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Oct 2, 2025, 10:52:13 AM (8 days ago) Oct 2

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Gas turbines may be the Labubu of climate accessories: They’re in high demand, with a years-long waitlist. Gas can help move away from coal, but AI could mean burning lots more of it. We unpack why a gas turbine shortage may be both a solution and a problem.

Today’s newsletter also brings you the latest from the UK, where conservatives have vowed to scrap emissions regulations if they return to power. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s message is at odds with that delivered by Pope Leo XIV who, in his first major climate speech, reaffirmed the Vatican’s pledge to fight global warming.

And we send a heartfelt goodbye to Jane Goodall, who passed yesterday at 91. A lifetime friend of chimpanzees, she studied them, befriended them and called for action on climate change to protect their habitat.

Please subscribe to Bloomberg News for more revelatory journalism about the energy transition and all other climate issues.

Climate blessing or curse?

By Akshat Rathi, Stephen Stapczynski and Josh Saul

Gas turbines don’t typically feature on a list of climate solutions. After all, these fast-spinning devices weighing hundreds of tons burn methane to generate electricity, emitting carbon dioxide in the process.

But there aren’t yet cheap enough batteries to ease the peaks and troughs of renewables, and gas can help provide grid stability while reducing carbon intensity and air pollution compared to relying on coal. There’s a problem, though: The world is experiencing a turbine shortage.

The assembly of the outer casing of a gas turbine in the Siemens Energy factory in Berlin Photographer: Nicolo Lanfranchi/Bloomberg

Three companies control 70% of the global market for gas turbines and they remain skeptical about whether the recent surge in demand for turbines will last long enough to recoup investments needed to build new manufacturing capacity.

Wait times for orders have increased from two years to five or more. The shortage has contributed to the cost of building gas power plants in the US increasing from $800 per kilowatt in 2021 to as much as $2,800 per kilowatt today.

These issues are causing serious headaches. Not just for companies looking to meet rising power demand from data centers for artificial intelligence, but also for countries still working to meet climate goals.

In regions with high solar or wind in the power mix, such as the UK, Texas or Australia, gas has helped make grids less polluting. Gas advocates had hoped that it would provide the same benefit to developing countries, such as China, India or Vietnam, that heavily rely on coal. (Though it’s worth noting that gas is cleaner than coal only if methane leaks are kept in check.)

Gas turbine components, rotors and stators. Photographer: Nicolo Lanfranchi/Bloomberg

Without turbines, though, developing countries will be forced to use more coal. At the same time, developed countries will be pushed to deploy more renewables with expensive batteries. John Ketchum, chief executive officer of US utility NextEra Energy Inc., says renewables and batteries are now a “critical bridge” until gas plants can be built.

That’s seemingly good news for climate efforts in rich countries, but bad news for the move away from coal — and thus emissions reductions in poor ones. The gas turbine shortage could mean further divergence in the climate efforts between developed and developing nations.

Read a full version of our global investigation for Bloomberg Green to see why the turbine shortage is a bottleneck to the energy transition. Or if you prefer listening, reporters discuss the story in this week’s Zero Podcast. You can also read our previous features in the Bottlenecks Series.

A gas bottleneck

$400 billion

Worth of planned gas-fired power plants through 2030 are in jeopardy of delay or cancellation because of the lack of capacity to meet future turbine orders

Why so slow?

“It’s not so easy to ramp up. The whole supply chain is struggling to also keep pace.”

Joern Schmuecker

Siemens Energy’s senior vice president of gas service

Gas turbine makers aren’t able — or willing — to increase production capacity fast enough to meet rapid demand.

Mixed climate messages

By Will Mathis and Laura Millan

The latest indication that the longstanding political consensus on climate action in the UK has shattered is the opposition Conservative Party’s plan to scrap the Climate Change Act if it returns to power.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch now says emissions regulations have become too burdensome for consumers and are hurting economic growth. The Climate Change Act was first passed by a Labour government with cross-party support in 2008 and strengthened under Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May to set a legally binding target of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Under my leadership we will scrap those failed targets,” Badenoch said. “Our priority now is growth, cheaper energy, and protecting the natural landscapes we all love.” Photographer: Jaimi Joy/Bloomberg

The message is at loggerheads with a speech by Pope Leo XIV delivered in the Vatican. In his first major climate address, the leader of the Catholic church reaffirmed his commitment to fighting global warming. The most effective solutions won’t come from individuals, but from major political decisions at the national and international level, Pope Leo XIV said.

“We must shift from collecting data to caring, and from environmental discourses to an ecological conversion that transforms both personal and communal lifestyles,” Pope Leo XIV said. Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Read more on the UK Conservative Party’s plans for climate rules and on the new Pope’s stance on global warming on Bloomberg.com.

Jane Goodall’s climate legacy

Jane Goodall communes with a chimp in the wild Gombe National Park, Tanzania, where she first arrived in 1960 to study chimps’ behavior.

Jane Goodall, who made startling discoveries about chimpanzee behavior and worked tirelessly to protect their habitats during a life dedicated to animals and environmental conservation, has died at 91.

Goodall used her fame to expand interest in the welfare of endangered animals and their habitats. Through her nonprofit, the Jane Goodall Institute, she sponsored biodiversity projects and initiatives that ensured local communities would become involved in protecting the environment.

“If we can’t find ways for these people to make a living without destroying the environment we can’t save chimps, forest or anything else,” she said during one of her last public appearances last week in New York. “I’ve seen so many places where nature has come back.”

Goodall’s message of hope came with a warning — humans are the most “intellectual” creatures to ever walk the planet, but that doesn’t make us “intelligent.”

“Intelligent beings don’t destroy their only home,” she said. “Unless you want to go with Elon Musk to some far off planet, this is our only home and I propose to devote my life to doing what I can to help save it before it’s too late.”

Read more about Jane Goodall’s life on Bloomberg.com and watch her intervention at the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Forum 2025.

More from Green

A zombie summer in October hangs over much of the US Midwest, bringing temperatures as much as 15F (8C) higher than normal and delaying the transition into what’s known as “heating season” in the natural gas market.

Europe’s biggest pension fund ABP has become a majority shareholder in a large area of forest spanning three southern US states. It’s the first deal in a series of investments on natural capital by the Dutch pension fund to address climate change and biodiversity loss.

More than 100,000 people were sent to hospitals due to heat stroke in Japan between May 1 and Sept. 28, according to preliminary data from the nation’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Worth a listen

Gas turbine components, rotors and stators Photographer: Nicolo Lanfranchi/Bloomberg

Rising power demand from data centers for artificial intelligence has led to a shortage of the gas turbines needed to generate electricity. This shortage might not seem the most obvious climate story, but it's having impacts across the entire energy sector. This week on Zero, Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski joins Akshat Rathi to look at what’s causing the bottleneck in gas turbines, if the shortage will make companies look to renewables or coal, and whether natural gas is really a “bridge” fuel.

Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday.