by Simon D. Donner — Reposted by: A. E. Dessler, Karen O’Leary
Most of the world has recently set all-time heat records - valuable analysis from @hausfath.bsky.social to show that climate change is real and global... even it was hotter in one town 80 years ago. www.theclimatebrink.com/p/most-of-th...
Most of the world has recently set all-time heat records
Regional exceptions like the 1930s in the continental US notwithstanding
www.theclimatebrink.com
The federal Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is holding hearings about Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. You can watch the video of yesterday's hearing, in which I participated: www.ourcommons.ca/committees/en/ENVI/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=13130858
ENVI - Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
www.ourcommons.ca
Had a good chat with @johannawagstaffe.bsky.social about China pledging to reduce emissions, for the first time youtu.be/M3ps0P7uyic?...
Why the world is watching as China pledges emissions cuts
YouTube video by CBC News
youtu.be
On the rise of activist tourism, and whether it can help us respond to challenges like climate change.
We tend to assume others think like us. The US President and his speechwriters calling climate change a con job is a reflection on them. They're willing to deceive the public for personal gain, so they assume others are as well, and can't conceive of people taking actions for the greater good.
Reposted by: Simon D. Donner
“People need to come home feeling inspired to seek systematic, transformational change, not that the trip was their good deed for the year,” said @simondonner.bsky.social. He warns greenwashing can undermine #environmental gains. @ubcgeography.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca atmos.earth/climate-solu...
Can Tourism Help Save the Places It Endangers? | Atmos
Travel is booming—and straining ecosystems. Activist tourism promises a fix, from reef cleanups to elephant care.
atmos.earth
This article from @bryancurtis.bsky.social is bang on. Institutions bowing to Trump doesn't work. It only stokes a positive feedback loop based largely on a false perception of strength and inevitability.
www.theringer.com/2025/09/19/p...
www.theringer.com/2025/09/19/p...
Reposted by: Simon D. Donner
Which climate scientists are doing good work similar to what you've seen me doing with Meeting the Moment (buttondown.email/liminalcreat...) and Unbreaking (unbreaking.org)?
(I have a few already in mind, but want to enlist your help and expand my circles.)
(I have a few already in mind, but want to enlist your help and expand my circles.)
Meeting the Moment
Hi! I’m Liz Neeley and I’m glad you’re here. Each Friday evening, I write a summary of the week’s events in science and higher education. I pull together roughly three bulleted paragraphs about what ...
buttondown.email
"We'll never change. It's too hard"
I first heard that on my answering machine.
Then by fax. Really.
Next, emails, so many emails
Then blog comments
Facebook posts
The tweets, oh the tweets
Podcasts
Zoom webinar comments
AI-transcribed voicemails
Now, full-on AI videos
Sure, we can't change.
I first heard that on my answering machine.
Then by fax. Really.
Next, emails, so many emails
Then blog comments
Facebook posts
The tweets, oh the tweets
Podcasts
Zoom webinar comments
AI-transcribed voicemails
Now, full-on AI videos
Sure, we can't change.
What do the international court advisory judgements mean for climate action in Canada, and for youth lawsuits against governments?
Join us tomorrow to hear insight from climate law expert David Boyd!
Register here to attend in-person or virtually: climatesolutions.ubc.ca/news-and-eve...
Join us tomorrow to hear insight from climate law expert David Boyd!
Register here to attend in-person or virtually: climatesolutions.ubc.ca/news-and-eve...
None of this will happen if we continue to falsely present climate policy as an opponent of economic policy. That incorrect framing needs to end. This is is about making upfront investments in policy and infrastructure today to build low-carbon industries and deliver long-term prosperity. (6/6)
iv) To do all this, federal and provincial governments need better and more accountable deals on policy implementation. Known as equivalency agreements, these deals are currently not transparent enough nor sufficiently monitored to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness (5/6)
iii) Expediting the stalled methane regulations for landfills and the oil and gas industry, providing heat pump incentives to low-income households, and broader adoption of low-carbon building codes would further promote long-term clean growth and reduce emissions (4/6)
ii) Adjust, rather than remove, existing policies to save red tape. For example, our research shows that small changes to Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations, along with reintroducing electric vehicle incentives, is one pathway to reducing unintended and unproductive regulatory overlap (3/6)
i) Strengthen the industrial carbon pricing system by tightening performance benchmarks and expanding the system to cover more industrial emitters. Linking the provincial markets isn't enough. The whole system needs to be tightening to create policy certainty and unlock low-carbon investment (2/6)
by Simon D. Donner — Reposted by: Simon D. Donner
The choices we face are about today vs. tomorrow, not environment vs. economy. Here my Net-Zero Body Advisory presents four immediate steps the Canadian government can take to prepare for the future, drawn from new research with @climateinstitute.bsky.social. (1/6)
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...
