Helen
@helengreengray.bsky.social
Local gov decarbonisation manager, community energy coop director, general eco botherer
Reposted by Helen
We delivered a clear message at Cop30: the delayers and defeatists are losing the climate fight | Ed Miliband
We delivered a clear message at Cop30: the delayers and defeatists are losing the climate fight | Ed Miliband
For all its flaws, the Brazil conference underlined the wish by a global majority for clean energy and climate action – and the UK will keep leading the way, says Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy security and net zero
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:00 PM
We delivered a clear message at Cop30: the delayers and defeatists are losing the climate fight | Ed Miliband
Carbon Brief is the best source of info climate change and bet zero by far.
OUT NOW: All you need to know about COP30, brought to you by @carbonbrief.org
Our 20k word explainer breaks down:
🛢️ What happened with the fossil fuel roadmap push?
💰 Who wanted (and got) what on climate finance?
🇨🇳 Did China step up as a climate leader?
Find out here ⬇️
Our 20k word explainer breaks down:
🛢️ What happened with the fossil fuel roadmap push?
💰 Who wanted (and got) what on climate finance?
🇨🇳 Did China step up as a climate leader?
Find out here ⬇️
COP30: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Belém - Carbon Brief
A voluntary plan to curb fossil fuels, a goal to triple adaptation finance and new...
www.carbonbrief.org
November 24, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Carbon Brief is the best source of info climate change and bet zero by far.
Reposted by Helen
With the disappointing progress at Cop30, evergreen reminder it isn't "we" or "humanity" failing to address the climate crisis — oil-producing nations and fossil fuel interests are actively obstructing action, despite heroic efforts by developing nations, Indigenous peoples, and many, many others.
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:45 PM
With the disappointing progress at Cop30, evergreen reminder it isn't "we" or "humanity" failing to address the climate crisis — oil-producing nations and fossil fuel interests are actively obstructing action, despite heroic efforts by developing nations, Indigenous peoples, and many, many others.
As ye sow...
November 21, 2025 at 8:17 AM
As ye sow...
Reposted by Helen
Another reason why the underfunding of local government and the inexorable centralisation of decisions on housing is going to cause problems.
November 20, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Another reason why the underfunding of local government and the inexorable centralisation of decisions on housing is going to cause problems.
Reposted by Helen
As renewables eat into the energy market + EVs reduce demand for petrol, fossil fuel firms aim to step up production of plastics + chemicals made from oil + gas. By mid-century, half of growth in demand for oil is predicted to come from making more plastic + chemicals. A must read 👇🏾
How Fossil-Fuel Companies Are Driving Plastic Production and Pollution | Scientific American www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
How the Fossil-Fuel Industry’s Pivot to Plastic Is Polluting Our Planet
To keep profits rolling in, oil and gas companies want to turn fossil fuels into a mounting pile of packaging and other plastic products
www.scientificamerican.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:50 PM
As renewables eat into the energy market + EVs reduce demand for petrol, fossil fuel firms aim to step up production of plastics + chemicals made from oil + gas. By mid-century, half of growth in demand for oil is predicted to come from making more plastic + chemicals. A must read 👇🏾
Worth reading, always - Hewitt writes beautifully on fascinating topics.
I'm offering free trial subs to my Substack! You can read about the psychology of patriarchy and its harms in posts on: Psychopathology of Cancellation; Sex Snoopers & Spy Cops; why men keep secrets; myths of male disadvantage; & a feminist view of grief rachelhewitt.substack.com
Small Revolutions, Every Day | Rachel Hewitt | Substack
Feminist life advice for very hard times. Analysis and practical posts about how men damage women via abuse, and how we can survive, and even thrive, in the aftermath of trauma and grief. From the per...
rachelhewitt.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Worth reading, always - Hewitt writes beautifully on fascinating topics.
Reposted by Helen
It's actually been around since 2021
Could modular data centres heat Britain’s homes? A look at Thermify’s HeatHub - Solar Power Portal
As the need to decarbonise Britain's heating network grows ever more pressing, we take a look at a new technology developed by Thermify, which could heat homes using waste heat from distributed data p...
www.solarpowerportal.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 1:30 PM
It's actually been around since 2021
Reposted by Helen
If you want people to feel that their day to day lives are improving then make sure that local government is properly funded. You could call it “the pothole theory of everything”.
English councils plan to sell off social clubs and sports centres to balance books
English councils plan to sell off social clubs and sports centres to balance books
Survey finds 60% of key cities councils are planning to sell assets to meet costs of adult and children’s social care
English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books, according to a survey of local authorities.
