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Eric
Roston, Bloomberg
Bloomberg
reports that “sweeping”
changes to federal climate
funding announced last week by
the Trump administration are
expected to “stymie” the field
of climate science. It quotes
Columbia University’s climate
and law expert Michael Gerrard
saying that “any kind of
climate-related research, or
renewable energy
related-research” are
“vulnerable”. The proposal
puts grant decisions, now
largely determined by expert
review panels, under more
direct political control,
explains Bloomberg. CNN says
researchers are “fighting
back” against the proposals,
noting that critics say the
rule will “codify” the
administration’s attempts to
“destroy” the scientific
research enterprise in the US
that has led to, among other
things, greater understanding
of weather and climate
science. It quotes former NASA
climate scientist Dr Kate
Marvel saying that putting
“uninformed political hacks”
in charge of the research
funding system is “deeply
stupid”. The outlet continues
that climate scientists say
the change could “set the
field back for years”. Politico
says the administration’s
“assault on climate research”
is akin to the “move fast and
break things” mentality that
“built Silicon Valley”.
MORE
ON SCIENCE
-
The
Guardian
and Associated
Press cover research
which finds that, since
2015, wildfire smoke has
“reversed” US progress on
air ozone standards.
-
The
Associated
Press reports that
the EU has announced it
will invest $107m in ocean
monitoring, shortly after
the Trump administration
unveiled cuts to its own
ocean monitoring
programme.
Shawn
Pogatchnik, Politico
The
European Commission is “taking
Ireland to court” over its
failure to protect
“environmentally crucial”
boglands, reports Politico. It
says the move – which comes
ahead of Ireland taking over
the EU Council presidency in
July – comes after a “damning
report” from Ireland’s
Environmental Protection
Agency, which documented
“widespread flouting of EU
laws” on protecting bogs. The
Commission has said it is
referring Ireland to the Court
of Justice of the European
Union over its failure to
enforce EU requirements, as
detailed in a 2019 formal
notice and a 2020 “reasoned
opinion”, explains Politico.
The Irish Times
reports that a statement from
the Commission notes
“significant” peat-cutting
taking place in Ireland,
“without any planning
permission or environmental
impact assessment”. BBC News
notes peatlands are
“considered an important
habitat for wildlife” and can
help “mitigate the effects of
climate change, because they
store large amounts of
carbon”. It quotes experts who
note that peat extraction
remains “very profitable” for
Ireland’s horticultural
industry, with much of the
resource exported out of the
county. RTE says
the legal action follows
“years of friction” between
the Irish government and the
EU on the issue.
MORE
ON EUROPE:
-
The
EU has proposed new energy
standards for data
centres, reports Reuters.
-
The
Economist
looks at the rise of
“negative” electricity
prices across Europe as
more renewables are
“plugged in” to grids.
-
The
EU Commission has referred
Spain and Poland to the
European Court of Justice
for failing to implement
the bloc’s revised
carbon-market rules in
time, reports Montel.
Matthew
Daly, The Associated Press
There
is continuing coverage of
Trump’s announcement of $700m
to support coal-fired power
plants and coal exports in the
US, with the Associated Press
reporting that he plans to use
powers granted under a “Cold
War-era national defense law”.
The funds will go towards 13
existing coal plants, the
construction of the first new
plants in the US since 2013 in
Alaska and West Virginia and a
long-delayed coal export
terminal in California, adds
the newswire. At the White
House yesterday, Trump touted
coal as a “great business”,
adding that “in terms of
power, there’s really nothing
like it”. BBC News
said the president criticised
“failure countries” for
investing in renewable energy
sources and said his
investment would prevent
“$50bn” in new energy
generation costs that would
otherwise have been passed on
to bills. The Washington Post
counts $800m in total
investment and notes the
“nationwide revival of coal
power” comes as the “highly
polluting fuel struggles to
stand on its own in the
marketplace”. The newspaper
says the president intends to
draw $350m set aside by
Congress during the Biden
administration for “ambitious
clean-energy technologies” for
his plans. This, it notes,
raises “questions about the
legal validity of the
initiative”. The Guardian
and Bloomberg
also have the story.
MORE
ON US ENERGY:
-
The
Guardian:
“California and New York
weaken climate rules as
red states ramp up green
energy.”
-
Electricity
demand in Texas grew at
nearly five times the
national average driven by
the expansion of data
centers and cryptominers,
according to Reuters
-
Forbes
looks at why China’s
critical mineral strategy
“leaves the US behind”.
-
Politico
focuses on why California
senators have rejected
governor Gavin Newsom’s
proposal to introduce a
$200m EV rebate to boost
sales.
-
The
Financial Times:
“Americans lead AI data
centre backlash, global
poll finds.”
-
In
an editorial, the Washington Post
notes that Congress’
“unanimous support” for a
bill easing permitting for
geothermal energy shows
how the technology has
managed to “escape the
nasty politics that has
bogged down other
industries”. It continues:
“If only lawmakers would
apply the same desire to
cut red tape for every
other form of energy
development.”
