Simon Evans
@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
Press Gazette energy & environment journalist of the year 2022
Highly commended:
Society of Editors 2025
Shortlisted:
Press Awards 2025
Press Gazette 2025
AOP 2025
Deputy Ed + Snr Policy Ed, Carbon Brief
[email protected]
Highly commended:
Society of Editors 2025
Shortlisted:
Press Awards 2025
Press Gazette 2025
AOP 2025
Deputy Ed + Snr Policy Ed, Carbon Brief
[email protected]
Pinned
Simon Evans
@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
· Nov 23
🚨 JUST PUBLISHED: CARBON BRIEF’S #COP30 SUMMARY 🚨
It's an EPIC 20,000 words of top-notch, plain-english reporting…
–Global mutirão
–Adaptation finance
–Fossil-fuel roadmap
–China
+Much more
Very proud of team CB for getting this out so fast
www.carbonbrief.org/...
It's an EPIC 20,000 words of top-notch, plain-english reporting…
–Global mutirão
–Adaptation finance
–Fossil-fuel roadmap
–China
+Much more
Very proud of team CB for getting this out so fast
www.carbonbrief.org/...
Reposted by Simon Evans
Nearly 5GW of solar contracted in UK govt auction. Biggest ever in capacity and confirms solar as the cheapest power in Britain. More solar = lower bills.
BREAKING: UK govt auction secures 4.9GW new solar at £65/MWh and 1.3GW new onshore wind at £72/MWh, 13% and 21% below the price cap respectively.
All due online by 2029.
All due online by 2029.
February 10, 2026 at 7:51 AM
Nearly 5GW of solar contracted in UK govt auction. Biggest ever in capacity and confirms solar as the cheapest power in Britain. More solar = lower bills.
Reposted by Simon Evans
A great day for cheap power enthusiasts as 5GW of solar comes in at £65/MWh and 1.3GW of onshore wind comes in at £72.24/MWh. Both prices are in £2024 and are below the wholesale price, meaning that these projects will cut costs.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698a0d...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698a0d...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
February 10, 2026 at 7:42 AM
A great day for cheap power enthusiasts as 5GW of solar comes in at £65/MWh and 1.3GW of onshore wind comes in at £72.24/MWh. Both prices are in £2024 and are below the wholesale price, meaning that these projects will cut costs.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698a0d...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698a0d...
Reposted by Simon Evans
Good to see solar and onshore wind coming in a lot cheaper than offshore here. They are by some distance the cheapest new electricity generation capacity we can build in Britain.
BREAKING: UK govt auction secures 4.9GW new solar at £65/MWh and 1.3GW new onshore wind at £72/MWh, 13% and 21% below the price cap respectively.
All due online by 2029.
All due online by 2029.
February 10, 2026 at 7:33 AM
Good to see solar and onshore wind coming in a lot cheaper than offshore here. They are by some distance the cheapest new electricity generation capacity we can build in Britain.
BREAKING: UK govt auction secures 4.9GW new solar at £65/MWh and 1.3GW new onshore wind at £72/MWh, 13% and 21% below the price cap respectively.
All due online by 2029.
All due online by 2029.
February 10, 2026 at 7:25 AM
BREAKING: UK govt auction secures 4.9GW new solar at £65/MWh and 1.3GW new onshore wind at £72/MWh, 13% and 21% below the price cap respectively.
All due online by 2029.
All due online by 2029.
Reposted by Simon Evans
This is the key point that is lost in so much Westminster bubble talk on net zero. It is popular. It’s hugely popular with Labour’s base and with the progressive voters it needs to vote tactically to defeat Reform. And it’s even popular with Tories who Labour needs not to switch to Reform.
…as well as being supported by the vast majority of Lab/Lib/Gn voters, almost all Labour MPs, a 2-1 majority of voters overall and – even now – a healthy majority of Con voters
February 8, 2026 at 10:16 PM
This is the key point that is lost in so much Westminster bubble talk on net zero. It is popular. It’s hugely popular with Labour’s base and with the progressive voters it needs to vote tactically to defeat Reform. And it’s even popular with Tories who Labour needs not to switch to Reform.
