The European Commission will set out plans today to “cut electricity taxes and coordinate the summer refill ‌of countries’ gas storage, as it seeks to cushion the energy fallout from the Iran war”, reports Reuters. According to draft proposals seen by the newswire, the EU will “avoid major market interventions such as capping gas prices or taxing energy companies’ windfall profits”, instead planning to “curb EU tax rules ​to favour electricity over oil and gas, and make it easier for governments ⁠to cut industries’ electricity taxes to zero”. According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is “proposing coordinating gas purchases among member states to avoid price surges”. However, Politico says the move “risks provoking a backlash from industry, which has long questioned the effectiveness of coordinated fuel buying”. Reuters says the EU will “caution its members not to shut nuclear plants early”. Politico also covers the energy plan.

Separately, Al Jazeera says: “The European Union is mulling jet fuel imports from the US and new minimum reserve quotas as it eyes options amid a supply crunch due to the Iran conflict.” Euractiv says the European Commission “is rejecting demands to clamp down on air travel”. Politico says that “if a jet fuel crisis led to shortages across the European Union, member countries could be asked to share fuel reserves”. The Wall Street Journal says the price of long-distance airline tickets in Europe has increased by more than $100 on average since the war began. The Financial Times says that German airline Lufthansa “has cancelled 20,000 flights between May and October to save fuel”. Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and Politico also cover the story.

MORE ON EU

• The Guardian covers a study which finds that climate change has extended the pollen season in Europe by “between one and two weeks since the 1990s”. The Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Independent also cover the study.
• Reuters: “Spain and Ireland are set to assess viability of undersea power link.”
• Bloomberg says: “Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said repairs have been completed on the Druzhba oil pipeline, allowing the resumption of Russian oil flows to Europe and paving the way for a much-needed €90bn ($106bn) loan.” 
• Bloomberg: “A plan by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party to scrap renewables and the energy regulator would be a disaster for France, the CEO of giant utility Engie said.”.
• Agence France-Presse says: “Chinese carmaker Chery said Tuesday it wants to manufacture a small electric vehicle in Europe for the European market.” 

There is ongoing coverage of a speech given by UK energy secretary Ed Miliband yesterday, which BusinessGreen says outlined how the government intends to “break the influence of gas on electricity prices”. According to the outlet, Miliband “confirmed plans to reform the legacy renewables obligation (RO) scheme”. It continues: “The move will see the electricity generator levy (EGL) windfall tax on legacy renewables and nuclear generators increased from 45% to 55%.” It adds that renewable generators that currently benefit from the RO scheme “will be offered the chance to move onto new fixed price contracts known as wholesale contracts for difference (WCfDs), which are modelled on the existing CfD regime and would provide generators with stable prices and allow them to avoid the increased windfall tax”. [See the Carbon Brief coverage of the plan for more detail.]

The New Statesman has published a “lightly edited” version of Miliband’s speech. The Press Association reports that “ministers are increasing the grants available under the ‘boiler upgrade scheme’ from £7,500 to £9,000 for properties that rely on heating oil and LPG” as part of the plans outlined by Miliband. The Daily Express, Euractiv and Daily Mail also cover the speech. The Guardian explains why UK electricity prices are linked to gas. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph says that chancellor Rachel Reeves “confirmed on Tuesday that offshore operators would be allowed to open new oil and gas fields near existing projects”.

Separately, the Financial Times reports that the government will give energy regulator Ofgem the power to “claw back bonuses or prevent [energy executives] being awarded if executives are found to have caused ‘significant harm” to consumers’”. According to the Press Association, the government says Ofgem is to be “transformed” and executives will be “‘incentivised to act in their customers’ best interests”. 

MORE ON UK

• The Bureau of Investigative Journalism finds that “UK public sector pension schemes are bankrolling rapid expansion of liquefied natural gas production in the US South”.
• Democracy for Sale reports that “oil and gas lobbyists have met ministers 96 times since July 2024 as industry pushes to overturn Labour’s North Sea drilling ban and scrap energy windfall tax”.
• The Daily Telegraph says: “Angela Rayner has praised her ‘friend’ Ed Miliband’s net-zero drive, raising speculation of a potential leadership pact.”
• The Guardian reports that “airlines are lobbying the UK government to relax environmental and noise rules” in anticipation of “higher costs and a possible shortage of jet fuel because of the war in the Middle East”. 
• The Guardian says: “A group of 500 Welsh farmers have brought a landmark legal claim to the high court over the alleged conduct of a green energy developer planning to build electricity pylon routes across their land.”
• The Independent reports that according to the Institute for Public Policy Research, the government should seize “excess” profits made by energy network companies to help households pay their energy bills.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from “enforcing a series of permitting policies that wind and solar ‌energy industry groups say have stymied the development of new energy generation projects”, reports Reuters. According to the newswire, the judge “issued a preliminary injunction, sought by nine advocacy groups and industry trade associations that argued the administration had imposed unlawful roadblocks that have halted the development of wind and solar energy projects nationwide”. It adds: “The ​judge said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in showing the US Department of Interior and other agencies adopted a ​series of unlawful policies that had led to renewable energy developers canceling or delaying numerous wind and ⁠solar projects nationwide.” The New York Times, says: “It is unclear whether the Trump administration will try to appeal the ruling.” CNBC and the Associated Press also cover the news.

