karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen
@karlmathiesen.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1 following 44 posts
Senior Climate Correspondent at POLITICO
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Nov 29
Hi new/old friends.

A thought to kick off this new account. What if we are doing climate conferences all wrong?

www.politico.eu/article/clim...
Climate conferences are dying. How to save the world now?
This year’s U.N. climate change summit wore its contradictions and failings on its sleeve, prompting existential anxiety.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · 2d
A question I thought it would be easier to find the answer to than it is. Can any climate scientists on here tell me how to calculate how much excess CO2 there is in the atmosphere now as opposed to pre-industrial levels? ie 280ppm vs 425ppm expressed as tons?
karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · 9d
After Environment Commissioner Roswall delays EU forest law blaming IT issues, the Commission's VP Teresa Ribera tells us she's really not convinced.

“There may be [IT problems] — I don't know."

"I think that it is very controversial to give it up."

www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Don’t abandon forest law over IT problem, Ribera urges Commission
Vice president of the EU executive says computer issues not good enough reason to further delay anti-deforestation law.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · 14d
“Many in China now characterize the EU as a middle power."

How Europe sabotaged it's place at the head of the climate pack.

With @ziaweise.bsky.social and @saraschonhardt.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Europe’s climate clout melts away
China stands ready to fill the gap as EU infighting leaves a vacuum in global climate talks.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Aug 22
There's actually two typos in the ad. So we're very sorry, but it's a no.
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Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Aug 21
“If policymakers fail to act, they risk fueling the very populism they claim to fear.”

@thisisbartosz.bsky.social‬ scoops an unvarnished view of the EU's climate backtracking from Connie Hedegaard.

www.politico.eu/article/gree...
‘They should be ashamed’: Green backsliding is wrecking Europe, EU’s first climate chief warns
From wildfires to far-right gains, Connie Hedegaard says Europe can’t afford to go soft on climate while China races ahead and companies like BP backtrack.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Aug 19
NEW: Saudi Aramco employee named lead author of global climate report

www.politico.eu/article/saud...
Saudi Aramco employee named lead author of global climate report
Mustafa Babiker was proposed for the key role last month.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Aug 4
Big job leading one of the best teams in the business...

#journojobs

jobs.mpleo.net/en/politico/...
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Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Jul 31
NEW: Backroom deals, embassy contacts and brown liquor built a booming trade of American LNG to Europe.

Now, the lobbyist who saw it all says the U.S. president’s dalliances with Vladimir Putin are an incoming “asteroid” for the industry.

www.politico.eu/article/euro...
Europe learned to love American gas. This is how Trump wrecks it.
Backroom deals, embassy contacts and brown liquor built a booming export trade. Now, the lobbyist who saw it all says the U.S. president’s dalliances with Vladimir Putin are an incoming “aste…
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Jul 3
‘She’s pretty much alone’: The EU’s greenest leader fights the tide

Teresa Ribera, the EU's 2nd in charge, has won significant victories in secret against a combination of attacks and disinterest.

w/ @ziaweise.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/tere...
‘She’s pretty much alone’: The EU’s greenest leader fights the tide
The European Commission’s second-most powerful politician is isolated, beleaguered and under attack — just like the green policy she has vowed to protect.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Jul 1
NEW: Sudanese economist Mustafa Babiker — a long-term employee of the Saudi Aramco oil company — has been proposed as coordinating lead author of a crucial chapter of the next UN climate science report, a leaked document shows.

www.politico.eu/article/saud...
Global climate science body roiled by controversies stoked by Saudis, US
The proposed selection of a Saudi Aramco oil company staffer as one of the authors of a key science report has been denounced as “political capture.”
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Jun 2
NEW: EU climate chief lobbied Germany to back weakened 2040 goal

www.politico.eu/article/eu-c...
EU climate chief lobbied Germany to back weakened 2040 goal
Wopke Hoekstra successfully pushed the incoming coalition to back foreign carbon credits, helping shift the EU-level 2040 talks.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · May 21
🇪🇺 I'm writing POLITICO's Brussels Playbook today – tell me what's happening in your world ... [email protected]
Reposted by Karl Mathiesen
zcolman.bsky.social
Zack Colman @zcolman.bsky.social · May 19
NEW: Trump is perfectly
OK with ceding the clean energy economy to China.

Some green tech advocates thought they could convince Trump to compete.