Jorge
Valero, Bloomberg
EU
trade chief Maros Sefcovic met
China’s international trade
envoy, Li Chenggang, in Paris
yesterday, reports Bloomberg,
where they discussed “matters
including rebalancing the
bilateral trade and investment
relationship”. The two met on
the sidelines of an
Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development
(OECD) ministerial, ahead of
an EU debate over “new
restrictive measures to
rebalance the economic
relationship”, it adds. An
OECD report recently stated
that Chinese companies receive
the largest government
subsidies globally, to which
the Chinese government
responded urging the
organisation to avoid
“politicising” research,
according to China Daily.
State-supporting newspaper Global Times
says in an unbylined comment
piece that, for the EU,
climate change and energy
transition “all require
China-EU cooperation”. The
Communist party-affiliated
newspaper People’s Daily
says Chinese low-carbon
technologies are an “important
pillar” of the EU’s green
transition. Under the EU’s
Industrial Accelerator Act
(IAA), Chinese clean-tech
companies will need to
“manufacture locally, hire
locally and build local supply
chains” to sell products on
the European market, says Dialogue Earth.
Meanwhile, Financial Times
reports: “Nissan signs deal
with China’s Chery for
Sunderland car production.”
MORE
ON CHINA
-
BJX News
reports that a solar expo
in Shanghai shows the
solar industry has moved
from “rapid expansion” to
a more “pragmatic”,
“cautious” landscape.
-
In
a lead story ahead of
World Environment Day, Xinhua says
China implements its
climate goals through
“concrete” actions,
including climate finance
and “green technology”.
-
China’s
“environmental protection
industry” exceeded 2.2
trillion yuan ($0.3tn)
during the “14th five-year
plan” period, reports Science and
Technology Daily.
-
Reuters:
“China harvest rains dent
some wheat quality, may
spur imports.”
-
China’s
electric three-wheelers
have seen a “surge in
demand” in overseas
markets amid concerns over
fuel costs and energy
security, says China Daily.
-
The
world’s biggest battery
maker, CATL, tells Reuters
energy storage is expected
to account for half of its
global sales by 2030, up
from 25% now. Yicai says
that China’s solar company
Jinko expects its energy
storage shipments to
double in gigawatt-hours
this year.
Neil
Lancefield, Press
Association
The
latest figures from the
Society of Motor Manufacturers
and Traders (SMMT) show how a
“boost” in electric vehicle
(EV) demand drove the “new car
market [in the UK] to its
strongest May sales
performance since before the
coronavirus pandemic”, reports
the Press Association. Some
160,662 new cars were
registered last month, up 7%
from May 2025 and marking the
best May for registrations
since 2019, it says.
Registrations of battery
electric cars were up 34% to
take a market share of 27%, it
continues. The Guardian says
the boost was “driven, in
part, by strong growth from
the Chinese manufacturers”. It
continues that demand for EVs,
an industry “dominated by
China”, has risen since the
introduction of grants last
July and as fuel prices have
increased in the wake of the
US-Israel war on Iran.
Reuters
quotes SMMT CEO Mike Hawes
saying consumer uptake [of
EVs] ”still lags behind even
today's targets, let alone the
ambition set out in the latest
carbon budget”. [A recent Carbon Brief
factcheck shows that repeated
car industry claims that the
industry is missing its EV
targets – amplified by the
media – are misleading, given
that the industry has actually
met targets every year to
date.] The Daily Telegraph
covers claims from carmakers
that the EV pathway set out in
the UK’s seventh
carbon budget –
published earlier this week –
are not “credible”. It also
says that the proportion of EV
car sales in 2026 is “well
below” the government’s
official 33% EV target for the
year. However, it later
concedes that, under the UK’s
EV mandate rules, car
companies are “given various
flexibilities that allow them
to temporarily undershoot the
targets or achieve them
through selling more hybrid
vehicles instead”. Once these
flexibilities are taken into
account, it says the “real
target” for 2026 is 24.6%,
according to New Automotive
consultancy.
MORE
ON UK
-
The
Guardian
covers a report which
finds that England’s
“poorest areas face
deepest cuts to green
space under planning law
changes”.
-
The
government has confirmed
the Environment Agency
will act as the main
regulator for the
Trelavour Lithium Project
in Cornwall, in a move
designed to speed up
decisions on major
schemes, reports BBC News.
-
The
Daily Telegraph
reports on the risks
associated with a planned
prototype nuclear fusion
reactor in
Nottinghamshire, as
detailed in an official
“liability” document drawn
up by the government.
-
The
Daily Telegraph
covers a University of
Aberdeen “survey” which
claims that “untapped”
North Sea oil and gas
could “fuel” the UK for
“four years”. It includes
comments from conservative
leader Kemi Badenoch, who
claims the study shows the
“madness of the [fossil
fuel] stance taken by Keir
Starmer and John Swinney”.
[See Carbon Brief’s factcheck:
“Nine false or misleading
myths about North Sea oil
and gas.”]
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