Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has signed a major new energy agreement with Alberta premier Danielle Smith that “rolls back certain climate rules to spur investment in energy production, while encouraging construction of a new oil pipeline to the west coast”, reports Reuters. The federal government will scrap a planned emissions cap on oil and gas, as well as rules on clean electricity, the article adds. It notes that these changes are in exchange for a commitment by Alberta – Canada’s top oil-producing province – to strengthen industrial carbon pricing and support a carbon capture and storage project. The Associated Press reports that the agreement will lead to more than a million barrels of oil per day, mainly for the Asian market, according to Smith. It adds that Carney reiterated that as the US changes its trading relationships, Canada must too to avoid vulnerabilities. Bloomberg reports that culture minister Steven Guilbeault has resigned from his position in protest of the approval. This story was also covered by the New York Times, Agence France-Presse, Toronto Star, Financial Times, Guardian and others.

Scientists have warned that the UK faces climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security as part of a “first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing”, reports the Guardian. It continues: “Nine experts gave stark assessments of the scale of the changes needed to adapt the country to the rapidly changing climate and ecological situation, and potentially stave off the worst potential outcomes.” Press Association reports that TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham urged MPs at the briefing to “listen to the science” on climate change as he warned of a “dangerous wave of misinformation”. The Daily Express adds that Packham questioned slow progress on climate action, adding: “Why are we unbelievably pulling back on rapidly and forthrightly addressing the greatest crisis to ever threaten our species, climate breakdown and biodiversity loss?”

MORE ON UK

• The Daily Telegraph carries a story, trailed on its frontpage, that new nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C will add £1bn a year to energy bills when switched on. 
• The Times reports that electric cars will need annual checks at MOT centres following the introduction of a “pay-per-mile” tax announced in this week’s budget. The story is widely covered, including being trailed on the Daily Telegraph frontpage. [For more, see Carbon Brief’s coverage of the budget.]
• The Daily Telegraph also reports that the introduction of the new electric vehicle tax will cause sales to “collapse”. 
• The Guardian covers a report from the National Energy System Operator that warns that the UK energy minister must “do whatever it takes” to avoid a gas supply crisis.

Australia has passed a “landmark bill to overhaul the nation’s environmental laws”, after prime minister Anthony Albanese’s government struck a deal with the left-wing minority Greens party, reports Bloomberg. The bill will see the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 overhauled, “a framework widely viewed by industry and environmental advocates as outdated and in need of reform”, it adds. BBC News reports that the bill includes a host of reforms, such as “changes to the protections for native forests, stricter rules for land clearing and a limit on fast-tracking of coal and gas projects, but critics say more is needed”. Agence France-Presse adds that the reforms, approved late last night, will also create rules protecting wildlife and ensuring ecologically sustainable development. The newswire quotes Albanese, who told reporters in the capital Canberra: “We are heralding in [sic] a new era for the environment and productivity in Australia.” This story was also covered by the Sydney Morning Herald and others.

Brazil’s conservative-led Congress has voted to reinstate much of the “devastation bill”, which will make it easier for companies to secure environmental permits, reports Agence France-Presse. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had vetoed much of the bill, but Congress has the power to override them, the article notes. Lawmakers have now reversed around 80% of the vetoes “in a major blow to his government just days after Brazil wrapped up the hosting of COP30 UN climate talks”, the newswire adds. Bloomberg notes that the bill has been heavily criticised, including by UN climate experts who say it will undermine ecological protections. It adds that Congress overruling Lula is the latest step in an “escalating a battle that is grinding his government to a halt and threatening key priorities ahead of next year’s presidential election”.

MORE ON BRAZIL 

• Reuters reports that Brazil will issue its carbon market rules by the end of 2026, with the market set to be fully operational by 2030 or 2031.

China’s peak electricity load and peak daily gas consumption are both forecast to “hit the highest level yet recorded in winter” due to rising heating demand, reports Reuters, citing the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner. The NDRC told a press conference that the “upcoming winter heating season is expected to last more than two months, longer than usual”, adding that China may consume more coal this winter than last year, adds the newswire. The Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily also covers the story, citing Xiamen University’s Prof Lin Boqiang as saying the large-scale development of renewable energy can help deliver more “clean electricity” and ensure energy supply during the winter. However, it adds that Lin stressed that the frequent extreme winter weather events, such as sharp temperature drops, still pose challenges for energy supply. 

MORE ON CHINA

• China issued a policy on promoting consumption, including by “expanding and upgrading green products”, China Energy Net reports.
• Profits in China’s electricity and heat sector rose 13% year-on-year for January to October 2025, BJX News reports.
• People’s Daily says in its overseas print edition that COP30’s outcome is a “milestone” for “developing nations…demonstrating that all countries pursue fairness, equality and prosperity in addressing global climate change”.

Authorities across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are working to reach residents trapped by the floods that have killed dozens in recent days, reports Agence France-Presse. Reuters reports that a rare tropical cyclone has hit the area, leading to fast-flowing muddy waters. It adds that the “cyclone blew across the Indonesian archipelago’s western-most area, inundating the nearby Malacca Strait and causing floods and landslides that have killed at least 61 people”. Bloomberg reports that more than 200 people have been killed by the cyclone across Thailand and Indonesia, with “widespread damage and collapsed infrastructure affecting many more in both countries”. BBC News reports that at least 56 people have been killed, after Cyclone Ditwah “brushed the island nation’s eastern coast on Friday, bringing more rains”. The Associated Press adds that homes, fields and roads have flooded, while the rains have triggered landslides across the country. This story was also covered by the Hindu and Guardian.

A new report by the OECD has warned that climate, biodiversity and pollution challenges “cannot be addressed separately in isolation”, reports BusinessGreen. Drivers and impacts of these challenges are becoming “intensifying and becoming increasingly interconnected”, it adds, yet policy fails to respond to them in an interlinked way. The report refers to these challenges as a “triple planetary crisis”, driven by population and economic growth, as well as demand for food, fertiliser and resources, the article adds. BusinessGreen quotes OECD secretary general Mathias Cormann, who said: “As governments navigate elevated policy uncertainty and pressures on global growth prospects, they also face the need to make progress on their environmental objectives. The triple challenge posed by climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution – from plastics to harmful chemicals – continues to intensify and requires effective solutions.”

Following new UN figures that show four-fifths of people now live in cities, a Guardian editorial argues that “we’re still figuring out how to cope”. It details the number of cities that have surged in size in recent decades, as well as many of the benefits of city-living. The article points to comments last year by UN secretary general António Guterres that “sustainable and equitable urbanisation and fighting climate change are two sides of the same coin”, adding that while cities generate a “huge share of emissions, they can also foster more efficient use of resources”. The article concludes that “humans are a new urban species, still learning to adapt to the environment we created”.

MORE IN COMMENT 

• The Sydney Morning Herald’s economics writer Millie Muroi argues that neither the government coalition or carbon credits are a “friend to the environment”. 
• Former treasury secretary and chair of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, Dr Ken Henry, writes in the Guardian that Australia recognising that the environment underpins everything is “no small thing”. 
• In a Reuters “policy watch” column, Angeli Mehta writes that ambition “faltered” on fossil fuels at COP30.
• The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph carries three comment pieces, one on the “EV scam”, one on the UK’s energy system being a “dangerous mess” and the other on the threat of the Green party to Labour.

This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Molly Lempriere, with contributions from Henry Zhang and Anika Patel. It was edited by Robert McSweeney.

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