Akshat Rathi
@akshatrathi.bsky.social
- Senior climate reporter, Bloomberg News - Newsletter http://bit.ly/bbg-zero - Podcast http://bloomberg.com/zero-podcast - Book https://akshatrathi.com/book - akshat.rathi@pm.me
A brilliant @philipcball.bsky.social review, with a sensitive discussion of how hard it is to talk honestly about Hawking www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
Hawking by Graham Farmelo review – the dark side of genius
A biography of the physicist recognises his achievements, but also reveals the selfish narcissist underneath
theguardian.com
OPEN AI CHIEF SCIENTIST: “This is a time that calls for extreme caution... models are becoming superhuman in their ability to break in and out of computer systems no one is prepared.. The risk...are unfortunately going to grow from here.” => US-China AI safety talks openai.com/index/an-ali...
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · 4d agoSmelling the roses in DC @katemac.bsky.social “frontier agents can cause massive damage when unmonitored. Both the U.S. and China are vulnerable. This is beyond geopolitical rivalry. The US & China have to come together in some form, or we’re both going to lose.” www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
It wasn't that long ago we were told that batteries would never succeed in big trucks. This is some very good news for everyone not in the business of selling diesel.
Thousands of people are now not just cutting bills with solar and batteries, they are making real money, sometimes $200 while they sleep and AI trades electricity buying low, selling high. Meet the new energy nerds. New feature with @oliviarudgard.bsky.social. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Almost Anyone Can Make Money Selling Electricity With AI and Batteries
More homeowners are taking advantage of volatile prices to buy power when rates are low, store it and sell excess energy back to their utility.
bloomberg.com
If you want 1.5C, 1.8C, 2C, overshoot, no-overshoot, etc, then they all require the same thing: rapid short-term emission reductions reaching net zero CO2 emissions as soon as possible. This has been clear from the IPCC Special Report on 1.5C, which depicts "overshoot" on its cover! 1/
NEW – Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions fall in Q2 2026 due to plummeting oil use | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/P3nHdbA
Heatstroke is terrifying “There are people that, unfortunately, barely survive heat stroke and then they’re paralyzed or disabled for the rest of their life,”
One Hot Day Can Change Your Body for Years
Heat stroke can damage the brain, heart, kidneys and liver. As extreme heat becomes more common, doctors are learning just how difficult recovery can be.
bloomberg.com
Nepal wants money from the Loss and Damage Fund to recover from the disaster. But given it has very little, it is now seeking compensation from the biggest polluters: China, India and the US. Surprised not to see EU and UK not mentioned. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Nepal Seeks Climate Compensation From China, US and India
Nepal is demanding climate compensation from the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases after deadly floods in the country killed more than a thousand people and left even more missing.
bloomberg.com
A lot of ink has been spilled on RCP-8.5, but its worth pausing and celebrating just how dramatically the high-end tail of emissions scenarios has changed over ~15 years. Genuine technological and policy progress on climate, reflected in the set of futures we can imagine
Zeke Hausfather@zekehausfather.com · last wk.The emissions scenarios underlying the next generation of climate model runs that will be featured in the upcoming IPCC 7th Assessment Report are officially out! I have a big new explainer over at Carbon Brief taking an in-depth look at what they mean and whats changed: www.carbonbrief.org/...
What is that sound? It's the noise that of a million "what about" brains exploding. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
It was great talking to Paul Behrens on the Zero podcast about how to fix our fragile food system. If you've not heard the episode yet, please check it out. 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Paul Behrens@profpaulbehrens.bsky.social · last wk.Had a great chat with @akshatrathi.bsky.social on the Bloomberg Zero podcast recently (links below). Here are three clips: 1) on misinformation, 2) on underestimation, and 3) on opportunities. link to full conversation here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"Hydropower projects can themselves become “force multipliers” when large structures, debris and altered river channels add to downstream damage, Thakkar said. He argued that Nepal should also consider more decentralized solar power as part of a broader energy mix." apnews.com/article/nepa...
Nepal floods expose risks to hydropower in a warming Himalayas
As rescuers in Nepal struggle to find hundreds of workers in the tunnels that were buried in last week's flooding, attention has focus on where to rebuild crucial hydropower projects.
apnews.com
Great to see Turkmenistan continuing to make slow progress on methane. Bloomberg Green had a big feature about the country's giant gassy problem in 2021, which is still among the best stories to read about the problem. www.bloomberg.com/features/top...
The Reclusive Dictator Behind a Global Climate Catastrophe
bloomberg.com
Domestic cats kill at least 400 to 2,000 times more birds than wind turbines — between 100 and 200 million in Germany, to be exact. Wind farms pose a threat to only 0.05% of the total population of avians. www.bgr.com/2243676/wind...
