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Jonathan Watts

@jonathan-watts.bsky.social
19K followers 4.3K following 337 posts

Author of The Many Lives of James Lovelock, founder of Sumaúma.com and the Rainforest Journalism Fund. Guardian environment writer.

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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 4h
Horrifying
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 6h
Thanks. I harbour similar concerns. Do you have a link for the META block?
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 7h
“We” or “They”?
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 7h
Thanks for sharing Wies. Hope all well.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 22h
More fire, more crime, more death and a globally important ecosystem driven ever more rapidly towards a point of no return. That’s the prospect for the Amazon rainforest if Flávio Bolsonaro wins Brazil’s election My take www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Flávio Bolsonaro’s advance in Brazil’s election is grim jolt for climate campaigners
Inquest under way into why President Lula’s success in curbing Amazon deforestation has not led to success at polls
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
“The monsters are back” If you only read only one thing about the presidential election in Brazil, read this essay by Joāo Moreira Salles. A scion of a powerful family, Salles addresses those in his class who cosy up to far right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro piaui.uol.com.br/web/o-que-es...
piaui.uol.com.br
O que esses brasileiros sabem
Sobre o que cada um faz diante daquilo que vê
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
We worked together again on a data falsification scandal by British Nuclear Furls Limited that led to a rift with its biggest customers in Japan, and eventually resulted in the firing of senior executives, £40m in compensation and the long delay of the company’s privatisation plans. A huge loss.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Paul Brown always made time to advise and encourage young reporters. I first worked with him in 1998 during the Tomaimura nuclear crisis when he combined encyclopaedic knowledge, calm guidance and wise words to look beyond the accident to structural causes. www.theguardian.com/world/1999/o...
theguardian.com
Nuclear blast triggers crisis
The world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl rocked Japan yesterday after an explosion took place at a nuclear fuel plant, threatening 300,000 people living within a six-mile radius of the disas...
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Paul Brown filed the last of his many thousands of Guardian stories from a hospital bed. It was a typically trenchant reflection on his decades covering the environment that ended with a critique of the nuclear industry, which was a subject close to his heart. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘I have watched politicians failing yet and yet again’: lessons from a life as an environment writer
Paul Brown looks back at his career reporting on the climate crisis, failed summit and nuclear power – and how to do it well
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
RIP Paul Brown, a mentor, friend and journalistic hero. Quiet-spoken but dogged and precise, he was an inspiration for me and many other environmental reporters. He and John Vidal pioneered coverage of climate, nature and energy at The Guardian & far beyond www.theguardian.com/media/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Paul Brown obituary
The Guardian’s environment correspondent at a time when international concern over the climate began to take hold
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
What an incredible human being and what a life! RIP Dolly Parton. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Dolly Parton, country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80
Songwriter of I Will Always Love You, Jolene and 9 to 5 also invested millions in child literacy, Covid-19 vaccine development and other causes
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
“This may be the best biography I’ve ever read” A selection of goodreads reviews of The Many Lives of James Lovelock: Science, Secrets and Gaia Theory.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Threatening thaw: climate professor on heatwave risks to permafrost Prof Gustaf Hugelius warns wildfires could accelerate release of methane and carbon as vast regions approach irreversible thresholds Latest Q&A by me in tipping point series. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
The threatening thaw: climate professor on heatwave risks to tipping point of permafrost
Prof Gustaf Hugelius warns wildfires could accelerate release of methane and carbon as vast regions approach irreversible thresholds
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
‘The obsession with endless growth can only end in tears’: your questions on extreme weather this summer answered From Europe’s deadly heat to floods in Asia, it’s been a terrifying summer. Environment writers share causes for concern and hope. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘The obsession with endless growth can only end in tears’: your questions on extreme weather this summer answered
From Europe’s deadly heat to floods in Asia, it’s been a terrifying summer. Environment writers Jonathan Watts and Ajit Niranjan answered Reddit users’ questions about their work – and their sources o...
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
More info also in Sébastien’s excellent, Gaïa, Terra Vivant - Histoire d’une Nouvelle Conception de la Terre.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
In-depth article by Rebecca John based on research in the Science Museum archives by her, me, Sébastien Dutreuil and Leah Aronowsky. For more details, check out my book, The Many Lives of James Lovelock: Science, Secrets and Gaia Theory. www.thebookseller.com/login?Login=...
thebookseller.com
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The Bookseller is the incisive and independent source of news and analysis for the book trade and publishing industry. Get breaking news, in-depth features, author interviews and book charts. The Book...
