UK’s net-zero 2050 pathway is one of the least ‘unprogressive’ amongst wealthy nations, & we estimate it’s inline with 2.5-3°C & I think the 2.4°C likely relies on v.optimistic interpretations & 100s billions tCO2 of NETs?.
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Thanks to you all for supporting Greta’s powerful, honest & clear voice, & thanks Greta for having the courage to stand up & be counted. Wishing you all a peaceful & fun time to rejuvinate & here’s to a more progressive 2019. @GretaThunberg @Malena_Ernman.
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@Peters_Glen @SkepticalRanger Whilst Covid19 will barely dent rising CO2 concentrations, it has stripped bare the rhetoric of “it’s not possible”, revealing how immediate, deep &system-level responses are achievable. So let’s build on this &implement a progressive, timely & zero-CO2 transformation. @BMHayward.
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.@BBCr4today interview with @RishiSunak by @Marthakearney -please counter the nonsense about UK climate leadership! Include CO2 from aviation &shipping, imports &exports & UK CO2 is down only about 15% since 1990; ie. ~0.5% each year. Far removed from our Paris & G7 commitments.
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Spot on by @fionaharvey .Let's be in no doubt, increasingly UK ministers are ministers in name only. The reality is that they are employed conduits of Big Oil, Big Finance, etc. With little intellects & morally bereft, they are easily bought & manipulated by their puppeteers.
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Strange that, when every country claims to be a ‘world leader’ on addressing climate change 😉. Someone must be telling an untruth … perhaps the atmosphere is conning us, or perhaps policy makers & their coopted acolytes are spinning a yarn? Now which is more likely 🤔.
The concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are humanity’s “most accurate measure” of progress. “The data shows, again, we are not making much progress on reducing emissions.”.
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Interview by @bbcnickrobinson of John Kerry on @BBCr4today (21 July ) was deeply disturbing. Kerry's proposals would have been ok in 1995, but in 2021 they're far removed from the sheer scope & scale of cuts in CO2 needed for 1.5-2°C. Kerry's framing will take us to nearer 3-4°C.
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An important read for anyone seriously interested in climate change. The actions of 'developed' nations (reinforced by the complicit silence of most climate experts) usher in a "neo-colonisation" era. If too difficult to read the attached print, then try:
My piece in today’s @htTweets “Climate deception in the name of action” calling out developed countries for .- disregarding adaptation.- backtracking on #ParisAgreement targets, including mitigation.- not providing #climatefinance .- stifling future growth of #GlobalSouth.⬇️
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To put some (optimistic) headline numbers on it. For a 50% chance of not exceeding 1.5°C we can emit ~350 billion tonnes of CO2 from now, i.e. <9 years of current global emissions. For Paris “well below 2°C” the budget is ~750bill tonnes, ie. 19yrs. So @JamesGDyke is spot on!.
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