Reposted by Simon Evans
Going to reconcile myself to the fact that the “cost of net zero” debate will always be annoying.
Mainly because:
a) net zero isn’t a discrete spending line (e.g., you mainly buy an EV for the car bit);
b) you need a counterfactual (what would it cost if we don’t do net zero?) and that’s hard
Mainly because:
a) net zero isn’t a discrete spending line (e.g., you mainly buy an EV for the car bit);
b) you need a counterfactual (what would it cost if we don’t do net zero?) and that’s hard
February 8, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Going to reconcile myself to the fact that the “cost of net zero” debate will always be annoying.
Mainly because:
a) net zero isn’t a discrete spending line (e.g., you mainly buy an EV for the car bit);
b) you need a counterfactual (what would it cost if we don’t do net zero?) and that’s hard
Mainly because:
a) net zero isn’t a discrete spending line (e.g., you mainly buy an EV for the car bit);
b) you need a counterfactual (what would it cost if we don’t do net zero?) and that’s hard
Reposted by Simon Evans
How much will it cost the UK to reach an 87% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040?
In a new letter, @thecccuk.bsky.social confirms about £4bn a year (£26bn a year of costs minus £22bn a year of savings).
www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/u...
87% by 2040 is a stepping stone to net zero by 2050
In a new letter, @thecccuk.bsky.social confirms about £4bn a year (£26bn a year of costs minus £22bn a year of savings).
www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/u...
87% by 2040 is a stepping stone to net zero by 2050
February 3, 2026 at 10:40 AM
How much will it cost the UK to reach an 87% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040?
In a new letter, @thecccuk.bsky.social confirms about £4bn a year (£26bn a year of costs minus £22bn a year of savings).
www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/u...
87% by 2040 is a stepping stone to net zero by 2050
In a new letter, @thecccuk.bsky.social confirms about £4bn a year (£26bn a year of costs minus £22bn a year of savings).
www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/u...
87% by 2040 is a stepping stone to net zero by 2050
😬 ‘Rush’ for new coal in China hits record high in 2025 as climate deadline looms
www.carbonbrief.org/rush-for-new...
www.carbonbrief.org/rush-for-new...
February 3, 2026 at 9:16 AM
😬 ‘Rush’ for new coal in China hits record high in 2025 as climate deadline looms
www.carbonbrief.org/rush-for-new...
www.carbonbrief.org/rush-for-new...
Reposted by Simon Evans
A 60% jump in EU LNG imports from the U.S. in 2025 managed to drive up greenhouse gas emissions on both sides of the Atlantic - in the EU from the burning of the gas, and in the U.S. by prompting a shift to coal-fired generation as prices rose.
January 31, 2026 at 5:31 AM
A 60% jump in EU LNG imports from the U.S. in 2025 managed to drive up greenhouse gas emissions on both sides of the Atlantic - in the EU from the burning of the gas, and in the U.S. by prompting a shift to coal-fired generation as prices rose.
NEW: UK rooftop solar growth reached an all-time high in 2025
Households and others added a record 800MW to their rooftops
1/3
Households and others added a record 800MW to their rooftops
1/3
January 29, 2026 at 4:26 PM
NEW: UK rooftop solar growth reached an all-time high in 2025
Households and others added a record 800MW to their rooftops
1/3
Households and others added a record 800MW to their rooftops
1/3
🤯
Bloomberg: "China adds more power capacity in a year than most countries have total"
www.bloomberg.com/ne...
Bloomberg: "China adds more power capacity in a year than most countries have total"
www.bloomberg.com/ne...
January 28, 2026 at 9:46 AM
🤯
Bloomberg: "China adds more power capacity in a year than most countries have total"
www.bloomberg.com/ne...
Bloomberg: "China adds more power capacity in a year than most countries have total"
www.bloomberg.com/ne...
Reposted by Simon Evans
Interesting new analysis by the UK Energy Research Centre, which suggests that most of the increase in electricity bills since 2021 is still because of gas.
