|
Jon Henley, The Guardian
The Guardian reports that “brutal heat torching southern Europe” has forced about 30,000 to evacuate in France and Spain, as a “marine heatwave scalds the Mediterranean and researchers warn that ‘Dantesque’ scenarios cannot be ruled out as infernos worsen”. BBC News reports that some 3,400 hectares of land have been destroyed near the Bay of Arcachon in south-west France. Al Jazeera reports that about 800 firefighters are battling flames 50km from Bordeaux, with hundreds of gendarmes and soldiers deployed as well. In a story on its frontpage, the Independent notes that temperatures have exceeded 44C across southern Europe as another heatwave moves across the continent. A separate piece in the Independent also covers wildfires in Spain, with over 32,000 hectares on fire in one of the largest blazes on record in the country.
Reuters adds that this is the third heatwave in succession this summer, leading to “intensified drought, strained water supplies and left vegetation tinder-dry, helping wildfires scorch more land already this year than the annual average of the past two decades on the world's fastest-warming continent”. Bloomberg notes that “climate change is intensifying periods of extreme heat in Europe, the fastest-warming continent”.
Euractiv reports that France has now invoked the EU’s civil protection mechanism to ask for help, with president Emmanuel Macron warning that the crisis remained “very intense”. Reuters adds that due to invoking this mechanism, France will soon receive assistance from “two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, as well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia".
Mehreen Khan, The Times
The Times reports that oil prices have gone past $100 a barrel for the first time since May, “dragging up government borrowing costs and stoking fears that the world economy will suffer another surge in inflation on the escalation of the Middle East conflict”. In a story featured on its frontpage, the Financial Times adds Brent crude settled at $100.69 a barrel yesterday, following attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea, which threatened to “squeeze global supplies further and reignite a global inflation shock”. BBC News reports that gas prices have also steadily risen over the past month, with benchmark prices in the UK currently around 150p per therm, up from around 98p at the end of June. Reuters adds that Houthi forces in Yemen have been targeting vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, raising the prospect of disruptions at another key oil transit chokepoint.
Xinhua
China has released its 15th “five-year plan” for renewables development, aiming for total renewable energy consumption to reach around 1.8bn tonnes of standard coal equivalent by 2030, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA), reports state news agency Xinhua. The figure represents a 53% increase in renewable power use over the next five years from the 2025 level, reports Bloomberg. The plan also says the combined capacity of wind and solar power will exceed 2,800 gigawatts (GW), with annual power generation surpassing 4,000 terawatt-hours, reports China Energy Net. By 2030, total non-power use of renewable energy will increase by 1.5 times, according to International Energy Net. More than 300GW of new “reliable peak power capacity from renewable energy” will be added, while the scale of newly built offshore wind projects will reach around 100GW, according to the outlet. China has set other 2030 targets, including 15GW of solar thermal power capacity, 0.4GW of marine energy capacity, 160GW of pumped storage power capacity and 2m tonnes of green hydrogen production, it notes.
MORE ON CHINA
China's new solar installations dropped 66% in the first half of 2026 as the solar market cooled down following renewables pricing reforms, reports Reuters. Twenty-one Chinese solar companies are expected to post combined losses of 13bn-16.8bn yuan ($1.9bn-2.5bn), reports Jiemian. The US Senate approved legislation on Wednesday to toughen a government ban on Chinese automakers entering the American market, reports Reuters. China’s Geely will build two electric models at Ford’s factory in Spain as Chinese automakers race to get ahead of European local-content rules, according to Reuters. Six rivers across China experienced floods above warning levels yesterday, following recent heavy rainfall and upstream inflows, reports Xinhua. Yicai reports that Chinese state-owned clean energy company SDIC Power will build a new large hydropower station in the Yalong River Basin with battery maker CATL. Indian solar panel makers are shutting factories as they “face waits stretching up to eight months for domestic components to replace Chinese imports”, reports Reuters. Climate Home News: “Allegations of harms at China-backed transition minerals projects rise.”
