Gernot Wagner
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gwagner.com
Gernot Wagner
@gwagner.com
Climate economist, Columbia
https://gwagner.com
It’s pronounced juggernaut without the jug.
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Shutdown Deal Would Let Senators Sue Over Jack Smith Searches
Senators whose phone records were sought by Special Counsel Jack Smith would gain authority to sue for millions in damages under a provision buried in the Senate-advanced deal to reopen the government...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:20 PM
The nutty bit — other than the full plastic wrap, that is: I walked by this bowl ~8hrs ago. Looks untouched.

Perhaps wrapping perfectly fine apples in an impenetrable layer of petrochemicals is…hear me out: off-putting?! 🍎🍏
November 10, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Fossil fuel pollution here = NOₓ, SOₓ, and PM₂.₅

And yes, CO₂ is another key fossil fuel pollutant, which heats the planet, which further hurts (elite) athlete performance.

Almost as if we really do need to get off fossil fuels, fast.
Startling new research finds marathon times go up when there's more fossil fuel pollution in the air. Los Angeles Marathon has it worst. Even elite runners suffer. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/c...
Take a Deep Breath? How Bad Air Affects Your Marathon Finish Time
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
My family has been without half our income for 40 days. It has been.. very hard.

We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions.

We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.
November 10, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Happy COP week!

Not the heat pump Coefficient of Performance, but the Conference of the Parties, UN climate talks, "Paris+10."

And yeah, like so much else, it's all about setting expectations.
November 10, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
Sen. Lucy Football (D-NH)
Agree.

Sen Hassan, asked what will happen if Republicans don't carry out the deal, "Well, shame on them."

This is not what people were mobilizing for on Oct 18.
November 10, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Ominous picture for an ominous moment
November 10, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
"Far from a peak, China's gasoline demand is estimated to have fallen 9% in October on the year to 12.5 million tons, with average daily use roughly flat with September..."

China's oil demand is entering structural decline.
EVs put an end to China's usual holiday surge in gasoline use
Tianyu Jiang took a 2,000-km (1,200-mile) road trip this month during China's national holiday week, driving in his electric vehicle from the southwestern Sichuan basin to Beijing for the first time.
www.reuters.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Putting the nerd into train nerd 😎

www.traintrackr.io/refer/bfXbPW...
November 9, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
One person's "stealth tax" is another's bare minimum to start making sure flyers stop using the atmosphere as a free toilet
Passengers on long-haul flights could pay an extra £21 as the government agrees to align with Brussels on carbon emissions ⬇️
Holidaymakers face stealth tax on flights under EU carbon deal
www.thetimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:07 PM
25-year-old radio alarm clock this morning.

Feels like it's time for a replacement.
November 9, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Am I doing this right?
November 8, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Electrify 50% of your industry, save €250bn/year on fossil fuel imports.¹

Relatedly: the EU sends €380bn/year to autocratic regimes for its fossil fuel addiction.

¹ @jamiesmythft.bsky.social's @financialtimes.com Energy Source newsletter
November 8, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Thoughts and prayers
November 8, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Great dissection of where the world stands on climate 10 years after Paris: better than ever; worse than needed.

Start here: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

But lemme quibble a bit with the CO₂ₑ emissions pathways painted here.

A quick 🧵
November 7, 2025 at 8:23 PM
“The question now is whether this exponential curve of clean-energy innovation can outpace the exponential curve of climate impacts.”

Christiana Figueres by invitation @economist.com

www.economist.com/by-invitatio...
The climate action that matters is in the global south, argues an architect of the Paris agreement
But, writes Christiana Figueres, innovation still has to outpace climate impacts
www.economist.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Happy Mamdani Day, NYC!

Checking out socialist Vienna tonight, the cathedral does seem to have a red hue.

But the trains run on time, housing is plentiful, and the CEO of the local gas utility is working to get Viennese off gas entirely by 2040, induction stoves, geothermal heat pumps and all.
November 5, 2025 at 5:01 AM
The 1990s called and asked to get their climate trope back
Really can't be exaggerated how poisonous it is that @mattyglesias.bsky.social has taken up the "climate vs material prosperity" framing. It's empirically false. It's straightforwardly right-wing. It's going to make it harder to pass good policies. It's going to set that whole debate back.
November 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
Tom Hanks explains to Stephen Colbert why he masks on the subway:

"I'm doing a play right now so I cannot get sick... I've had COVID enough in my life, I don't need to do that again. So I'm wearing this for health reasons."

Thank you Tom! Masks are still a key part of public health.
November 4, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Viennese bakery: "Buy a loaf of bread, help set aside 2 m² of soil."

Offsets even @lastweektonight.com can get behind.
November 4, 2025 at 5:38 PM
It is.
All transition is in some way or another local.
November 4, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Gernot Wagner
Crazy rents for leaky apartments but no money for renovations.
Maybe there is a hidden solution to this problem.
New York's direct climate impact comes from two sources: 70% is buildings, 30% cars.

For buildings, we've had the right laws in place for a while: especially Local Law 97, with -40% CO₂ by 2030
gwagner.com/ll97

What's been lacking is enforcement. That's bound to change under Mamdani.
Our City Could Become One of the World’s Greenest, but It Won’t Be…
by Paul Greenberg and Gernot Wagner
gwagner.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:18 AM