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You’d like to think so, and yet…

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The contempt for voters really is absolute. Just say you don’t care about climate change and hate clean technologies and have done with it.

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Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

In some ways this is even more enraging than the original error. It wasn’t a printing error and previously the Tories’ justification for ditching clean power targets was it would supposedly cut the cost of electricity and support the roll out of the very EVs and heat pumps they’re now sneering at.

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Reposted by James Murray

A "slight printing error", apparently.

ory spokesman gets in touch:

“Obviously our slight printing error is much, much worse than the £500 billion that net zero is costing the economy.

"Britain going bankrupt is a trifling matter, as long as we all have heat pumps and EV chargers."
Quote
Sebastian Kraemer
@sebkraemer
·
2h
Tories overstate net zero cost by nearly £500bn in apparent spreadsheet error
https://theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/09/tories-overstate-net-zero-cost-500bn-spreadsheet-error?CMP=share_btn_url

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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

perfect tweet

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Needless to say, Conservative plans would result in the diametric opposite of this. Ditching carbon taxes as promised by Badenoch may help curb energy bills a bit, but it would also essentially re-open the UK-EU trade deal and lead to billions in tariffs for UK firms.

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Reports suggest UK and EU very close to a deal on integrating their respective carbon markets. Would be a significant move allowing UK firms to avoid carbon border tariffs and would make trading electricity a lot easier. www.businessgreen.com/news/4537078...

Reports: UK and EU close in on ETS deal to link carbon markets

A deal has reportedly been agreed to integrate the UK' and EU Emissions Trading Systems in a potential boost to the carbon market

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

He makes a good point.

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If we are to avert global climate catastrophe, this is going to be critical. A new study confirms solar and wind costs are still falling, gas costs are soaring, and battery energy storage systems are now cheaper than gas peaking plants pretty much everywhere. www.businessgreen.com/news/4537069...

'Decisive and widening': Battery storage undercutting gas peaking plants on cost, study shows

Wood Mackenzie calculates four-hour battery storage projects are now less expensive than open-cycle gas turbines in all major markets

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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

This prompted me to go back and check the claim that "On current DWP forecasts, from the 2024 election until 2030, Labour will have increased working-age benefit spending by a further £51.6 bn/year." It appears to be equally fictional/spreadsheet error. Correct figure is maybe £36bn..

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Good piece. The line that really caught my eye here was this one: "Lobby journalists, while being supportive in print, are typically unimpressed with Badenoch in person". It speaks volumes about how the Tory press sees its role, and its attitude towards the truth of what it prints.

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WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

608bn litres of industrial wastewater entered sewage plants last year. Sources include power stations, abattoirs, landfill, some with consents for chemicals such as mercury + cyanide - entering plants not designed to treat such waste. Our new report, out now: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

Revealed: the ‘black box’ wastewater trade that rakes in millions for UK utility companies

Exclusive: Firms made more than £340m last year from processing industrial and commercial wastewater at sewage works that are unable to remove many chemical pollutants

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Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 09/10/2026

FACTCHECK: UK Conservatives double the ‘cost of net-zero’ after spreadsheet blunder The Tory "Right Way" booklet makes an erroneous claim about the cost of cutting emissions, possibly taken from a Jan26 thinktank report, and deffo the most idiotic error I've seen for a while 🧵

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A serious engineer - as Badenoch claims she is - would admit the mistake, revisit their priors, and develop a new plan.

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Badenoch really should be challenged on this. She recognises climate change is real so should understand net zero has to be reached. Her objection is there isn’t a sufficiently robust plan and it costs too much to reach it by 2050. But cost estimates she is using are out my an order of magnitude.

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Tories overstate net zero cost by nearly £500bn in apparent spreadsheet error

It would be lovely to think that on discovering an error of this magnitude it would prompt the Tories to stop and ask themselves if maybe we can afford net zero after all. Sadly, there is zero chance of that happening. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Exclusive: Badenoch’s flagship conference policy document cites £957bn estimate, twice the total in climate advisers’ data

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Peter Frankopan @peterfrankopan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Well. Here it is: a new book that has been keeping me busy for a while. The Seventh Continent: Antarctica and the Southern Oceans. Past, Present and Future 1/5

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But also, policy uncertainty definitely doesn't help. Hard for a small or mid-sized business to invest in training up people if a change of government could torch heat pump grants and green building standards, for example.

