Molly Lempriere

NEW – Guest post: Greenland ice sheet shrinks for 30th year in a row | @martinstendel.bsky.social @ruthmottram.eurosky.social Read here: buff.ly/CN0JTzc

NEW – Q&A: Why are UK energy bills so high – and how could they be lowered? | @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org w/ comment from @drrcarmichael.bsky.social @stevenagnew.bsky.social Kate Mulvany, Ashutosh Padelkar Read here: buff.ly/7VDPSiM

Anthropic's IPO prospectus has some things to say about climate risks... "the physical effects of climate change may increase our operating costs over time, as higher average temps can increase the power consumption and water usage required to cool equipment at the facilities on which we depend"

There isn't much coming out of #COP17 nature talks. A lot happening behind closed doors, but most journalists are in the dark about the actual fights. With just 4 more days to go, @cop17arm.bsky.social presidency held only its third press interaction today. The next one's on Friday: finale day.

In the rush to build data centers, companies are starting to use their own off grid gas generators. This results in much higher emissions – 60% to 80% – compared with using their local electricity grid and risks locking in longer-term fossil dependence. www.theclimatebrink....

This week, thousands of delegates from around the world are meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, to review progress on key nature targets agreed for 2030. Carbon Brief’s @orladwyer.carbonbrief.org reports from Yerevan.

UPDATED – Analysis: Lula presidency saved at least 20,000km2 of Brazilian Amazon since 2022 ✍️ By @orladwyer.carbonbrief.org and @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social 💬 With comments from @claudioangelo.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/QqRBFfy

NEW BRIGHT SPOTS: Even on 100% gas power, heat pumps cut emissions by ~48% and EVs by about half. The authors of an “electrification doesn’t cut emissions” paper made a series of compounding mistakes and used misleading assumptions. Here's why. janrosenow.substack.com/p/heat-pumps...

The biggest and most important win for the environment in years. The pursuit of an end to Amazon deforestation and a fossil fuel phase out will now continue. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

President of the COP17 nature summit, Hambardzum Matevosyan, is “hopeful” for progress on key issues at the Yerevan talks. Here’s a rundown of what the Armenian environment minister told a small group of journalists, including @carbonbrief.org, about what's been happening over the past 4 days...

About 2/3 of the 50,000 deaths from the summer heatwaves in Europe are attributable to climate change, say Imperial College researchers That's risen from 2/5 at the start of the century Note that heat deaths are projected to rise faster than cold deaths fall www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Want to understand why last week's IPCC talks in Ethiopia were suspended? @rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org, @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org and I looked at what went down + what it all means for the next round of IPCC climate-science reports and UN's global stocktake. ➡️ tinyurl.com/34mb98je

NEW – Revealed: Expensive gas behind ‘nearly 90%’ of rise in UK electricity bills ✍️ By @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org 💬 With comments from @acjsissons.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/z1WXNOo

NEW ANALYSIS: Expensive gas behind "nearly 90%" of rise in UK household electricity bills since 2020 + 77% of the rise in gas bills Contrary to what you've seen in media / political narratives, net-zero is "helping to shelter Britain from the impact of expensive gas", says @acjsissons.bsky.social

Flashback to just 15 months ago... Andy Burnham endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty www.carbonbrief.org/28-quotes-fr...

NEW – UNEP: Opportunity has ‘been lost’ to meet 1.5C warming limit without ‘overshoot’ ✍️ Written by @daisydunne.carbonbrief.org @giulianaviglione.bsky.social and @rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org Read here: buff.ly/RL5y2Wd

The Guardian's homepage right now... 1. "UK approves Jackdaw gasfield in North Sea" 2. World must cut emissions by 18% in four years ‘to find our way back’, UN says

The problem is not really Jackdaw, which is pretty small. The problem is the UK's plan to transition away from fossil fuels is still not ambitious and detailed enough. The problem is if Rosebank follows. The problem is if every country develops one last fossil fuel project we're all screwed.

NEW – COP17: Which countries have released new pledges to tackle nature loss? ✍️ Written by @daisydunne.carbonbrief.org Read here: buff.ly/yeL6YpP

Four years out, how are countries getting on with 2030 nature targets? See for yourself: interactive.carbonbrief.org/nature-targe...

NEW – COP17: Developed countries ‘fall far short’ of UN targets for nature finance ✍️ By @arunacsekhar.bsky.social 💬 With comments from June Rubis and Siva Thambisetty Read here: buff.ly/UDjzJlD

REMINDER: If govt cuts heat-pump grants, the UK will have to import a lot more gas In 2023, Energy UK said that'd cost an extra £3bn over 2026-2030, but gas prices today are roughly ~2x what they were at the time of the analysis…

Good morning with good news: Solar saved Europe $40 billion in gas costs during Iran War, so far! Europe's gas price spiked ~126%, since day before the war. EVs saved Europe another $20 billion in oil costs! Renewables & EV protect economic security! www.euronews.com/2026/10/02/s... #energysky

NEW: Another demand downgrade in the latest IEA oil market report Previously, IEA said a rebound in 2027 would outweigh the Homuz-related drop in 2026 Now, it sees oil failing to make up lost ground next year – demand will remain below 2025 levels

Ahead of the IPCC-65 meeting kicking off next week in Addis, no better time to share @carbonbrief.org's explainer on the ongoing standoff between nations over the timeline of reports -- and why it matters for global climate action. www.carbonbrief.org/qa-why-the-s...

