Dom Pates

If #NetZero is the simple but complex slogan to define the story of where we want to get to with #ClimateChange - where the carbon cycle is brought back into balance - what’s the equivalent story slogan for sustainability? #CircularEconomy? #NaturePositive? Or is it too complex to reduce like that?

In one day, two politicians - Bolsonaro in Brazil and Vucic in Serbia - with ties to Trump have lost surprise elections thanks to high turnout. The rise of the international far-right is not inevitable.

Vucic concedes defeat! Political earthquake in the Balkans!

A significant shift, however much the circular migration point is overdone. Here's my piece on why this matters from two weeks ago www.arguably.uk/p/eu-free-mo...

Kudos to NBC New York for saying it without equivocation: "The US is to blame for the world falling behind in the fight against climate change."

‘Capitalism is not an excuse for treason’ is a pretty strong takeaway from this piece…

Back from Cardiff and #ALTc and I’m doing a short notice set. Titled ‘Land Of My Father’s’, it’s an hour of music from Wales and Welsh musicians. Live on ttns.uk at 23:00 tonight. #TTNS #InternetRadio

We are so living through the stupidest of timelines…

What are the implications of the jackdaw decision for the UK’s climate leadership ambitions? theconversation.com/jackdaw-deci...

I'm excited to be part of the ALT-C radio show hosted by @dompates.bsky.social - my Copyright Waffle ALT-C special goes out tomorrow. See the full schedule here

The Out of Office has gone on, signalling the start of the pending Welsh odyssey. 48 hrs of radio to produce, 3 conference sessions to deliver and take part in, the Land Of My Fathers, and much more. Still so much to do before setting off! #ALTc #ALTc26 #ALTcRadio

Yes indeed, scarier than climate change. Solar geoengineering advocates are now trying to hook this to discussions of overshoot by rebranding solargeo as "climate stabilization." It's not. It sets up the climate for a destabilization of a kind that is unprecedented in all of Earth history.

Earlier this year, E3G released a big report with the Department of War Studies at Kings College which showed that our dependence on gas is a major national security risk. Cutting heat pumps to fund defence is like not paying for a flu jab so you can buy lemsip. It makes no sense.

AI as ‘asbestos of the mind’. Now *there’s* an analogy for ya!

"We're Breaking Up": On Communication Before and After the New Tech. Gloriously written piece from Rebecca Solnit on being a person of two eras - mass communication but individual solitude vs the information density of everything, everywhere, all at once of today. I feel somewhat seen.

Book now: Our major new @climatemajority.bsky.social report on #Climate Popularism, co-authored by @carolinelucas.bsky.social, launches on October 15th. Hear all about it at our online breakfast webinar. Reserve your free spot today! www.tickettailor.com/events/clima...

Probably one of the better pieces you might ever read amidst all the froth about AI taking away all human jobs (and, um, then destroying humanity)…

Lots of talk of growth ahead of the Budget, as if it were a baroque puzzle. Our problem is basic. It's that we no longer support the things which facilitate growth: Europe, immigration, higher education, tax simplification, policy stability. These are all choices and could stop making them anytime.

Am absolutely thrilled to be one of the nominees for the inaugural ALT Volunteer of the Year Award, for the work done on #ALTcRadio. If you’ve listened to the shows, played a part, or want to help out a chap hustling for votes, you can add your vote here 👇🏼 #altc docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

When it comes to climate change, we're using every tool at our disposal — including everyday infrastructure — to keep New Yorkers safe.

Yes, yes, very much so. Good piece. #BeMoreHuman

But is it fascism? Do they really yearn for apocalypse? Isn't that polarizing? Shouldn't we be nice to them? We made a short video so folks can hear the end timers in their own words and judge for themselves: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK2n...

I was asked by a colleague from my oil & gas days (who has remained in the industry) why UK producing its own gas is less acceptable to the Greens (& others) than importing it from America and West Africa.' The full question & my reply is now online at: climateuncensored.com/there-is-no-...

Every single nation on the planet needs to extract zero fossil fuels. Every single nation on the planet needs to burn zero fossil fuels. Both need to be true.

Spent a chunk of today co-hosting a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing at work. Although I’d already seen it, I still felt quite emotional in putting it on. So important to discuss the #ClimateCrisis with colleagues afterwards. #PEB Host your own 👇🏼 www.nebriefing.org/host-the-film

A suggested statement for Andy Burnham.

👏👏👏

Very serious food for thought. And action, for that matter. #PostAmericanInternet

Next week will be pretty full on. Not only will I be co-hosting a workplace screening of the ‘People’s Emergency Briefing’, but will also be taking part in the large ‘Creative Intelligence’ exhibition at London’s Southbank: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/exp... A first for everything!

Late summer highlights, now the heatwaves have ended + back-to-school is on: a passenger ferry family day trip to Dieppe, the Bowie immersive exhibition near King’s Cross with friends, and a solo day of volunteering for the Ealing Beaver Project at Paradise Fields. Much else awaits this year.

Can one overdose on schadenfreude?

Fascinating. When I saw ‘The Odyssey’, I was perplexed at why Nolan had chosen to depict the Trojan Horse differently from all those other historical depictions (ie on wheels). Never thought of the connection with the Statue of Liberty on the beach in ‘Planet of the Apes’…

Thanks so much folks for choosing "The Hockey Stick & the Climate Wars" as one of your favorite climate books! Via @sarapeach.bsky.social of @climateconnections.bsky.social: yaleclimateconnections.org/2026/09/staf... #HSCW

‘Berlin and the Machine’ - my latest bit of writing, where I wrestle with whether to deploy a bot or not as a tool/writing partner. A particular struggle during these times of techlash, but at least I finally got a reflection on last year’s #OEB event out. dompates.medium.com/berlin-and-t...

A solid set of essential principles to live by… #transitionism

There is infinitely more damage to be done, or to put it another way there is infinitely more damage we might still be able to forestall. And that’s what should concern us. billmckibben.substack.com/p/the-growin...

This is seems such a curious way to go. Ulez is a success. The results are in, and unarguable. The arguments have stopped. People have adapted.

These people just don’t seem to care about a wider population than their own narrow demographic of voters…

Yup, ❤️ David Byrne…

Terrific piece this:

‘The question is no longer whether our societies will undergo significant transformation but whether we will shape that transformation deliberately or merely react to crises as they unfold. The choice is not between change and no change. It is between planned adaptation and forced adaptation.’

My fellow Nighthawk and I will be making our first foray to South Africa from 22:00 (UK time) tonight, fully expecting it to end up an African Diner mini series. Expect classics + roots. Live on TTNS.uk till midnight tonight (Aug 27). Join us in the chatroom. #InternetRadio

And that is a damned good way to think about life. #RIPDolly

[Exit Queen.]

Will take the start of the 26/27 football season with Brighton & Hove Albion sitting at the top of the Premier League as a win. You never know when it might happen again. #Seagulls

ULEZ was exactly like when they brought in the seatbelt requirement for car users. People screaming about personal inconvenience or change, while there on the page was clear evidence that this would save lives. it was delivering the biggest improvement in London's health since the smog ban.

It feels so alien by now in this British summer to awake to rain and have it persist on leaving the house. Welcome, nevertheless.