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Nick
Ferris, The Independent
There
is widespread media coverage
in the UK of the extreme
heatwave affecting large parts
of the country. The
Independent covers warnings
from scientists that
politicians in the UK are
failing to appreciate the
“magnitude of the climate
crisis” after the Met Office
forecast temperatures “could
hit 40C”, for just the second
time since records began. BBC News
reports that the UK is set for
the hottest June day on record
with 35C forecast for today,
but temperatures are expected
to rise further tomorrow. The
Times adds
that temperatures are expected
to reach 38C on Wednesday and
Thursday, a level the UK has
only reached four times: in
2003, 2019 and twice in 2022.
The Guardian
adds that the Met Office has
issued a rare “red” weather
warning for Wednesday and
Thursday due to the forecast
extreme heat and humidity,
indicating “a risk to life for
even the healthy population”.
The Financial Times
adds that this week marks only
the second time the Met Office
has issued a red alert for
heat. Another article in the Guardian
looks back at the summer of
1976, when heatwave records
were shattered by 15
consecutive days where the
peak temperature was above
32C. It runs under the
headline: “How the historic
heatwave has become our new
normal.”
Separately,
Reuters
reports that at least 18
people have died in France
amid the heatwave, which
“smash[ed] temperature records
in several cities on Monday”.
The Guardian
adds that two children have
been found dead in their
family’s car in south-eastern
France, amid the “ferocious
heatwave forecast to shatter
absolute temperature records”.
The Associated
Press reports that
France saw temperatures above
40C on Monday, with conditions
unlikely to ease until Friday.
Euronews
adds that France has now been
facing this “exceptional
heatwave” for nearly a week,
with Météo-France placing 54
regional administrative areas
on red alert, an alert that
will affect 39 million people.
The Independent
reports that nearly 2,700
schools have closed amid the
heatwave. France24
adds that the heatwave is
driving demand for
air-conditioning, “a
politically charged issue”.
The
Daily Telegraph
adds that the heatwave has
also hit Spain, Portugal and
Croatia, “with scientists
warning that human-driven
climate change is making such
extremes more frequent, longer
and more intense”. Deutsche Welle
adds that parts of Germany are
seeing high temperatures of up
to 40C and parts of northern
Portugal are under “orange”
weather alerts due to the high
temperatures. Bloomberg
reports that the heatwave has
caused water levels in the
Rhine to fall, “choking fuel
shipments to parts of western
Europe”.
James
Murray, BusinessGreen
There
is widespread coverage of UK
prime minister Keir Starmer’s
resignation and expected
succession by Manchester mayor
Andy Burnham. BusinessGreen
reports that Starmer has set
out a timetable for the
transfer of power, which will
see a new prime minister in
office by September at the
latest. Analysis in the Guardian by
Fiona Harvey looks at
Starmer’s “strong green
record” and the “rightwing
backlash” that led to him
weakening some commitments. It
concludes that the “lesson to
draw from Starmer’s time in
office, however, is that
voters are greener than the
Tories and Reform would have
the public believe, and Labour
has much more to lose to the
left than the right on these
issues”. Bloomberg
adds that, with the UK having
some of the world’s highest
energy prices, Starmer’s
successor will face pressure
to shift away from the
country’s “world-leading
climate goals”. It adds that
Burnham has said he is
“open-minded” about the
prospect of more drilling in
UK waters. A separate article
in the Guardian
looks at the possibility of
energy secretary Ed Miliband
becoming chancellor under a
Burnham-led government.
Relatedly, the Guardian
reports that Miliband is
expected to call for the UK to
stick to its net-zero targets
to deliver jobs and growth in
a speech today.
MORE
ON THE UK
-
Outlets
including Reuters, Bloomberg,
the Press
Association and
others cover the National
Energy System Operator’s
latest report, confirming
it is “confident” that
“Britain will have enough
electricity supply this
winter despite disruptions
to energy flows caused by
the Iran war”.
-
BusinessGreen
covers a study by
thinktank ECIU that finds
Scottish households are
deploying solar panels and
heat pumps faster than in
the rest of the UK.
