Kate Mackenzie
@katemac.bsky.social
understander of things climate-related, and some other things
@thepolycrisis.bsky.social
@thepolycrisis.bsky.social
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
"Sir, a second Joyce Carol Oates post has hit—"
November 11, 2025 at 5:19 AM
"Sir, a second Joyce Carol Oates post has hit—"
Ethiopia last year banned the import of new gasoline-powered cars. Nepal reduced import duties on EVs so much that they are now cheaper than cars with internal combustion engines. Brazil raised tariffs on car imports to compel Chinese automakers to set up plants inside Brazil. Etc
A Flood of Green Tech From China Is Upending Global Climate Politics
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Ethiopia last year banned the import of new gasoline-powered cars. Nepal reduced import duties on EVs so much that they are now cheaper than cars with internal combustion engines. Brazil raised tariffs on car imports to compel Chinese automakers to set up plants inside Brazil. Etc
Unfortunately a lot of serious* news media behaving as though this is exactly the case
ridiculous. Bill Gates getting cold feet is not a shift in the scientific concensus.
November 10, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Unfortunately a lot of serious* news media behaving as though this is exactly the case
From the latest big Foreign Affairs energy piece, by Jason Bordoff & Megan O'Sullivan.
They're comparing one scenario published in 2024 with a completely different type of scenario (to be) published in 2025 - to say oil demand will rise and therefore problems of supply crunch/concentration loom.
They're comparing one scenario published in 2024 with a completely different type of scenario (to be) published in 2025 - to say oil demand will rise and therefore problems of supply crunch/concentration loom.
November 7, 2025 at 3:51 AM
From the latest big Foreign Affairs energy piece, by Jason Bordoff & Megan O'Sullivan.
They're comparing one scenario published in 2024 with a completely different type of scenario (to be) published in 2025 - to say oil demand will rise and therefore problems of supply crunch/concentration loom.
They're comparing one scenario published in 2024 with a completely different type of scenario (to be) published in 2025 - to say oil demand will rise and therefore problems of supply crunch/concentration loom.
One architect warned of "the difficulty of suspending a 30-storey building upside down from a bridge hundreds of metres in the air. “You do realise the earth is spinning? And that tall towers sway?”"
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
End of The Line: how Saudi Arabia’s Neom dream unravelled
Mohammed bin Salman’s utopian city was undone by the laws of physics and finance
ig.ft.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:53 AM
One architect warned of "the difficulty of suspending a 30-storey building upside down from a bridge hundreds of metres in the air. “You do realise the earth is spinning? And that tall towers sway?”"
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
I think he specifies it was all the *car* billboards but still very notable!
Here in Sydney I reckon we’d have 50% non-EV billboards, and there are plenty of EVs around including Chinese ones
Here in Sydney I reckon we’d have 50% non-EV billboards, and there are plenty of EVs around including Chinese ones
@nathanielbullard.com counted billboards on a recent trip to Thailand, from the airport into the city, for an hour:
100% (!) were for Chinese cars,
most were for EVs
of course a huge battery EREV was one of the ads
let this sink in, what's happening Around The World
#alwaysbecharging
100% (!) were for Chinese cars,
most were for EVs
of course a huge battery EREV was one of the ads
let this sink in, what's happening Around The World
#alwaysbecharging
November 5, 2025 at 11:01 PM
I think he specifies it was all the *car* billboards but still very notable!
Here in Sydney I reckon we’d have 50% non-EV billboards, and there are plenty of EVs around including Chinese ones
Here in Sydney I reckon we’d have 50% non-EV billboards, and there are plenty of EVs around including Chinese ones
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
remember all those 'project 2025 isn't actually real, you fools, you naifs' media pieces.
Amazing how much 2025 was a hyper correction for the fact that in 2024 voters clearly didn't know what they were voting for because the media didn't report on Trump's actual policies/voters refused to believe what they were voting for.
Between 2020 and 2024, no New Jersey county moved further right than Passaic County (11pts). At 43% it's also the most the most-Latino county in the state, and is among the least-white overall.
Last night, it moved 18pts to the left, surpassed only by Hudson County (the second-most Latino county)
Last night, it moved 18pts to the left, surpassed only by Hudson County (the second-most Latino county)
November 5, 2025 at 4:25 PM
remember all those 'project 2025 isn't actually real, you fools, you naifs' media pieces.
A lot of people guessing this is about oil, but idk how they’re thinking that would work..
Following on from my post yesterday, in case there was any doubt, Trump is threatening war with Nigeria.
Nigeria has a population of nearly 233 million.
Nigeria has a population of nearly 233 million.
