Geoffrey Lean

Now there is hope! It's no longer a choice between grim and grimmer. We can vote for who we want and win. Anywhere.
It's just one constituency, but the Green victory in Gorton and Denton is an electric shock to our political system.

This waterlogged corner of England was once only habitable during summer. Climate change could make it so again As the UK experiences high levels of rain, Somerset Levels in the south-west of England is trying to cope with extreme flooding and its consequences.

Fascinating piece on the Somerset Levels. theconversation.com/this-waterlo...

The signal and the noise How media fragmentation is changing politics and what governments need to do to adapt

This from @samfr.bsky.social is much the most enlightening piece I have read about the fragmenting media landscape - and how to navigate it….
samf.substack.com/p/the-signal...

Lovely to see!

Thinking of you.

me too!

'The biggest win for nature in a generation': High Seas Treaty enters into force Landmark ocean protections enter into force - but green groups slam 'glacial' UK progress in writing treaty into law

The High Seas Treaty came into force today following ratification by over 60 countries. Multilateralism is not quite dead yet.
www.businessgreen.com/news/4524322...

This is a must-read.

UK aid cuts mean girls' education programmes axed or delayed A total of 12 projects have been delayed or cancelled this year as part of the shrinking of Britain's international aid budget

Educating women and girls is recognised as the single most effective use of aid. But Britain’s cuts are slashing it, while continuing to provide massive help for climate- harming fossil fuel production. Outrageous! inews.co.uk/news/girls-e...

The graph in this story actually destroys its thesis, that green levies and taxes cause the UK‘s high energy prices. It showe they are in fact among the lowest in the developed world, adding little to the cost! Blame gas instead...
www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...

Glacier loss to accelerate, with up to 4,000 disappearing each year by 2050s Thousands of glaciers will vanish each year in the coming decades, leaving only a fraction standing by the end of the century unless global warming is curbed, a study showed on Monday.

Dreadful, if predictable, news on glaciers. Incalculable consequences, not least for water supply to much of Asia.

phys.org/news/2025-12...

Climate Models Got It Wrong: Plants Can’t Absorb As Much CO₂ As We Thought Overestimated nitrogen availability has led climate models to exaggerate how much plant growth can offset rising CO2 levels. Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are a major driver of cli...

scitechdaily.com/climate-mode... Seriously worrying research which shows that - once again - scientists have been gravely underestimating the dangers of climate change. also explodes the mouth that increasing CO2 will greatly boost crop yields.

Here’s some good news. India met half its vast power demand from clean energy on July 29th @ed-king.bsky.social told a Green Alliance webinar today. Just one, doubtless hot, day but quite an indication of the big energy transition gathering speed despite all the pro fossil fuel commentary.

Good news!. Good luck for the cash….

Goo

In further 'words no longer have any meaning' news, Lord Glasman wants 'clean, abundant' energy, including coal, fossil fuels, and North Sea gas. www.desmog.com/2025/11/28/l...

Watershed Pollution Map showing methane emissions around the UK.

You can also filter the map to show just how much methane - a potent greenhouse gas - is already being released by oil + gas extraction in the North Sea. Expanding this means releasing ever more of a gas that makes a huge contribution to climate change:

share.google/dZfNuOIn5LOu...

Good luck! Thinking of you….

Keeping promises on renewables, energy efficiency and methane ‘would avoid nearly 1C of global heating’ Analysis published at Cop30 summit shows adhering to pledges offers world hope of avoiding climate breakdown

Climate breakdown can be avoided if only countries make good on their existing promises to boost renewables and energy efficiency and cut methane emissions, explain @fionaharvey.bsky.social and @jonathan-watts.bsky.social in this important must-read.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Will the Greens' surge continue? Should Starmer sack Morgan McSweeney? Will Trump run for a third term? Answering (lots) of your questions

Wise points on cheaper energy and climate disasters as macrotrends in this typically great column by @samfr.bsky.social
samf.substack.com/p/will-the-g...

Cutting home insulation funding will imperil UK’s climate goals, Reeves told Energy firms and charities urge chancellor to avoid short-term fix that could also harm low-income households

Cutting home insulation funding will imperil UK’s climate goals, Reeves told

- Energy firms and charities urge chancellor to avoid short-term fix that could also harm low-income households

#UKbudget
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Thinking of Marmite - and you…….

I fear we got the change - for the worse….

Developers met ministers dozens of times over planning bill while ecologists were shut out Exclusive: Leading ecologists say warnings over threat to wildlife have been ignored in drive to build 1.5m new homes

Why am i not surprised? The governments new planning policies released a year ago looked as if they had been written by the housebuilders and they have moved in their direction more than I could ever have imagined since. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

William: Courage, co-operation and commitment needed to tackle climate crisis The Prince of Wales has made a landmark speech at the Cop30 summit in Brazil.

Prince william is right to warn that irreversible,world-changing tipping points are dangerously close. Five lie beyond the 1.5 degree guardrail that we are fast approaching. Need for rapid action, especially on methane which has fastest effect.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/nationa...

At Tebay services on the M6. Britain’s only family run service station, it seems, and a revelation. Home cooked food, fabulous views and ducks in a pond!

Starmer may drop key green pledge in effort to keep energy bills down Exclusive: Promise to remove almost all fossil fuels from UK’s electricity supply by 2030 may be abandoned over cost

Here we go again. Another concocted row over climate policy that damages investor confidence and policy clarity, but practically changes very little.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

In his latest blog, Sir David King warns: cutting CO₂ alone won’t be enough.

Methane drives over a third of global warming. Acting on it today could slow heating within decades. The technology is here. What’s needed is focus, fairness and political courage.

www.ccag.earth/news/methane...

Energy transitions don't happen everywhere all at once. They happen sector by sector, place by place. Pointing out that some sectors and places are not advancing yet does not negate that others have come a long way.

Here are the Nordics - heat pump roll-out replaced fossil fuels reducing emissions.