Senior Science Editor at @CarbonBrief with a fondness for baking and Arsenal FC. All opinions are my own, however dull they might be.
Probably on a train
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Still kind of reeling from this… 😳
.@CarbonBrief has compiled data from 70+ peer-reviewed climate studies to show how #climatechange is projected to affect the world by regions. Check out the interactive summary here: interactive.carbonbrief.org/…
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
That popular graph suggesting Europe has actually had a good year for wildfires is misleading
- data encompass Russia, including Siberia
- can include fires deliberately lit to manage cropland
- area burned by wildfires across EU is second only to 2022
carbonbrief.org/factcheck-no…
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
NEW – Factcheck: No, Europe is not having its ‘quietest’ year for wildfires
✍️ @GAViglione and @rtmcswee
Read here: buff.ly/pDQGTR3
ALT The area burned by wildfires in the EU in 2026 by end of July is second only to 2022. Weekly cumulative burned area (hectares). Line graph shows 2026 burned area reaching over 400,000 hectares by late July, far exceeding the 2006-2025 average. Source: EFFIS - (alt text generated by Google Gemini)
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
NEW – Factcheck: No, Europe’s heatwaves are not being ‘caused’ by declining air pollution
✍️ written by @rtmcswee
💬 with comments from @bjornhs, @erichfischer and Pedro Roldan-Gomez
Read here ➡️ buff.ly/ukIO2fI
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
The arc of the scenario universe is long, but it bends inevitably toward more realistic emissions.
A new paper outlining the emissions scenarios we will be using in the upcoming IPCC AR7 report notes that "the CMIP6 high emission levels (quantified by SSP5-8.5) have become implausible".
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
NEW: Have YOU seen these FALSE OR MISLEADING CLAIMS about the NORTH SEA?
Find out more:
carbonbrief.org/factcheck-ni…
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
If you want to know more about how we established that there is a statistically significant increase in the speed of global warming since 2015, @CarbonBrief explains it nicely.
NEW – Pace of global warming has nearly doubled since 2015, reveals study
✍️ @AyeshaTandon
Read here: buff.ly/60Q5TkL
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For such a softly spoken guy, Ben doesn't hold back on the Trump administration:
"Insane. That’s the only word for it. Removing our ability to measure and monitor how the world around us is changing, makes no sense whatsoever."
NEW – Prof Ben Santer: Trump administration is ‘embracing ignorance’ on climate science | @rtmcswee
Read here ⬇️
buff.ly/2lKP1CG
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Here's our annual look at the most talked-about climate papers of the previous year:
NEW – Analysis: The climate papers most featured in the media in 2025 | @rtmcswee @AyeshaTandon
Read here: buff.ly/sF3cD1c
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
Are you a journalist covering COP30 looking for new and diverse sources?
Check out the Global South Climate Database.
This publicly available, searchable database features 1000+ climate scientists and experts from the global south.
🌍🔗 buff.ly/5bhfWeV
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Here's our annual look at COP delegates:
Top story: no US delegation for the 1st time in COP history
Also: ~56k people registered, so no big drop-off despite accommodation issues in Belém
(Caveat: these are provisional figures)
Also also: most "virtual" delegates ever
#COP30
NEW – Analysis: Which countries have sent the most delegates to COP30? | @rtmcswee Ho Woo Nam
Read here: buff.ly/I5pUBHu
ALT Overall totals for delegates from parties, observers and the media for all COPs, as published by the UNFCCC (see this article for more details on the data). Data for COPs 1-29 are the “final” figures, while COP30 data is “provisional”. Chart by Carbon Brief.
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
In a UN speech today, President Trump said that "all of these [climate] predictions were wrong".
Back in 2019 I led a research effort to digitize old climate model projections and assess how well they did. Turns out they got future warming pretty spot on!
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
Well this is embarrassing for "newspaper of record" The Times:
Its coverage of EVs is the most misleading among UK titles, with 52% of pieces in H1 2024 containing at least one misleading statement
(The Daily Telegraph "wins" on volume, with 44 misleading pieces)
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
The recent DOE climate science report misrepresents the work of many researchers. Carbon Brief asked those cited to review the parts of the report where their work was used, and we collectively found 100+ misleading or false statements: interactive.carbonbrief.org/…
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More net-zero misinformation in the @Telegraph
It claims that a proposed scheme to put the cost of recycling onto packaging producers, rather than local councils, is a “net-zero glass tax”.
It is about waste management, not net-zero.
Somehow, this made it onto the frontpage 🤦
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Here's more on the “Packaging extended producer responsibility” scheme: commonslibrary.parliament.uk…
I suspect the Telegraph knows that the connection to net-zero is bogus as it only mentions the phrase in its headline & opening line.
Link here: telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06…
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And then @thetimes, revealing its credulity, has followed with its own piece that does exactly the same thing (just 2 hours later):
thetimes.com/uk/environment/…
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
Chart: The rise, fall and rise of UK nuclear power over eight decades
Written by @DrSimEvans. Data analysis by Ho Woo Nam. Visuals by @tomoprater.
Read here ➡️ buff.ly/54FJd7w
ALT UK nuclear capacity, 1955-2100, gigawatts. Individual plants are shown separately. Source: World Nuclear Association and Carbon Brief analysis.
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
NEW – Explainer: How human-caused aerosols are ‘masking’ global warming | @hausfath
Read here: buff.ly/46ERb71
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
2025 had the second warmest first quarter (Jan-Mar) on record, just a hair behind last year (2024). This is remarkable since 2024 was boosted by a strong El Nino event, while 2025 started off in weak La Nina conditions.
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Robert McSweeney retweeted
My HORRIFYING cartoon for this week’s @GuardianBooks
ALT Title: Modern Folk horrors of the British Isles Five images of various characters: A coven of murderous witches... Who play loud youtube videos on public transport. An ancient malevolent demon... With a three-hour podcast interviewing entrepreneurs. A flock of bloodthirsty ravens... Who think absolutely everything is "Woke". A primordial shambling beast... Wearing a "Make albion great again" baseball cap. A mob of satanic villagers... Who give bad reviews to books they haven't read.
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