Reuters reports that China’s major coal-consuming industries – including power, steel, cement and coal chemical production – could see their coal use peak at “around 2024”. The newswire quotes Cao Dong, chief expert of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, an institute affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment. Cao is quoted saying that the coal consumption of steel and cement sectors “should have reached a peak (in 2020 and 2021), followed by coal chemicals by around 2024”. He added that the power sector’s coal use would hit its maximum level “by around 2028” because of “growing electricity demand and concerns over energy safety”, the report says. Coal use in those four sectors “could peak at 2.48bn tonnes of standard coal equivalent”, the article says, citing Cao. Another Reuters report says that China will continue to boost thermal coal and natural gas supply to ensure power supply for the winter months, according to China’s vice premier Han Zheng. Han issued the remarks on Monday in Beijing at a meeting held to “ensure heating and supply for this winter and next spring”, China’s state news agency Xinhua reports. Han noted that the country’s electricity supply had “increased continuously” and “the supply-demand situation” had “gradually returned to normality”, the outlet reports. He is also quoted ordering the meeting’s attendees to “go all out” to solve the problems that prevented firms from generating power.

Meanwhile, when asked by CNBC about his thoughts on China’s push for the changes of wording in the final agreement of COP26, Frans Timmermans – the EU’s executive vice president and climate commissioner – said he “wouldn’t be too critical of China”. Timmermans told the outlet in an interview: “I would have preferred phasing out, but to phase down is already much stronger than anything that has ever been said in an international context. So, no, I wouldn’t be too critical of China. I mean, I would have liked to have seen more but they did…contribute.” Global Times – a Chinese state-run tabloid – runs a “sidebar” explaining how China and the US “join hands in confronting climate change” via their joint declaration in Glasgow.

Elsewhere, the Economic Information Daily – an affiliation with Xinhua News Agency – reports that “relevant departments are researching and formulating the carbon-peaking and carbon neutrality implementation plans for multiple sectors and industries”. The report cites Meng Wei, a spokeswoman of the state economic planner. Meng said that the implementation plans and action plans for sectors including industry, transport and urban construction had been completed and were being reviewed, the newspaper says. Xinhua also reports that “China will put in place targeted re-lending to support the clean and efficient use of coal amid efforts in green and low-carbon development”. The decision was made by a State Council executive meeting chaired by Chinese premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, the state-run outlet says.

In an article citing unnamed “government sources”, Reuters reports that India’s coal consumption “is expected to grow in absolute terms over the coming few years”. It quotes one of the sources saying: “This is inevitable because the energy requirement of India is growing and we are yet to peak.” The newswire adds that the source, in relation to the Glasgow Climate Pact language on coal, “add[ed] that singling out only one fossil fuel was ‘patently unfair’”. The Times of India cites analysis suggesting that India’s renewable energy targets already imply a phasing down of the country’s coal demand “well before 2030”. An analysis piece for Reuters says the wording of coal “phase down” agreed in Glasgow “lends India time to transition”. [There was no timeline associated with the coal language in the COP26 draft or final texts.] An article for the Conversation explains “why China and India aren’t the climate villains of COP26”. Energy Monitor runs a piece titled: “How India could reach net-zero by 2050.” Bloomberg reports that demand for coal will remain strong for at least two more decades, according to “a major Australian exporter” of the fuel, New Hope Corp. Another Bloomberg article reports: “South Africa’s energy department has said it will start preparing for the end of coal-for-power use in the country, but cautioned that a retreat from the dirtiest fossil fuel must take account of the impact on the economy and the people who depend on it for a living.”

A state of emergency has been declared in the Canadian province of British Colombia after a major storm stranded thousands of residents and left at least one dead, BBC News reports. It explains: “Thousands remain evacuated after an ‘atmospheric river’ – a long strip of moisture in the air that transports water from tropical areas towards the poles – dumped the region’s monthly rainfall average in 24 hours.” The broadcaster continues: “Officials in the region have attributed the natural disaster to the effects of climate change. The impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but we know that increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. As a result, they are likely to be more intense with more extreme rainfall.” Reuters reports: “The flooding is the second weather-related calamity to hit British Columbia in the past few months. A massive wildfire in the same region as some of the devastation destroyed an entire town in late June.”