Nice wrote up by @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
Nice wrote up by @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
Expensive gas still biggest driver of high UK electricity bills, says UKERC - Carbon Brief
High gas prices are responsible for two-thirds of the rise in household electricity bills since before the global energy crisis.
www.carbonbrief.org
January 28, 2026 at 8:57 AM
Interesting new analysis by the UK Energy Research Centre, which suggests that most of the increase in electricity bills since 2021 is still because of gas.
Nice wrote up by @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
Nice wrote up by @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
NEW: Expensive gas still biggest driver of high UK electricity bills, says UKERC
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
January 28, 2026 at 9:03 AM
NEW: Expensive gas still biggest driver of high UK electricity bills, says UKERC
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
"Volatile, gas-linked market prices – not green policies, as some misleading claims have suggested – dominate the real-terms increase in bills since 2021."
www.carbonbrief.org/expensive-ga...
HUGE moment for the EU car market as battery EVs overtake petrol cars for the first time ever
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
January 27, 2026 at 2:46 PM
HUGE moment for the EU car market as battery EVs overtake petrol cars for the first time ever
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?
Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
This Holocaust Memorial Day I honour my grandparents, who escaped the Nazis, and our relatives who were murdered.
My grandfather, an architect, had thought Hitler a joke who wouldn't last. Luckily, my grandmother – barred from medical school for being a Jew – understood the truth.
My grandfather, an architect, had thought Hitler a joke who wouldn't last. Luckily, my grandmother – barred from medical school for being a Jew – understood the truth.
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.
Auschwitz took time.
January 27, 2026 at 2:30 PM
This Holocaust Memorial Day I honour my grandparents, who escaped the Nazis, and our relatives who were murdered.
My grandfather, an architect, had thought Hitler a joke who wouldn't last. Luckily, my grandmother – barred from medical school for being a Jew – understood the truth.
My grandfather, an architect, had thought Hitler a joke who wouldn't last. Luckily, my grandmother – barred from medical school for being a Jew – understood the truth.
Reposted by Simon Evans
Western countries are hitting refugees twice: they are making it harder to claim asylum *and* they are cutting aid to troubled regions.
I went to Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian situation, where the UN refugee agency has had to cut half its staff. Please have a read: as.ft.com/r/df593f1e-e...
I went to Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian situation, where the UN refugee agency has had to cut half its staff. Please have a read: as.ft.com/r/df593f1e-e...
Adapt, shrink or die: the global crisis in humanitarian aid
[FREE TO READ] On the road in Sudan with the UN’s outgoing High Commissioner for Refugees
as.ft.com
January 25, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Western countries are hitting refugees twice: they are making it harder to claim asylum *and* they are cutting aid to troubled regions.
I went to Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian situation, where the UN refugee agency has had to cut half its staff. Please have a read: as.ft.com/r/df593f1e-e...
I went to Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian situation, where the UN refugee agency has had to cut half its staff. Please have a read: as.ft.com/r/df593f1e-e...
It's not even February.
January 24, 2026 at 8:33 AM
It's not even February.
Reposted by Simon Evans
Back in the Autumn, No.10 blocked the publication of a report into the risks the UK could face if climate change causes ecosystems around the world to collapse. On Tuesday, after an FOI request, it published the report. But it turns out, that wasn't the full version. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...
Suppressed climate report warned of mass migration and nuclear war
Unabridged document said disappearing forests and rivers drying up could drive people to Europe and lead to conflict in Asia
www.thetimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:10 PM
Back in the Autumn, No.10 blocked the publication of a report into the risks the UK could face if climate change causes ecosystems around the world to collapse. On Tuesday, after an FOI request, it published the report. But it turns out, that wasn't the full version. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...
