Fwd: Daily Briefing: COP31 ‘35 by 35’ goal | Europe’s ‘wild’ weather | Solar ‘beats’ coal in US

[Loretta Lohman]

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Snapshot New on Carbon Brief • Cited: Europe’s ‘exceptional’ heatwave | Warming forecast | AMOC observations ‘at risk’ News • A third of world's energy needs should come from electricity by 2035, says COP31 host | Guardian • Wild temperature swings are becoming the 'new normal', EU agency says | Financial Times • US: Solar power beats coal for electricity generation despite Trump policies | Associated Press • China’s trade imbalance with EU swells as imports slip again | Bloomberg • Public procurement of electricity could save GB households £200 a year, says thinktank | Guardian • Scotland's climate emissions fall slightly as progress slows | BBC News • Super-rich’s assets cause outsized amount of climate harm, study says | Guardian Comment • The UN climate process needs ambition – the law demands it | Bill Hare, Climate Home News Research • New research on the Southern Ocean carbon sink, urbanisation and heatwave risk in Indonesia and mountain ecosystem degradation in China Other stories • Europe plans to extend emission charges to foreign flights | Bloomberg • Climate cost of expanded World Cup under scrutiny as emissions set to soar | Reuters • How did air conditioning become a heated debate? | Financial Times New on Carbon Brief Cited: Europe’s ‘exceptional’ heatwave | Warming forecast | AMOC observations ‘at risk’  Cecilia Keating The first edition of Carbon Brief’s brand-new Cited newsletter, your essential guide to the latest climate research. Sign up for free News A third of world's energy needs should come from electricity by 2035, says COP31 host Fiona Harvey and Adam Morton, The Guardian The Guardian reports that the “world should aim to meet a third of its energy needs from electricity within a decade to cut greenhouse gas emissions”, according to the host of the next UN climate summit. Turkey will look to rally support for the target of electricity meeting 35% of the world’s energy demand by 2035, says Reut​​ers. Politico reports that the goal will be a “flagship priority” when Turkey hosts the COP31 summit in Antalya in November. BusinessGreen notes that the target, announced at the Bonn intersessional meetings in Germany, forms part of the “action agenda” at the summit, alongside other goals for waste and buildings. Climate Home News adds that the “35 by 35” goal is based on analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency, and would look to “ramp up” the share of final energy consumption provided by electricity from 20% today. Agence France-Press quotes incoming COP31 president Murat Kurum, who said in a statement: “By electrifying daily life, from transport to buildings and industry, we can protect families and businesses from volatile energy markets". Wild temperature swings are becoming the 'new normal', EU agency says Steven Bernard and Kenza Bryan, Financial Times The Financial Times reports that Europe’s “intense spring heatwave” shows how quickly climate extremes have become “the new normal”. It covers a new report by the EU’s Earth observation service Copernicus, which finds that May broke a series of national records and was the second-warmest May globally. It notes that the UK, France, Ireland and Portugal experienced particularly severe conditions, adding that Spain saw 101 heat-related deaths, while in France and the UK drownings were more common. Reuters adds that the hottest May on record globally remains that in 2024, despite the heatwave. It notes that global average temperatures last month were 1.42C above pre-industrial levels. MORE ON EUROPE Bloomberg reports that two northern German states are pushing to form a power price zone with Denmark, to better utilise wind surplus in the region. Energy Monitor reports that the EU has cleared a $26.5bn aid package for Italy, designed to help the state add 37GW of new wind, solar, hydropower and sewage gas projects. The Financial Times covers reports that the EU is considering suspending a planned increase in its price cap on Russian oil, designed to limit the boost to the country’s revenue that higher crude prices triggered by the Iran war could bring.  Reuters reports that Germany could face €1bn in additional budget costs, following the European Commission's move to allow stronger electricity price relief for industry.  Politico looks at EU plans for €5bn of renewable projects in North Africa and the Middle East, which could feed electricity into the European grid. Reuters reports that Norway’s parliament has ordered the government to review its planned offshore wind farm subsidy, “raising concerns of a full development stop and ‌a wider impact on energy transition projects”. US: Solar power beats coal for electricity generation despite Trump policies Jennifer McDermott, The Associated Press The Associated Press covers a new report by thinktank Ember, Solar Energy Industries Association and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, which finds solar power is hitting new milestones in the US and remains a leading source of power. It notes that the growth of the technology is taking place despite federal policy. Bloomberg adds that solar supplied 12.8% of US electricity in May, while coal accounted for 12.2%. It notes that “the use of solar is surging just as the US scrambles to add new electricity sources to meet the insatiable power needs of AI datacentres”.  