An article in the Toronto Star is titled: “One bad storm might not be climate change. One bad year – like British Colombia’s in 2021? Climate experts saw that coming.” It reads: “First came the heat dome. Then the wildfires. Then torrential rains gave rise to floods and mudslides. In this year alone, British Colombia has found itself the punching bag of not one but three extreme weather events, undeniable proof, say some, that climate change is happening and that humans are paying the price for our lack of attention.” The Guardian asks: “How is the situation linked to the climate crisis?” It says: “As the climate warms scientists expect atmospheric rivers to form in more rapid succession, grow more intense, and become longer, wetter and wider. According to Environment Canada, there have been five atmospheric rivers already this season, which is highly unusual.” Axios reports: “The pace and severity of climate change are simply outrunning humans’ efforts to contain it. Severe flooding hit Canada and the Pacific Northwest before the ink was even dry on the climate agreements reached last week at the COP26 summit. And the extreme weather caused by climate change will continue to worsen, even if every one of those new commitments is met.” In other extreme weather coverage, the New York Times has a piece under the headline: “Hotter summer days mean more Sierra Nevada wildfires, study finds.”

Oil majors Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil are among the firms that have offered a combined $192m for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico, Associated Press reports. It calls it: “The first government lease auction under President Joe Biden la[ying] bare the hurdles he faces to reach climate goals dependent on deep cuts in fossil fuel emissions.” The newswire adds that the auction was held “after attorneys general from Republican states led by Louisiana successfully challenged a suspension on sales that Biden imposed when he took office”. AP adds: “The administration has proposed another round of oil and gas sales early next year in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and other states. Interior Department officials proceeded despite concluding that burning the fuels could lead to billions of dollars in potential future climate damages.” Bloomberg headlines its coverage with a line about “Biden – yes Biden” offering the oil leases. Its piece later notes: “Wednesday’s auction, which was originally expected in March, was put off after Biden ordered a pause in the sale of new oil and gas leases on federal land so the Interior Department could conduct a ‘comprehensive review’ of the activity. The department announced plans to hold the delayed sale only after a Louisiana-based federal district court ruled against the moratorium and in the face of a potential contempt of court citation.” The Guardian quotes one expert calling the auction “incredibly reckless” and one Democratic lawmaker saying: “This administration went to Scotland and told the world that America’s climate leadership is back, and now it’s about to hand over 80m acres of public waters in the Gulf of Mexico to fossil fuel companies.” It says, combined with another lease sale in Alaska, that the Gulf auction “would result in nearly 600m tonnes of planet-heating gases if fully developed over the next four decades”. Reuters says the Biden administration “tried to suspend federal lease sales to fight global warming before a court forced them to proceed”. It adds that Chevron was the highest spender in the auction, with $47m, adding: “One analyst said Exxon’s purchase of 94 shallow water blocks could be preparation for the company’s first carbon capture and storage project, a proposal that Exxon floated in April.” Another Bloomberg story calls the Exxon bid “an apparent step forward for a giant proposed carbon-capture project close to Houston’s industrial corridor”.

Nine members of the Insulate Britain protest group are to be jailed for between three and six months for breaching an injunction against their blocking London’s M25 orbital motorway, BBC News reports. It adds: “The group vowed to continue protesting.” The broadcaster quotes the judge in the High Court case saying: “The defendants, or some of them, seem to want to be martyrs for their cause and the media campaign surrounding this hearing appears designed to suggest this.” It adds: “UK transport secretary Grant Shapps said every motorway and major A-road in the country is now covered by injunctions.” Press Association explains that Insulate Britain started a wave of protests in September and has blocked the M25 and other roads around London, Birmingham, Manchester and the Port of Dover. It quotes a solicitor for the jailed protestors saying: “With these prison terms, the long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience is under attack again. Rather than leaving courts to imprison those that raise the alarm, it should be the government that acts to protect us against the climate crisis.” The i newspaper and the Daily Telegraph also have the story.

In an interview with Reuters, outgoing German chancellor Angela Merkel “defended her decision to phase out nuclear energy, even though it has made it harder for Germany to wean its economy off fossil fuels”, the newswire reports. It quotes Merkel saying: “It’s true, of course, that we now face the very ambitious and challenging task of completing the energy transition while phasing out coal and nuclear power…But it’s also true that this will be worth it for our country if we do it right.” The newswire cites figures showing renewables accounted for 45% of Germany’s electricity last year, up from 17% in 2010, with coal falling from 42% to 23% and nuclear halving to 11%. Reuters also says Merkel is opposed to the idea of the EU labelling nuclear power as “sustainable” as part of its sustainable finance “taxonomy”. EurActiv reports that Austria is “ready to sue” over nuclear being included in the taxonomy.