MORE ON US:

• Inside Climate News says: “Five environmental groups are petitioning a federal appeals court to invalidate a water quality permit issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers for a controversial Transco pipeline.”
• Bloomberg reports that United Airlines “slashed its full-year profit forecast as higher fuel prices caused by war in the Middle East batter global carriers”. The Wall Street journal says the airline “plans to trim its capacity for the rest of the year”. 
• The Associated Press says the federal government is planning “another oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge”.
• Reuters reports on a new government initiative to “provide low-cost financing to increase the output of the existing nuclear fleet”.
• Bloomberg reports claims by energy secretary Chris Wright that “the surge in US gasoline prices from the Iran war appears to have crested”.
• Politico reports that Trump “is invoking wartime powers to boost fossil fuels as the war he started pushes up energy prices”. 

Chinese premier Li Qiang called for “optimising China’s energy structure” and implementing China’s “new strategy for energy security”, deepening energy system reforms to support the country’s low-carbon transition, according to industry news outlet BJX News. It says his remarks were made in a “study session” on the transition and building a new energy system. The outlet says Li added that China should “accelerate the construction of clean energy bases” and “vigorously develop distributed solar and decentralized wind power”. It also cites Li saying China should “promote the transformation of coal-fired power to serve both as a baseload power source and a system-regulating power source”. Meanwhile, Zheng Shanjie, head of China’s economic planning agency, met with several private enterprises to discuss China’s economic situation, including a new energy vehicle (NEV) company, reports energy news outlet International Energy Net.

MORE ON CHINA

• US interior secretary Doug Burgum said use of Chinese solar panels in the US is an “issue for national security”, reports Bloomberg.
• Xinhua interviews Sun Fujie, former vice president of oil and gas company CNOOC, in an ongoing series on “energy security”.
• The NEA received several complaints regarding new energy power generation, including “irregular” management of solar grid connections, according to BJX News.
• Erik Solheim, former UN under secretary-general, tells Global Times that China has become “the indispensable nation for green transition” worldwide.
• Chinese company CATL has “developed a battery capable of allowing an electric vehicle to drive 1,500km on a single charge”, according to a story in the Financial Times that is trailed on the frontpage.
• The Financial Times says that Chinese EV companies “are shifting focus to the country’s less affluent heartland in a bid to kill off internal combustion engines in the world’s biggest car market”. 

“Oil prices held near $100 a barrel on Wednesday after US president Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran just hours before it was due to expire,” reports the Independent. BBC News says that Trump “did not give a new deadline for the ceasefire extension”. Bloomberg reports that “some of the market’s top analysts” say that oil prices “don’t fully reflect” the scale of the supply disruption. The Financial Times says that the head of Vitol, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, has warned that the oil market lost a billion barrels due to the war.

Separately, calculations by Reuters indicate that the war and closure of the strait of Hormuz “caused the biggest oil supply disruption on record by daily output lost, though at least one earlier shock had a greater cumulative impact”. Agence France-Presse says: “ Painful surges in oil prices are spurring countries to quickly rethink how to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.” It cites Carbon Brief analysis of the response of 60 governments to the crisis.

MORE ON OIL

• The Financial Times reports that Friends of the Earth Netherlands has “initiated a fresh court case” against oil and gas company Shell, “aimed at halting drilling for new oil and gas”. The Independent also covers the story.
• CNN says: “Multiple oil spills are visible from space after Iranian and US-Israeli strikes hit oil facilities and ships in the region.”
• Reuters says: “Russia was forced to reduce ​oil output in April due to Ukrainian drone attacks on ports and refineries, as well as a halt to crude ‌supplies via the only remaining Russian oil pipeline to Europe, according to five sources and Reuters calculations.”
• Bloomberg says: “The Trump administration is weighing an extension of a maritime shipping waiver that has made it easier to move oil and gasoline between US ports.”
• Semafor reports that India and China are “running low on oil alternatives”. 
• Bloomberg says: “Texas oil pipelines are running above designed capacity in some cases amid rampant overseas demand for US crude to replace cargoes stranded by the Iran war.”

