Richard Dixon

Top academics warn UK physics cuts threaten effort to boost economy More than 50 heads of departments tell science minister that changes risk undermining crucial tech growth fields

"Planned cuts to physics and astronomy funding threaten to undermine a core UK government strategy to harness innovation to boost economic growth, leading researchers have warned ministers."

Thanks @financialtimes.com for covering this really important story

🗞️: www.ft.com/content/a235...

UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries Exclusive: Schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect biodiversity and oceans likely to be substantially reduced

BREAKING: UK to cut international finance on climate & nature

Seemingly under cover of the war on Iran, out comes some bad news

Reminder that govt were warned last year by UK’s spy chiefs that collapse of ecosystems could seriously impact national security

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Scotland in reach of first carbon budget targets, says Climate Change Committee - edie Scotland’s plans to achieve its First Carbon Budget (2026-2030) are largely ‘credible’ with only some risk, climate advisors have concluded. Long-term policies for decarbonising are lacking, however, ...

The CCC’s verdict on Scotland’s draft climate plan - good in parts but more action needed on buildings and land use www.edie.net/scotland-in-...

another excellent and worrying graphic by @zacklabe.com

zacklabe.com/wp-content/u...

Arctic Sea Ice Volume is approx 13,000 km³ lower than 40 years ago

A loss equivalent to a very large number of Olympic-sized swimming pools or double-decker buses

#albedo

Everything is for sale.

Lovely review for In This City, Where it Rains! "A dash of the uncanny. Then a bit more. And then it goes full-blooded horror...both naturalistic and creepy, it's a story that powerfully inhabits its own metaphor, pointing both to a state of stasis and, perhaps, to awakening and renewal." 🖤🌧️✨

Why shutdown of key Atlantic current could provoke dramatic climate reaction Scientists on the Royal Research Ship Discovery are monitoring a key Atlantic current. Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson, who is with them, says the analysis sends a shiver down the spine.

Channel 4 reports on AMOC risk. channel4news.substack.com/p/why-shutdo...

Chilean president declares state of catastrophe as wildfires kill at least 15 Fires blaze through 8,500 hectares, forcing 50,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggle to extinguish flames

This is what climate breakdown looks like

But this is just the begining......

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

A new climate stripe for Scotland and it's the hottest ever.

2025 was Scotland's warmest year ever, beating 2022 in records which go back to 1884. Averaging 8.6ºC it was 0.9ºC warmer than 1991-2020 average. All the last 4 years are in top 5 warmest ever.

More at: www.rdixon.scot/.../09/2025-...

‘A silent majority’: MPs underestimate support for green policies, study reveals Exclusive: From solar subsidies to meat taxes, minority rightwing voices appear to drown out the consensus

‘A silent majority’: Politicians strongly underestimate support for green policies, study reveals

- From solar subsidies to meat taxes, minority rightwing voices appear to drown out the consensus

Research by Lisa-Maria Tanase et al
Story by me
#climatecrisis
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I'm writing about the Palestine Action hunger strikers at the moment, any of whom could die at any moment, and the astonishing media and government silence surrounding them. The Establishment seems to have become even crueller than when Thatcher was PM.

BBC journalists have been banned from describing the kidnapped Venezuelan leader as having been kidnapped.

The BBC News Editor has sent this to BBC journalists.

And blocking a junk email address has gone from one click to three, via a contact card

UK soars past wind power generation record for second time in two months - edie Great Britain’s maximum wind generation record was broken on Friday, 5 December, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has confirmed.

A new record - on 5 December wind power produced enough electricity for 3/4 of UK homes

At 23.8GW it meant that even during winter peak demand, it was still providing nearly half the country's power needs

Still a way to go though....

www.edie.net/uk-soars-pas...

Reuse and return schemes could help eliminate plastic waste in 15 years – report Pew Charitable Trusts finds plastic pollution will more than double globally by 2040 unless action taken The 66m tonnes of pollution from plastic packaging that enters the global environment each year could be almost eliminated by 2040 primarily by reuse and return schemes, significant new research reveals. In the most wide-ranging analysis of the global plastic system, the Pew Charitable Trusts, in collaboration with academics including at Imperial College London and the University of Oxford, said plastic, a material once called revolutionary and modern, was now putting public health, world economies and the future of the planet at risk. Continue reading...