-
The
Press
Association covers
new research that suggests
homeowners view the
transition to heat pumps
as a "high stakes gamble",
with a range of concerns
that go beyond just the
initial expense.
-
The
Times
covers a report from the
Energy Transition
Institute at Robert Gordon
University in Aberdeen
that claims Scotland could
lose 18,000 oil and gas
jobs over the next decade,
but employment levels
could be maintained if
offshore wind ambitions
are achieved.
-
The
climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph
claims that charities
“lobbied” the long-running
BBC Radio 4 rural soap
opera The Archers to
include more climate
change storylines.
Robert
Hodgson, Euractiv
Euractiv
covers talks between the EU,
Canada and China on Monday,
with all three reaffirming
their support for the 2015
Paris Agreement. It adds that
the trio represents two of the
world’s three largest
economies and nearly a third
of global GDP. It quotes EU
climate commissioner Wopke
Hoekstra, who said the talks
provided an “opportunity to
help shape what the next
decade of climate action must
deliver”. Reuters
quotes Chinese environment
minister Huang Runqiu, who
said: “The multilateral
process will not stop, or even
slow down, because of the
absence of individual
countries", adding that the
world's low-carbon transition
is "irreversible".
Bloomberg
China’s
top economic planner, the National
Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) and
other departments have
outlined new rules that
“mandate increased use of
renewables”, setting “binding
targets” for the share of
“electricity and non-electric
energy that must come from
renewable sources” starting
August this year, reports
Bloomberg. Under the new plan,
explains industry news outlet
BJX News,
electricity consumption
targets for key industries can
be met through
“self-generation and
self-consumption”, “direct
green electricity connections”
and “green
electricity trading”,
while non-electric energy
targets can be met through
“renewable heating and
cooling, the production and
use of ‘green hydrogen’,
ammonia and methanol, and
non-electric biomass energy
applications”. In an
explanatory note, the NDRC said
that the measures establish a
framework of both
“consumption-side obligations”
and “responsibility for local
authorities”, according to
state news agency Xinhua. The
former helps “foster a larger
green consumption market”,
while the latter promotes the
“optimal allocation of green
power resources nationwide”,
adds the newswire.
MORE
ON CHINA
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Huang
Runqiu, head of China’s MEE, says
“global cooperation to
tackle climate change will
not stall because of the
absence of certain
countries”, reports Reuters.
-
China’s
push to ensure “reliable”
renewable power for
AI-focused data centres is
“running into hurdles”,
reports Reuters.
The “bottleneck” is if the
grid can deliver stable
power at the right time to
data centres, says Caixin,
adding that even bullish
future demand estimates
would, nevertheless, make
up “around 1% of the total
load”.
-
The
Financial Times
reports China has
restricted trade with two
US rare-earth companies.
China’s exports of rare
earths used for magnets to
Japan were “negligible” in
May, reports Reuters.
-
China
has issued a new policy to
support “foreign-funded
enterprises” to invest in
areas including “green
consumption”, according to
Xinhua.
-
A
Global Times
editorial says that
“high-quality” and
“affordable” Chinese
imports have supported
Europe’s “green
transition”.
-
China
accounted for 78% of newly
grid-connected offshore
wind capacity worldwide
last year, maintaining its
position as the global
leader, reports CCTV.
Reuters
Reuters
covers the Colombian election
results, with initial counts
showing that right-wing
nationalist lawyer and
political newcomer Abelardo De
La Espriella has been narrowly
elected as president. It adds
that the vocal supporter of
Trump ran on a platform that
included promises to revive
oil and gas projects halted
under his predecessor. Inside Climate
News says that “a de la
Espriella presidency would
mark a sharp reversal for one
of the world’s most ambitious
experiments in fossil-fuel
phaseout”. It adds that
outgoing president Gustavo
Petro banned fracking and led
Colombia to become the first
major oil-producing nation to
halt new oil-and-gas
exploration licenses,
“positioning itself as a
bellwether for developing
countries seeking to align
their economic policies with
climate goals”.
MORE
ON LATIN AMERICA
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