Prof Richard Betts

📢 Vacancy: I am urgently recruiting a PhD candidate to join a project on selection processes in pedunculate oak.
📅 Start date: no later than December 1st.

Trust me to be giving a talk at the Moray Climate Action Network Climate Conference on the day a severe storm arrives in the area. I'll be talking about the influence of climate change on storms in this part of Scotland as well as my experiences with climate change denial. www.moraycan.org.uk

Kemi Badenoch vows to repeal Climate Change Act Tory leader says she would replace it with ‘cheap energy’ strategy, ending decades-long consensus on climate

Kemi Badenoch has vowed to repeal the UK’s Climate Change Act, a move so reckless it demands more scrutiny than polite debate. This matters not just for polar bears or coral reefs, but for our people, our economy, our very future.

#ClimateChange #ClimateEmergency
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This quiet shutdown of one-third of the USA's climate adaptation capacity will happen this week.

If 2 years ago UKGov had set a 20mph urban/village default at the same time as Wales then since then there would have been 30,000 fewer injuries and fatalities on English roads and drivers/business would have saved £4bn in insurance premiums. bit.ly/4gIBPlJ

Yes! If we want people to listen to science, then don’t put it all behind a bloody paywall.

I’m a climate scientist. Trump’s U.N. address is a fire hose of misinformation OPINION: “What Trump is really doing is advancing a plan laid down years ago by plutocrats and polluters. And making a mockery of our country as he does so,” Michael E. Mann writes.

“What Trump is really doing is advancing a plan laid down years ago by plutocrats and polluters. And making a mockery of our country as he does so” @michaelemann.bsky.social

www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

“Our investigation uncovered that an elected MEP was taking payments to peddle narratives beneficial to Russian interests... This case goes to the heart of our democratic values.”

— head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy

In the aftermath of tube strike chaos, 28% of Londoners say they are now more likely to cycle in future Bike hire firms admit spike in cycle traffic "exceeded expectations", as campaigners urge politicians to deliver on cycling's "huge untapped potential as a safe, healthy transport mode"

More than a quarter of Londoners say they are now more likely to cycle following the recent Tube strike disruption

If you’re in Leeds on the 15th of October, come to my inaugural lecture on “Facing Accelerating Climate Change Threat - Exploring Future Trajectories, Surveying the Past and the Present” www.tickettailor.com/events/fssev...

This is the playbook, folks.

If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away.

Do not be quiet in this moment.

Silence sustains the status quo. We chose courage.
Our essay, Adverse Climate, uses IPCC AR6 as a case study to expose exclusion of GS & POC in global science — and propose change.
Republished today on EarthArXiv.
📄 Read here: doi.org/10.31223/X5W...

#ClimateJustice #IPCC #DEI

you gotta love @fossilfreeldn.bsky.social @ledbydonkeys.org & @everyonehateselon.bsky.social!

JOIN IN TODAY IN LONDON #r4today

Looking forward to a 4th term an IPCC Lead Author! I've dotted around a bit over the years:

AR4 - WG1 Radiative Forcing (focussing on land use)
AR5 - WG2 Terrestrial Ecosystems
AR6 - WG2 Water
AR7 - WG1 Global Projections

Always fantastic to work with international colleagues and learn from them

News Corp machine in overdrive, trying to diminish the National Climate Risk Assessment

Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn of short-term losses, analysis finds Greatest damage from heat, drought and flooding done in Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Bulgaria

Europe’s summer of extreme weather caused €43bn loss.

Damage from heat, drought, flooding, crop failures will accelerate.

Climate change is global. No country can escape.

Trump/Farage deny the obvious and dance to the tunes of fossil fuel companies.

Our new paper, “Adverse Climate,” reveals how systemic barriers limit Global South, POC, & women’s voices in #IPCC AR6. As a Global South woman of color & AR7 CLA, I’m proud to lead this call for #ClimateEquity. Read it: doi.org/10.31223/X59...

FAQs in comment 👇🏽

#DEIinScience #ClimateJustice

The Parliamentary Black Caucus condemns in the strongest terms the recent rise in racism, abuse and anti-migrant hatred that we have witnessed in many parts of our beloved country. Whilst all people have the right to peaceful protest, we are clear that racism, intimidation and violence have no place in our society and must be met with a clear and robust response from the police authorities. From people being assaulted and abused in public because of their ethnicity, religion or dress, to racist graffiti sprayed on buildings, to intimidatory and violent protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, this is an alarming time for many people, especially those from minoritised communities. We stand in solidarity with all those who are fearful, targeted or at risk.

The Government must show leadership. It must take urgent steps to reduce tensions, call out and challenge racist rhetoric and behaviour wherever it occurs, and take far more seriously the threat posed by the far right — which police have identified as the UK’s fastest-growing threat. We also call on the public to reject the divisive agenda of the far right, who are seeking to exploit recent tensions to spread anti-migrant hatred as well as mis and disinformation. This country is stronger when we stand together. We absolutely should have space in our country for informed discussions around migration, immigration and integration. This should be based on facts, compassion and most importantly, humanity. The Parliamentary Black Caucus believes in a patriotism that is inclusive, welcoming and proudly anti-racist — because only unity and solidarity will defeat the far right.

As Chair, here is our cross-party joint statement from the Parliamentary Black Caucus, regarding the rising threat of racism and violence from the far-right.👇🏾

Free speech is not hate speech.

We cannot allow hate-mongers to define who we are as a nation.

Now more than ever, we must stand united against intimidation, violence, division, and fear.

The type of speech most punished in this society is that which consists of telling the truth about how the powerful have harmed you

At @leadstories.com we've been debunking a stream of these. Seems like a network operating out of Vietnam churning out dozens of versions of the same stories using the same AI prompts but with different celebrities and locations inserted.

Just you mate 🤣

“In modern warfare between 43% and 63% of casualties are innocent people. In Palestine it’s 83% - 89%”

This is obviously a genocide. Those supporting it know this very well.

It must be stopped.
@declassifieduk.org

“particles spewed by Canadian wildfires killed 82,000 people in 2023, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday. The long tendrils of smoke choked towns not just in Canada and the US, but also across the Atlantic. The pollution was responsible for 22,000 early deaths in Europe alone.”

The recent US Department of Energy climate "report" is described here as "controversial"

@andrewdessler.com described it as "an indefensible steaming pile of crap"

POLITICO Pro: DOE says it dissolved research group that wrote its controversial climate report The department said the end of the Climate Working Group means environmental groups' complaint over alleged Federal Advisory Committee Act violations is no longer valid.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Looking forward to a 4th term an IPCC Lead Author! I've dotted around a bit over the years:

AR4 - WG1 Radiative Forcing (focussing on land use)
AR5 - WG2 Terrestrial Ecosystems
AR6 - WG2 Water
AR7 - WG1 Global Projections

Always fantastic to work with international colleagues and learn from them

This is why banging on about lowering immigration isn’t a vote winner, the fluctuation of asylum seekers entering the UK each month makes no perceivable difference to the majority of people’s lives. Bringing down household bills and sorting out the shit in the sea situation would be far more popular

The problem remains that Starmer, Rayner etc are held to greater account because they ascribe to standards and norms, whereas the Farage, Johnson, Trump are let off scrutiny because nobody expects them to be upstanding in office