The key cities group of councils, which represents second-tier cities in England, said 60% of councils were planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:14 PM
If you want people to feel that their day to day lives are improving then make sure that local government is properly funded. You could call it “the pothole theory of everything”.
Reposted by Helen
Nature not a blocker to housing growth, inquiry finds
Nature not a blocker to housing growth, inquiry finds
Commons committee report challenges ‘lazy narrative’ used by ministers that scapegoats wildlife and the environment
Nature is not a blocker to housing growth, an inquiry by MPs has found, in direct conflict with claims made by ministers.
Toby Perkins, the Labour chair of the environmental audit committee, said nature was being scapegoated, and that rather than being a block to growth, it was necessary for building resilient towns and neighbourhoods. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Nature not a blocker to housing growth, inquiry finds
Reposted by Helen
While this budget psychodrama is playing out, my LinkedIn feed is full of heat pump engineers worrying their business is doomed because of an HMT briefing yesterday, and there’s a prominent story about the imminent collapse of the SEND system.
Bad fiscal policy has real world consequences
Bad fiscal policy has real world consequences
November 14, 2025 at 8:38 AM
While this budget psychodrama is playing out, my LinkedIn feed is full of heat pump engineers worrying their business is doomed because of an HMT briefing yesterday, and there’s a prominent story about the imminent collapse of the SEND system.
Bad fiscal policy has real world consequences
Bad fiscal policy has real world consequences
And nuclear fusion is also just around the corner, followed by carbon capture and storage. Meanwhile we have 3 safe clean and getting cheaper all the time renewable techs that we could just roll out everywhere, in wind PV and batteries.
Checked through old emails.
It has been ten years since Rolls Royce first told me that SMR tech was ready to go and explained how the UK had the chance to gain a first mover advantage.
It has been ten years since Rolls Royce first told me that SMR tech was ready to go and explained how the UK had the chance to gain a first mover advantage.
November 13, 2025 at 6:32 PM
And nuclear fusion is also just around the corner, followed by carbon capture and storage. Meanwhile we have 3 safe clean and getting cheaper all the time renewable techs that we could just roll out everywhere, in wind PV and batteries.
Reposted by Helen
Reform UK Ltd gets 92% of its funding from climate change deniers and fossil fuel corporate interests, provoking negative reactions.
A new survey reveals negative attitudes to Reform UK Ltd
Reform UK Ltd gets 92% of its funding from climate change deniers and fossil fuel corporate interests, provoking negative reactions
centralbylines.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reform UK Ltd gets 92% of its funding from climate change deniers and fossil fuel corporate interests, provoking negative reactions.
Reposted by Helen
There's no-one I trust more on contemporary housing policy than @peteapps.bsky.social. This is an important read: 'The new social housing programme looks more and more like a genuine step forward'.
open.substack.com/pub/peteapps...
open.substack.com/pub/peteapps...
The new social housing programme looks more and more like a genuine step forwards
New government funding will support the development of tens of thousands of socially rented homes a year. Plus, the descent of Assent
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM
There's no-one I trust more on contemporary housing policy than @peteapps.bsky.social. This is an important read: 'The new social housing programme looks more and more like a genuine step forward'.
open.substack.com/pub/peteapps...
open.substack.com/pub/peteapps...
Reposted by Helen
There's an army of people out there telling us change is impossible.
Only that it is not.
10 years ago electric vehicles plaid almost no role in global car sales.
Today one in five cars sold worldwide is electric.
Only that it is not.
10 years ago electric vehicles plaid almost no role in global car sales.
Today one in five cars sold worldwide is electric.
November 11, 2025 at 10:34 AM
There's an army of people out there telling us change is impossible.
Only that it is not.
10 years ago electric vehicles plaid almost no role in global car sales.
Today one in five cars sold worldwide is electric.
Only that it is not.
10 years ago electric vehicles plaid almost no role in global car sales.
Today one in five cars sold worldwide is electric.
Reposted by Helen
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
Reposted by Helen
I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.
Reposted by Helen
Can’t wait to hear fuel duty get frozen again in the budget in ten days or so!!
Govt scraps all electrification investment. Midland Main Line to stay forever diesel Leicester Nottingham Derby Sheffield. Hugely embarrassing and inexplicable
www.ft.com/content/5ecd...
www.ft.com/content/5ecd...
