Ben Cooke

Hi @richardkbroughton.bsky.social , hope you're well. I'm working on a piece about whether feeding birds does more harm than good. Might we have a chat? All the best.

@laurielaybourn.bsky.social @rupertread.bsky.social @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org @carolinelucas.bsky.social

If anyone has further tips about how the government is (or is not) thinking about climate risk, do get in touch at benjamin.cooke(at)thetimes.co.uk

It's a perfect example of what Laurie Laybourn calls the "disclosure trap". What climate change has in store for us is so ominous that politicians don't want to talk about it. But not talking about it makes it all the harder to mitigate.

It also warned of a rising threat of eco-terrorism, nuclear water wars between India, China and Pakistan, and the risk of Nato being drawn into wars over remaining breadbaskets in Russia and Ukraine.

While the published version warned that the degradation of rivers, forests and corals could kickstart a "global competition for food" in the 2030s, the internal version went further, warning that it could lead to mass migration to the UK, stoking populism and straining public services.

Suppressed climate report warned of mass migration and nuclear war Unabridged document said disappearing forests and rivers drying up could drive people to Europe and lead to conflict in Asia

Back in the Autumn, No.10 blocked the publication of a report into the risks the UK could face if climate change causes ecosystems around the world to collapse. On Tuesday, after an FOI request, it published the report. But it turns out, that wasn't the full version. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Thanks Richard! Hope you're well. Yup, it's scary stuff.

2025 global climate highlights are out:
🌡️ 2025 was 3rd warmest year on record, 1.47ºC above the preindustrial level
📈 2023-2025 is the first three year period above 1.5ºC (according to ERA5)
🌍 The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record

See: climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...

⚒️🧪🌊

Hello environment / climate peeps of Bluesky! I'm just doing some planning for what to write about in 2026. Do drop me a DM if you'd like to chat about anything you'd like to see the Times environment section cover this year.

Happy COP-mas Eve!

To celebrate, on 1st day of COP-mas morn, under the tree you may find a sparkly chat with our friend @ben-cooke.bsky.social to set the expectations for the season.

Check out wickedproblems.earth and/or your favourite media platform and Inshallah we will be there.

Trump wants energy dominance — is he just drilling US into a hole? The president is betting on fossil fuels while his superpower rival China is racing ahead on renewables

www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...

Climate change talks under fire as Cop30 gathers in Brazil While Baroness Worthington, lead author of Britain’s 2008 act, describes the talks as ‘a bit of theatre’, other campaigners believe they have made a difference

And I've written a couple of features on why many people think Cop isn't working, what we can do about it, and why the clean energy transition is zooming ahead even so. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

The fight to save Britain’s wildlife after year of climate ‘chaos’ The driest spring and hottest summer on record has taken a heavy toll on habitats, prompting pleas for urgent action to preserve our natural heritage

@henrybird1.bsky.social writes about what this year's arid summer tells us about the future of Britain's wildlife. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Four years on from landmark pledge, has deforestation slowed? As countries prepare for the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil, we assess the world’s progress on an ambitious goal set at the 2021 talks in Glasgow

Adam Vaughan checks in on the promise the world made at Cop26 in Glasgow, to halt deforestation by 2030. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the pledge has made little difference to the rate of forest loss. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

@annadowell.bsky.social has written a great piece about oil and gas workers in Aberdeen, who are fed up with promises of a just transition to renewables that has so far failed to deliver secure, high-paying jobs.

Pick up a copy of today's Times for 12 pages of in-depth coverage of the Cop30 talks, and the wider state of play for climate change and clean energy. It's got some brilliant stuff in it.

Trump wants energy dominance — is he just drilling US into a hole? The president is betting on fossil fuels while his superpower rival China is racing ahead on renewables

The US and China both have ambitions for energy dominance. But they're betting on very different visions of the global energy future. With China pumping out solar panels and batteries, and the US doubling down on gas, only one can be right. www.thetimes.com/world/asia/a...

We must be patriotically proud to be British but not to learn about or contribute to any of the culture that pride might be based on

my takeaway from climate week nyc is that "climate storytelling" is a little too much "we must reimagine our deepest souls in relationship to mother nature and the moral abyss of the polycrisis into which we must now stare" and not enough "ok but get a heat pump"

The grid is struggling — and our green future hangs in the balance Idle wind farms, a lack of batteries and protests by nimbys are hampering Britain’s clean energy drive. What are our options?

Excellent must-read by @ben-cooke.bsky.social clearest exposition I have yet seen of how problems with the #grid are holding up the Uk’s energy transition and imperiling Ed miliband’s #renewables ambitions. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Can satellites help these leaky pipe hunters end hosepipe bans? A start-up is helping water companies to pinpoint leaks, saving millions of litres a day as the country faces more severe droughts

Every day Britain loses 3 billion litres of water through leaky pipes - a big problem as Britain's summers become more arid. But water companies have some new tech with which to find them, including satellites that can spot leaks from space. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Thanks guys! Miss you!

We had the pleasure to welcome @ben-cooke.bsky.social in our CLEW team for 2 months for an IJP fellowship

Ben’s stay was a truly enriching experience that showed just how powerful cross-border collaboration and exchange can be

Read more about his experience: www.cleanenergywire.org/blog/why-wor...

Green hydrogen from Oman could power European industry - but at what cost?

Will hydrogen be the next LNG? That's the hope of a group of companies who want to ship the fuel from Oman to Amsterdam to power European industry. Tata Steel is onboard, but many analysts believe it's a fool's errand to ship the fuel thousands of miles. www.cleanenergywire.org/news/green-h...

It is remarkable that the west is committing to spending 5% of GDP on defence, and almost no one has made the case that the most pressing threat to our security this century is climate change and we should be spending more on tackling that.

How Germany’s steel titans are powering ahead in push to go green Ministers have handed out huge subsidies to give companies a headstart in the race to electrify the industry. Will the same work for Britain?

www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

How Germany’s steel titans are powering ahead in push to go green Ministers have handed out huge subsidies to give companies a headstart in the race to electrify the industry. Will the same work for Britain?

Electricity is the power source of decarbonisation. But in Germany it's expensive, hindering industries's efforts to go green. As Germany prepares to discount its steelmakers' bills, can it subsidise its way to a green future? Or is steelmaking going to move to places with more abundant renewables?

London ‘needs £2 billion to save it from surface water flooding’ The Thames Barrier provides welcome respite from storm surges, but infrastructure to deal with heavy rain is lacking

In recent years London has been hit repeatedly by flash flooding. This has been due to climate change, but also due to its 32 boroughs trying to plan their flood defences separately. I spoke to Elizabeth Rapoport about a new strategy to change that. www.thetimes.com/uk/london/ar...

Europe suffers weather extremes as climate change drives up temperatures 2024 was Europe’s hottest year on record, leading to fatal flooding in Valencia and dangerously dry spells in the continent’s southeast, research reveals

Europe experienced two sides of climate change last year, with wet weather hitting western countries while eastern countries became exceedingly dry, a study has found.

@ben-cooke.bsky.social reports on @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social research:
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...