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There's lots of theories, all of which are probably partly true. Apprenticeships are still too expensive to run for small businesses that dominate these sectors, perennial STEM skills issues, lack of awareness and interest in certain jobs among school leavers/graduates, etc, etc.

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This is going to have real bad implications for climate, clean energy, and housing goals, while also letting down the growing numbers of young people out of work.

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There's something really odd and worrying going on in the green quarters of the labour market. There's growing demand and good wages for key technical roles, yet numbers are static or even falling as people retire and are not being replaced. www.businessgreen.com/news-analysi...

Under water: Will a shortage of plumbers derail the clean energy transition?

New JTL analysis warns the number of plumbers in England’s workforce could fall by 30 per cent by 2039, despite growing demand for skilled workers to deliver the net zero transition

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The Women in Green Business Awards really were an absolute joy last night. A proper celebration of hundreds of inspiring women working right across the green economy, all in the service of some really important messages that need promoting. www.businessgreen.com/news/4537007...

Women in Green Business Awards 2026: Businesses urged to tear down barriers faced by women in the green economy

Climate Minister Katie White calls on green businesses to seize opportunity offered by creation of new industries to tackle the structural barriers still faced by women across the economy

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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

they did the thing

an october 11 2025 post from me reading: every single tech idea is like “soon our robots will be capable of playing catch with your kid, freeing you up to spend more time working on your employers’ spreadsheets”

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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

In the spirit of consistency, I do hope Badenoch will be constantly asked "Where's the money coming from?"

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Without that you're left with desperately trying to unite everyone else in recognition of how big the threat really is. That's where the Emergency Briefing can help, although worryingly we're still not seeing nearly enough from political leaders to push the same message.

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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Very much this. The problem - and the reason why the Tory leadership's stance is so dangerous and reckless - is that's really hard to achieve without cues from leaders on the right.

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And, on a very timely note this insightful (if, erm, depressing) article from @morganj0nes.bsky.social on @lcefuk.bsky.social and @persuasionuk.bsky.social research about public attitudes to climate change. Shows a key task is to overcome pre-existing biases. Not convinced the NEB does that.

break-down.org

Making people care about the climate

As the world heats up, are we really taking notice?

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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 08/10/2026

deep insight into the British id contained in this banknote poll result www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Kevin McKenna MP @kevinmckenna.co.uk · 08/10/2026

Not only a fringe view currently being aggressively promoted for desperate reasons, it’s not even an interesting talking point as most pub conversations settled this decades ago. Less than 16% support for the (nonsensical in the case of Englishness) race essentialist view. Boring as well as nasty

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Wolfgang Blau @wblau.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I’m all for looking at the positives, but come on.

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Strong quote today at The Economist’s inaugural conference on power grids: “We should be careful applauding gas power plants for their stability and reliability. They have the effect of exporting instability and an unreliable climate to the world’s most vulnerable regions.”

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Wolfgang Blau @wblau.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

next time someone suggests ‘climate realism’ or ‘climate pragmatism’: sure thing, how about being ‘realistic’? Wouldn’t that be nice, your ‘pragmatism’?

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‘Diversity is not something we bolt on to the transition - it is how we ensure the transition succeeds,’ says chair of judges Jade Burnett.

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‘Keep going, keep spotting the problems, and keep tearing down the barriers,’ White says, as she praises the pioneering work done by all the finalists.

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And the Politician of the Year is Katie White. ‘We should not build the economy of the future and put in the same old barriers,’ she says.

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Ryan Stauffer @ryanswx.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The Women in Green Business Awards 2026 are go!

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Haha, this fucking sucks.

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Michael Grunwald @mikegrunwald.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

GREAT ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE NEWS!!! (Not a typo!) The Indonesian government has cancelled its insane Food and Energy Estates project, which would have deforested a land mass the size of Maryland. Amazing work by @mightyearth.org. A massive victory for the planet. mightyearth.org/article/indo...

mightyearth.org

Indonesia Announces End to “World’s Largest Deforestation Project” - Mighty Earth

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