Around 500 scientists, civil servants, journalists and climate experts took part in the 10th annual Carbon Brief quiz on Wednesday 6 November 2024.
This year’s quiz was hosted by Octopus Energy at its headquarters in central London.
In total, 55 teams participated – 30 teams in person and 25 teams joining via Zoom.
Competing teams reflected a wide range of climate change and energy professionals. The list included journalists, civil servants, climate campaigners, policy advisers, energy experts and scientists.
Organisations represented included: Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) in India; Systemiq/Energy Transition Commission; Oxford University’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment; E3G; Wellcome Trust; CIFF; IIASA Aether; ECIU (Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit); Independent Diplomat; Max Planck Institute for Meteorology; C40 Cities; Ricardo; Oxford Sustainable Law Programme; Verisk Maplecroft; Leverhulme Wildfires Centre; Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI); Tracker Group; the ENDS Report; Grantham Institute at Imperial; World Resources Institute (WRI) Europe; University of Exeter; New Scientist; WWF; DESNZ; University of Strathclyde; Department for Transport; European Climate Foundation (ECF); Unearthed/Greenpeace; Meliore; HM Treasury; Skeptical Science; InfluenceMap; Octopus Energy; Met Office; Vrije Universiteit Brussel; UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources; Civil Service Climate and Environment Network (CSCEN); University of Surrey; Climate Outreach; UK Parliament; Aldersgate Group and Hirlam & Accord.
Teams were tested with five rounds of questions – general knowledge, policy, science and two picture rounds. (See the slideshow of the questions and answers below).
After two hours of playing, this year’s winners were announced.
Comprised of players from climate thinktank E3G, last year’s third place team, “Call Me Mabey”, won the coveted Carbon Brief trophy with a total score of 75 out of 100 available points.
In second place, with 62 points, were the “Green Scene Hooligans” from the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), who were playing remotely from India.
In third place, with 55 points, was “The Abate Escape”, representing players from Systemiq and the Energy Transition Commission, who accepted a trophy for the highest in-person score.
A third trophy was awarded to the Wellcome Trust for the best team name: “2(C) hot to handle”.
See the full leaderboard:

All the questions and answers from this year’s quiz can be found in this PDF document.
This year’s trickiest round was from the science round, with an average score of 6.2 out of 20 available points. Only 5% of teams knew that 2023’s most talked-about climate paper (based on its Altmetric score) was “Change in Antarctic ice shelf area from 2009 to 2019“, published in the Cryosphere in May 2023.
In the policy round, only 5% of teams correctly identified the DRC as the country with the lowest per-capita emissions out of the following four countries: Afghanistan, Chad, DRC and Haiti.
Finally, in general knowledge, only 7% of teams knew that the collective noun for goldfish is a “troubling”.
Carbon Brief would like to thank all the teams who took part and we look forward to hosting the quiz again in the autumn of 2025. If you would like to participate in next year’s quiz, please contact us in advance at info@carbonbrief.org.
Picture gallery by Carbon Brief


The post The Carbon Brief Quiz 2024 appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Climate Change
Malnourished Gray Whales of the Eastern North Pacific Are in ‘Serious Trouble’
The population has plummeted over the past seven years as climate change triggers mass starvation in warming Arctic waters.
SEATTLE—Exceptionally skinny gray whales—enfeebled by starvation and mangled by blunt-force trauma—are washing up this spring along the coast of Washington state in numbers that alarm marine-mammal scientists.
Malnourished Gray Whales of the Eastern North Pacific Are in ‘Serious Trouble’
Climate Change
Sewage and Fuel Leaks Contaminate the Potomac River, Source of Drinking Water for More Than 5 Million People
Observers believe regulatory failures contributed to catastrophic sewage and fuel leaks in the watershed. The river was recently named the most endangered in the nation.
The warning signs were years in the making. And yet, regulators failed to heed the writing on the wall, according to Dean Naujoks.
Climate Change
Community Leaders in Florida Say Trump’s FEMA Pullback Leaves Them Struggling to Fill the Void
The president may have backed off killing the agency outright, but his FEMA Review Council clearly sees a much reduced emergency management role for the federal government.
When disaster strikes, those who turn to government agencies for assistance tend to be the most vulnerable: senior citizens, individuals with special needs, homeowners who had insurance and a disaster plan but were living paycheck-to-paycheck and suddenly have no place to go.
Community Leaders in Florida Say Trump’s FEMA Pullback Leaves Them Struggling to Fill the Void
-
Greenhouse Gases10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Climate Change10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿:满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿:满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Renewable Energy7 months agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits
-
Greenhouse Gases10 months ago
嘉宾来稿:探究火山喷发如何影响气候预测












