Joe Giddings
@joegiddings.bsky.social
Built Environment | Climate Change | Architecture | Biobased Construction | Green Works at Built by Nature. Founding member of Architects Climate Action Network. But views here are my own.
BP profits more than double to $5.7bn in three months as Iran war sends oil prices soaring - "While BP banks enormous profits, millions of households are paying the price" #energycrisis #climatecrisis www.theguardian.com/business/202...
BP profits more than double as Iran war sends oil prices soaring
Energy company’s $5.73bn quarterly profits come after Shell posted second highest quarterly earnings on record
theguardian.com
"They returned home to find their house standing but the olive grove devastated, the garden scarred by the flames, the vines scorched and desiccated and the forest behind the house burned to the ground. No grape harvest this year" www.newstatesman.com/world/europe...
Europe’s age of fire
Is it finally time to panic?
newstatesman.com
Economic & societal impacts of climate change are ramping up in UK & Europe this summer Rampant wildfire Widespread drought Excess deaths Food shortages Nuclear & hydro shutdowns The need to urgently & entirely decarbonise our economy has never been clearer www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
South-eastern Europe faces heatwave energy crunch as Romania detonates Danube rock to increase water flow – Europe live
Explosives used to move a large rock and let more water flow to cool nuclear power plant
theguardian.com
We live in an age of villains and fools. How newspapers blame the wildfires on Net Zero and rewilding. Great work by Simon Evans:
Simon Evans@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 2d ago🧵Right-leaning newspapers are trying to blame Europe's raging wildfires on everything EXCEPT fossil fuels 1. The Wall Street Journal Frontpage story: "Greece fights wildfires as Europe crisis spreads" WSJ editorial: "How green policies fuel fires in Europe"
Fairly rapid action on methane should have almost immediate impact on actual average temps and functionally "buy us time" on the carbon front. Of course that still requires actually, you know, doing something about the methane lol
I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.
"We have to recognise that water security is a critical part of our food security and food security is our national security" Farmer's union head says. "other countries that we rely on to produce food, their climates are changing as well." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Prolonged drought could cause shortage of some foods, farmers' union head says
NFU president Tom Bradshaw calls on the government to take action to prevent extreme weather affecting the UK's food supply.
bbc.co.uk
Crumbling infrastructure & lack of water jeopardising govt plans for new homes. Privatisation of England's water prioritised shareholder returns. No new reservoirs, desalination plants, or national grid of water. Companies don't do national planning. Yet govts intoxicated with privatisation
‘We cannot magic up more water’: the supply problems putting housing targets in England at risk
Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes
theguardian.com
Govt planning c. 100 new data centres by early 2030s, mostly in already water stressed areas. They have no legal obligation to disclose how much water they use. Meanwhile Govt launches £75m publicity campaign to urge us to reduce water use & privatised water companies waste 19% thro leaks. Madness
Is “pragmatic” the new, “grown up” word? Andy, there’s nothing “pragmatic” about drilling for more oil & gas - to even consider it with the planet literally on fire is total madness. How many times must we say it will do nothing for energy bills or security? It would be an act of utter recklessness
Burnham promises ‘pragmatic’ approach to North Sea oil and gas
PM tells reporters the government cannot ignore the energy resource ‘when people are struggling’
theguardian.com
Very good animation from #C4News explaining how some countries are going backwards on climate change
It's noticeable, too, that there wasn't a single question on the climate, at a time when Europe is experiencing catastrophic wild-fires & record-breaking heat. It's astonishing how low down the political agenda this remains in Britain, when all the environmental indicators are signalling disaster.
I used to live in Copenhagen. On Thursday the office closed at 4pm, on Friday at 3pm.
Duncan Weldon@duncanweldon.bsky.social · 2w agoIf you walk around Copenhagen at about 5 or 6pm on a week night you get a sense of how a country which combines very high productivity per hour worked with a sensible approach to work/life balance looks. And it looks very good.
Deeply irresponsible. We're in a climate crisis. This is such a terrible start. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling
Drilling has become a controversial topic for the Labour party after the 2024 manifesto pledged to not issue new licences.
bbc.co.uk
Right, now the heatwave is over shall we get back to business?
Good way to tank any goodwill you had going into the job, i suppose.
- England in the quarter finals of the world cup... - Brit Arthur Fery reaching the semis at Wimbledon... - Keir Starmer on his way out of Downing Street... - A summer byelection between Nigel Farage & Count Binface Whisper it... but things are looking up?
Absolutely wonderful to witness the spectacle of Nigel Farage imploding so publicly.
After many days of prolonged heat our indoor temperature is not dropping below 25. That's even with fully opening windows for hours to purge. 1970s build with solid concrete walls - the building is like a heat battery, which keeps soaking it up through heatwaves
As in 1066 England will prevail against the Norwegians before tragically losing to the French a couple of weeks later.
Our heatwaves will get hotter and hotter and hotter until we get to global net zero greenhouse gas emissions and so stabilise the climate. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Worth noting (although this article fails to do so) that the Trump administration’s opposition to Miliband is rooted in the fact it does not think anthropogenic climate change is happening and believes fossil fuels are completely unproblematic. www.thetimes.com/article/cc02...
Making Ed Miliband chancellor would be a mistake, Trump team warns
The energy secretary’s opposition to North Sea drilling means appointing him to No 11 would concern White House officials
thetimes.com
"they got tiles, we got lino." I've seen first hand how social homes in mixed developments can be second rate, with lower quality finishes & fittings. This is unacceptable. There is another way: council homes can be dignified, high quality and sustainable. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
A council housebuilding boom is central to Burnham’s vision. Can it be done?
With 1.5m families waiting for social housing and Labour’s building targets already falling short, the challenge is huge
theguardian.com
Quite. The opportunity for creating green jobs is abundant in this sector; - Off-site construction - On-site assembly - Timber frame - Engineered timber - Biobased insulation - ASHP/MVHR manufacturing & installation - PV & battery installation