Mat Hope

About

Mat was DeSmog’s Special Projects and Investigations Editor, and Operations Director for DeSmog UK Ltd. He was DeSmog UK’s Editor from October 2017 to March 2021. He began working with DeSmog as the UK’s Deputy Editor in October 2016, having previously been an editor at Nature Climate Change and analyst at Carbon Brief. He completed his PhD on political communication strategies in US Congressional climate change debates at the University of Bristol in 2012, which won the Hilary Hartley prize as the best thesis in his department’s graduating class. Mat is a member of the National Union of Journalists.

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The climate is changing. And so are the ways the media tries to cover it. In a world of fake news, ‘post-truth’ and lies, new media organisations are critical to communicating an issue that should...
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Like much of the world, the UK has a feverish fascination with how Donald Trump’s presidency will unfold. Every time he announces a new member of his team, news organisations go into overdrive, dis...
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UK financial giants HSBC, Barclays, and Aviva all have significant financial stakes in the company behind a controversial tar sands oil pipeline approved by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau l...
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Diesel generators could make millions from subsidies and tax breaks, despite the government’s commitment to decarbonising the UK’s energy system. The government handed out £176 million in subsidie...
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Many hoped the EU’s mammoth new energy regulations would crack down on dirty coal. Instead, the European Commission bowed to industry pressure and offered the world’s dirtiest power source a lifeli...
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With Donald Trump set to become the President of the United States, the international climate change political scenery has shifted. The president-elect’s stance on “quitting” the Paris Agreemen...
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BP likes to paint itself as one of the greener fossil fuel companies. But a new report shows it is the least prepared European oil giant when it comes to operating in a carbon constrained world. ...
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The world needs a new climate leader, but domestic turmoil means the UK is currently in no position to deliver. The COP22 UN climate talks in Marrakech, set to wrap up today, aimed to build on the...
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Climate science denier Marc Morano just got himself kicked out of the UN climate talks in Marrakech. Of course, that was probably his aim all along. Morano stood in a Trump hat, next to a life-siz...
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It’s no secret fossil fuel companies will have to fundamentally change their business models if countries are serious about tackling climate change. With so much skin in the game, it’s no surprise...