The Climate Historian
@climatehistories.bsky.social
Environmental Science, Climate History, Climate Politics and Geopolitics https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/
The #COP30 agreed on a package. It does not include a transition away from fossil fuels.
It hardly comes as a surprise.
Predictably, the transition was blocked by fossil fuel interests and oil‑producing states, determined to protect their business model at the expense of climate action.
It hardly comes as a surprise.
Predictably, the transition was blocked by fossil fuel interests and oil‑producing states, determined to protect their business model at the expense of climate action.
November 22, 2025 at 5:41 PM
The #COP30 agreed on a package. It does not include a transition away from fossil fuels.
It hardly comes as a surprise.
Predictably, the transition was blocked by fossil fuel interests and oil‑producing states, determined to protect their business model at the expense of climate action.
It hardly comes as a surprise.
Predictably, the transition was blocked by fossil fuel interests and oil‑producing states, determined to protect their business model at the expense of climate action.
Something a bit different from me this weekend.
How To Spot A Fascist
or, how societies seduce themselves into authoritarianism.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How To Spot A Fascist
or, how societies seduce themselves into authoritarianism.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How To Spot A Fascist
or, How Societies Seduce Themselves into Authoritarianism
open.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Something a bit different from me this weekend.
How To Spot A Fascist
or, how societies seduce themselves into authoritarianism.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How To Spot A Fascist
or, how societies seduce themselves into authoritarianism.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
GDP tells us how much we produce - not how well we live.
It worked after WWII, but today we need new metrics that reflect how long we live, how secure we are, and whether our environment can sustain us.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
It worked after WWII, but today we need new metrics that reflect how long we live, how secure we are, and whether our environment can sustain us.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Beyond growth — why we need to agree on an alternative to GDP now
The world needs to move towards an approach to measure well-being rather than economic growth. Here’s how that can happen.
www.nature.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:10 AM
GDP tells us how much we produce - not how well we live.
It worked after WWII, but today we need new metrics that reflect how long we live, how secure we are, and whether our environment can sustain us.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
It worked after WWII, but today we need new metrics that reflect how long we live, how secure we are, and whether our environment can sustain us.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How Big Oil Undermined Our Future
A look at the double strategy that protected profits while imperiling the planet.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
A look at the double strategy that protected profits while imperiling the planet.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How Big Oil Undermined Our Future
A look at the double strategy that protected profits while imperiling the planet.
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:08 PM
How Big Oil Undermined Our Future
A look at the double strategy that protected profits while imperiling the planet.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
A look at the double strategy that protected profits while imperiling the planet.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
On the connection between violence against people and violence against the planet.
new Substack posting ...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
new Substack posting ...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How can people be so violent?
On the connection between violence against people and violence against the planet.
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
On the connection between violence against people and violence against the planet.
new Substack posting ...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
new Substack posting ...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Guterres is right.
Every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, more displacement and more lives & ecosystems lost.
Fossil fuel companies are deceiving the public Every dollar poured into subsidies for fossil fuels is a dollar diverted from our health & shared future.
shorturl.at/ZEtXo
Every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, more displacement and more lives & ecosystems lost.
Fossil fuel companies are deceiving the public Every dollar poured into subsidies for fossil fuels is a dollar diverted from our health & shared future.
shorturl.at/ZEtXo
Missing 1.5C climate target is a moral failure, UN chief tells Cop30 summit
UN secretary general António Guterres urges opening session in Brazil to bring about a ‘fundamental paradigm shift’
shorturl.at
November 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Guterres is right.
Every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, more displacement and more lives & ecosystems lost.
Fossil fuel companies are deceiving the public Every dollar poured into subsidies for fossil fuels is a dollar diverted from our health & shared future.
shorturl.at/ZEtXo
Every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, more displacement and more lives & ecosystems lost.
Fossil fuel companies are deceiving the public Every dollar poured into subsidies for fossil fuels is a dollar diverted from our health & shared future.
shorturl.at/ZEtXo
Hotter, Sicker, Poorer: Why Climate Change Is Now a Public Health Emergency
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Hotter, Sicker, Poorer: Why Climate Change Is Now a Public Health Emergency
By any measure, 2024 was a year of climate reckoning.
open.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Hotter, Sicker, Poorer: Why Climate Change Is Now a Public Health Emergency
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
We saw it coming, but still ...
Zohran Mamdani is elected New York City mayor
And that’s not all ...
Democrats swept the PA Supreme Court races and key elections in Virginia, New Jersey and California go to Democrats.
Somewhere, Trump is probably drafting an ALL-CAPS tweet
Zohran Mamdani is elected New York City mayor
And that’s not all ...
Democrats swept the PA Supreme Court races and key elections in Virginia, New Jersey and California go to Democrats.
