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New on Carbon Brief
• Cropped: Food inflation strikes | El Niño looms | Biodiversity talks stagnate
News
• UK: Earth's heat to produce electricity for homes in UK clean energy first | BBC News
• US: Energy department doles out its largest-ever loan: $26.5bn for power in Georgia, Alabama | The Hill
• Europe: France and Sweden push to kill mechanism to pay for massive EU grid upgrades | Politico
• Germany’s Merz meets Xi, seeking closer ties | Agence France-Presse
• Brazil: Before and after shows destruction after storm with dozens of deaths in Minas Gerais | CNN Brasil
Comment
• Don’t look now, but the green transition is still happening | David Wallace-Wells, The New York Times
• We need a global assessment of avoidable climate | Prof Peter Stott et al, Nature
Research
• New research on how ocean warming reduces fish biomass, wildfire smoke-related deaths in the US and how higher temperatures have been linked to fewer male births.
Other stories
• Fiji and Tuvalu to host pre-COP31 climate meetings | Reuters
• UN’s new carbon market delivers first credits | Climate Home News
• The battle for the world’s most coveted elements | Financial Times
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Aruna Chandrasekhar and Giuliana Viglione
The online version of Carbon Brief’s fortnightly Cropped email newsletter, a digest of food, land and nature news from the last fortnight. Sign up for free
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Esme Stallard and Kate Stephens, BBC News
The UK’s first geothermal power plant will start producing energy in Cornwall today after nearly two decades in development, reports BBC News. The outlet continues: “Water, super-heated by rocks, will help drive turbines to generate electricity for 10,000 homes, but will also provide the UK's first domestic supply of lithium – a critical mineral used in green technology.” The Daily Telegraph reports that the site will generate electricity “24/7”. It adds: “With an output of around three megawatts…the plant cannot exactly be described as game-changing. Yet experts believe it will help pave the way for similar projects across Britain aimed at tapping into the vast thermal resources below our feet.” The Guardian says the plant will “bolster green energy and create jobs”.
MORE ON UK
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports that seven of the councils controlled by the hard-right Reform UK party have “abandoned important green measures”, including “ditching ambitious net-zero targets and withdrawing the declaration of a climate emergency”. The outlet says this “could be a sign of things to come”. Outlets including the Guardian and the Press Association report that Great Britain’s energy regulator says that the price most households pay for energy will fall by 7% from 1 April, driven by promised government cuts to bills. The newswire adds: “Analysts Cornwall Insight said the removal of green subsidies [from bills and into general taxation] would reduce the cap by about £145 a year once VAT and pricing allowances within Ofgem’s methodology were taken into account.” BusinessGreen covers new data from the Office for National Statistics, which finds that “the UK's low carbon and renewable energy industries collectively generated record revenues of £77bn in 2024”. Separately, BusinessGreen says there is “robust support for solar and wind across all age groups and voters”, according to “exclusive polling”. The Independent reports that “a £1bn rise in Heathrow’s debt has prompted campaigners against a third runway to argue the government’s decision to back the airport’s expansion is even more absurd”. BusinessGreen covers an announcement from the Department for Transport, which says the government is “increasing electric vehicle (EV) charge point grants by 40% from £350 to £500, providing businesses, renters, flat owners, and households without driveways that want to install chargers with additional support”. BusinessGreen covers “industry figures” which suggest that “the widespread roll out of heat networks across the UK could slash carbon emissions and deliver cost savings of up to £6.45bn a year”. Separately, the outlet covers a new study by the Energy Systems Catapult, which finds that “the UK could save up to £70bn on its energy costs by 2050”, if “flexible grid technologies that can smooth out peaks in power demand” are developed and deployed.
Rachel Frazin, The Hill
The US energy department will hand a $26.5bn loan to subsidiaries of the utility Southern Company, to fund “new gas power and improvements for existing nuclear power plants and water power, as well as battery storage system and power line upgrades” in Georgia and Alabama, the Hill reports. According to the outlet, this marks the “largest-ever loan” that the department has given. The Associated Press reports that “the loan will save customers money as the companies undertake a huge expansion driven by demand from computer data centers”, according to federal energy officials. Separately, the New York Times reports that “President Trump on Tuesday said he was negotiating pledges from major tech companies to pay a greater share of the energy costs associated with new data centers”.