Geraldine Scott, Constance Kampfner and Aubrey Allegretti, The Times
The frontpage splash for the Times cites “industry sources” to claim that new UK prime minister Andy Burnham is “ready to ‘move quickly’ to scale up North Sea oil and gas production” by making a decision on two undeveloped sites “within weeks”. The newspaper says the decisions concern Jackdaw and Rosebank off the Scottish coast, both of which have licenses, but which lack development consent from the government, after previous approvals were quashed by the courts. It quotes a “source close to the projects” saying that, if approved in late August, after ongoing consultations wrap up, they could begin production “by 1 October”. The newspaper notes: “Approval of Rosebank and Jackdaw would have no direct impact on energy bills.” It also notes: “Labour’s 2024 election manifesto pledged not to issue any new oil and gas licences and Burnham has said he will stick by the manifesto.”
The Press Association says new energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh visited Aberdeen yesterday, the “home of the UK’s oil and gas industry”. It quotes the head of industry group Offshore Energies UK, David Whitehouse, saying that choosing the city for her first visit was an “important signal” and that they had held "constructive" talks. The Financial Times calls the visit “low-key” and adds that Fahnbulleh “did not take media questions, increasing a sense of uncertainty about the new government’s direction on energy policy”. Al Jazeera speaks to campaigners opposed to the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments.
MORE ON UK
The Guardian: “UK households free to install plug-in balcony solar panels from end of August.” The Daily Telegraph says the Hartlepool and Heysham 1 nuclear plants will remain open for an extra two years, until 2030, following safety inspections. The Guardian profiles Fahnbulleh, arguing that her appointment “marks continuation of decarbonising Miliband era”. The Daily Express and Daily Telegraph both report on her previous support for a frequent-flyer levy. Bloomberg says the “UK’s grid operator said it will start restricting capacity on its power cables to Europe more frequently”, after a “tight balance” during a late June heatwave. In a story trailed on its frontpage, the Daily Telegraph reports on efforts by the head of British Gas to get government support for his firm’s gas storage site in the North Sea. The Financial Times publishes a letter from the Grantham Institute’s Bob Ward, saying he is “amazed” by claims in the newspaper from Prof Sir Dieter Helm that gas prices could “stay low”.
Michael Holder, BusinessGreen
A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts “surging electricity demand from AI datacentres, air conditioning and clean tech”, reports BusinessGreen. It adds that this means global emissions are “likely to tick up again this year”. The outlet continues that the combination of growing demand for electricity and some switching from gas to coal in response to the Iran war, mean that the IEA is forecasting carbon emissions from power generation will increase 1% in 2026, before “flattening out" in 2027. Agence-France Presse highlights that the Iran war, including regular blockages of the strait of Hormuz, has led to an increase in coal-fired generation in 2026. Electrek says the report shows renewables overtaking coal this year “as the world’s largest source of electricity”.
Agence-France Presse
Agence-France Presse reports that at least 41 people have died in floods triggered by “torrential” monsoon rains in India's north-east Assam state. It continues that authorities have set up 150 relief camps in the region, where around 30,000 people are now taking shelter. The article quotes a statement on social media by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who said: "Cloudbursts upstream, coupled with localised heavy rainfall, 436% above normal, have led to flooding in villages that have not seen such devastation in recent history." It adds that 900,000 people in more than 1,800 villages have been impacted by the flooding. The article notes that “deadly weather-related disasters are common during the monsoon season from June till about August, but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanisation, is increasing their frequency and severity”.
Bethan McKernan, The Guardian
In a story featured on its frontpage, the Guardian reports that parts of Wales are now in drought, with July on course to be the driest for nearly 200 years. The Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has said that record-low river flows, back-to-back heatwaves and wildfires have prompted the drought declaration in north Wales and the Upper Severn, the outlet explains. It adds that, as of yesterday, “several fires were still burning across the country after more than a week, leading the Welsh government to activate ‘crisis’ plans amid concerns over a lack of firefighting helicopters”. The Independent notes that these “severe conditions” follow drought last summer as well, adding that “experts attribute this trend to human-caused climate change, primarily driven by fossil fuel combustion”.
MORE ON UK HEATWAVES
|
