Raphael Ofner

Recent research estimates that the aid cuts of the Trump administration will cost millions of lives.

Can't agree more - very similar here in Vienna :)

Zu Gast: Timothy Snyder, (American historian) / englische Langfassung ZIB2-Podcast · Episode

Huge recommendation: Historian @timothysnyder.bsky.social in a remarkable interview in Austrian public television about the first 100 days of the second Trump administration (*English audio version*).

Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change. Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.

What a great success story - Must-read, must-share!

Le Pen Barred From French Presidential Run After Embezzlement Ruling (Gift Article) The court decision barred the far-right leader Marine Le Pen from seeking office for five years, jeopardizing her plans for the 2027 election. She can appeal.

Major news from France!

As so often ... clear and easy to understand information on manmade climate change provided by Austrian meteorologist @marcuswadsak.bsky.social. Definitely recommend following!

Thank you very much for your insightful reply, @annieleymarie.bsky.social!

Tesla's February market share in Europe drops despite EV pickup Tesla's market share in Europe continued to shrink year-on-year in February, data showed on Tuesday, as sales of the all-electric car maker dropped for a second consecutive month despite rising overall EV registrations on the continent.

New data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association shows Tesla sales plummeting by almost 50%.

Would you say that alpine pastures (as they are rather common in Austria, for example) would be an exception to that? At that altitude, there isn't much growing except gras, and fencing is at least limited.

Thank you for the super important post!!

What I wonder is: How straightforward is this? Glaciers will shrink no doubt, but could other sources of water make up for that (like more rainfall due to increased evaporation)?

So, with how much certainty can climate communicators talk about this risk?

French scientist denied US entry after phone messages critical of Trump found France’s research minister said the scientist was traveling to Houston for a conference when his phone was searched

Land of the free ...

Greenpeace has said that a $300 million judgment could force it to shut down its operations in the United States.

Jury Finds Greenpeace Liable for Hundreds of Millions in Damages (Gift Article) A lawsuit by pipeline giant Energy Transfer claimed Greenpeace had played a major, costly role in protests nearly a decade ago. Greenpeace has said a loss could put it out of business.

A North Dakota jury on Wednesday awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the Texas-based pipeline company Energy Transfer, which had sued Greenpeace over its role in protests nearly a decade ago against its Dakota Access Pipeline.

9 out of 10 cars sold in Norway are electric.

Copenhagen in Denmark has become one of THE biking cities worldwide.

Skandinavia as a whole leads in heat pump installations (thanks for sharing @janrosenow.bsky.social).

The northern countries of Europe show: There is no excuse for climate inaction.

I don't think it's a laughing matter. Newspapers like @theguardian.com or the @nytimes.com and public broadcasters like the @bbcbreaking-bot.bsky.social or the @orfnewsbot.bsky.social are important sources of information. While their reporting should always be improved, they are pillars of society.

2024 Brought the World to a Dangerous Warming Threshold. Now What? (Gift Article) Global temperatures last year crept past a key goal, raising questions about how much nations can stop the planet from heating up further.

As much as we agree that the climate crisis deserves more media attention, The New York Times already reports on climate change and energy transformation nearly daily. While feedback is important, I think we shouldn't forget how important high-quality news outlets like The Times are in all this.

The Republicans Pushing Trump to Save Biden’s Clean Energy Tax Credits (Gift Article) Despite President Trump’s rollback of climate policy, some Republicans and business leaders say clean energy can help his “energy dominance” agenda.

The United States recorded $315 billion in clean energy investments last year.

About 80 percent of the investments tied to the "Inflation Reduction Act", the key climate bill of the Biden administration, have gone to Republican congressional districts.

Climate and economy CAN go hand in hand.

Thank you for the insight!

Is there a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in place or in planing (as the one that should take effect at the EU borders in 2026)?

How do you see the move away from the consumer carbon tax (which many countries still have here in Europe)?

Opinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True. (Gift Article) A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death.

The richest man on earth taking food and medicine from the poorest of the poor:

"When you meet those dying children and look into their eyes and hold their hands and feel faint heartbeats flutter, you can’t bear the gleeful laughter. You see children just like your own and hang your head in shame."

(2/2) The move still faces legal challenges from both the far left and far right, as the vote is set to take place just days before the new parliamentary majorities from February's election take effect.

Some context for those less familiar with German politics (1/2):

Germany's constitution includes a so-called "debt brake", which has restricted investment for years. Loosening its rules requires a two-thirds majority.

SPD and CDU/CSU are currently negotiating a coalition government.

Germany: Parties agree on historic debt deal – DW – 03/14/2025 The CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD have reached an agreement with the Greens on a massive increase in government borrowing.

Remarkable climate news from Germany!

Conservatives (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) agreed in principle with the Green Party on plans for a massive increase in state borrowing for infrastructure and military.

The Greens secured a €100 billion fund for climate and economic transformation.

For context: Wright stated price stability and the fight against poverty as reasons to keep using fossil fuels anyway - ignoring that renewable energy has become much more affordable and that costs of climate change are expected to be much higher (especially in many developing countries).

This cannot be highlighed enough: Not even a man that got rich with fracking and is part of a super-pro-fossil-fuel administration questions the reality of manmade global warming anymore.

U.S. Energy Secretary Pledges to Reverse Focus on Climate Change (Gift Article) To applause from oil and gas executives, Chris Wright said natural gas was preferable to renewable energy and climate change was a “side effect of building the modern world.”

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave a remarkable speech these days.

Not that his unreflected pro-fossil-fuels standpoint was in any way surprising (Wright is a fracking magnate).

But telling ... as even he admitted: “We have indeed raised global atmospheric CO2 concentration by 50 percent..."

I have always been an advocate for publicly funded broadcasters like the BBC in the UK or the ORF in Austria. This excellent interview of
ORF anchorman @arminwolf.at with virologist @cdrosten.bsky.social reminds me why.