Alistair Ford
@alistaircford.bsky.social
420 followers 400 following 280 posts
Geospatial lecturer, climate/sustainability researcher, rail enthusiast, music lover, Green activist, beekeeper, lower league footy fan, grower of tiny vegetables, bike rider. Views my own etc.
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Reposted by Alistair Ford
nixrust.bsky.social
Kemi Badenoch has vowed to repeal the UK’s Climate Change Act, a move so reckless it demands more scrutiny than polite debate. This matters not just for polar bears or coral reefs, but for our people, our economy, our very future.

#ClimateChange #ClimateEmergency
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Kemi Badenoch vows to repeal Climate Change Act
Tory leader says she would replace it with ‘cheap energy’ strategy, ending decades-long consensus on climate
www.theguardian.com
alistaircford.bsky.social
The last of a long line of surveying and mapping graduates are on the final day of their geospatial field course. Over the years we've taken students to Alnmouth and Alston, Gilsland and Glaramara and, for the last 16 years, Kielder. Tonight they'll submit the last ever field course reports & maps!
Students in hi viz jackets standing in a group with their lecturers. Students in a large room working furiously around laptops trying to finish their computations and maps
alistaircford.bsky.social
I might have missed out on the #WorldCarFreeDay activities in Newcastle today but I've enjoyed my own car-free afternoon visiting students on our last ever @nclengineering.bsky.social Geospatial fieldcourse in the North Tyne valley by bike. I'll miss this beautiful part of the world and its people.
My bike leaning against a fence with the North Tyne valley and countryside in the background. A river near Tarset lined by autumn trees. Countryside near Thorneyburn with trees and fields and blue sky. A country lane lined with Scots Pine trees
alistaircford.bsky.social
Finished watching this last night and have been mulling on it all day. I can't remember a better piece of television that I've seen, and certainly nothing as powerful. Love, loss, grief, horror, injustice, guilt. It is incredibly well acted and painfully moving.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
From the passion of forbidden love to the pain of life as a prisoner of war - the unforgettable story of one man’s reckoning with the echoes of guilt. Starring Jacob Elordi.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Alistair Ford
darehub.bsky.social
How do we measure #transport #resilience?

Dr Wei Bei is working to address a gap in both academia and industry, developing a set performance metrics to assess the impacts of extreme #weather events. 

Find out more 👀 www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uhS...
Explainer: Developing Metrics for Assessing Resilience
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Alistair Ford
aarnegranlund.bsky.social
"Discretionary emissions – especially from the middle and upper classes – are ignored. Even now, questioning these lifestyles remains taboo, despite their hugely disproportionate impact and capacity for rapid change."
alistaircford.bsky.social
The North East's polycentric nature might make a cordon-based congestion charge quite tricky but I do think a Nottingham-style workplace parking levy might be an effective stick to reduce car demand and generate revenue for sustainable alternatives.
alistaircford.bsky.social
Final session of #Tyndall25UEA with reflections from former @tyndallcentre.bsky.social directors including @kevinclimate.bsky.social, and @cast-centre.bsky.social's @lwhitmarsh.bsky.social. Realism, the need for action, climate in a messy world, voices from the Global South, value of social science.
Reposted by Alistair Ford
steveclimate.bsky.social
ICYMI: "Aviation now contributes a greater share of total UK emissions than the entire electricity supply sector. Continued emissions growth in this sector could put future targets at risk."

...said the Climate Change Committee (CCC) in their 2025 progress report
www.theccc.org.uk/publication/...
Progress in reducing emissions - 2025 report to Parliament - Climate Change Committee
Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 36 (1) of the Climate Change Act 2008. This report was laid…
www.theccc.org.uk
alistaircford.bsky.social
A pleasure to present at the @rtpiplanners.bsky.social North East event last week, demonstrating a data-driven approach to land-use planning and how we might balance competing sustainability objectives as we pursue challenging national housebuilding targets. Thanks for the invitation!
darehub.bsky.social
@alistaircford.bsky.social and Dr Jingyan Yu from @newcastleuni.bsky.social joined the RTPI event on #infrastructure in North East England.
Dr Ford shared insights from the #DAReNationalHub, highlighting the need for cross-sector collaboration in building climate-resilient, future-proof communities.
Dr Alistair Ford presents from a podium as the slide behind him reads 'The importance of integrated planning in decarbonisation and resilience'
Reposted by Alistair Ford
climateuea.bsky.social
The exact reason why working across disciplines to share knowledge, build trust and tackle global climate problems is at the core of what we do.

