Doug Parr
dougparr.bsky.social
Doug Parr
@dougparr.bsky.social
@greenpeaceuk.bsky.social chief scientist, policy director

View are all my own, except those I've borrowed
Fully electric car sales in UK approached 1 in 4 of the total cars sold in 2025

Boosting sales will continue to crush oil demand, as is happening in China

Also critical the West gets its act together on manufacturing them, rather than losing out to China

www.theguardian.com/business/202...
UK car sales top 2m in 2025 as Chinese brands boom
Electric car sales rose by nearly a quarter to a record 473,000, or 23.4% of the overall market, says SMMT
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Failure to include mandatory batteries in the standard for new UK homes would be a massive climb down by Labour govt - caving into pressure from large housebuilders

Again

Climbdown would be to detriment of the homeowners, the electricity grid, & public interest

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Ministers may cut green tech mandate from new homes regulations in England
Critics say removing battery installation requirement will reduce amount homebuyers save on energy bills
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:24 AM
If you’re keen on delivering community energy and overseeing two solid existing projects this post could be for you
📢 Westmill Wind and Solar Co-operatives are seeking a Chief Executive Officer. This is a unique opportunity to lead two successful co-operatives with substantial resources and ambitious plans. Closing date: 12th January, 5pm.
Apply via the Energy4All website: energy4all.co.uk/job-vacancies/
December 19, 2025 at 2:40 PM
UK govt war on bats and newts, part 328

Small building developments will no longer need to worry too much about the damage they cause to nature

Or as London Wildlife Trusts say "We’ve got a flatlining economy, I know what’s to blame: hedgehogs"

www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...
Labour weakens nature protections in push for building boom
Rachel Reeves says changes to biodiversity rules will lift block on new housing but conservationists accuse government making wildlife a scapegoat for failure
www.thetimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:29 AM
The decline in Arctic sea ice from climate change is not only a tragedy for the region's people & wildlife

Scientists at the National Snow & Ice Data Center
talk of "a potential causal relationship between Arctic ice retreat and extreme weather in midlatitudes"

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
December 17, 2025 at 7:17 AM
The world of electric vehicles is changing rapidly as increasingly the leaders are in developing countries

India, Mexico & Brazil now have a higher EV sales share than Japan

Indonesia’s EV sales share has reached 15% this year, overtaking the US

ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
The EV leapfrog - how emerging markets are driving a global EV boom | Ember
Growth in emerging markets has turbocharged global EV sales in 2025, with over a quarter of new cars sold being electric.
ember-energy.org
December 16, 2025 at 8:01 AM
The Conservatives are threatening to abandon the phaseout date for petrol and diesel cars should they win the next election

There are so many reasons this is an awful idea you wonder whether any thought has been involved

Let me run through them 🧵🧵 1/7

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Conservatives would end 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars
Party would also abolish zero-emission vehicle mandate, cutting legal requirement on carmakers to sell EVs
www.theguardian.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Legal adviser to Rachel Reeves quits after advising plans to rip up planning laws could jeopardise trade with the EU and lead to widespread habitat destruction

The laws derive from EU Habitats Regulations, and non-regression forms part of the trade deal with EU

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reeves’s planning overhaul stalls as senior adviser quits after four months
Exclusive: Catherine Howard’s exit comes amid disagreements at top of government about how far to push deregulation agenda
www.theguardian.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Obviously it's not new, but it is once again striking how the United States, Saudi Arabia & Russia amongst others think they can deal with the environmental crisis by ignoring the evidence and cosying up to existing interests

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UN environment report 'hijacked' over fossil fuels - top scientist
The US and other governments derailed an agreement on a global environment study, its co-chair says.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Staggering statistic on the health burden of phthalates, bisphenols, pesticides & “forever chemicals" in the FOOD SYSTEM. Mad

$2.2 trillion is about half the annual healthcare spend of the USA

There's also a further cost of approx $640bn ecological damage

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Synthetic chemicals in food system creating health burden of $2.2tn a year, report finds
Scientists issue urgent warning about chemicals, found to cause cancer and infertility as well as harming environment
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:22 AM
A new record - on 5 December wind power produced enough electricity for 3/4 of UK homes

At 23.8GW it meant that even during winter peak demand, it was still providing nearly half the country's power needs

Still a way to go though....

www.edie.net/uk-soars-pas...
UK soars past wind power generation record for second time in two months - edie
Great Britain’s maximum wind generation record was broken on Friday, 5 December, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has confirmed.
www.edie.net
December 9, 2025 at 8:03 AM
The heat isn't going away. 2025 on track to tie second warmest year ever

Climate change is generating food-price inflation in Europe, catastrophic flooding in south-east Asia

Likely this warmth will continue into next year with further impacts. It may be permanent

www.ft.com/content/9e0e...
December 9, 2025 at 7:21 AM
It's 25th anniversary of the 1st offshore wind turbine in the UK this week

