Ben Spencer
@ben-spencer.bsky.social
Science Editor at The Sunday Times
Labour ministers accused of abandoning nature in the pursuit of net zero, as row escalates at #Cop30 over UK failure to back fund to save the rainforests.
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November 16, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Labour ministers accused of abandoning nature in the pursuit of net zero, as row escalates at #Cop30 over UK failure to back fund to save the rainforests.
edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dyn...
edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dyn...
Why can't Defra hang on to an environment secretary for a decent stretch of time? I've looked at this in today's environment newsletter and examined what we know about the new secretary of state, Emma Reynolds, and what her first challenges will be.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
September 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Why can't Defra hang on to an environment secretary for a decent stretch of time? I've looked at this in today's environment newsletter and examined what we know about the new secretary of state, Emma Reynolds, and what her first challenges will be.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
BREAKING: Zack Polanski has been elected as the new leader of the Green Party. This is what I wrote about the impact it will have on the party last week
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
September 2, 2025 at 10:23 AM
BREAKING: Zack Polanski has been elected as the new leader of the Green Party. This is what I wrote about the impact it will have on the party last week
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
Thrilled that the Times Environment newsletter I write each week with @henrybird1.bsky.social has been shortlisted for the science category at the Publisher Newsletter Awards.
We've been building our readership for the last 4 yrs and we're really proud of what we do - it's great to be recognised.
We've been building our readership for the last 4 yrs and we're really proud of what we do - it's great to be recognised.
April 23, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Thrilled that the Times Environment newsletter I write each week with @henrybird1.bsky.social has been shortlisted for the science category at the Publisher Newsletter Awards.
We've been building our readership for the last 4 yrs and we're really proud of what we do - it's great to be recognised.
We've been building our readership for the last 4 yrs and we're really proud of what we do - it's great to be recognised.
The new green pragmatism; net zero during Trump 2.0; clothes that grow with your baby; and the end of Just Stop Oil.
All this and more in today's Times environment newsletter.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
All this and more in today's Times environment newsletter.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
April 1, 2025 at 9:03 AM
The new green pragmatism; net zero during Trump 2.0; clothes that grow with your baby; and the end of Just Stop Oil.
All this and more in today's Times environment newsletter.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
All this and more in today's Times environment newsletter.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
If you read it you would have seen the subheading. You really don't have to scroll very far!
March 15, 2025 at 1:21 PM
If you read it you would have seen the subheading. You really don't have to scroll very far!
You can read all my work here www.thetimes.com/profile/ben-...
And if you sign up for the Times Environment newsletter, you can get my thoughts on climate change, green politics, sustainability and nature in your inbox every Tuesday morning. Sign up here t.co/OYGA3rz35G and click "environment"
And if you sign up for the Times Environment newsletter, you can get my thoughts on climate change, green politics, sustainability and nature in your inbox every Tuesday morning. Sign up here t.co/OYGA3rz35G and click "environment"
March 15, 2025 at 11:48 AM
You can read all my work here www.thetimes.com/profile/ben-...
And if you sign up for the Times Environment newsletter, you can get my thoughts on climate change, green politics, sustainability and nature in your inbox every Tuesday morning. Sign up here t.co/OYGA3rz35G and click "environment"
And if you sign up for the Times Environment newsletter, you can get my thoughts on climate change, green politics, sustainability and nature in your inbox every Tuesday morning. Sign up here t.co/OYGA3rz35G and click "environment"
Why the idea of our unchanging green and pleasant land is a myth. In today's environment newsletter
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
February 4, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Why the idea of our unchanging green and pleasant land is a myth. In today's environment newsletter
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
The Nimby Wars and other stories. In today's @thetimes.com environment newsletter
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61ed3e6...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61ed3e6...
January 28, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The Nimby Wars and other stories. In today's @thetimes.com environment newsletter
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61ed3e6...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61ed3e6...
Are you a net zero hero? Why you can't save the planet alone, in today's environment newsletter.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
January 21, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Are you a net zero hero? Why you can't save the planet alone, in today's environment newsletter.
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
Coffee prices are at a 50-yr high after drought hit Brazil and Vietnam; chocolate costs are spiking, £ orange juice is up and you need a mortgage for a bottle of olive oil. Climate change is hitting Britain in the pocket. In today's Times environment newsletter:
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
December 17, 2024 at 11:53 AM
Coffee prices are at a 50-yr high after drought hit Brazil and Vietnam; chocolate costs are spiking, £ orange juice is up and you need a mortgage for a bottle of olive oil. Climate change is hitting Britain in the pocket. In today's Times environment newsletter:
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
link.thetimes.co.uk/view/61951ca...
The spike in flu is piling pressure on the NHS two-three weeks earlier than wards usually begin to fill up. My piece online now @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
December 14, 2024 at 6:24 PM
The spike in flu is piling pressure on the NHS two-three weeks earlier than wards usually begin to fill up. My piece online now @thetimes.com
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...
And don't forget, if you're not already a subscriber, to sign up to get the newsletter in your inbox every week click here and select "environment": bit.ly/3ys7yUc
December 10, 2024 at 10:01 AM
And don't forget, if you're not already a subscriber, to sign up to get the newsletter in your inbox every week click here and select "environment": bit.ly/3ys7yUc
I was in the Commons press gallery for every word of Friday's five-hour assisted dying debate. The picture that emerged was of a palliative care system desperate for an overhaul, whether the right to die law makes it or not.
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December 1, 2024 at 10:23 AM
I was in the Commons press gallery for every word of Friday's five-hour assisted dying debate. The picture that emerged was of a palliative care system desperate for an overhaul, whether the right to die law makes it or not.
edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dyn...
edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dyn...
Not often that you get four Nobel prize winners on stage at the same time. AI for Science Forum, London
November 18, 2024 at 4:39 PM
Not often that you get four Nobel prize winners on stage at the same time. AI for Science Forum, London
Al Gore charming the crowd at #Cop29. “I was at Cop0,” he said. “Here we are in Baku, in another petrostate, but we have to make the best of it. We’re going to win this. They have a structural conflict of interest but I’m hopeful of making progress here in spite of that.”
November 15, 2024 at 11:40 AM
Al Gore charming the crowd at #Cop29. “I was at Cop0,” he said. “Here we are in Baku, in another petrostate, but we have to make the best of it. We’re going to win this. They have a structural conflict of interest but I’m hopeful of making progress here in spite of that.”
Biden's climate envoy John Podesta: climate change "is a matter of life and death". And when Trump says he will dismantle the fight against global warming "we should believe him". #cop29
November 11, 2024 at 1:38 PM
Biden's climate envoy John Podesta: climate change "is a matter of life and death". And when Trump says he will dismantle the fight against global warming "we should believe him". #cop29
November 11, 2024 at 11:03 AM
Well this is going to be confusing....
November 7, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Well this is going to be confusing....
Remember when Boris Johnson told us we’d soon be cooking our breakfast on hydrogen stoves? Few now believe that will come to pass. But Rachel Reeves still put £2bn into H2 projects last week. I’ve dug into what role hydrogen will play, beyond the hype. 👇
www.thetimes.com/article/2018...
www.thetimes.com/article/2018...
November 4, 2024 at 9:50 AM
Remember when Boris Johnson told us we’d soon be cooking our breakfast on hydrogen stoves? Few now believe that will come to pass. But Rachel Reeves still put £2bn into H2 projects last week. I’ve dug into what role hydrogen will play, beyond the hype. 👇
www.thetimes.com/article/2018...
www.thetimes.com/article/2018...