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
The Lovelock Papers: Shell’s Hidden Climate Knowledge Under Scrutiny as Court Battle Looms. Ahead of a landmark climate lawsuit, confidential documents show how British scientist James Lovelock warned executives of the risks of burning fossil fuels in the 1960s. www.desmog.com/2026/07/29/t...
desmog.com
The Lovelock Papers: Shell’s Hidden Climate Knowledge Under Scrutiny as Court Battle Looms
“What seems to be important,” wrote the visionary British scientist, James Lovelock, in June 1966, is “the almost certain fact that the climate is worsening and the probability that the combustion of ...
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Because they are travelling in opposite directions.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Lancamento em São Paulo do meu livro: As Muitas Vidas de James Lovelock: Ciência, Segredos e a Teoria de Gaia. Inscreva-se aqui: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Trump and the Far Right are being fuelled by fossil money to hold back the tide of the energy transition. History and science suggest this will be calamitous for the US and the world. I eleborate on this theory with Bob Grove of Climate Hour. climatehour.net/americas-bea...
climatehour.net
America’s Beautiful Epoch Of Oil Is Collapsing - Climate Hour
Despite desperate efforts by the oil industry and its captive U.S. government, the epoch of oil is collapsing.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Masked gunmen invade Amazon communities in organised crime surge, say local leaders Delegation sent to Brasília after ‘assassins’ enter indigenous homes near Brazil’s border with Peru Story by me on narco-gang threat to rainforest and its people. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Masked men invading and taking Amazon communities ‘hostage’ in organised crime surge, say local leaders
Delegation sent to Brasília after gunmen from organised crime group enter homes in western Amazon
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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 22/07/2026
The world’s biggest meat company, JBS, faces a landmark legal challenge to disclose how its $6 billion global expansion plan is compatible with responsibilities to the climate, nature and human rights. @jonathan-watts.bsky.social reports for @theguardian.com:
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​World’s largest meat company faces legal challenge over green credentials of $6bn global expansion
Greenpeace petitions Dutch courts to order JBS to disclose how its aims are compatible with responsibilities to climate and human rights
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Myth buster: Heatwaves and climate I channel 13 sceptic doubts. The great Ed Hawkins bats each away with aplomb. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
The 13 biggest myths about heatwaves – and how to bust them
With some still unable to accept humanity’s role in climate chaos, we tackle common misconceptions and deceptions
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Thanks Rebecca
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Fuel on the fire As the world swelters in ever more dangerous heat, why are oil companies being allowed to turn up the gas instead of paying for the consequences of their greed? My column on Big Oil’s mad, bad plan to increase production. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Fuel on the fire: why oil companies are profiting as the world gets dangerously hot
The scientific consensus is that burning fossil fuels drives the climate crisis, yet the world’s biggest oil companies are planning to increase production
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Altamira, Para state of Brazil.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Wow! No photo but I am fairly sure I just saw a jaguar on my way home from watching the Brazil game in town. I’ve never seen one before but it crossed the road in front of me as I passed the airport. I can’t believe how big it looked. Breathtaking.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Many thanks Eoghan! High praise coming from you.
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Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
It's almost a month now since I read this EXCELLENT piece by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social, and I still can't get it out of my head. In fact, I probably never will, it explains so much about the times we're living through. That's a mark of the very best journalism. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
The American epoch of oil is collapsing. What comes next could be ugly | Jonathan Watts
China is dominating the energy transition with astonishing results, while fossil fuel fascists in the US try to turn back the clock
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Welcome to Trump’s World Cup, a depressingly angry version of football uniting the planet | Barney Ronay www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Welcome to Trump’s World Cup, a depressingly angry version of football uniting the planet | Barney Ronay
Ted Lasso will deliver a message of hope before the USA’s first game, in an America that is not a fit or desirable host right now
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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Record winter temperatures in Antarctic raise fears over speed of climate breakdown - Temperatures above 15C ‘very strange’ say scientists, as snow melts and rain falls on glaciers in usually frozen region #climatecrisis Story by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Record winter temperatures in Antarctic raise fears over speed of climate breakdown
Temperatures above 15C ‘very strange’ say scientists, as snow melts and rain falls on glaciers in usually frozen region
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Wishing all my China friends an unforgettable national amnesia day.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
‘An equal and habitable world is possible’ New report outlines vision of doubling incomes, halving working hours and keeping global heating below 2C. My article on the Global Justice Report by Thomas Picketty, Cornelia Mohren and colleagues. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘An equal and habitable world is possible’: academics set out sweeping vision for planetary survival
Global report provides an alternative to climate breakdown, political extremism and economic tensions
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Agree. These are by far the bigger problems.