Reuse and return schemes could help eliminate plastic waste in 15 years – report

‘The Chinese will not pause’: Volvo and Polestar bosses urge EU to stick to 2035 petrol car ban Exclusive: Swedish carmakers push to retain target as Germany lobbies to help its own industry by softening cutoff date

There's a move to delay EU phaseout date of petrol & diesel cars because of domestic auto industries are struggling to change

But head of Volvo says “If Europe doesn’t take lead in this transformation [to electric] rest assured, other countries will do it for us”
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Scots taxpayers to pay £200 million for new nuclear power stations in England Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dorothy for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today, the above and: UK energy bill payers will hand over £2bn a year in subsidies to EDF, the French compan…

Scots taxpayers to pay £200 million for new nuclear power stations in England talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2025/11/29/s...

Hoo boy, another fictitious "EV market slows" headline from the Times

*EU EV sales are up 25.6% in 2025*

Receipts in thread.

Scottish ministers accused of ‘failure of leadership’ on North Sea oil and gas Environmental Standards Scotland chair Dr Richard Dixon said the current government had 'gone a little backwards from the rather strong position'.

Some comments on oil and gas taken from evidence I gave yesterday at the Net Zero Committee about the Scottish Government's draft Climate Change Plan.

Scottish ministers accused of ‘failure of leadership’ on North Sea oil and gas news.stv.tv/politics/sco...

*breakthrough at #COP30* G77 publicly asking for a Global Just Transition mechanism that helps implement the Paris Agreement placing justice and equity at the heart of climate action.
#JustTransitionRising #BAM

“What if it’s a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?”

15+ years old, but still VERY relevent — and if we had acted 15 years ago, the “better world” we’d be creating would be a LOT better & easier to reach. There are real consequences we’re just starting to see to not heeding this cartoon a lot sooner.

Even worse if we don’t heed it now. #ClimateCrisis

Britain one of least ‘nature-connected’ nations in world – with Nepal the most Others languishing near bottom of 61-country study include Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan and Spain

One of the most nature depleted countries in the world is also one of the least nature connected, shocker...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

John Swinney gave a strong, thoughtful and principled speech and Q&A session including strong impressions from his recent visit to Malawi at today’s Just Transition Summit in Edinburgh. He announced that there will be a third incarnation of the Just Transition Commission

Environmental Standards Scotland Board Recruitment Event Hosted by CtC Environmental Standards Scotland is recruiting for its Board. Join us to find out more and if it may be right for you.

Come and hear from me, Vice Chair Marie Fallon and CEO Mark Roberts about what it's like to be on the Board of @EnvStanScot and the kind of skills we are looking for a new Board member ... Online chat, Monday at 5:30.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/environmen...

Come & join me on the Board of @envstanscot.bsky.social and make sure environmental law works! If you have great skills in communications or law we'd particularly love to hear from you. Closing date 17th November. Here's me talking about it www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrGX...

Info here: bit.ly/4nZxEEX

Broken equipment at Sullom Voe caused decade-long peak in emissions Shetland's methane emissions reached their highest level in a decade last year, driven by broken kit at EnQuest’s Sullom Voe terminal.

A compressor at Shetland's oil terminal broke for *nine* straight months last year, pushing the isles' entire methane emissions to a near decade high.

"It's an embarrassment for the whole community."

@alexjarmitage.bsky.social @r-dixon.bsky.social

www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/broken-...

Will I be the first to suggest the carbon offsets worked exactly as planned: they delayed real action for another 25 years

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity Developing countries lead the historic clean energy charge but the US and EU rely more on fossil fuels than before, a think tank study shows.

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity www.bbc.com/news/article...

Oh look, more than 80% of protected habitats in the EU are in a poor or bad state, according to a report by the EPA.

#collapse

Protect Arctic from 'dangerous' climate engineering, scientists warn Controversial approaches to cooling the planet are unlikely to work, according to dozens of polar scientists.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...