November 2, 2025 at 12:46 AM
A lot of people guessing this is about oil, but idk how they’re thinking that would work..
Ooh I missed this excellent thread, thanks Jigar
His worst offense was reorienting the entire Paris agreement away from affordability toward innovation through his Mission Innovation side show in 2015. China went the route of deployment, we decided that we needed to focus on innovation instead.
www.wsj.com/articles/oba...
www.wsj.com/articles/oba...
Obama and Bill Gates to Launch Clean Energy Initiative
President Barack Obama and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will launch a multi-billion-dollar initiative Monday to accelerate clean-energy research and development as part of a global effort to fight ...
www.wsj.com
November 1, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Ooh I missed this excellent thread, thanks Jigar
This is a good sign to tap
Just remember: bill gates is far far far from an expert in any relevant field (health, policy, climate). He is just a very rich guy with time on his hands and no one around to say no to him)
November 1, 2025 at 10:52 PM
This is a good sign to tap
But the line is going down so …
October 31, 2025 at 8:17 PM
But the line is going down so …
[India] "This is something the western world is now beginning to realise. That we are not pushing coal, but using it only to meet the demand that renewables are currently unable to."
www.ft.com/content/4d4f...
www.ft.com/content/4d4f...
Sumant Sinha: Renewables can’t keep up with India’s surging power needs
ReNew Energy founder and co-chair of the Alliance of CEO climate leaders on the clean energy opportunity in India
www.ft.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:37 AM
[India] "This is something the western world is now beginning to realise. That we are not pushing coal, but using it only to meet the demand that renewables are currently unable to."
www.ft.com/content/4d4f...
www.ft.com/content/4d4f...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
This paper w @katemac.bsky.social @sarahinscience.bsky.social and crew is a few years old now, but it predicted where we've gotten to, where the overwhelming pressure to "just get a number" out of a black box ecosystem of providers gets you essentially gibberish.
Business risk and the emergence of climate analytics - Nature Climate Change
Assessing future climate-related financial risk requires knowledge of how the climate will change at various spatial and temporal scales. This Perspective examines the demand for climate information f...
www.nature.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This paper w @katemac.bsky.social @sarahinscience.bsky.social and crew is a few years old now, but it predicted where we've gotten to, where the overwhelming pressure to "just get a number" out of a black box ecosystem of providers gets you essentially gibberish.
This thread + discussions should be mandatory reading for anyone who contemplates trying to assess climate impact/physical risk.
Absolutely fantastic study comparing anonymized outputs of climate analytics models.
Everyone loves to bag on flood (rightly so), but can we talk about how the spread here is "30mph breeze to Cat 5 hurricane" www.fca.org.uk/publication/... HT @ruarirhodes.bsky.social
Everyone loves to bag on flood (rightly so), but can we talk about how the spread here is "30mph breeze to Cat 5 hurricane" www.fca.org.uk/publication/... HT @ruarirhodes.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 11:52 PM
This thread + discussions should be mandatory reading for anyone who contemplates trying to assess climate impact/physical risk.
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
Next issue out tomorrow!!
ALL OF THE ABOVE? "There are contexts where building a broad energy portfolio makes sense, such as in research and development of new technologies, where failure is part of the process. But when applied to infrastructure, regulation, and deployment, the lack of prioritization becomes a liability."
You can choose to look up—at all that is above.
Is "all-of-the-above" energy policy a smokescreen for fossil fuel lock-in? If not, why not?
caravanseraiforum.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Next issue out tomorrow!!
Protests led by Gen Z are happening in a bunch of countries right now and over the past year or so; some have been quite effective.
Here's a few links & I will explain the skull & crossbones if you need
www.npr.org/2025/10/02/n...
Here's a few links & I will explain the skull & crossbones if you need
www.npr.org/2025/10/02/n...
From Madagascar to Morocco: Gen Z protests shake Africa
Gen Z-led protests in two diverse African countries highlight frustration over years of poor governance. Fueled by social media, these youth movements are demanding accountability.
www.npr.org
October 21, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Protests led by Gen Z are happening in a bunch of countries right now and over the past year or so; some have been quite effective.
Here's a few links & I will explain the skull & crossbones if you need
www.npr.org/2025/10/02/n...
Here's a few links & I will explain the skull & crossbones if you need
www.npr.org/2025/10/02/n...
