Shell and other leading energy groups have “abandoned” a six-year-long attempt to define a net-zero emissions strategy “after being told that such a standard would require them to stop developing new oil and gas fields”, according to documents seen by the Financial Times. The newspaper adds that Shell, Norway’s Aker BP and Canada’s Enbridge have all left the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – the global corporate climate standard-setting body – “since late last year”. It continues: “This followed the circulation of draft standards seen by the FT stipulating that companies should not develop ‘new oil and gas fields’ once they had submitted a climate plan to the SBTi, or the end of 2027, whichever was sooner. It also said that production of oil and gas should fall significantly. The body has now ‘paused’ work on the oil and gas standard citing ‘capacity considerations’, but denied this was linked to the oil and gas industry departures, saying there was ‘no basis in reality for these claims’.” The newspaper adds: “The SBTi has also weakened separate guidance to financial institutions due this week about ending financing arrangements or insurance for companies engaged in new oil and gas production. The deadline for this had been pushed back to 2030, people familiar with the matter told the FT.” Reuters also covers the story, calling the SBTi a “leading assessor of company climate goals”. 

MORE ON OIL AND GAS

• The Guardian reports that oil and gas company BP has appointed a new chair “amid a broader strategic shift…as it cuts back on green spending and returns its focus to oil and gas, after a botched attempt to reinvent itself as a net-zero energy company”. The Financial Times, the Press Association, Bloomberg and Reuters all have the story.
• Euronews reports that one of Europe’s “largest” and “most significant” oil fields in a decade has been located off the central European country’s Baltic Sea coast. 

The UK government has given the “final go-ahead” for the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk, Sky News reports. The outlet says that, according to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), the £38bn plant will “clean power for the equivalent of six million homes, as well as support 10,000 jobs and create 1,500 apprenticeships once it is operational, which is expected to be in the 2030s”. It continues: “The government will be the largest shareholder in the project with a 44.9% stake. La Caisse will hold a 20% stake, Centrica 15% and Amber Infrastructure will take an initial 7.6%.” BusinessGreen says the decision comes after “years of negotiations”. The Financial Times says Sizewell “should boost low carbon power supplies in the 2030s, but will add immediately to consumer bills”. The Guardian notes that the project “has almost doubled in cost from when it was first proposed”. The Daily Telegraph covers the story under the headline: “Ed Miliband admits Sizewell C cost has almost doubled to £38bn.” The Wall Street Journal notes that no new nuclear power plants have opened in the UK since 1995. BBC News and the Daily Express also cover the story. 

MORE ON UK

• The Guardian reports that energy secretary “Ed Miliband has been urged by more than 100 Labour MPs to explore radically overhauling UK energy bills to cut costs for those who use the least power”. 
• The Daily Telegraph reports that Miliband has accused hard-right, climate-sceptic Reform UK of “hypocrisy” over green energy funding, after it accepted grants for solar panels.
• The Daily Telegraph reports that Sir James Cleverly is expected to return to the Conservative front bench in a shadow cabinet reshuffle. Cleverly “appeared to take a different position on net-zero from his party leader in a recent speech”, the newspaper says, urging the Conservatives to reject climate change “luddites”.

At least three people have died as Tropical Storm Wipha made landfall in northern Vietnam this morning, the Associated Press reports. The newswire says: “Wipha was classified as a typhoon on Monday while over open water, but weakened overnight and was downgraded to a tropical storm before reaching land.” It continues: “Nearly 150,000 hectares of aquaculture farms and more than 20,000 floating fish cages are at risk from flooding and strong winds, according to state media…Most government offices and schools in the capital and 10 provinces were shut Tuesday due to widespread flooding from heavy monsoon rains and droops evacuated residents from villages swamped by knee- to waist-deep water while the coast guard deployed buses and boats to assist stranded commuters.” The newswire links “stronger and wetter” storms to climate change. Bloomberg reports that the defense ministry put more than 346,000 soldiers on standby to respond to emergencies. Al Jazeera reports that before hitting Vietnam, Wipha brought rainfall and flooding to the Philippines, which “left five people dead and displaced thousands”. The Independent reports that Wipha made landfall in China’s southern Guangdong province on Sunday evening.

MORE ON EXTREME WEATHER

• There is ongoing coverage of flooding in South Korea. Reuters reports that at least 18 people have died “following days of torrential rain that triggered floods and landslides”.
• The Guardian reports that Iran is experiencing its hottest week of the year, with temperatures exceeding 50C in some areas. The Al Jazeera reports that Iranian authorities have asked people to limit water consumption, while the Associated Press says Iranian government offices, banks and businesses in the capital province of Tehran will shut down tomorrow to conserve energy.
• The Associated Press reports that “flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept away several vehicles carrying tourists in northern Pakistan, killing at least three people and leaving 15 others missing”. The outlet says that “experts say climate change is driving an increase in extreme weather events in the region”.

Chinese regulators have approved the country’s first “inter-provincial direct green electricity transmission project”, industry news outlet BJX News reports. The project will allow three gigawatts (GW) of “new energy” to be transmitted directly from the northern province of Inner Mongolia to two aluminium companies in the neighbouring province of Ningxia, it adds. China’s electricity consumption in June increased 5.4% year-on-year to 867 terawatt-hours (TWh), state news agency Xinhua reports, adding that the country’s total electricity use from January to June this year has climbed 3.7% year-on-year. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) says it will soon issue action plans for the “green transformation and upgrading of industries” such as cars, power equipment, aviation and shipbuilding, International Energy Net reports. MIIT spokesperson Tao Qing says using “low-carbon and clean hydrogen energy” in traditional industries will be “important” for industrial development, it adds.