Working together, in an interdisciplinary nature, enables research to be put into action, creating the impact needed for change.

#Tyndall25UEA
tyndallcentre.bsky.social
Thought provoking discussions happening at the Critical Decade for Climate Action Conference with delegates and partners across the Tyndall Centres.

The research presented provides a stark reminder that to see change & impact through climate action and policy, we must work together.

#Tyndall25UEA
alistaircford.bsky.social
Can't disagree with any of that! In our @darehub.bsky.social we're building a modelling framework to try to test some of these policies, including infrastructure and land-use policies, using an agent-based model. We definitely need to massively expand our portfolio of policies to accelerate change.
alistaircford.bsky.social
We also have consumption, of transport at least, governed by time budgets. Some people have the choice of trading time for money, whilst some are forced to sacrifice their time to save money. Would carbon budgets also help equalise that slope too?
Reposted by Alistair Ford
urbaneprofessor.bsky.social
AFAIK, UK govt expenditure on HE has always been comparatively low, and what is remarkable is how amazingly strong and effective our HE sector is. Imagine the turbo-charging of R&D if we got up to OECD average levels. And yet, even with a national Mission of economic growth...
chrisjparr.bsky.social
Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, showing that the UK is bottom when it comes to the share of expenditure on HE coming from government sources.
alistaircford.bsky.social
I really need to update my Tyndall Centre profile photo... Looking forward to presenting @darehub.bsky.social work on the resilience challenge for decarbonised transport infrastructure later today and hearing another day of inspiring and challenging presentations.
tyndallcentre.bsky.social
Day 2 of our Critical Decade for Climate Action Conf:

🔑 Keynotes: Daniela Jacob @gerics.bsky.social & Jason Lowe @metoffice.gov.uk
📘Plenary on resilient #NetZero w/ Rob Wilby, @alistaircford.bsky.social & Jaise Kuriakose

Full agenda ➡️ buff.ly/OU12qBa #Tyndall25UEA
alistaircford.bsky.social
Hmmm, good point. Tradeable quotas are clearly preferable to rationing. But doesn't it ultimately boil down to a maximum carbon budget per person, whether you can trade it with others or not?
Reposted by Alistair Ford
kevinclimate.bsky.social
@catherinemitchell.bsky.social at #Tyndall25UEA makes the v.important observation that, in the UK, the ‘first past the post’ political system reinforces short-termism. Without changes in this it’s difficult to see how the scale of change to deliver on our climate commitments can be achieved.
alistaircford.bsky.social
In the transport sector, sufficiency would surely lead to a drastic reduction in aviation demand, banning SUVs and large private cars, and a big decrease in leisure travel? Q: how do we ensure sufficiency without carbon rationing and individual budgets? Equity demands it, surely?
kevinclimate.bsky.social
Good to see @goneri76.bsky.social refer to “sufficiency”. I see this as the key framework for rapidly curtailing emissions, while low carbon tech substitute for oil/gas norms. But sufficiency needs to focus on discretionary emissions &fairness to be effective (&help avoid opposition).
#Tyndall25UEA
Reposted by Alistair Ford
kevinclimate.bsky.social
@goneri76.bsky.social points to current global low point in political engagement on climate change. In my view all the more reason for climate academics to stand up to make their evidence heard - we need to go well beyond just academic papers & conferences.
#Tyndall25UEA #CriticalDecade
alistaircford.bsky.social
Yippee! The @tyndallcentre.bsky.social 25th birthday conference is finally here! Looking forward to catching up with old friends, learning lots, and taking stock of where we are in our critical decade for climate action. Looking back over 25 years to look forward to the coming research challenges.
Reposted by Alistair Ford
imincorrigible.bsky.social
I often think about this letter to the New Statesman.

It's from a 1960s Tory, and neatly summarises how British politics has shifted massively to the right, and taken Starmer's Labour party with it.

#PoliticsLive
alistaircford.bsky.social
Hmmm, that is frustrating. It's always annoying to have to negotiate with people to get your bike safely stored. Still, it's got to be better than an LNER Azuma...
alistaircford.bsky.social
How is it? Better than the old ones?
alistaircford.bsky.social
I've never seen so many hoverflies, bees, and wasps in the garden as I have this year. The combination of a little pond and loads of perennial pollinator-friendly flowers seems to be attracting all kinds of species I've never seen before!
Reposted by Alistair Ford
tellthetruthsheff.bsky.social
A slightly geeky video about Dr Jim Hansen's latest work. Basically he describes why the IPCC models have been too conservative and why climate change is advancing quicker than they predicted. So urgent action to stop fossil fuel use is even more important.