Somewhere, Trump is probably drafting an ALL-CAPS tweet
November 5, 2025 at 3:11 AM
We saw it coming, but still ...
Zohran Mamdani is elected New York City mayor
And that’s not all ...
Democrats swept the PA Supreme Court races and key elections in Virginia, New Jersey and California go to Democrats.
Somewhere, Trump is probably drafting an ALL-CAPS tweet
Zohran Mamdani is elected New York City mayor
And that’s not all ...
Democrats swept the PA Supreme Court races and key elections in Virginia, New Jersey and California go to Democrats.
Somewhere, Trump is probably drafting an ALL-CAPS tweet
V For Vendetta Speech - Seeds of Revolution! HD
YouTube video by Xander Munro
www.youtube.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Hard as it is to read Virginia Giuffre's story, it is far more necessary, for this is not just a memoir of abuse, it’s a searing look into how sexual predators operate, how they manipulate, and silence their victims. And how society lets them. open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Nobody’s Girl: Why Virginia Giuffre’s Story Can’t Be Ignored
“He did not act alone. The reckoning must not end... We trust the government is listening and the others will be brought to justice.”
open.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Hard as it is to read Virginia Giuffre's story, it is far more necessary, for this is not just a memoir of abuse, it’s a searing look into how sexual predators operate, how they manipulate, and silence their victims. And how society lets them. open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Bhopal: When a Sleeping City Met a Toxic Dawn
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Bhopal: When a Sleeping City Met a Toxic Dawn
It was a December night in 1984, and the city Bhopal was quiet.
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Bhopal: When a Sleeping City Met a Toxic Dawn
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
The Vanishing Art of Being Unseen
Why choosing to be unseen may be the truest form of freedom left
open.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Climate change will have serious consequences but it'll not lead to our demise, Gates said
It will just kill millions of people, countless species, and the ecosystems that keep the rest of us alive. But at least wise billionaires will still be around to advise us.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/b...
It will just kill millions of people, countless species, and the ecosystems that keep the rest of us alive. But at least wise billionaires will still be around to advise us.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/b...
Bill Gates makes a stunning claim about climate change | CNN Business
In a stunning and significant pushback to the “doomsday” climate activist community, Bill Gates, a leading proponent for carbon emissions reductions, published a remarkable essay Tuesday that argued r...
edition.cnn.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Climate change will have serious consequences but it'll not lead to our demise, Gates said
It will just kill millions of people, countless species, and the ecosystems that keep the rest of us alive. But at least wise billionaires will still be around to advise us.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/b...
It will just kill millions of people, countless species, and the ecosystems that keep the rest of us alive. But at least wise billionaires will still be around to advise us.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/b...
Iceland just got its first mosquitoes.
Icelanders can thank climate change and the growth of international transportation for this new arrival on their shores.
Antarctica, you're officially the last mosquito-free frontier. Hold strong.
www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
Icelanders can thank climate change and the growth of international transportation for this new arrival on their shores.
Antarctica, you're officially the last mosquito-free frontier. Hold strong.
www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
Iceland reports the presence of mosquitoes for the first time, as climate warms
The discovery of three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes was confirmed this week by the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, which said the mosquitoes likely arrived by freight.
www.npr.org
October 25, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Iceland just got its first mosquitoes.
Icelanders can thank climate change and the growth of international transportation for this new arrival on their shores.
Antarctica, you're officially the last mosquito-free frontier. Hold strong.
www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
Icelanders can thank climate change and the growth of international transportation for this new arrival on their shores.
Antarctica, you're officially the last mosquito-free frontier. Hold strong.
www.npr.org/2025/10/22/n...
Let's Talk About Trains
How Europe’s skies are subsidized at the expense of rail, the climate, and our patience.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How Europe’s skies are subsidized at the expense of rail, the climate, and our patience.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Let's Talk About Trains
How Europe’s skies are subsidized at the expense of rail, the climate, and our patience.
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Let's Talk About Trains
How Europe’s skies are subsidized at the expense of rail, the climate, and our patience.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How Europe’s skies are subsidized at the expense of rail, the climate, and our patience.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
In 2022, Ireland did something bold. It trusted its artists. 2000 creators received €325 a week, no strings attached. The result was more art, less anxiety, stronger communities, and even economic gains.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
What Happens When a Nation Invests on Creativity
In 2022 Ireland did something bold. It trusted its artists.
open.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:47 AM
In 2022, Ireland did something bold. It trusted its artists. 2000 creators received €325 a week, no strings attached. The result was more art, less anxiety, stronger communities, and even economic gains.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Over 40 methane seafloor cracks seeps have just been found in Antarctica’s Ross Sea, in areas where none were seen before. Scientists say it signals a major shift likely driven by warming seas and glacier melt.
