Robert McSweeney

Senior Science Editor at @CarbonBrief with a fondness for baking and Arsenal FC. All opinions are my own, however dull they might be.

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

Still kind of reeling from this… 😳

[Leonardo DiCaprio @LeoDiCaprio]

.@CarbonBrief has compiled data from 70+ peer-reviewed climate studies to show how #climatechange is projected to affect the world by regions. Check out the interactive summary here: https://t.co/FeyIAUbQ5X

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

@cherry_weed @CarbonBrief @daisydunnesci @tomoprater @joejgoodman Many thanks for your kind words, Ruth. On the impact maps, they're giving a broad indication of changes – it would be a whole project in itself to catalogue specific impacts for every location!

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

@TLRailUK Hi, what is happening with the 9:40 from PBO to KGX? We’re on the train on the platform, but not going anywhere and the board just says “delayed”.

[Tim Stanley @timothy_stanley]

That popular graph suggesting Europe has actually had a good year for wildfires is misleading
- data encompass Russia, including Siberia
- can include fires deliberately lit to manage cropland
- area burned by wildfires across EU is second only to 2022

https://t.co/GaCqRCFHNW

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

NEW – Factcheck: No, Europe is not having its ‘quietest’ year for wildfires

✍️ @GAViglione and @rtmcswee

Read here: https://t.co/KeN0yuCiBI

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

NEW – Factcheck: No, Europe’s heatwaves are not being ‘caused’ by declining air pollution

✍️ written by @rtmcswee
💬 with comments from @bjornhs, @erichfischer and Pedro Roldan-Gomez

Read here ➡️ https://t.co/CGQm1LS90a

[Zeke Hausfather @hausfath]

The arc of the scenario universe is long, but it bends inevitably toward more realistic emissions.

A new paper outlining the emissions scenarios we will be using in the upcoming IPCC AR7 report notes that "the CMIP6 high emission levels (quantified by SSP5-8.5) have become implausible".

[Simon Evans @DrSimEvans]

NEW: Have YOU seen these FALSE OR MISLEADING CLAIMS about the NORTH SEA?

Find out more:

https://t.co/zOCDHeqGqh

[Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf 🌏 🦣 @rahmstorf]

If you want to know more about how we established that there is a statistically significant increase in the speed of global warming since 2015, @CarbonBrief explains it nicely.

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

For such a softly spoken guy, Ben doesn't hold back on the Trump administration:

"Insane. That’s the only word for it. Removing our ability to measure and monitor how the world around us is changing, makes no sense whatsoever."

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

NEW – Prof Ben Santer: Trump administration is ‘embracing ignorance’ on climate science | @rtmcswee

Read here ⬇️
https://t.co/ruo3MTaDXC

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

Here's our annual look at the most talked-about climate papers of the previous year:

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

NEW – Analysis: The climate papers most featured in the media in 2025 | @rtmcswee @AyeshaTandon

Read here: https://t.co/7i1DYWmaqB

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

Are you a journalist covering COP30 looking for new and diverse sources?

Check out the Global South Climate Database.

This publicly available, searchable database features 1000+ climate scientists and experts from the global south.

🌍🔗 https://t.co/26PPUL1n41

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

Here's our annual look at COP delegates:

Top story: no US delegation for the 1st time in COP history

Also: ~56k people registered, so no big drop-off despite accommodation issues in Belém

(Caveat: these are provisional figures)

Also also: most "virtual" delegates ever

#COP30

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

NEW – Analysis: Which countries have sent the most delegates to COP30? | @rtmcswee Ho Woo Nam

Read here: https://t.co/QtZ4w4PYYx

[Zeke Hausfather @hausfath]

In a UN speech today, President Trump said that "all of these [climate] predictions were wrong".

Back in 2019 I led a research effort to digitize old climate model projections and assess how well they did. Turns out they got future warming pretty spot on!

[Simon Evans @DrSimEvans]

Well this is embarrassing for "newspaper of record" The Times:

Its coverage of EVs is the most misleading among UK titles, with 52% of pieces in H1 2024 containing at least one misleading statement

(The Daily Telegraph "wins" on volume, with 44 misleading pieces)
1/4

[Zeke Hausfather @hausfath]

The recent DOE climate science report misrepresents the work of many researchers. Carbon Brief asked those cited to review the parts of the report where their work was used, and we collectively found 100+ misleading or false statements: https://t.co/9iXsKMejsk

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

And then @thetimes, revealing its credulity, has followed with its own piece that does exactly the same thing (just 2 hours later):

https://t.co/NpyQcBmJiI

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

More net-zero misinformation in the @Telegraph

It claims that a proposed scheme to put the cost of recycling onto packaging producers, rather than local councils, is a “net-zero glass tax”.

It is about waste management, not net-zero.

Somehow, this made it onto the frontpage 🤦

[Robert McSweeney @rtmcswee]

Here's more on the “Packaging extended producer responsibility” scheme: https://t.co/HdNI0DQZl9

I suspect the Telegraph knows that the connection to net-zero is bogus as it only mentions the phrase in its headline & opening line.

Link here: https://t.co/WlEDJjs7I8

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

Chart: The rise, fall and rise of UK nuclear power over eight decades

Written by @DrSimEvans. Data analysis by Ho Woo Nam. Visuals by @tomoprater.

Read here ➡️ https://t.co/lNzTBKsJ98

[Carbon Brief @CarbonBrief]

NEW – Explainer: How human-caused aerosols are ‘masking’ global warming | @hausfath

Read here: https://t.co/RYOsvNk4Il