Conor McNally
@conormcnally.bsky.social
2.3K followers 1.5K following 32 posts
Climate communications | Communications Manager, @granthamicl.bsky.social | Former journalist | 🇮🇪 in London | Views my own
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Reposted by Conor McNally
🔥 The never-ending narrative…
This week, I’ve once again heard prominent climate researchers dismiss individual action as either irrelevant or a distraction instigated by the fossil fuel industry.

Here’s a 🧵 on why this argument frustrates me to no end and why I think it misses the bigger picture.
Reposted by Conor McNally
OUT NOW: we revisit the pivotal moment when science, institutions and politics aligned to deliver the UK’s #NetZero target. At a time of political divergence, the evidence for #ClimateAction remains clear. Evidence-based #ClimatePolicy is more relevant than ever. @granthamicl.bsky.social
Net Zero: The inside story of the UK’s climate target
YouTube video by Grantham Imperial
www.youtube.com
What happens when science meets politics? Today at @granthamicl.bsky.social, we're kicking off a new series of YouTube docs on that topic!

Very pleased to share the first film, exploring how and why, in 2019, #NetZero became law and why the target remains critical today. 👇
youtu.be/Czunu-RkkeY?...
Delighted to share that Dr Gro Harlem Brundland – first woman PM of Norway, former DG of the WHO, founding member of the Elders, and sustainable development pioneer – will give this year's @granthamicl.bsky.social Annual Lecture.

Join us in London on 29 October: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19827...
Human-induced climate change drove extreme temperatures across Europe this summer. New work from @granthamicl.bsky.social and @lshtm.bsky.social reveals how thousands of people lost their lives as a result.
📈Climate change-driven summer heat led to an additional 16,500 deaths in 854 European cities, a new study led by the Grantham Institute and the @lshtm.bsky.social estimates 🧵

Watch Dr @clairbarnes.bsky.social from @ic-cep.bsky.social & @gkonstantinoudis.bsky.social explain the findings.
This from the climate minister? How grim. O’Brien either has his head in the clouds or is being intentionally misleading. Sustainable Aviation Fuels made up 0.3% of jet fuel last year; they're far too expensive and difficult to scale to play any significant role in the foreseeable future.
Minister for Climate Darragh O’Brien: we can grow Dublin Airport ‘sustainably’ from 36m to 60m passengers.
Mary Wilson: What about climate, have you run the numbers on emissions?
Minister: No question there will be an increase, SAF exists, planes more technologically advanced now…

#SpeirGorm
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Reposted by Conor McNally
Do you want to be part of our amazing team @wwattribution.bsky.social team? If you are a science/comms expert, you can! Please do consider applying - www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
Reposted by Conor McNally
Historic heatwave unfolding in France.

Bordeaux just observed its hottest day on record with a provisional 41.6°C (107°F) — data since 1920. Red level extreme heat warnings are in force for the south of the country.

Sadly, this heatwave is far from over...
Reposted by Conor McNally
In a new piece for @granthamicl.bsky.social, @frediotto.bsky.social and I unpack the significance of the ICJ’s landmark advisory opinion.

We reflect on how it reshapes the legal framing of climate action and what it means for states’ obligations going forward.
Reposted by Conor McNally
Three key takeaways:
- Fossil fuel subsidies and licensing can now constitute internationally wrongful acts
- The 1.5°C limit is no longer aspirational - it's a legal obligation
- States cannot hide behind "concurrent causes" to avoid climate reparations

2/5
Good news is somewhat of a rarity in the climate space, so it's genuinely uplifting to see how advances in climate science are making it possible to hold big emitters to account in the courts.

Great new piece on @granthamicl.bsky.social's climate litigation work by @chloefarand.bsky.social 👇
⚖️Climate litigation is entering a new era 🌏

Thanks to attribution science, courts now have the tools to link climate impacts, such as floods, wildfires and extreme heat to major polluters — and assign legal responsibility. 🧵

📒 imperial.ac.uk/stories/polluters-on-trial
Reposted by Conor McNally
Excellent article by fellow sociologist @ericklinenberg.bsky.social.

"Heat is a silent and invisible killer. It usually fails to generate the kind of spectacular imagery that lands weather on prime-time television or a newspaper’s front page."

Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2024/09/07/o...
Opinion | It’s Time to Name Heat Waves Like We Do Hurricanes
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Conor McNally
If extreme weather had a capital, it would be Mumbai. We’ve got it all: floods, sea-level rise, cyclones, heat islands.

Mumbaikars are sick of being called resilient and being caught off-guard.

But forecasting the monsoon is fraught, more so with climate change. My dispatch for @carbonbrief.org👇🏽
💡 Spotlight | This week, Carbon Brief visits Mumbai’s official monsoon monitoring centre and “war room” to examine how the city is responding to its earliest downpour on record.

Read spotlight here: buff.ly/MXgAwGC
Reposted by Conor McNally
What becomes of the 1.5°C goal now that global warming is approaching that level?🌍🔥🌡️

In a new @science.org Policy Forum we explain how the 1.5°C goal remains a critical legal & ethical benchmark, even as the world nears and may soon exceed 1.5°C of global warming🧵1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The pursuit of 1.5°C endures as a legal and ethical imperative in a changing world
As the world nears 1.5°C of global warming, near-term emissions reductions and adequate adaptation become ever more important to ensure a safe and livable planet for present and future generations
www.science.org
Reposted by Conor McNally
Heatwaves are silent killers, increasing risks for vulnerable people and exacerbating existing conditions.

Rapid analysis by the Grantham Institute and @lshtm.bsky.social estimates that nearly 600 lives will be lost due to the current UK heatwave.

Read it here: www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperi...
Reposted by Conor McNally
☀️ Human-caused climate change will make Saturday’s widespread heat of 32°C in southeast England about 100 times more likely, a rapid analysis by @wwattribution.bsky.social has found 🧵

Read the full analysis: ow.ly/WX7A50WcImy
Reposted by Conor McNally
⚠️Global warming caused by humans is advancing at 0.27°C per decade – the highest rate since records began.

This is one of the indicators updated every year by over 60 international scientists in the annual Indicators of Global Climate Change report – published today. doi.org/10.5194/essd... /1
Reposted by Conor McNally
Interested in the roles #children and #young people can & should play in #environmental decision-making?

We are advertising a #PhD scholarship on this topic based in @dcuclimate.bsky.social starting this September

Deadline 23 June.

Full details: diarmuidtorneyorg.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Conor McNally
A child born in Ireland today faces immediate risks requiring 'urgent action', many more that will be 'critical' by the time they're 25 & some that will be 'catastrophic' when they're a pensioner. Stark warning from National Climate Change Risk Assessment
m.independent.ie/irish-news/c...
Climate warning: Ireland not prepared for extreme weather risks due to become ‘catastrophic’
Ireland is facing immediate critical risks from extreme weather events that are on course to become “catastrophic” later in the century.
m.independent.ie
Climate science – coming soon to a courtroom near you.
⚖️History made!

In a landmark case, a German court today confirmed that corporate emitters can be held liable for their contribution to climate impacts.

The Grantham Institute’s Dr Noah Walker-Crawford was in Hamm to hear the verdict 👇
Reposted by Conor McNally
West Nile virus detected in UK mosquitoes for first time

“Immediate risk is probably not great to humans. But as summers get warmer and longer, the boundary of WNV will shift north and we will likely start seeing endemic infections, initially in the south”

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
West Nile virus detected in UK mosquitoes for first time
UKHSA says risk to public very low after detection in genetic material of mosquitoes caught in Nottinghamshire
www.theguardian.com