UK transport secretary says full electrification of railways ‘not affordable right now’
Heidi Alexander says focus will be on other projects such as HS2
www.ft.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Can’t wait to hear fuel duty get frozen again in the budget in ten days or so!!
Reposted by Helen
Our leaky housing hangs round the neck of the UK economy like a lead weight, dragging households towards poverty and will do so forever or until some government or other has the courage and vision to invest in sorting it out.
Cutting the insulation schemes that are one of the best ways to permanently reduce energy bills for low income families would be an eyewateringly daft & counterproductive way of seeking to reduce energy bills, as well as driving up emissions & leading to mass job cuts in the insulation sector 🙄
Cutting home insulation funding will imperil UK’s climate goals, Reeves told
Energy firms and charities urge chancellor to avoid short-term fix that could also harm low-income households
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Our leaky housing hangs round the neck of the UK economy like a lead weight, dragging households towards poverty and will do so forever or until some government or other has the courage and vision to invest in sorting it out.
Yes, but actually just a higher turnout tends to push extreme parties to the margins.
Could tactical voting block Reform in future elections? Lessons from Caerphilly
Could tactical voting block Reform in future elections? Lessons from Caerphilly
Thomas Lockwood, PhD Researcher in Politics, York St John University Plaid Cymru’s overwhelming victory in the recent Caerphilly Senedd byelection shattered over a century of political tradition. Lindsay...
nation.cymru
November 7, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Yes, but actually just a higher turnout tends to push extreme parties to the margins.
Reposted by Helen
Critics of renewables often point to land use as a reason not to do wind & solar. Land use IS a real issue for all energy assets incl renewables unless onsite.
But what critics conveniently forget is huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Texas. 👇
But what critics conveniently forget is huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Texas. 👇
November 5, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Critics of renewables often point to land use as a reason not to do wind & solar. Land use IS a real issue for all energy assets incl renewables unless onsite.
But what critics conveniently forget is huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Texas. 👇
But what critics conveniently forget is huge land impact of fossil fuels. Aerial view of fracking sites in Texas. 👇
Reposted by Helen
Australians will be getting 3 hours of free electricity a day because of how many people have installed solar - this is seriously huge considering the massive solar uptake in Australia happened while the federal government delayed action on climate
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Australian households to get free electricity three hours a day
Saying there is enough solar power for everyone in the daytime, the federal government will direct retailers to provide three hours of free power every day to consumers.
www.abc.net.au
November 4, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Australians will be getting 3 hours of free electricity a day because of how many people have installed solar - this is seriously huge considering the massive solar uptake in Australia happened while the federal government delayed action on climate
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
Reposted by Helen
"0.3 per cent of the world’s land area – yes, just the land – would be needed to meet the current energy demand from solar alone, which is LESS THAN THE CURRENT LAND FOOTPRINT OF FOSSIL FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE."
Why solar power is the only viable power source in the long run
Not only is solar more than capable of supplying all the world’s energy, in the long term it is the only power source that won’t fry the planet
www.newscientist.com
September 10, 2025 at 8:18 PM
"0.3 per cent of the world’s land area – yes, just the land – would be needed to meet the current energy demand from solar alone, which is LESS THAN THE CURRENT LAND FOOTPRINT OF FOSSIL FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE."
These seem very crude and obvious to us. What changed and what can we learn now? In the future will we look back on AI and (social) media misinformation in the same light? @ketanjoshi.co
The Cottingley Fairies appear in five photos taken by cousins Elsie Wright (age 16) & Frances Griffiths (9), from Bradford, UK. Their 1917 images caused many to believe the magical creatures were real....even fooling Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle #WomensArt
November 3, 2025 at 6:34 AM
These seem very crude and obvious to us. What changed and what can we learn now? In the future will we look back on AI and (social) media misinformation in the same light? @ketanjoshi.co
Reposted by Helen
Meanwhile, in South Korea: "Starting at the end of November, public parking lots with more than 80 spaces will be required to install solar power generation facilities. This obligation applies not only to newly constructed parking lots but also to existing ones."
cm.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2...
cm.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2...
Mandatory Installation of Solar Panels in Public Parking Lots to Apply Retroactively to Existing Facilities
Starting at the end of November this year, public parking lots with more than 80 spaces will be required to install solar power generation facilities. ...
cm.asiae.co.kr
November 2, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Meanwhile, in South Korea: "Starting at the end of November, public parking lots with more than 80 spaces will be required to install solar power generation facilities. This obligation applies not only to newly constructed parking lots but also to existing ones."
cm.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2...
cm.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2...