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Prof Richard Betts

@richardabetts

Climate scientist, University of Exeter & Met Office. Expert Adviser to Adaptation Committee of the Climate Change Committee. Lead author IPCC AR4, AR5, AR6 & AR7. Live music lover, supporter of grassroots venues. Cycles a lot, rock climbs occasionally.

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Latest posts by Prof Richard Betts @richardabetts

These attacks are focused on eliminating human life - the US is bombing schools and Israel is destroying desalination plants. It is raining oil-soaked acid rain in Tehran

This is why so many have been screaming for years that the climate movement should be paying attention to Gaza

09.03.2026 09:36 πŸ‘ 117 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Middle East war strengthens case for renewables, say clean energy experts Oil and gas price shocks triggered by conflict reignite discussion about building defences to volatile fuel costs

Middle East war strengthens case for renewables, say clean energy experts

- Oil and gas price shocks triggered by conflict reignite discussion about building defences to volatile fuel costs

Story by @kenzabryan.ft.com and @attractamooney.bsky.social
www.ft.com/content/001a...

09.03.2026 09:32 πŸ‘ 95 πŸ” 54 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 5
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Satellite proposals threaten the night sky In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency responsible for authorizing satellite launches and operations…

The FCC just opened public comments on SpaceX's plan to launch a million satellites to do AI compute in space. Under the current proposal, an environmental review won't be required. Please consider submitting a public comment to oppose this damaging plan.
darksky.org/news/two-sat...

22.02.2026 19:21 πŸ‘ 3577 πŸ” 2753 πŸ’¬ 125 πŸ“Œ 422
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Mum's helmet warning after cyclist son, 11, suffers broken leg in crash with car Charlene Storey said she was relieved son Logan had not been more badly injured after being involved in a crash this week

Maybe he should have strapped the helmet to his leg.

The key here is not helmets, but safer space for kids to cycle and better driving.

(Oh and helmet evangelists and guilt trippers will be blocked)
www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...

08.03.2026 09:37 πŸ‘ 150 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 1

Any political party spreading lies about voter fraud as a pretext to make it harder for every one to vote is sending a clear message: they can't win on their ideas alone.

Remember this.

18.02.2026 18:46 πŸ‘ 14191 πŸ” 4371 πŸ’¬ 323 πŸ“Œ 169
Headline from The Telegraph of an idiotic piece by Matt Ridley: CO2 is simply not a danger to human health, and it's actively good for crops.

Headline from The Telegraph of an idiotic piece by Matt Ridley: CO2 is simply not a danger to human health, and it's actively good for crops.

Spoken like someone locked in a poorly ventilated room.

14.02.2026 11:46 πŸ‘ 647 πŸ” 78 πŸ’¬ 27 πŸ“Œ 16
Climate Scientist Reacts to AI Overlords
Climate Scientist Reacts to AI Overlords YouTube video by ClimateAdam

This new video from @climateadam.bsky.social is even more brilliant than usual - insightful and hilarious 🧐🀣❀️

www.youtube.com/watch?v=py0X...

01.02.2026 11:14 πŸ‘ 79 πŸ” 33 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 3
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Human Rights Watch warns US heading to 'authoritarianism' Donald Trump's return to the White House has intensified a 'downward spiral' on human rights, the New York-based advocacy and research group said in its annual report.

Feels like we’ve arrived.

04.02.2026 08:16 πŸ‘ 218 πŸ” 48 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 5

I've never been tear-gassed. It's not normal

When an environment and education journalist is not only saying "I got tear gassed and so did children" but is comparing it with their previous experiences of being tear-gassed, you know stuff is going seriously and systematically wrong

01.02.2026 14:12 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
As far as Nigel Farage is concerned, let us remind ourselves that he said if we left 
the EU it would be Β£350 million a week for the NHS - that didn’t happen.

He said if we left the EU there would be less red tape for trading into Europe - try telling that to any business that is trading into Europe.

He said if we left the EU regular migration would go down - it quadrupled under the Boris wave.

Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

As far as Nigel Farage is concerned, let us remind ourselves that he said if we left the EU it would be Β£350 million a week for the NHS - that didn’t happen. He said if we left the EU there would be less red tape for trading into Europe - try telling that to any business that is trading into Europe. He said if we left the EU regular migration would go down - it quadrupled under the Boris wave. Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The Brexit campaign was fuelled by misinformation, and new polls have found that the majority of Brits want to reverse it. We must continue to fix our relationship with Europe, and rekindle our ties with the biggest free market in the world.

01.02.2026 20:22 πŸ‘ 125 πŸ” 44 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 1

I've never been tear-gassed. It's not normal

When an environment and education journalist is not only saying "I got tear gassed and so did children" but is comparing it with their previous experiences of being tear-gassed, you know stuff is going seriously and systematically wrong

01.02.2026 14:12 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 14 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1

Yes, an incredibly ignorant, selfish and dangerous attitude!

01.02.2026 12:29 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Climate Scientist Reacts to AI Overlords
Climate Scientist Reacts to AI Overlords YouTube video by ClimateAdam

This new video from @climateadam.bsky.social is even more brilliant than usual - insightful and hilarious 🧐🀣❀️

www.youtube.com/watch?v=py0X...

01.02.2026 11:14 πŸ‘ 79 πŸ” 33 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 3
Post image Post image

In the middle of everything, Minneapolis is holding the Great Nothern Festival, which celebrates our winters, our culture, and local climate solutions.

The amazing Dr. Ayana Johnson @ayanaeliza.bsky.social is the keynote speaker tonight, along with many local climate heroes.