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Rainforests pushed to breaking point by new demands for resources, report says. Need for minerals, biofuels and pulp adding to pressures from ranching, monocrops, oil and logging, analysis finds Story by me. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Rainforests pushed to breaking point by new demands for resources, report says
Need for minerals, biofuels and pulp adding to pressures from ranching, monocrops, oil and logging, analysis finds
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Thank you George. That means a great deal.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
This, by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social, is a brilliant, fascinating and definitional article. If you want to understand what's happening around the world, you should read it. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
The American epoch of oil is collapsing. What comes next could be ugly | Jonathan Watts
China is dominating the energy transition with astonishing result, while fossil fuel fascists in the US try to turn back the clock
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Thank you Bettina!
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Thank you Lance!
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Thanks. I knew that but still made the mistake. Maybe because Modi behaves in a presidential way. Have asked for a correction.
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Environmental Information: Use and Influence (Dalhousie Univ.) @eiui.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
The 2015-2025 decade was the hottest ever measured with more than 90% of the excess heat absorbed by the #ocean. @jonathan-watts.bsky.social reports on the latest annual @wmo-global.bsky.social State of the Global #Climate report, which shows “no respite in sight” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Title, journalist’s name, headline, photograph of marine corals, and first paragraph of a news article published in The Guardian about the latest World Meteorological Organization State of the Global Climate report
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
US investigators believe strike on Iranian girls’ school probably carried out by US forces
US military officials briefed on investigation make disclosure, while Pentagon has confirmed only that inquiry is under way
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Covering Climate Now @coveringclimatenow.org · 12/02/2026
📣 Submissions are now OPEN for the 2026 CCNow Journalism Awards! 🔔
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Wetlands International @wetlandsint.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Extraordinary victory for the people of the Tapajos. And all of us Great article by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social - "Amid scientific warnings that the loss of the Amazon is perilously close to the point of no return, we all owe a debt to Alessandra Korap Munduruku & others who stood up" for the river
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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
China’s Yangtze River shows signs of remarkable recovery after fishing ban - the most positive freshwater conservation story in the world in 20 years, says one veteran biologist Story by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
China’s Yangtze River shows signs of remarkable recovery after fishing ban
Doubling of fish biomass and rebounding of endangered species shows government measures starting to work, biologists say
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Rod Schoonover-Rey @rodschoonover.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Mountain slope instability is sometimes overlooked as an acute climate risk. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
theguardian.com
‘We’ve lost everything’: anger and despair in Sicilian town collapsing after landslide
People in Niscemi struggle to comprehend loss of homes and businesses and feel disaster could have been avoided
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Why Europe is pivoting from the US to China Victoria Wei interviews me about renewable energy, critical minerals, a historical turning point, the Sulker-in-Chief in the White House and reasons to be cautious about Beijing’s intentions. www.radioara.org/episodes/pan...
radioara.org
Panda and hotpot N° 0029 05.02.2026 Climate Change talk with Adriana and Jonathan - Radio ARA
This episode of Panda and Hotpot takes listeners on a comprehensive journey through the critical issues of climate change, featuring insights from Adriana Gonzalez of EcoCitizen Luxembourg and Jonatha...
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Reuters @reuters.com · 03/02/2026
Spain to ban social media access for children under 16 reut.rs/4rNX6in
reut.rs
Spain to ban social media access for children under 16
Spain will ban access to social media for minors under 16 and platforms will be required to implement age verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
🔥3.8 billion people will be exposed to extreme heat by 2050. Great to see my @smithschool.ox.ac.uk colleague and teacher Radhika Khosla interviewed by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social for the Guardian.
theguardian.com
Number of people living in extreme heat to double by 2050 if 2C rise occurs, study finds
Scientists expect 41% of the projected global population to face the extremes, with ‘no part of the world’ immune
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Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
US attack on Venezuela aims to shift direction of South America’s mineral wealth Rare earths and other resources could drive China-led energy transition or strengthen US military power and oil interests Analysis by me of latest US security strategy document. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
US attack on Venezuela will decide direction of South America’s vast mineral wealth
Outcome of aggression will determine whether rare earths and other resources drive energy transition – or strengthen US military power and oil interests
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