MORE ON US
The Associated Press says: “A North Dakota judge has said he will order Greenpeace to pay damages expected to total $345m in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline from nearly a decade ago, a figure the environmental group contends it cannot pay.” The Guardian has published an analysis of Trump’s State of the Union address. It says: “Trump didn’t say the words ‘climate change’…but it loomed large over his 108-minute speech as he touted his ‘drill, baby, drill’ agenda and derided Joe Biden’s ‘green new scam’.” Axios covers new analysis from Climate Central, which finds that “winters are getting shorter across most US cities amid climate change”. Bloomberg reports that US fracking companies are “finding new markets abroad as growth slows in the shale fields of Texas, New Mexico and elsewhere”. The Financial Times reports that shares of solar panel manufacturer First Solar “slid” yesterday, due to “pressure from Donald Trump’s tariffs and a slowdown in demand for clean energy”. Forbes reports that “Texas is building one of the largest new energy systems in the Western world – not because it turned politically green, but because market forces are making clean energy the fastest and most scalable way to meet surging demand”.
Ben Munster and Nicolas Camut, Politico
France and Sweden want to block the European Commission's grids package – a proposal announced in December that would see countries share the cost of major upgrades to the EU’s electricity network – according to Politico. The outlet says the package would “massively expand the EU's electricity grid so it can more efficiently carry renewably generated power across the continent” and is “seen as an essential step on the EU's path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050”. It adds that, under the plan, “wealthier countries with developed electricity systems would help bankroll countries with less-developed grids”. However, France and Sweden are arguing that the proposal “will hand them an unfair financial burden”, says Politico.
MORE ON EUROPE
In the Guardian, there is ongoing coverage of the news that “Germany’s coalition government has been accused of abandoning its climate targets after agreeing to scrap parts of a contentious heating law mandating the use of renewables in favour of a draft law allowing homeowners to rely on fossil fuels”. Politico covers new analysis from the World Weather Attribution service, which finds that “global warming intensified a series of torrential rainstorms that battered Spain and Portugal in recent weeks”. The Guardian and Euronews also cover the analysis. Euronews covers an investigation by the Corporate Europe Observatory revealing that the EU’s clean industrial deal “has caved in to the biggest polluters with more than 750 meetings between lobbyists and EU officials registered in just 12 months”. BusinessGreen covers analysis by MainStreet Partners, which finds that “over a quarter of EU-regulated 'green' investment funds [are] still at risk of greenwashing”. Andrew Warren, chair of the British Energy Efficiency Federation, writes in BusinessGreen that the EU's emissions trading scheme “is currently under fierce pressure for reform from industry groups and some member countries”. RTE says: “The French government has survived two no-confidence votes in parliament after it decided to adopt, through decree, a new energy law, without giving the National Assembly the final say.”
Martin Trauth, Agence France-Presse
German chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing yesterday, with the two leaders reaffirming their commitment to “developing closer strategic relations”, reports Agence France-Presse. It adds that “representatives from both sides signed agreements and memorandums – including on climate change and food security”. State news agency Xinhua says that Germany’s “new development strategies” are “highly aligned” with China’s direction of “intelligent, green and integrated growth” during the 15th “five-year plan” period. Merz is looking to develop a “reliable and fair partnership” with Xi, according to the Financial Times. Deutsche Welle reports that Merz also said that it is “important to reduce subsidies that distort the market”, likely referring to Chinese sectors such as steel, solar panels, and electric vehicles. Reuters reports that the agreements on climate and other topics were “narrowly targeted and in industries peripheral to both economies”.
Separately, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that the EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic called on Tuesday for an “urgent overhaul of world trading rules” to account for Beijing’s “overcapacities”, “unfair trade policies” and “state subsidies", while confirming that the bloc was “monitoring very closely the increase of plug-in hybrid Chinese vehicles” to the EU. China Net commentator Le Shui argues that protectionism promoted by some German politicians “hinders the healthy development” of a country’s industries and “causes missed opportunities for cooperation”.
MORE ON CHINA
Liu Hong, an NEA director, writes in BJX News saying the oil and gas industry ensures energy security as China builds a “new energy system”. Dialogue Earth: “China’s new renewables pricing mechanism may not give generators the stability they need.” China’s MEE has issued stricter national air quality standards, the first move since 2012 to reduce health risks and support the goal of building a “Beautiful China”, reports Bloomberg. [The new rules do not cover CO2, according to the document.] People’s Daily says that stricter standards will support the development of “clean energy” and NEVs, plus promote the low-carbon transformation of energy structures.
