Simon Evans

Over the past year, Evans has produced some of the world’s most influential climate and energy journalism. His articles have been cited by Hilary Clinton, among others, along with publications in dozens of countries.

In March 2024, Evans wrote about the climate impacts of Trump winning the 2024 election, which could add 4bn tonnes of CO2 to US emissions by 2030 – ending hopes of staying below 1.5C. The article was based on analysis conducted with Carbon Brief’s data scientist Verner Viisainen.

It was shared by Hilary Clinton on Twitter – as reported by Newsweek. It was also cited repeatedly by US climate envoy John Podesta, including in private meetings with other climate envoys.

The findings were covered by scores of publications in more than a dozen countries, including the Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Axios, the Guardian, AFP, El País, La Stampa, Libération, Rolling Stone, the Jerusalem Post, Chinese outlet Jieman, the Indian Express and titles in South Korea, Vietnam, Canada, Columbia, Belgium, the UAE, Norway and Finland.

As the world’s journalists grappled with the climate implications of Trump’s re-election, many reached again for Evans’ article, from Die Welt and France24, through to outlets in Indonesia, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Italy, Russia and Japan.

Ahead of the UK election, Evans’ relentless efforts to combat climate-related misinformation came to the fore in his analysis of the “scary-sounding numbers” being used to mislead the public about net-zero, a version of which was published by the Guardian.

Finally, in first-of-its-kind analysis, Evans revealed the dramatic shifts in historical responsibility for climate change when accounting for colonial rule. The analysis was carried out with Viisainen.

The findings were covered on the print frontpage of the Netherlands’ NRC and in print editions of the Guardian in the UK and the Hindustan Times in India. They were picked up in Sri Lanka, Spain, France, Belgium, Brazil and the US. They triggered a Guardian editorial and responses from climate-sceptic columnists Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail, Ross Clark in the Spectator and Michael Deacon in the Daily Telegraph. Evans was interviewed on BBC World Service, Himal Southasian and Canadian Indigenous affairs podcast Media Indigena.

Evans’ analysis on the CO2 impact of UK fuel-duty freezes was cited in budget coverage from BBC News, the Guardian and City AM. His analysis on UK coal phaseout was cited by China’s Economic Daily, the Hindu, the Korea Times, NPR, Frankfurter Rundschau and many others.

Evans regularly appears in media interviews, from BBC News, BBC Radio and Times Radio in the UK through to CNN and Public News Radio in the US. He also provides quotes and analysis to a wide range of other outlets, as well as writing factcheck articles for the Guardian. Evans’ frequently quoted insights at the annual UN climate talks earned him the moniker “press whisperer” at COP28 in November 2023. Evans is one of the world’s most followed environment journalists on social media with his analysis, explanations and charts regularly going viral.