Offshore wind now provides over 1/6 of UK power

Success was not inevitable, and it continues to be a battle against the fossil fuel industries

Greenpeace UK has been part of the fight

www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/powerin...
Powering Britain’s future: Greenpeace’s battle for offshore wind - Greenpeace UK
In 25 years, offshore wind power went from niche concept to the backbone of the UK's energy system. But this success wasn't inevitable.
www.greenpeace.org.uk
December 8, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The British electricity system was over 50% renewables last year

The system operator is expecting by 2030 grid companies will connect 34.5GW batteries, 32.1GW offshore wind & 29.9GW solar

Considerably more than any of those sectors has operating in Britain today

www.ft.com/content/9913...
Britain’s grid overhaul means hundreds of energy projects unable to connect this decade
Connection priority given to those ready to build in bid to meet clean power 2030 target
www.ft.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:49 AM
This is such a good story of how random interaction can lead to potentially huge impact from new science

It’s on one of the major frontiers of science- understanding the soil that grows pretty much all our food

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot
I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:03 PM
PFAS, or 'forever chemicals', are among the most widely used pesticide active substances in UK

27 known PFAS active ingredients are used in UK, 6 of which are highly hazardous

"Our findings underscore the urgent need for an immediate ban" say PAN-Europe

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
High levels of ‘forever chemical’ found in cereal products across Europe – study
Pesticide Action Network Europe study finds average concentrations 100 times higher than in tap water
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:25 AM
2025 was heat and drought. 2024 was incessant rain

Three of the five worst British harvests on record have now occurred since 2020

Some farmers are asking whether the growing impacts of the climate crisis are making it too financially risky to sow their crops

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK farmers lose £800m after heat and drought cause one of worst harvests on record
Many now concerned about ability to make living in fast-changing climate after one of worst grain harvests recorded
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:28 AM
New CEO of Diageo writes:

"Environmental shocks, from flooding to soil degradation to heat stress, pose direct threats to commercial viability

Recent evidence found that the share prices of companies most exposed to biodiversity risk underperformed those less exposed"

www.ft.com/content/5094...
The food industry must face up to nature-related risk
Boardrooms need to acknowledge that without healthy soils and reliable seasons the system could face collapse
www.ft.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:12 AM
There's a move to delay EU phaseout date of petrol & diesel cars because of domestic auto industries are struggling to change

But head of Volvo says “If Europe doesn’t take lead in this transformation [to electric] rest assured, other countries will do it for us”
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘The Chinese will not pause’: Volvo and Polestar bosses urge EU to stick to 2035 petrol car ban
Exclusive: Swedish carmakers push to retain target as Germany lobbies to help its own industry by softening cutoff date
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:46 AM
The 'forever chemicals', which don't breakdown, in the blood of this BBC reporter at levels that can impact health will be replicated in many across the UK population

That they've been allowed into products and into the food chain is a monstrous failure of regulation

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I have high levels of forever chemicals in my blood - what can I do about it?
The chemicals would
www.bbc.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:08 AM
The World Health Organization recommends annual limit on fine particulate air pollution of 5ug/m3

The UK Govt Environmental Improvement Plan will align UK’s standards with EU's - 10ug/m3 by 2030

This means in some places wood-burning stoves will be restricted

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Wood-burning stoves to face partial ban in Labour’s updated environment plan
Exclusive: Pollution targets set out alongside nature recovery projects to allay concerns over housebuilding
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Europe’s water reserves are drying up - freshwater storage shrinking across S & central Europe, & parts of UK

Satellite data on changes in gravitational field show changes in available water as it's heavy

Climate breakdown can be seen in the data say scientists
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
November 29, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Greenpeace UK assessment of climate side of Budget 2025

"a budget without a vision.... playing energy policy whack-a-mole – reacting to problems as they popped up without a coherent strategy"

Energy bills, nuclear, oil & gas, electric vehicles all in here

www.greenpeace.org.uk/resources/bu...
Budget 2025: the Chancellor’s 'Whack-a-Mole' Budget - Greenpeace UK
What the 2025 Budget means for energy bills and climate action, as seen by Greenpeace’s policy team.
www.greenpeace.org.uk
November 28, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by Doug Parr
And as a rough comparison:

Hinkley Point C:
- estimate now up to £35bn+
- 6 million homes
- proposed 2008, ready approx 2030

Dogger Bank Wind Farm:
- sub £10bn
- 6 million homes
- proposed 2008, already producing power
So it's now news Hinkley Point C will be really expensive?

FFS, I & others were trying to tell people this over a decade ago, before contracts were signed

But the nuclear-political establishment thought they knew better

They didn't. Not for the first time

www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...
November 28, 2025 at 10:28 AM
So it's now news Hinkley Point C will be really expensive?

FFS, I & others were trying to tell people this over a decade ago, before contracts were signed

But the nuclear-political establishment thought they knew better

They didn't. Not for the first time

www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...
November 28, 2025 at 9:48 AM