Robert McSweeney
@rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
6K followers 540 following 78 posts
Senior Science Editor at Carbon Brief, with a fondness for baking and Arsenal FC. All opinions are my own, however dull they might be.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
Last week, @ceciliakeating.carbonbrief.org and I attended the first-ever conference on climate "overshoot" in Vienna.

Here's our summary of the wide-ranging discussions. (Bearing in mind we were two journalists covering 8 conference themes...!)
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
FACTCHECK: Claire Coutinho claims UK gas power only costs £55/MWh…

…but she is ignoring a few small details:

🤫 Gas prices always rise in winter
🤫 Gas plants cost money to build
🤫 CO2 causes economic damages

THREAD with receipts

1/8
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
Yet more embarrassment for the Times, which has printed a ludicrous – and almost certainly false – line about windfarms being “dismantled” near Trump’s Scottish golf course

But why pick up the phone, as I did, when you can print nudge-nudge rumours instead?

1/
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
Hi, just to confirm: there was no “deal”. We were just informed by Springer (back in 2016!) that we – along with about 200 other outlets – had been added to their “SharedIt” whitelist.

More info here: www.springernature.com/gp/researche...
SharedIt | Springer Nature | For Researchers | Springer Nature
www.springernature.com
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
Really interesting guest post from @markengland.bsky.social unpacking why Arctic sea ice loss has slowed and how "climate models clearly show that such periods are expected parts of climate variability" ⬇️
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
MEDIA STUDIES: How the Times bungled its coverage of the OBR report on climate change & UK govt debt

Yesterday's newspaper reported a major shift: "The OBR now thinks…net-zero will have a far more damaging impact on borrowing…"

In fact, the OBR had said the opposite!
1/6
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
Thanks. It did come up frequently throughout the conference, but there weren’t sessions dedicated to it (as far as I recall). We do touch on it a bit in the final section, but there was a lot to cover!
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
NEW: Getting to net-zero will be much cheaper than thought for the UK – and unchecked global warming far more costly, says OBR

Quick piece / thread with 4 key charts showing, yet again, why climate action is far less costly than inaction

🧵

www.carbonbrief.org/...
1/6
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
Carbon Brief was in Exeter last week for the Global Tipping Points conference.

There was a lot packed in to the 4-day event and we've summarised some of the talks and talking points here ⬇️
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
carbonbrief.org
What’s happened this week in climate change?

DeBriefed | Trump ‘megabill’ guts clean energy; Europe’s record heat; Scientists discuss ‘most worrying’ tipping points

✍️ @rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org @ceciliakeating.carbonbrief.org

➡️ buff.ly/4G49jHj
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
carbonbrief.org
NEW – Chart: Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ blows US emissions goal by 7bn tonnes | @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social Ho Woo Nam

Read here: buff.ly/l700teP
Source: REPEAT Project, US nationally determined contribution.
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
adamvaughan.bsky.social
NEW

Nigel Topping chosen as new chair of @thecccuk.bsky.social, pending formalities

Will bring experience from business world & UN climate talks to the role

Follows years-long delay after former Tory minister Lord Deben quit as chair and @piersforster.bsky.social steered ship in interim capacity
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
alexwitze.bsky.social
NASA scientists will apparently no longer be able to read @nature.com at their jobs, as the Trump administration has canceled all subscriptions to Springer Nature journals, per the agency. (1/3) 🧵
maxkozlov.bsky.social
Received one more - this time from NASA

“NASA sent a notification to Springer Nature stating the agency was cancelling its subscriptions. Our engineers and scientists will still have access to NASA mission data shared with their journals, as well as have access to many other scientific journals.”
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
June was England's warmest on record and the UK's second warmest, according to the @metoffice.gov.uk

www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
Here's more on the “Packaging extended producer responsibility” scheme: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

I suspect the Telegraph knows that the connection to net-zero is bogus as it only mentions the phrase in its headline & opening line.

Link here: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06...
Net zero tax to push up price of wine
Standard bottle will cost 9p more and 330ml beer bottle will rise by 4p under levy meant to encourage environmentally friendly packaging
www.telegraph.co.uk
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
More net-zero misinformation in the Daily Telegraph.

It claims that a proposed scheme to put the cost of recycling onto packaging producers, rather than local councils, is a “net-zero glass tax”.

It is about waste management, not net-zero.

Somehow, this made it onto the frontpage 🤦
Reposted by Robert McSweeney
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
NEW: UK climate advisers now "more optimistic" net-zero goals can be met

🎯Net-zero "possible" + "good for economy"
📉CO2 halved vs 1990
📈More "credible" policies
🚘🏡EV/heat pumps soaring
But…
⚡"Critical" to cut power prices
✈️Flight CO2 "risk"

www.carbonbrief.org/...
1/9
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
How do you account for volcanic eruptions in climate projections when you don't know when and where they will occur?

This new @carbonbrief.org guest post sets out a new approach:
carbonbrief.org
NEW – Guest post: Investigating how volcanic eruptions can affect climate projections | Dr May Chim, Dr Thomas J Aubry @cjsmith.be‬ Prof Anja Schmidt

Read here: buff.ly/P4ZH3OE
rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org
New guest post on how 60% of the CO2 being released from the world's river rivers is coming from "ancient" sources, which were long thought to be stable.

It is a "warning sign that human activities, especially climate change, could intensify the release of carbon to the atmosphere via rivers".
carbonbrief.org
NEW – Guest post: How the world’s rivers are releasing billions of tonnes of ‘ancient’ carbon | @joshfdean.bsky.social @profbobhilton.bsky.social

Read here: buff.ly/QwWlF6N