“Imagine being marched by force through a desert with barely anything to drink while your captor repeatedly cools himself by dumping gallons of water on his head, and maybe you’ll start to get a sense of what it’s like to live in Texas these days,” www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
Parched Texas Is Giving Water Away to Oil, Gas and AI
Imagine being marched by force through a desert with barely anything to drink while your captor repeatedly cools himself by dumping gallons of water on his head, and maybe you’ll start to get a sense ...
www.bloomberg.com
October 19, 2025 at 10:55 PM
“Imagine being marched by force through a desert with barely anything to drink while your captor repeatedly cools himself by dumping gallons of water on his head, and maybe you’ll start to get a sense of what it’s like to live in Texas these days,” www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
The glacial pace at which efforts to stop creditors from hammering the poorest countries are progressing is really something. Swear I have barely followed it for a year and yet here it is: maybe progress on workout transparency?
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
G-20 Weighs Fixes to Debt-Relief Plan Faulted as Too Unwieldy
Support is growing for enhancements to the Group of 20’s coordinated debt-relief initiative, faulted for being too slow and unwieldy since its inception in 2020.
www.bloomberg.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:20 AM
The glacial pace at which efforts to stop creditors from hammering the poorest countries are progressing is really something. Swear I have barely followed it for a year and yet here it is: maybe progress on workout transparency?
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
Mark Z Jacobson was making this style of graph for a while now. Not sure how. I think he must be scraping CAISO and has his own graph creation tool (CAISO doens't display these type of visual graphs).
Here's Mark's latest: bsky.app/profile/mzja...
Here's Mark's latest: bsky.app/profile/mzja...
Picture perfect California weekend
195th & 196th days in 2025 with >100% WindWaterSolar for part of day
WWS peaked at 135% of demand both days
Gas down 19% v '24 & 37% v '23
Batteries up 57% v '24 & 205% v '23
Solar up 15% v '24 & 44% v '23
WWS 54.6% of demand v 46.7% in '23
195th & 196th days in 2025 with >100% WindWaterSolar for part of day
WWS peaked at 135% of demand both days
Gas down 19% v '24 & 37% v '23
Batteries up 57% v '24 & 205% v '23
Solar up 15% v '24 & 44% v '23
WWS 54.6% of demand v 46.7% in '23
October 17, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Mark Z Jacobson was making this style of graph for a while now. Not sure how. I think he must be scraping CAISO and has his own graph creation tool (CAISO doens't display these type of visual graphs).
Here's Mark's latest: bsky.app/profile/mzja...
Here's Mark's latest: bsky.app/profile/mzja...
ALL OF THE ABOVE? "There are contexts where building a broad energy portfolio makes sense, such as in research and development of new technologies, where failure is part of the process. But when applied to infrastructure, regulation, and deployment, the lack of prioritization becomes a liability."
You can choose to look up—at all that is above.
Is "all-of-the-above" energy policy a smokescreen for fossil fuel lock-in? If not, why not?
caravanseraiforum.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:14 AM
ALL OF THE ABOVE? "There are contexts where building a broad energy portfolio makes sense, such as in research and development of new technologies, where failure is part of the process. But when applied to infrastructure, regulation, and deployment, the lack of prioritization becomes a liability."
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
El evento climático de otoño lo monta @institutomeridiano.org: "Construir el futuro". El programa es impresionante. El 7, 8 y 9 de noviembre, las mejores cabezas de la política climática se dan cita en Madrid para pensar en una transición rápida, justa y deseable. Gratis (pero hay que inscribirse).
October 15, 2025 at 4:06 PM
El evento climático de otoño lo monta @institutomeridiano.org: "Construir el futuro". El programa es impresionante. El 7, 8 y 9 de noviembre, las mejores cabezas de la política climática se dan cita en Madrid para pensar en una transición rápida, justa y deseable. Gratis (pero hay que inscribirse).
"this is how an investment banker and a lawyer would build a natural gas plant" Matt Levine on the BP arbitration loss and the 'modular' LNG plant www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...
Venture Global’s Gas Plant Is Done
Also the Nobel Peace Prize, Credit Suisse AT1s, a Grindr margin-call LBO and StockTwits alpha.
www.bloomberg.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:53 AM
"this is how an investment banker and a lawyer would build a natural gas plant" Matt Levine on the BP arbitration loss and the 'modular' LNG plant www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...
Reposted by Kate Mackenzie
The @chicago.suntimes.com photographer who risked their personal health and safety to take this photograph is Anthony Vazquez. Please credit photographers and media outlets. In this age of misinformation, a photo with no context could be anything at all.
Please remind us who the domestic terrorists are again.
October 15, 2025 at 12:16 AM
The @chicago.suntimes.com photographer who risked their personal health and safety to take this photograph is Anthony Vazquez. Please credit photographers and media outlets. In this age of misinformation, a photo with no context could be anything at all.