Andy Norton
@andynortondev.bsky.social
Various including climate science, climate finance/politics, inequality. Applied anthropologist. Professor of Practice SOAS.
That photo of Thiel - isn't he just central casting for a Waffen SS officer in a WW2 movie... www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley
As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to enable them
theguardian.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/h...
U.S. Restores Some Vaccine and Health Aid to Unicef, Gavi and World Food Programme (Gift Article)
The amount is still far below what the U.S. spent previously on humanitarian and health aid, but resumes the flow of money for key efforts to fight malnutrition and disease.
nytimes.com
The Bank's retreat from climate finance targets and the case for a global green bank (capitalised with a chunk of the Bank's capital base) www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
The significance of the World Bank’s climate retreat | Brookings
Vinod Thomas argues that the World Bank's retreat from its climate finance target signals a reversal of priorities and strengthens the case for a green bank.
brookings.edu
This is why blindly using generative AI is a very, very bad idea. It doesn’t *know* anything… “A Reuters analysis found the image of the map … contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in Brazil
theguardian.com
Labour market stats generally are too slow and sclerotic to track much of the pace of change on impact of AI on the labour market. But the data here on the rise of flexible employment in China are striking (from 170mn to 320mn 2020-2026). www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Could AI take your job? Some workers in China already know the answer
Across the country, workers are fearful about the impact of AI on their livelihoods in an increasingly fragile labour market
theguardian.com
Caribbean nations suffered $53.2bn (£40bn) of damage from climate-fuelled disasters between 2000 and 2024 - @odi.global research. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Caribbean bears brunt of £43bn climate-fuelled damage to developing islands
Findings can inform conversations about global climate reparations and financing for mitigations, researchers say
theguardian.com
reasons for the COP31 presidency to focus on equality in access to clean energy www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...
Who gets the world’s clean electricity?
Australia’s COP31 presidency is a chance to put energy equity at the centre of climate diplomacy, not just emissions.
lowyinstitute.org
The main theme that @70sbachchan.bsky.social and I have been writing about for the last few months, and made a podcast about, is the FT splash just now
As US gets further stuck in the mire of its Iran misadventure, China's BRI greentech exports are surging, with private companies increasingly driving the trend. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
China pours funding into green energy deals as Iran war hits oil demand
Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative takes advantage of rise in appetite for renewables as Middle East conflict drags on
giftarticle.ft.com
so it didn't take long for Andy Burnham's team to raid climate finance for domestic spending. Hopefully when Ed Miliband and Miatta Fahnbulleh get their feet under their respective tables this will stop www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Burnham announces bus fares across England to be capped at £2
Measure to cost more than £500m, with money allocated to allow devolved nations to do the same
theguardian.com
Impact of extreme heat on India's poorest workers from @iied.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘When I get home, my whole body aches’: extreme heat saps health and wages of India’s poorest workers
Exclusive: Outdoor workers losing up to 9% of income as weather becomes ‘poverty multiplier’, research says
theguardian.com
With all the July model runs now in, it is very likely that 2026 will see the largest El Niño event since records began in the late 1800s – and potentially by a truly mind-blowing margin. The median estimate is now 3.6C, roughly 0.8C hotter than the prior record (2.75C). www.theclimatebrink....
A big win for climate finance - GCF rustles up $4bn extra from a new approach to managing the balance sheet!
Green Climate Fund@greenclimate.fund · 3w agoMore #ClimateAction from the same resources. Through a refined approach to balance sheet management, GCF has unlocked over $4 billion in additional investment capacity for new climate projects. Read more: https://gcf.co/4yojvXl
Adam Tooze on AI and the 'labour market neutron bomb'. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
The AI Arms Race
Podcast Episode · Ones and Tooze · 10 July · 46min
podcasts.apple.com
www.climatechangenews.com/2026/07/10/l...
Loss and damage fund delays first project approvals as needs dwarf resources
The new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage faces an overwhelming number of initial requests for its limited pot of money and board members decided to take more time to choose which to back first
climatechangenews.com
On the AC culture wars and the shocking data on urban warming - from @carbonbrief.org www.carbonbrief.org/eight-facts-...
Eight facts about air conditioning amid an overheated global debate - Carbon Brief
Carbon Brief explains why AC rates in parts of Europe are relatively low and clarifies some of the misleading claims about the technology.
carbonbrief.org
Eurostar have added 10C to the operating parameters for their next generation of trains. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Eurostar orders trains that can cope with 55C ‘Saudi’ summers
Amended contract follows heatwaves across UK and western Europe
giftarticle.ft.com
When I was in my early 20s I took the 'autoferro' from Guayaquil to Quito in the Andes & got out of breath climbing a flight of stairs for the first few days. I can't understand how anyone thinks England have a cat in hell's chance of winning in Mexico City tonight.
Ed King's climate dipomacy brief for July starts with the World Bank ditching its climate finance target climatediplobrief.substack.com/p/climate-di...
Climate Diplomacy Brief - July 2026
Banga’s World Bank buckles, London goes electric, Turkey eyes action at COP31
climatediplobrief.substack.com
Nick Kristof on the lives lost directly because of the actions of one of the world's worst humans. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/o...
Opinion | U.S.A.I.D. Cuts Killed People. That’s the Truth.
nytimes.com
We regret that our event on Extreme Heat: Improving governance and strengthening action around the world has been cancelled due to the red extreme heat warning issued by the UK Met Office. Our apologies to everyone who was planning to attend the event.
In the context of today's heatwaves I also think it is worth noting that the concept of 'adaptation options’ is a constructed one – do we really have *options* at this stage, or will political inertia and lack of prioritisation force us onto pathways that we have no or little control over?
Mona Khalil, Lebanon’s most well-known sea turtle conservationist, died of her wounds today after being injured by an Israeli strike I feel sick
Megaphone News@megaphone.news · 2mo agoMona Khalil spent over 20 years protecting sea turtles on Mansouri Beach. After she was injured in an Israeli attack, activists continued her initiative at Rmeileh Beach, where they protected the first loggerhead nest of 73 eggs on Thursday. youtu.be/fbBKzK4JNRc
"Official development assistance (ODA) by Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and associates amounted to USD 174.3 billion in 2025, a 23.1% decrease over 2024. It is the largest annual contraction on record and a second consecutive year of decline" www.oecd.org/en/data/insi...
A historic decline in foreign aid: Preliminary 2025 ODA data
Official development assistance dropped by 23.1% in 2025, the largest-ever annual contraction.
oecd.org
At the end of the term I asked my college creative wriing students to submit anonymous thoughts on AI. No real surprises: Mood ranges from resignation to despair, capitulation from embittered erosion of standards to total, feelings of betrayal from deep to furious. 1/
The new data on global conflict and related fatalities (2025 summary) from Uppsala CDP is really bad. www.npr.org/2026/06/09/n...
Conflicts are on the rise globally, at the highest level since WWII, data shows
Global conflicts surged to the highest number tallied by Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Fatalities were the highest on record since 1994, with approximately 244,600 people killed in conflict in 2025.
npr.org