Wind Turbines Cause Fewer Bird Deaths Each Year Than This Common Culprit - BGR
Critics cite bird deaths as a major problem with wind power, but they often omit a comparison that changes the scale of the issue.
bgr.com
Now, in response to alerts from the UN's #Methane Alert and Response System, Turkmenistan has started plugging the leaks There's much more to do, but it's an "incredible first step" The 2nd biggest mega-leaker, the US, is doing nothing @unep.org 3/3 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Breakthrough’ as Turkmenistan starts fixing ‘mindboggling’ methane mega-leaks
Secretive state begins repairs on ageing facilities after being revealed as worst country for leaks of potent greenhouse gas
theguardian.com
Bloomberg: BYD’s overseas revenue exceeded what it made at home for the first time, illustrating why Chinese carmakers have to sell outside of China. First-half sales from overseas rose 34% to account for 53% of the total, while they shrank 31% in Greater China. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
BYD Shows Chinese Carmakers’ Only Way Out of Slump Is Abroad
BYD Co.’s overseas revenue exceeded what it made at home for the first time, helping end one of the company’s longest profit slumps and illustrating why Chinese carmakers have no choice but to try the...
bloomberg.com
Within two years, Australia has managed to drastically reduce its use of fossil fuels because #batteries supply the electricity at peak times. We need much more #energystorage for the energy transition! #ActOnClimate #ClimateActionNow
When climate scientists are alarmed by how fast things are spiraling out of control www.economist.com/by-invitatio... @economist.com gift link
The world may have less time than it thinks on climate change
If it is affecting circulation patterns that determine how and where anticyclones form, it could accelerate alarmingly, warns Tim Palmer
economist.com
Guy Barter, RHS, said "heat-loving plants" such as olives and apricots are excelling more [unlike] gooseberries and rhubarb. "The climate is getting warmer and bananas never used to flower 20 years ago. It would be a red letter day when the banana flowers." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Bananas sprout in Rayleigh garden after 15 years
Emma and Steve Stav grow 200 banana plants in their garden in Rayleigh, Essex.
bbc.co.uk
Nancy Grace Roman was paid 60% of her male colleague's wages. 'the Nobel prize-winning physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar ... told her: “We don’t discriminate against women. We can just get them for less.”' #WomenInSTEM 🧪 🔭
Nasa’s new telescope is named after astronomer Nancy Grace Roman – but who was she?
The US astronomer battled discrimination in a male dominated field.
theconversation.com
"In 2024, around 2.4 million people in #Bangladesh 🇧🇩 became internally displaced. Most of them lost their homes due to a natural disaster. Cyclones and tropical storms cause devastating damage, while rising sea levels are flooding mangrove forests and agricultural land." #ClimateEmergency
Climate change and displacement - How people are being forced to flee their homes | DW Documentary
YouTube video by DW Documentary
youtu.be
The scenes from Nepal and Tibet are unimaginable. Communities I visited 15 years ago, while reporting on vanishing glaciers for my first book, have been erased. In today's NYT I wrote about this terrifying new form of climate risk: warming is pulling down mountains. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/o...
Opinion | Mountains Are Coming Undone
The burning of fossil fuels is pulling down the world’s highest peaks.
nytimes.com
Le monde invisible / Invisible world - 1954 #artbots #magritte
Just a few months ago, European carmakers were arguing that market demand for EVs in Europe was "too low". But now everyone's worried about how Europeans are buying too many Chinese EVs, which suggests that European carmarkers' *supply* of EVs is too low. So which is it?
1/4 In August the Rhine at Kaub, its shallowest point, fell below 10cm. The previous record low, set in 2018, was 25cm. In June 2025 the body regulating Rhine shipping said flow would not clearly change before 2050, and deferred any decision on measures to 2027. www.ccr-zkr.org/files/infovo...
For comparison: Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 were 649 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents. The below is a massive figure. Individual climate actions are no substitute for policy change, but they do scale.
Brent Toderian@brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2w ago“Dutch people cycle an average of 2.6km each per day. If this pattern was replicated worldwide, annual carbon emissions would drop by 686 million tonnes. This mammoth figure exceeds the entire carbon footprint of most countries, including the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Australia.” @euronews.com
A governance model that just waits for powerful individuals to change their minds is doomed. Governments need to start listening to other people.
Jack Stilgoe@jackstilgoe.bsky.social · 2w agoTech leaders are not 'changing their minds' about AI. They're being forced to admit things they previously didn't want to.