Beto Souza, CNN Brasil
Heavy storms that hit Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais earlier this week have left 48 dead, reports CNN Brasil. The “historic” rainfall caused rivers to overflow, landslides and the “isolation of several neighborhoods”, prompting the “issuance of a state of public calamity” in two municipalities. According to the outlet, bridges and roads collapsed, as the city of Ubá recorded 170mm of rainfall, causing the worst flooding in 40 years. Meanwhile, Folha de São Paulo reports that in Peruíbe, a municipality in São Paulo state, intense storms over the weekend left 198 people homeless and forced 130 people to shelter in schools. The municipality declared a state of emergency on Monday.
MORE ON LATIN AMERICA
New research from Venezuela has found that the country’s average temperature has increased by 1.8C over the past 100 years, “disrupting animals, plants and the hydrological cycle”, reports Correo del Carroní. Peru's Ministry of Health has issued a new regulation to address the effects of high temperatures and climate change on public health, according to Infobae. Colombia’s attorney general has urged states and municipalities to update their climate mitigation plans, reports El Espectador. Mexico’s state-owned oil company “does not rule out” fracking to extract oil and gas, according toLa Jornada. Meanwhile, in Argentine Patagonia, fracking is causing “excessive” water consumption and environmental harm, reportsScidev.net.
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David Wallace-Wells, The New York Times
In his latest New York Times newsletter, David Wallace-Wells says: “These days, it sometimes seems as if the whole world is retreating on climate and green energy, with the fever of alarm giving way to what’s been called a new energy realism…After a period of growing concern and accelerating momentum, the project of greening the world’s energy systems certainly feels as if it has been thrown into reverse.” However, he continues: “For a moment, allow me to play, if not climate optimist then transition optimist, at least. It’s a pretty straightforward job, since the numbers somewhat speak for themselves.” He notes the rise in EV sales and solar power installation, the drop in China’s emissions and the electrification of India. He concludes: “But if the political mood has darkened, one last data point shines out to me like a beacon: In 2026, the world may well spend more on green energy in total than it devotes to military spending. And, if not this year, it seems safe to say, it will probably happen soon.”
MORE COMMENT
Ken Alex, leader of Project Climate at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, writes in the Los Angeles Times that, “in wildfire country, EVs aren’t a grid problem – they’re a power solution”. The climate-sceptic Sun continues its relentless campaigning against UK energy secretary Ed Miliband with an editorial about the Ofgem price cap reduction: “Despite the trick of shifting some green levies from energy bills to general taxation to fund his mad dash for renewables, His Greenness Ed Miliband has still missed his target…Voters are increasingly losing faith in the empty promises behind net-zero and sick and tired of Miliband’s rank dishonesty.” Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho has a comment piece on page two of the climate-sceptic Daily Mail arguing that Ed Miliband “is making things worse by signing up to net-zero targets that experts say could send bills back up to levels last seen during the energy crisis”.
Prof Peter Stott et al, Nature
A group of leading climate scientists, mainly from UK institutions, have penned a commentary in Nature calling for a global climate change risk assessment. The article says: “Global assessments made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have played, and continue to play, a crucial part in assessing the evidence about climate change. But the IPCC produces science assessments rather than risk assessments. Its main focus has been to set out what is known with the greatest confidence. A climate risk assessment offers different information – it makes clear the scale and severity of risks, to inform judgements about the priority to be given to avoiding or mitigating them…Only a global risk assessment, led by an appropriate international institution and designed to make clear the full scale of the global threat, can explore the full range of outcomes that global emissions reductions could avoid.”
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Long-term warming reduces fish biomass | Nature Ecology & Evolution High temperatures in the nine months before birth are “negatively associated” with male births in sub-Saharan Africa and India | PNAS Keeping warming at 1.5C could prevent 11,600 wildfire smoke-related deaths in the US each year, compared to 3C | PNAS
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Christine Chen, Reuters
Matteo Civillini, Climate Home News
Michael Peel and John Reed, Financial Times
Ajit Niranjan, The Guardian
Stuti Mishra, The Independent
Adam Vaughan, The Times
Emily Atkin, Heated
Phoebe Weston, The Guardian
Wiliam Hunter, Daily Mail
Derek Harrison, Inside Climate News
Stanley Reed and Natalie Naccache, The New York Times
Luca Ittimani, The Guardian
Olesya Astakhova, Alex Lawler and Dmitry Zhdannikov, Reuters
Derek Harrison, Inside Climate News
Chloé Farand, Climate Home News
Allan Olingo, The Associated Press
Camille Laffont, Agence France-Presse
Simmone Shah, Time
Demetri Sevastopulo, Anna Gross and George Parker, Financial Times
Simon Mundy, Financial Times
Gavin Maguire, Reuters
Christian Davies, Financial Times
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