Proud of Minnesota!

31.01.2026 22:36 πŸ‘ 72 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Yet another report calls for a national urban/village default speed limit of 20mph. This time its from the Faculty of Public Health, Transport and Health Science Group and the Royal Society for Public Health. See action No. 5

www.fph.org.uk/media/tr2bnu...

31.01.2026 10:23 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 23 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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The future of NCAR remains highly uncertain Β» Yale Climate Connections Members of the American Meteorological Society were briefed Wednesday about ongoing developments on the future of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which the White House has said it will b...

The dissolution of NCAR remains a very real possibility, as discussed at a town-hall meeting this week at #AMS2026. @climateconnections.bsky.social

yaleclimateconnections.org/2026/01/the-...

30.01.2026 18:48 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 36 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 4
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Budgets cut. Jobs lost. Pulling out of the IPCC. The consequences of climate science policy changes under the Trump administration are already showing. Climate scientist Dr. Zeke @hausfath.bsky.social joins @worthingtonbry.bsky.social to discuss. Catch up now: www.cleaningup.live/socials/

30.01.2026 13:02 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The big question is whether this will cause journalists working in mainstream for-profit corporate media to

(a) Become even more obsequious,

or

(b) Become defenders of the civil liberties, rule of law, and democratic institutions upon which their profession depends.

30.01.2026 14:56 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Opinion | Guan Heng Gets U.S. Asylum A judge grants refuge to a worthy dissident, no thanks to DHS.

Guan Heng went to Xinjiang to photograph the detention camps where the Chinese Communist Party imprisons Uyghurs. He fled China via Hong Kong, Ecuador, and the Bahamas, reaching Florida on an inflatable boat. The US was considering his asylum case when ICE arrested him. DHS has not released him.

29.01.2026 06:12 πŸ‘ 453 πŸ” 183 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 7
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio) YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free

28.01.2026 17:02 πŸ‘ 97505 πŸ” 40889 πŸ’¬ 4302 πŸ“Œ 5362
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Australian heatwave fans bushfires, towns evacuated, Melbourne endures hottest day in 17 years A major heatwave across Australia's southeast stoked bushfires, forced hundreds of residents in rural towns to evacuate and brought record-breaking temperatures, with Melbourne recording its hottest d...

An eye-opening aspect of working closely with international colleagues on things like IPCC reports is that you can compare being hit by contrasting weather extremes in real time

- heatwaves & fires in Australia
- storms & floods in UK

www.reuters.com/business/env...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...

28.01.2026 11:13 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Australian heatwave fans bushfires, towns evacuated, Melbourne endures hottest day in 17 years A major heatwave across Australia's southeast stoked bushfires, forced hundreds of residents in rural towns to evacuate and brought record-breaking temperatures, with Melbourne recording its hottest d...

An eye-opening aspect of working closely with international colleagues on things like IPCC reports is that you can compare being hit by contrasting weather extremes in real time

- heatwaves & fires in Australia
- storms & floods in UK

www.reuters.com/business/env...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ce...

28.01.2026 11:13 πŸ‘ 25 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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How well can we quantify when 1.5 Β°C of global warming has been exceeded? Abstract. Parties to the 2015 Paris Agreement agreed to limit the long-term increase in global average temperature to well below 2 Β°C and pursue efforts to keep temperatures below 1.5 Β°C relative to p...

New discussion paper just dropped that’s taken shall we say a little work to get this far … essd.copernicus.org/preprints/es... please be kind. Not on an at all sensitive topic in the slightest.

28.01.2026 08:48 πŸ‘ 133 πŸ” 70 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 6
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As we breach 1.5 Β°C, we must replace temperature limits with clean-energy targets Nature - Actionable goals are needed to guide the world towards what needs to happen most quickly: shifting economies to clean energy sources.

As the world quickly approaches 1.5C, researchers have a call in Nature to rethink the utility of temperature targets – and to potentially replace them with more actionable and precise targets around clean energy:

27.01.2026 19:14 πŸ‘ 118 πŸ” 48 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 6

Congratulations, Andrew Wakefield! You did it, you fraudulent quack!

26.01.2026 17:12 πŸ‘ 482 πŸ” 152 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 3

It’s wild that someone looked at this and thought, β€œThis would be better with some cars on it”.

26.01.2026 15:55 πŸ‘ 178 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1
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Minnesota National Guard members have arrived at a federal building and were directed to distribute donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters. Guard members were issued reflective vests so they would not be mistaken for federal agents.

25.01.2026 20:55 πŸ‘ 56315 πŸ” 13905 πŸ’¬ 1603 πŸ“Œ 1308
Trump's Greenland Grab is a DISASTER for the climate
Trump's Greenland Grab is a DISASTER for the climate YouTube video by Dr Gilbz

Keep your tiny hands off Greenland.

▢️ youtu.be/mIdPgSgvmwE

23.01.2026 08:59 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

All y'all should be following Colette, who co-runs Stand Up for Science @standupforscience.bsky.social. They are fighting vociferously against Trump and *especially* RFK Jr., who is literally a pox upon our nation.

22.01.2026 20:38 πŸ‘ 147 πŸ” 36 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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The guidance is dead - long live the guidance Some thoughts on the Road Safety Strategy and implementing 20mph limits

UK Gov could reduce killed and serious injuries on UK roads by 30,000 over the next decade. It just needs to facilitate the same initiative that already exists in one half of the UK for the other half. And its a key component of the Road Safety Strategy it has just announced.

22.01.2026 14:53 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0