MORE ON CHINA

• China has “forged ahead” with renewable energy, while the US “cripples green energy endeavours”, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) says.
• The SCMP also reports the Chinese government “repeatedly” raised “irrational competition” with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers. Bloomberg quotes finance vice-minister Liao Min saying “China’s trade…is within reasonable bounds”.
• Over the past three months, China’s exports of antimony and germanium, which are used in solar cells, have dropped 88% and 95%, respectively, according to Reuters.
• The Fiji Times reports that China has gifted “$100,000 worth of solar street lights” and “household solar facilities” to Fiji.
• There is continuing coverage of the news that China is starting construction on the world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibet. The story is covered by BBC News, the Times, Guardian, Semafor and Arab News.

Maria Cantwell, a Democratic senator from Washington, is “calling on President Donald Trump to reverse course on his proposal to slash the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making a case for America to be a world leader in the weather forecasting space instead”, CNN reports. In a letter sent to Trump on Monday, Cantwell “spells out five recommendations to improve America’s weather forecasting infrastructure, such as collecting far more observations and modernising alert systems”, according to the outlet. It adds: “A noteworthy omission from the letter is any reference to climate change and the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events. The administration has taken a host of actions to rollback climate regulations and stifle climate science research at multiple agencies.”

MORE ON US

• E&E News reports that “the Trump administration is exploring the idea of selling or leasing NASA satellites – including probes already in space”. According to the outlet, “there’s little precedent for the US government” to do this.
• Inside Climate News reports that the US Environmental Protection Agency has “extended the administrative leave of 160 employees as part of its investigation into workers who used their official titles and positions last month in signing a petition objecting to the agency’s policies”. 
• The Los Angeles Times writes about the California-based cloud-seeding company “Rainmaker”, which “became the center of a Texas flood conspiracy”. 
• The Hill covers modelling which finds that Trump’s megabill will raise US emissions by 8%.
• Vox: “Inside the federal government’s purge of climate data.” 
• The Independent reports on a wildfire burning in Oregon which “looks set to become a ‘megafire’ after covering nearly 100,000 acres”. 

The new head of the UK national flood reinsurer tells the Financial Times that “global investors have a dwindling appetite to absorb the rising cost of UK floods”. According to the newspaper, Perry Thomas said that Flood Re – a scheme launched by the government and the insurance industry that charges a levy on the cost of all home insurance to cut the cost of insurance for properties at the highest risk of flooding – is “not on track to meet its 2039 deadline without further raising premiums”. It continues: “UK insurers are grappling with the cost of bigger payouts driven by climate change, rising reinsurance costs and higher asset prices, Thomas said. Flood Re’s own reinsurance costs had surged by about £100m in the past three years, he added…Thomas said the UK’s flood resilience had deteriorated since Flood Re was set up, as mortgage lenders, housebuilders and successive governments had failed to pull their weight. As a result, the scheme was not on track to wind down by its statutory deadline of 2039 without ‘quite a lot of price increases’.”

MORE ON UK

• BBC News covers a new report which finds that “water bills have to rise steeply to make up for years of underinvestment”. Sir Jon Cunliffe – a former Bank of England deputy governor who led the report – tells the outlet that “climate change, ageing infrastructure, population growth, development” all put “pressure on the system”. 
• BusinessGreen reports that the UK government has awarded £63m to the UK’s sustainable aviation fuel industry. Sky News also covers the story. 
• Reuters covers a survey of 1,000 “executives”, which shows that “British business leaders are putting a brake on their plans to combat climate change and do not believe the government’s approach to net-zero is compatible with growth”. 

Writing in the Hill, William Becker, former Department for Energy regional director, says that the consequences of climate change are “undeniably real and growing worse”, yet “we still rely on fossil fuels to meet 86% of the world’s energy needs”. He cites surveys showing that most Americans believe climate change is real and want climate action, but says that “we tolerate a national government whose climate and energy policies are diametrically opposed to what most Americans say they want”. He continues: “Climate denial persists…Denial can be explicit or implicit. Explicit denial rejects science and the need to shift our energy paradigm. It is irrational…Implicit denial accepts the science but fails to act. It is becoming more common as the weather worsens, but the majority don’t mobilise against fossil fuels.” However, Becker says there are “hopeful signs”, citing examples such as adaptation projects in Florida and the insurance industry “innovating to keep its premiums affordable and losses lower”.

MORE COMMENT

• Bloomberg opinion editor and columnist Mark Gongloff writes that “the Trump administration’s decision to stop sharing military satellite information with meteorologists will accelerate the nation’s growing home-insurance crisis”.
• The Guardian’s Australia’s climate and environment editor, Adam Morton, writes about the recent court ruling, which found that “the federal government did not have a legal responsibility to protect the Torres Strait Islands from a climate crisis that is already being experienced”. Morton called the result “devastating” and argues that every MP should read the judgement.
• Forbes senior contributor Ken Silverstein says: “The market has chosen renewables. Now we must build infrastructure.” 
• Andrew Orlowski, the technology editor at the Daily Telegraph, writes that “hydrogen power is the terrible idea that refuses to die”. 
• Deputy opinion editor at the Washington Post, David Von Drehle, writes: “Europe, China and the US are making great strides on carbon emissions. But we need more innovation.”

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

Subscribe for free.