FACTCHECK: UK Conservatives double the ‘cost of net-zero’ after spreadsheet blunder The Tory "Right Way" booklet makes an erroneous claim about the cost of cutting emissions, possibly taken from a Jan26 thinktank report, and deffo the most idiotic error I've seen for a while 🧵

I often see people argue that clean energy is not reducing emissions, because it just adds to rather than replaces fossil fuels. This argument is deeply misguided – clean energy built since 2005 has displaced 23 billion tons. I dive in over at The Climate Brink:

I often see people claim that because clean energy sources like solar, wind, or nuclear are manufactured using fossil fuels their emissions are high. But thats absolutely not the case: even accounting for full lifecycle emissions they are vastly better than burning coal or gas:

EVs in the UK are "running out of juice"...except they're not..and never were. Again and again, critics have doubted EVs, yet the market simply keeps on growing. [Original graphic by Carbon Brief, annotations added later]

Electric cars just had their best month ever in the UK Nearly 100,000 new BEVs sold, +36% year-on-year (Data from SMMT, which continues to lobby for weaker EV targets)

Important to note if you see any of the auto lobby's interpretation of its own figures today: We are now WELL ahead of the 2030 target. They say they that isn't being hit but that is only true if you ignore the flexibilities they were given last year putting the real target at ~24.6%.

NEW ANALYSIS: Record wind and solar save UK from gas imports worth £5.9bn during Hormuz crisis 🌤️ wind/solar generation up 14% in 2026 to date 🏭 gas down ~10% 🚢 >100 LNG cargoes avoided

NEW – Analysis: Lula presidency saved at least 20,000km2 of Brazilian Amazon since 2022 ✍️ By @orladwyer.carbonbrief.org and @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social 💬 With comments from @claudioangelo.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/QqRBFfy

Fuel cost of running an electric vehicle vs petrol was always significant, now factor of 9 for diesel New EVs inevitably flow into second-hand market where ££ savings are made by all societal segments UK Govt plans to dilute the mandate for EVs will stop that www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...

The solar panels, electric vehicles, EV batteries and wind turbines exported by China in 2025 will avoid annual emissions equal to those of the UK and Portugal combined, according to my new estimates. Avoided emissions increased 30% compared with 2024 exports.

NEW – Interactive: What China’s dozens of ‘five-year plans’ say about climate and energy ✍️ Written by @anikanpatel.carbonbrief.org and Lekai Liu 🎨 Designed and developed by Tom Pearson and Kerry Cleaver Read here ➡️ buff.ly/tHajrdO

Gasoline prices in the US are soaring. EV sales should be booming. They're not. Policy rollbacks have left the US trailing China and Europe just when drivers need an alternative most.

NEW – Analysis: EVs are now nine times cheaper than petrol or diesel to drive in the UK ✍️ Written by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org 📊 Data analysis by Ho Woo Nam Read here: buff.ly/VpxOLE5

As petrol and diesel prices surge in the wake of the continued attacks on Russian refineries and escalating tensions in the Middle East, it is now nine times cheaper to drive an EV than a diesel car in the UK, This means EV drivers save ~£80 when "filling up" www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...

NEW – Analysis: Nepal’s $20m ‘loss-and-damage’ claim only covers 0.7% of flood costs | @arunacsekhar.bsky.social @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social w/ comment from @harjeet11.bsky.social Read here: www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-nep...

🔥 HOT OFF THE PRESS For the first time ever, @iea.org has published a dedicated Electrification Report. An absolute treasure trove of data. Here are the key takeaways that stood out to me when I peer-reviewed it. 🧵

The long view of North sea licenses: A short story with some fascinating historical details 🧵 How often are we told that new licenses can guarantee UK energy security, amid another energy crisis? But hang on: licenses for the much-discussed Jackdaw gas field were issued as long ago as 1970 (pic)

This year's El Niño event is moving into record territory, with the daily Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) tying the record previously set during the 2015/2016 super-El Niño. My latest over at Carbon Brief: www.carbonbrief.org/...

NEW – Analysis: ‘Super El Niño’ reaches ‘remarkable’ all-time record ✍️ Written by @zekehausfather.com Read here: buff.ly/4a9XUAK

NEW from us: India's rapid clean power expansion has kept power sector emissions flat for two years, for the first time in over 50 years, and sharply reduced fossil fuel imports. Oil and gas consumption have also fallen for two years in a row, helping alleviate the Hormuz shock.

NEW – Analysis: India’s power-sector emissions flat for two years due to clean-energy surge ✍️ Written by @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social and Anubha Aggarwal @creacleanair.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/JIwsTKV

NEW ANALYSIS: Global fossil-fuel emissions are set to fall by around 0.5% in 2026 amid the ongoing Hormuz crisis We've all see the scare stories about a "return to coal" – but the "demand destruction" for oil is even bigger Here's how it stacks up: www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-glo...

I'm just going to keep yelling this louder and louder until it clicks: weird overpaid AI nerds hand-wringing about human extinction are trying to distract you from the extremely deadly and serious harms they are causing yesterday, today and tomorrow www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

For years I've been told that aviation emissions are negligible, so don't worry your little head about them. But I've kept pointing out that there are - and will be - no good technical solutions, and they'll keep growing. Now we know just how big the problem is. www.carbonbrief.org/ccc-heathrow...

NEW – CCC: Heathrow expansion could push flights to ‘80% of UK emissions by 2050’ | By @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/SBtfvG3