Strengthening climate policy to build long-term prosperity
As we move forward with major new ‘nation–building’ projects and infrastructure investments, the choices we make are about today versus tomorrow, not the environment versus the economy.
www.hilltimes.com
Being Canadian right now is like being chained to your best friend as they stick their feet in a block of wet cement and jump in the ocean. You don't want to abandon them. You're not even sure if it is possible to cut the chain. But you're also afraid of drowning.
The tree planting company paying Kawhi story is a rare collision of my climate and NBA feeds
Just incredible that the payment was via a carbon offset company... an industry whose accounting processes might be even more questionable than that of NBA teams.
Bruce Arthur
@brucearthur.bsky.social
· Sep 4
The Clippers appear to have circumvented the salary cap with a third-party payment to Kawhi Leonard. Now the ball is in the NBA’s court
We don’t know how many owners might be skirting the cap and we don't know whether this was a significant aberration in the NBA. We don't know how deep the
www.thestar.com
Reposted by: Simon D. Donner
If the Kawhi Leonard-Clippers-no-show-job case looks this much like salary cap circumvention, that’s probably because it is. www.thestar.com/sports/rapto...
The Clippers appear to have circumvented the salary cap with a third-party payment to Kawhi Leonard. Now the ball is in the NBA’s court
We don’t know how many owners might be skirting the cap and we don't know whether this was a significant aberration in the NBA. We don't know how deep the
www.thestar.com
Thoughts on what is, and what is not working, on climate change communication in the final (!) blog post from @stewartjc.bsky.social. As with any good writing about climate communication, there's ample mention of the late Stephen Schneider:
doctorclimatechange.com/f/the-future...
doctorclimatechange.com/f/the-future...
The Future of Climate Change Communication Within Social Media
Last month, I announced that doctorclimatechange.com would be closing soon.
doctorclimatechange.com
Question for scholars and experts on countries that descended into authoritarianism or fascism:
In the countries you study, how long did it take for the majority of citizens to recognize the path the country was on?
(I'm not subtweeting the US, I'm curious about other experiences)
In the countries you study, how long did it take for the majority of citizens to recognize the path the country was on?
(I'm not subtweeting the US, I'm curious about other experiences)
Yes, though that's more indirect because climate change is globally driven. Canada's emissions are only one driver of climate change, and local emissions don't directly cause the local impacts.
What's the state of climate policy in Canada? What happens if we miss the 2030 emissions target? I talked about these and other questions with CTV's Your Morning... from an undisclosed location with lighting issues...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=edsa...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=edsa...
How Far Along is Canada to Reaching its 2030 Climate Targets? | Your Morning
YouTube video by CTV Your Morning
www.youtube.com
by Simon D. Donner — Reposted by: Katharine Hayhoe
I recommend this episode of CBC's The House dedicated to whether Canada can meet its climate goals (and not b/c I'm the first guest!). It'll be interesting even to non-Canadians, to hear how Canada is struggling over climate policy amid outside pressures. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/s...
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2025. All rights reserved.
www.cbc.ca
What makes this rejection of science even more sad and pathetic is that the folks involved can't even come up with a new bullshit arguments, they are using old ones recycled from the 1980s and 1990s.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/c...
In Game-Changing Climate Rollback, E.P.A. Aims to Kill a Bedrock Scientific Finding
www.nytimes.com
by Simon D. Donner — Reposted by: Simon D. Donner
Carbon offsets aren't working -- what can we do instead? Great article following on research done by a team here at UBC, as part of our Solutions Scholars program (more here: climatesolutions.ubc.ca).
medium.com/@lucybinfiel...
medium.com/@lucybinfiel...
Canada’s Carbon Offset Projects Probably Don’t Offset Carbon. What Could Replace Them?
This article was written by Lucy Binfield, Isabella Morgante and Professor Hisham Zerrifi as part of the University of British Columbia’s…
medium.com
Incisive short article from @climateinstitute.bsky.social on what should be an easy climate "win" -- cutting methane emissions from oil and gas, an action for which the technology is ready to go.
440megatonnes.ca/insight/fina...
440megatonnes.ca/insight/fina...
Finalizing Canada’s oil and gas methane regulations
Cutting oil and gas methane emissions 75 per cent by 2030 will leverage Canadian success and expertise. Reducing methane ...
440megatonnes.ca
That's why doom-ism irks many experts. The message of climate science is not “1.5°C or bust.” It is that “every action counts.” To put it simply, the IPCC reports find that he more that the world can do to reduce emissions, the less the planet will warm, and the less that people will suffer. (2/2)