Reposted by Simon Evans
NEW: A shock report from Xinhua of villagers refusing to use gas heating due to high prices made waves on social media
Karen Teo looks at the role gas plays in China's energy transition in a new article for @carbonbrief.org
Read more ⬇️
Karen Teo looks at the role gas plays in China's energy transition in a new article for @carbonbrief.org
Read more ⬇️
Explainer: Why gas plays a minimal role in China’s climate strategy - Carbon Brief
While gas could play a role in decarbonising some aspects of China’s energy demand, multiple factors would need to change
www.carbonbrief.org
January 22, 2026 at 3:28 PM
NEW: A shock report from Xinhua of villagers refusing to use gas heating due to high prices made waves on social media
Karen Teo looks at the role gas plays in China's energy transition in a new article for @carbonbrief.org
Read more ⬇️
Karen Teo looks at the role gas plays in China's energy transition in a new article for @carbonbrief.org
Read more ⬇️
Reposted by Simon Evans
As ever, Private Eye sees through the way the usual-suspect media are happy to swallow wholesale and then amplify the BS from Tufton St lobbyists when it comes to net-zero
And, as ever, @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org made all these points the moment the coverage landed
And, as ever, @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org made all these points the moment the coverage landed
January 22, 2026 at 10:52 AM
As ever, Private Eye sees through the way the usual-suspect media are happy to swallow wholesale and then amplify the BS from Tufton St lobbyists when it comes to net-zero
And, as ever, @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org made all these points the moment the coverage landed
And, as ever, @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org made all these points the moment the coverage landed
Reposted by Simon Evans
NEW | Wind and solar generated more power than fossil fuels in the EU for the FIRST time ever.
🌪️ and ☀️ made up a RECORD 30% of 🇪🇺 electricity, up from 20% just five years ago.
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2026/
🌪️ and ☀️ made up a RECORD 30% of 🇪🇺 electricity, up from 20% just five years ago.
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2026/
January 22, 2026 at 7:01 AM
NEW | Wind and solar generated more power than fossil fuels in the EU for the FIRST time ever.
🌪️ and ☀️ made up a RECORD 30% of 🇪🇺 electricity, up from 20% just five years ago.
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2026/
🌪️ and ☀️ made up a RECORD 30% of 🇪🇺 electricity, up from 20% just five years ago.
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2026/
Trump: "I haven't been able to find any windfarms in China."
Reality: China has far more windfarms than any other country on Earth
Reality: China has far more windfarms than any other country on Earth
January 21, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Trump: "I haven't been able to find any windfarms in China."
Reality: China has far more windfarms than any other country on Earth
Reality: China has far more windfarms than any other country on Earth
Reposted by Simon Evans
If you think gas power is cheap, meet the gas price!
Costs 30% more than it did a couple of weeks ago, since all that stuff happened.
Costs 30% more than it did a couple of weeks ago, since all that stuff happened.
January 20, 2026 at 5:11 PM
If you think gas power is cheap, meet the gas price!
Costs 30% more than it did a couple of weeks ago, since all that stuff happened.
Costs 30% more than it did a couple of weeks ago, since all that stuff happened.
If you think gas power is cheap, meet Keadby 2, the last CCGT gas plant built in Great Britain
It opened in 2023, after 5yrs of development, at a cost of £350m
Owner SSE says it would now cost 3.5x to build the same plant (~£1.2bn)
1/6
It opened in 2023, after 5yrs of development, at a cost of £350m
Owner SSE says it would now cost 3.5x to build the same plant (~£1.2bn)
1/6
January 20, 2026 at 4:00 PM
If you think gas power is cheap, meet Keadby 2, the last CCGT gas plant built in Great Britain
It opened in 2023, after 5yrs of development, at a cost of £350m
Owner SSE says it would now cost 3.5x to build the same plant (~£1.2bn)
1/6
It opened in 2023, after 5yrs of development, at a cost of £350m
Owner SSE says it would now cost 3.5x to build the same plant (~£1.2bn)
1/6
Reposted by Simon Evans
While the world sometimes seems metaphorically on fire right now, global warming is still progressing as well.
In 2025, global warming delivered the 3rd warmest year since measurements began. A modest step down from 2024's records, but still well above 20th century norms.
🧪🧵
In 2025, global warming delivered the 3rd warmest year since measurements began. A modest step down from 2024's records, but still well above 20th century norms.
🧪🧵
January 19, 2026 at 11:58 PM
While the world sometimes seems metaphorically on fire right now, global warming is still progressing as well.
In 2025, global warming delivered the 3rd warmest year since measurements began. A modest step down from 2024's records, but still well above 20th century norms.
🧪🧵
In 2025, global warming delivered the 3rd warmest year since measurements began. A modest step down from 2024's records, but still well above 20th century norms.
🧪🧵