What was once rare is now becoming widespread.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/10/c...
What was once rare is now becoming widespread.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/10/c...
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica | CNN
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate,” raising fears that future global warming predictions may have been und...
edition.cnn.com
October 18, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Over 40 methane seafloor cracks seeps have just been found in Antarctica’s Ross Sea, in areas where none were seen before. Scientists say it signals a major shift likely driven by warming seas and glacier melt.
What was once rare is now becoming widespread.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/10/c...
What was once rare is now becoming widespread.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/10/c...
How the US-China Rare Earth Wars Threaten Europe's Energy Policy and Security
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How the US-China Rare Earth Wars Threaten Europe's Energy Policy and Security
The trade war over rare earth minerals has become the latest arena where the United States and China rehearse their rivalry, each pretending it is about economic policy while everyone knows it is real...
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 12:59 PM
How the US-China Rare Earth Wars Threaten Europe's Energy Policy and Security
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
When data is compromised, so too is our ability to predict and prepare for extreme weather.
In short, you can’t forecast what you can’t measure.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/14/w...
In short, you can’t forecast what you can’t measure.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/14/w...
Lack of weather data due to Trump’s budget cuts impacted forecast for deadly Alaska storm | CNN
The forecast for the powerful and deadly storm that battered small communities in western Alaska over the weekend was likely made worse by a lack of weather data triggered by the Trump administration’...
edition.cnn.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:12 AM
When data is compromised, so too is our ability to predict and prepare for extreme weather.
In short, you can’t forecast what you can’t measure.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/14/w...
In short, you can’t forecast what you can’t measure.
edition.cnn.com/2025/10/14/w...
The Normalisation of Hate
How far-right extremism crept into everyday politics and why so many of us stopped noticing.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How far-right extremism crept into everyday politics and why so many of us stopped noticing.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
The Normalisation of Hate
How far-right extremism crept into everyday politics and why so many of us stopped noticing.
open.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:29 AM
The Normalisation of Hate
How far-right extremism crept into everyday politics and why so many of us stopped noticing.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
How far-right extremism crept into everyday politics and why so many of us stopped noticing.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Writing today about @zackpolanski.bsky.social , Largely ignored by mainstream media, yet since his election as Green Party leader in Sept 2025, the Greens have become the UK’s fastest-growing party and credible alternative to the long-established parties.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Who is Zack Polanski?
A few years ago, hardly anyone outside green politics had heard of Zack Polanski, but today he leads the Green Party of England and Wales and is at the heart of a remarkable transformation in British ...
open.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Writing today about @zackpolanski.bsky.social , Largely ignored by mainstream media, yet since his election as Green Party leader in Sept 2025, the Greens have become the UK’s fastest-growing party and credible alternative to the long-established parties.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
The Trump administration has decided that the road to American energy greatness is paved with coal dust.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Two Energy Futures: Washington’s Coal Revival vs. Beijing’s Renewable Surge
The Trump administration has decided that the road to American energy greatness is paved with coal dust.
open.substack.com
September 30, 2025 at 11:16 AM
The Trump administration has decided that the road to American energy greatness is paved with coal dust.
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Given the widespread distrust of Tony Blair among Palestinians, the lack of consensus and support from regional actors, and the ongoing security, political, and humanitarian crises in Gaza, what could possibly go wrong with this plan?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Washington backing plan for Tony Blair to head transitional Gaza authority
Reported proposal for international body to oversee Gaza for up to five years counters UN-backed plan for faster transition to Palestinian rule
www.theguardian.com
September 26, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Given the widespread distrust of Tony Blair among Palestinians, the lack of consensus and support from regional actors, and the ongoing security, political, and humanitarian crises in Gaza, what could possibly go wrong with this plan?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
United States: Where killers dial their insurers, daughters vow chastity to their dads, and families are built not on love and trust, but on control.
open.substack.com/pub/marginal...
open.substack.com/pub/marginal...
United States: America: Where Virgins Pledge to Their Fathers and Killers Call Their Insurer
I read that in the United States, there are about two million people who actually pay for something called “self-defense insurance.” What on earth is that, you may wonder.
open.substack.com
September 25, 2025 at 2:19 PM
United States: Where killers dial their insurers, daughters vow chastity to their dads, and families are built not on love and trust, but on control.
open.substack.com/pub/marginal...
open.substack.com/pub/marginal...
Take lessons from England. When essential utilities are handed over to private profiteers, the public and the environment always pays the price.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
United Utilities underspent £52m on vital work in Windermere, FoI reveals
Privatised water company criticised over efforts to connect private septic tanks to mains and cut pollution
www.theguardian.com
September 25, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Take lessons from England. When essential utilities are handed over to private profiteers, the public and the environment always pays the price.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...