Utility firm SSE has announced a “multi-billion pound plan to boost investment across its renewable energy and electricity networks businesses”, the Guardian reports, in an effort to “rebuff[] calls to break itself up”. The paper says: “The FTSE 100 energy firm faces pressure from Elliott Management, an aggressive activist hedge fund, to split off its fast-growing renewable energy business…Instead, SSE will expand its investment plan for the next five years to £12.5bn, from its previous target of £7.5bn, across its business in the areas which will help the UK reach its net-zero climate targets.” Bloomberg reports that shares in the firm “plunged the most in more than a year” after the announcement, which will be “funded by a dividend cut and asset sales”. The Times also notes a 4% fall in SSE’s share price after announcing a 30% dividend cut and sale of 25% of its networks businesses to fund the extra £1bn per year of investment in “windfarms and flexible power generation”. BusinessGreen also has the story.

In a parting reflection on his time as BBC News science editor, David Shukman writes about how he has “seen climate change become our most pressing problem”. Shukman says: “Climate change has aroused passionate debate because it raises questions about our lifestyles and modern economies. And in the early days of my reporting, the picture was not as clear as now.” He continues by noting that nearly 20 years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was saying it was “likely” that human activity was driving up temperatures; now, he adds, it is “unequivocal”. Shukman adds: “At the same time, the implications of a more hostile climate were becoming clearer.” Noting how he has been to 10 UN climate summits, he concludes: “[A]long with feeling despair at the damage that extreme weather is causing to the most vulnerable people, I’m also inspired by a new level of engagement…Humans can be staggeringly short sighted, but also ingenious when faced with real trouble. At the very least, there’s always another conference.”

There is continued analysis of the COP26 climate summit including an article in Politico that begins: “The biggest goal of COP26 could have been boiled down to one move: Getting China to make a radical statement on climate.” It says the US, EU and others “spent a year putting diplomatic pressure” on China, but “largely failed”. However, it adds: “The long diplomatic slog saw Beijing shift its international coal financing policy, agree with the US to control methane emissions, concede some ground on the important of limiting climate change to 1.5C and, vitally, appear to agree to revisit its climate goals in the next 12 months.” Another Politico article asks if the US Republican party will “go along with the COP26 pact”. A Financial Times podcast asks: “What did the Glasgow meeting achieve and where do we go from here?” A piece for the Conversation by Swansea University’s Mary Gagen asks: “[W]here do all the words and numbers we heard at COP26 leave us?” Gagen concludes by saying that views on the outcome “are deeply polarised”. Meanwhile, Press Association reports that Prince Charles described COP26 as “amazing” and said it produced “quite a lot of success”. Separately, the Guardian looks at the Australian government’s climate claims in relation to the terms of the Glasgow pact.

“Pulling the plug on future exploration in fields such as Cambo means more petroleum products being shipped to our shores with a heftier carbon footprint and cost,” writes Fergus Mutch, former communications chief for the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the Times. He argues: “Real change has to tackle demand first, not supply.” Mutch concludes: “Letting down North Sea workers is an electoral risk for the SNP. But the bigger risk lies in failing to realise our renewables potential, damaging our economy and creating obstacles for ourselves on the road to net-zero.”

A new study finds that a 1C increase in temperature across Sierra Nevada causes a 19-22% increase in fire likelihood and a 22-25% increase in burned area risk. The authors use climate models to determine the sensitivity of wildfire occurrence and burned area in the Sierra Nevada range to changes in temperature, over 2001-20. The study projects that by the 2040s, fire number will increase by 51% and burned area by 59%. “These trends highlight the threat posed to fire management by hotter and drier summers”, the authors add.

A new study finds that the timing and location of humid heat extremes near the surface of the earth are well explained by “strong boundary-layer moisture fluxes, together with stability that inhibits moist convection”. The authors investigate factors that determine the location and strength of humid heat extremes, focussing on the four regions with the highest values – the southern Persian Gulf, north-central Pakistan, eastern South Asia and the western Amazon. They find that the humid heat extremes are achieved through different mechanisms in different regions, including “shallow sea breezes” in the Persian Gulf and “large-scale subsidence” in eastern South Asia.