Simon Donner

No Kings protest coverage | News From The States

Live blog from across the US of the No Kings protest www.newsfromthestates.com/live-feed/no...

Thanks, that's kind of you to say.

Three key points in my recent gov't testimony about Canada's climate efforts:
1) The 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, though bolder than past plans, was not sufficient
2) That plan is not being sufficiently implemented
3) Good climate policy is in the long-term economic interests of Canada

David Olive: Is Mark Carney retreating from Canada’s climate change fight? In an astonishing reversal, Canada is poised to make big, long-term investments in projects that contribute to climate change rather than fight it, David Olive writes.

“All we know that is happening is that we've been removing existing climate policies,” @simondonner.bsky.social said. @ubcgeography.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca @science.ubc.ca www.thestar.com/business/is-...

This post buries the lede: "Push for what you can't control alone. Vote for leaders who support climate-smart investments; demand action from those already in power; sign petitions; and join collective campaigns that drive change at scale."

Re-upping this paper by @sethwynes.bsky.social and @simondonner.bsky.social which finds a median climate vote in Canada associated w 34 tons, vs 2.4 tons for car free for a yr. Individual action charts look pretty different with collective action.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Most of the world has recently set all-time heat records Regional exceptions like the 1930s in the continental US notwithstanding

Most of the world has recently set all-time heat records - valuable analysis from @hausfath.bsky.social to show that climate change is real and global... even it was hotter in one town 80 years ago. www.theclimatebrink.com/p/most-of-th...

The federal Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is holding hearings about Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. You can watch the video of yesterday's hearing, in which I participated: www.ourcommons.ca/committees/en/ENVI/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=13130858

YouTube video by CBC News Why the world is watching as China pledges emissions cuts

Had a good chat with @johannawagstaffe.bsky.social about China pledging to reduce emissions, for the first time youtu.be/M3ps0P7uyic?...

Meeting the Moment Hi! I’m Liz Neeley and I’m glad you’re here. Each Friday evening, I write a summary of the week’s events in science and higher education. I pull together roughly three bulleted paragraphs about what ...

Which climate scientists are doing good work similar to what you've seen me doing with Meeting the Moment (buttondown.email/liminalcreat...) and Unbreaking (unbreaking.org)?

(I have a few already in mind, but want to enlist your help and expand my circles.)

On the rise of activist tourism, and whether it can help us respond to challenges like climate change.

We tend to assume others think like us. The US President and his speechwriters calling climate change a con job is a reflection on them. They're willing to deceive the public for personal gain, so they assume others are as well, and can't conceive of people taking actions for the greater good.

This article from @bryancurtis.bsky.social is bang on. Institutions bowing to Trump doesn't work. It only stokes a positive feedback loop based largely on a false perception of strength and inevitability.
www.theringer.com/2025/09/19/p...

"We'll never change. It's too hard"
I first heard that on my answering machine.
Then by fax. Really.
Next, emails, so many emails
Then blog comments
Facebook posts
The tweets, oh the tweets
Podcasts
Zoom webinar comments
AI-transcribed voicemails
Now, full-on AI videos

Sure, we can't change.

What do the international court advisory judgements mean for climate action in Canada, and for youth lawsuits against governments?

Join us tomorrow to hear insight from climate law expert David Boyd!

Register here to attend in-person or virtually: climatesolutions.ubc.ca/news-and-eve...

Strengthening climate policy to build long-term prosperity As we move forward with major new ‘nation–building’ projects and infrastructure investments, the choices we make are about today versus tomorrow, not the environment versus the economy.

The choices we face are about today vs. tomorrow, not environment vs. economy. Here my Net-Zero Body Advisory presents four immediate steps the Canadian government can take to prepare for the future, drawn from new research with @climateinstitute.bsky.social. (1/6)
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...

None of this will happen if we continue to falsely present climate policy as an opponent of economic policy. That incorrect framing needs to end. This is is about making upfront investments in policy and infrastructure today to build low-carbon industries and deliver long-term prosperity. (6/6)

iv) To do all this, federal and provincial governments need better and more accountable deals on policy implementation. Known as equivalency agreements, these deals are currently not transparent enough nor sufficiently monitored to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness (5/6)

iii) Expediting the stalled methane regulations for landfills and the oil and gas industry, providing heat pump incentives to low-income households, and broader adoption of low-carbon building codes would further promote long-term clean growth and reduce emissions (4/6)

ii) Adjust, rather than remove, existing policies to save red tape. For example, our research shows that small changes to Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations, along with reintroducing electric vehicle incentives, is one pathway to reducing unintended and unproductive regulatory overlap (3/6)

i) Strengthen the industrial carbon pricing system by tightening performance benchmarks and expanding the system to cover more industrial emitters. Linking the provincial markets isn't enough. The whole system needs to be tightening to create policy certainty and unlock low-carbon investment (2/6)

Strengthening climate policy to build long-term prosperity As we move forward with major new ‘nation–building’ projects and infrastructure investments, the choices we make are about today versus tomorrow, not the environment versus the economy.

The choices we face are about today vs. tomorrow, not environment vs. economy. Here my Net-Zero Body Advisory presents four immediate steps the Canadian government can take to prepare for the future, drawn from new research with @climateinstitute.bsky.social. (1/6)
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...

Being Canadian right now is like being chained to your best friend as they stick their feet in a block of wet cement and jump in the ocean. You don't want to abandon them. You're not even sure if it is possible to cut the chain. But you're also afraid of drowning.

The tree planting company paying Kawhi story is a rare collision of my climate and NBA feeds

Just incredible that the payment was via a carbon offset company... an industry whose accounting processes might be even more questionable than that of NBA teams.

Enjoyed writing about carbon offsets in Canada as part of @UBC's Solutions Scholars Program. Our conclusions: Carbon offsets probably don't offset carbon. Do we just throw the whole thing out?

The Future of Climate Change Communication Within Social Media Last month, I announced that doctorclimatechange.com would be closing soon.

Thoughts on what is, and what is not working, on climate change communication in the final (!) blog post from @stewartjc.bsky.social. As with any good writing about climate communication, there's ample mention of the late Stephen Schneider:
doctorclimatechange.com/f/the-future...

This discussion went in a direction I didn't expect!

Question for scholars and experts on countries that descended into authoritarianism or fascism:

In the countries you study, how long did it take for the majority of citizens to recognize the path the country was on?

(I'm not subtweeting the US, I'm curious about other experiences)

Yes, though that's more indirect because climate change is globally driven. Canada's emissions are only one driver of climate change, and local emissions don't directly cause the local impacts.