MORE ON THE US The Guardian covers a new study that finds the US is “woefully underprepared” for extreme heat, with hospitalisation expected to double by 2040.  Reuters reports that US power consumption is expected to rise in 2026 and 2027, driven by datacentres and electrification, according to a new report from the Energy Information Administration.  Politico covers activist Tom Steyer being knocked out of the race for California governor, leaving “environmentalists [to] lament the race that could have been”. China’s trade imbalance with EU swells as imports slip again Bloomberg China’s trade surplus with the EU “widened slightly from April to stay above $30bn”, though its exports to the bloc “slowed” to grow 7.6%, reports Bloomberg. The outlet adds that the data comes as an “escalation of tensions with the EU could pose a risk to Beijing’s favoured ‘new three’ energy industries: solar, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries”, for which the EU was the “destination for about 40% of exports” in 2025. China’s global exports of “green products”, such as batteries and wind turbines, grew by around 40% in January-May, reports state news agency Xinhua. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that China’s rare earth exports fell by 6.4% by volume, as Beijing “maintained tight control over shipments of the minerals”. Bloomberg reports that China’s oil imports in May “slumped to the lowest in more than eight years”. MORE ON CHINA Major Chinese solar panel manufacturers are “struggling to generate profits amid overcapacity after subsidy-driven growth in exports”, says Nikkei Asia. Bloomberg reports that Shaanxi province has urged “stable coal supply” through the summer period, adding that, in neighbouring Shanxi province, 85m tonnes of coal mine capacity that had been suspended due to an accident “resumed production”. China’s NEA called for increasing investment in oil and gas infrastructure, reports Ideacarbon. People’s Daily says that a “significant gap between climate commitments and actions” remains globally, with funding shortages a “major bottleneck”. Fudan University’s Zhang Jiadong writes in Global Times that India should cooperate with China on climate change to ensure “its people can have access to clean water and basic cooling when temperatures hit 48C”. Al Jazeera: “US lists China’s BYD, Alibaba, Baidu as ‘Chinese military companies’.”  Public procurement of electricity could save GB households £200 a year, says thinktank Fiona Harvey, The Guardian The Guardian reports that households in England, Scotland and Wales could save nearly £200 a year on energy bills if the government acted as the sole buyer of electricity, according to a new report from thinktank Common Wealth. It adds that public procurement of electricity could save billions of pounds when compared with the current system, whereby power prices are set by the cost of gas, which “can be highly volatile”. [See Carbon Brief’s explainer of how gas sets electricity prices.] The article quotes Donal Brown, a senior researcher in energy policy and political economy at the University of Oxford, who said: “Britain’s electricity market was designed for a fossil fuel age and it’s now a key barrier to a lower cost, low-carbon future.” MORE ON UK ENERGY The Guardian reports that more than half of the wind, solar, battery energy storage, gas and hydro plants needed for Labour’s 2030 clean power target have now been offered grid connections. PoliticsHome reports that the chair of the red wall caucus of Labour MPs Jo White, has called on ministers to keep North Sea oil and gas “in the picture”. During a visit to Scotland ahead of the upcoming Aberdeen by-election, Nigel Farage – leader of hard-right, populist Reform UK – has claimed the Conservatives “killed the North Sea”, reports the Press Association. Scotland's climate emissions fall slightly as progress slows BBC News BBC News reports that Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions have continued to fall, but progress is slowing. It adds that emissions fell by 1% in 2024 compared to the previous year, but in 2023 they fell by 2%. The article adds that since 1990, Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by 50.5%, with all sectors reducing their emissions – except international aviation and shipping. The Independent reports that Scotland’s climate action secretary Gillian Martin called the reduction “disappointing”, while campaigners dubbed it “meagre”. MORE ON THE UK  The Daily Telegraph covers comments from the climate-sceptic owner of GB News Sir Paul Marshall, who hit out at Christian climate activists after they were critical of Church institutions accepting a £28m donation from him due to his views on climate change