Trump 2.0 sees putting money into it as enriching China and legitimizing clean energy.

w/ @karlmathiesen.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
Some Republicans want to beat China on clean energy. Trump doesn’t care.
Efforts to preserve Biden-era tax breaks for green technology are running into an administration focused on fossil fuels — and unwilling to play on what it sees as Beijing's turf.
www.politico.com
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · May 19
NEW: One camp wants the United States to compete with Beijing on clean energy.

The other says playing in that game would make the United States the loser.

With @zcolman.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
Some Republicans want to beat China on clean energy. Trump doesn’t care.
Efforts to preserve Biden-era tax breaks for green technology are running into an administration focused on fossil fuels — and unwilling to play on what it sees as Beijing's turf.
www.politico.com
karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · May 12
NEW: Lessons for Australia?

Unreported details of how UK paid off Turkey for COP26.

Inward investment conference in London
Votes for Turkish UN candidates
Backing for UN positions

+ 😬 according to 1 diplo a broken promise to back Turkey over Australia for COP31

www.politico.eu/article/aust...
Can Australia pay off Turkey to host COP31? The Brits did.
A previously unreported package of investment pledges and U.N. support got Turkey to back down last time.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · May 9
NEW: Confidential EU report warns UK plans to strip nature protections in planning reforms could breach of the Brexit trade deal.

Also notes senior UK politicians "ridiculing" of green laws and Rachel Reeves banging on about newts and bats.

www.politico.eu/article/newt...
EU warns Britain’s war on newts could violate Brexit deal
Leaked EU report raises alarm about U.K. planning bill’s bonfire of environmental protections.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 28
NEW: Trump officials arrived in the UK last week with a simple message: China is a malign actor, benefiting from misguided climate policies, and the world is better off copying America's newfound embrace of fossil fuels.

It was met with a shrug.

www.politico.eu/article/trum...
Trump’s efforts to split Europe and China on clean energy fall flat
The U.S. argument against the green transition felt “quiet and out of place,” said one official.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 25
NEW: The IEA's research has shown increasingly optimistic outlooks for clean power and gloomy forecasts for oil.

The Trump administration wants that to change.

w/ @saraschonhardt.bsky.social , @charliecooper8.bsky.social and @nicolascamut.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/dona...
Trump officials pressure world’s top energy agency to drop climate mission
U.S. and European officials are sparring in meetings of the International Energy Agency, which helps guide global investments and policies.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 24
“There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.”

On the loss of a mighty moral voice on climate change.

www.politico.eu/article/pope...
Pope Francis, the isolated climate moralist
In the weeks before his death, Francis repeated a decade-old plea for a break from both Trumpian greed and the left’s economic rationalism.
www.politico.eu
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Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 16
You know how you know the European Commission doesn't take FOI requests seriously?

It emails its responses in Comic Sans...
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Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 9
My POLITICO colleagues are covering the hell out of Trump's move to burn down the apparatus of state governance, science and industry that was supposed to be the bulwark against his fossil fuel agenda.

politico.com
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 9
Will the Trump 2.0 admin blithely ignore climate talks or try to derail them?

Strong evidence for the latter here with @FonieMits scoop.

www.politico.eu/article/dona...
Trump tells countries to ax talks on shipping carbon tax, or else
The attack on the shipping deal is part of a wider U.S. rejection of policies to fight climate change.
www.politico.eu
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karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 3
Breaking: EU has delayed its 2040 climate target until "before summer"

next.politico.eu/news/196645
POLITICO Pro
next.politico.eu
karlmathiesen.bsky.social
Karl Mathiesen @karlmathiesen.bsky.social · Apr 2
"The president remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role."

www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Trump Tells Inner Circle That Musk Will Leave Soon
The president is pleased with Musk but the decision comes as the tech mogul increasingly looks like a political liability.
www.politico.com
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Reposted by Karl Mathiesen
adamvaughan.bsky.social
Adam Vaughan @adamvaughan.bsky.social · Apr 2
Good story by @karlmathiesen.bsky.social et al: "Can Keir Starmer bring down bills before bills bring him down?"

The obv & most progressive option, flagged in the piece, still seems to be shifting eco/social levies off elec bills & onto taxation, paid with tax rise
www.politico.eu/article/can-...
Can Keir Starmer bring down bills before bills bring him down?
Downing Street is worried about rising energy bills. Every option for bringing them under control could bring political pain.
www.politico.eu
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