being in “direct opposition” to those of the Church of England. The Times looks at plans by Chinese EV giant BYD to install 120 flash chargers in the UK, allowing cars to charge in five minutes. The Daily Telegraph covers a report from military thinktank Royal United Ser­vices Insti­tute that suggests that the UK’s “clean-energy ambi­tions” have left the coun­try heav­ily reli­ant on Beijing for wind turbine components. The Independent covers figures from New Automotive that show British car buyers have spent around £1.3bn more on EVs in the 100 days since the Iran war began, compared with 2025. Super-rich’s assets cause outsized amount of climate harm, study says Fiona Harvey, The Guardian The Guardian covers a new study from NGO Greenpeace, which calculates that the wealthiest contribute nearly $1tn of climate damage a year with ownership-based emissions. It continues: “Through their ownership of companies and private financial and physical assets, from oil producers to property developments, the super-rich are responsible for an outsized slice of the greenhouse gases that are overheating the planet.” The article adds that the top 1% of people by wealth control around a quarter of global annual emissions, just through their shareholdings and investments. Comment The UN climate process needs ambition – the law demands it Bill Hare, Climate Home News In Climate Home News, the CEO of Climate Analytics, Bill Hare, questions the risk of focusing on “implementation”. He writes that the word “implementation” has featured heavily in recent discussions about the UN climate process, including at last year’s COP30 summit in Brazil. He adds, however, that focusing on implementing pledges and targets already made, but failing to increase ambition, goes against the Paris Agreement. Hare details the need for countries to raise their climate commitments, how this fits within the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, how countries are falling behind on ambition and the merits of a collective process. He concludes: “It’s not an either-or: ‘implementation’ has to include ‘increasing ambition’. Climate science, international law, climate justice and the needs of the world’s most climate-impacted societies demand nothing less.” MORE IN COMMENT In the Guardian, Benjamin Selwyn, a professor at the University of Sussex, looks at 10 ways a “super” El Niño could impact the planet. An editorial in the Financial Times looks at England’s receding coastline, arguing that it is a “microcosm of a global problem as shorelines everywhere come under pressure from climate change and extreme weather conditions”. In the Guardian, columnist George Monbiot writes that the “net-zero economy is booming, so claims that prosperity depends on oil and gas are bunkum – unless you’re a Reform backer with fossil fuel interests, of course”. In Reuters, journalist Anthony Currie explores the contradictions at the centre of China’s energy transition. In the Washington Post’s Substack Ripple, climate-sceptic Manhattan Institute fellow Ilya Shapiro argues that the US supreme court “must rein in Colorado’s climate lawfare”, which he dubs an “affront to federalism”. Research The Southern Ocean took up 12% more CO2 in 2024 than previously thought, according to a recalculation of that year’s data | Scientific Data Increased urbanisation in Indonesia’s new capital city, Ibu Kota Nusantara, is projected to increase local air temperatures by up to 1.8C, although its impact on heat stress will be partially offset by reduced relative humidity | Environmental Research: Climate China’s mountain ecosystems experienced “near-zero net degradation” over 2015-22, due to a combination of climatic factors and major ecological restoration programmes | Communications Earth & Environment Other stories Europe plans to extend emission charges to foreign flights Ewa Krukowska, Bloomberg Climate cost of expanded World Cup under scrutiny as emissions set to soar Lori Ewing, Reuters Comment: How did air conditioning become a heated debate? Tim Harford, Financial Times US: Alaskans reel from the loss of National Science Foundation ocean-monitoring instruments Paula Dobbyn, Inside Climate News BP drops net-zero division in wake of boardroom turmoil Matthew Field, The Daily Telegraph Global offshore wind capacity set to grow to 420GW by end of 2035, GWEC report says Nina Chestney, Reuters 'I fear people will go to war over water': as wells run dry, farmers struggle to survive in Bangladesh Thaslima Begum in Barind, The Guardian Alberta pitches cheap natural gas for datacenter boom, at odds with Canada's clean power aims Amanda Stephenson, Reuters Colombia's beleaguered oil sector eyeing comeback in Venezuela Andrea Jaramillo, Fabiola Zerpa, and Nicolle Yapur, Bloomberg Denmark grants cement producer $2.6bn for carbon capture and storage Louise Rasmussen, Reuters Why the world is bracing for a rare ‘super’ El Niño Brian K Sullivan, Bloomberg This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Molly Lempriere, with contributions from Henry Zhang and Anika Patel. 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