According to rating agency Moody’s, a “prolonged disruption in energy supply can widen India’s trade deficit and strain the fiscal account of the world’s fastest-growing major ​economy”, reports Reuters. It quotes the agency as saying that higher oil prices could increase the country’s “import bill, inflation, and impact ⁠corporate margins”, resulting in it “trimming its growth forecast” for India’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 6.8% to 6% for 2027. A comment in the Print notes that the energy “price shock” has been “contained somewhat by the government’s decision to take a hit on its own finances” by cutting duties on petrol and diesel, but that this “temporary measure” was “also influenced” by “several states in the country going into elections”. 

India’s road transport minister Nitin Gadkari is quoted by NDTV Profit as saying the country should aim “to achieve 100% ethanol blending” in petroleum “in the near future”, a move that “could reshape fuel use, vehicle technology and India’s [fossil fuel] import bill over time”. A comment in the Economic Times by Prof Rohit Chandra and Dr Ajay Mathur argues that as India “prepares to revive shuttered coal plants, import massive amounts of fertiliser, double down on piped gas connections, scale up ethanol-blending and accelerate renewable deployment” in the face of its “most severe energy disruptions in recorded history”, the country needs “broader thinking on how these processes will interact with each other”.

MORE ON INDIA

• India commissioned a “record” 6.8 gigawatts (GW) of wind capacity in 2025 and was “the largest wind market outside mainland China”, reports the Economic Times.
• India’s largest wind turbine maker Suzlon tells Bloomberg the country is “on course” to hit 100GW of wind capacity by 2030.
• India’s former lead climate negotiator Ravi Shankar Prasad tells Mongabay that India’s decision to withdraw its COP33 bid was influenced by “several geopolitical challenges”, including “climate finance, energy security and critical minerals”. 
• Indian Express covers a new study that finds that India’s forest carbon storage is projected to increase unevenly across “all major forest regions”, with the study’s lead author warning that “[e]ven where gains appear, they may mask deeper stresses”. 
• Deutsche Welle looks at how India celebrates its harvest festivals “against a backdrop of climate-related challenges that have damaged crops”.

The Guardian’s financial editor, Nils Pratley, writes that the government’s plans to “break the link” between gas and energy bills “will have a modest effect”. He argues that the government did not make predictions for the impact on bills because it is not yet clear and then adds that “the absence of forecasts is surely because the savings for consumers probably won’t be much to shout about” He continues: “The more important announcement in Tuesday’s long list may turn out to be the intention to accelerate the take-up of electric vehicles and heat pumps.” He concludes: “As for the North Sea, it was hard to tell what [energy secretary Ed] Miliband was trying to indicate…His real approach will only become clearer when he (eventually) makes a decision on whether to approve the Jackdaw gasfield and the Rosebank oilfield.”

MORE UK COMMENT

• An editorial in the Times says that Ed Miliband’s “spurious reasoning for ending North Sea drilling ignores the security and resilience of possessing energy sources”. 
• Lee Anderson, MP for the hard-right Reform UK party, claims in the Daily Express that the UK is “dangerously exposed to global shocks like the war in Iran” because “successive governments have failed to back British energy”.

Rachel Rose Jackson, a climate researcher and international policy expert, writes in Climate Home News about the “first of its kind” conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels, that will be held in Colombia next week. She says: “It’s a welcome change to see a platform for global climate action actually acknowledge the primary cause of the climate crisis – fossil fuels.” She compares this to annual COP summits, which she says “have consistently failed to curb fossil fuels decade after decade” and are “inundated with thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists”. She concludes: “We get to a fossil-fuel-free future by following the leadership of the movements, communities and independent experts who hold the knowledge and lived experience to guide us there.”

MORE COMMENT

• Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, the world economy editor at the Daily Telegraph, argues that “Donald Trump’s misadventure in the Gulf has not caused a global gas crisis and is unlikely to do so even if US-Iranian talks go nowhere”.
• New York Times opinion contributor Thomas Edsall says Trump has “undermined America’s ability to compete with China on clean energy”.
• Stephanie Walson, a researcher at the Oxford sustainable finance group, writes in the Financial Times that US ranchers “need to be thinking about a plan B” amid rising temperatures and water shortages. 
• Financial Times Nordic and Baltic bureau chief Richard Milne asks if Norway is a “war profiteer”. He notes that the country “is facing pressure from its neighbours to share increased energy earnings to support Ukraine”. 
• Sebastian Mang and Stanislas Jourdan from the New Economics Foundation write in Euractiv: “Europe needs EVs more than ever; France shows social leasing is the way forward.”
• Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas writes that BP’s annual meeting turned into a “rancorous assembly” due to the company’s rejection of a resolution from a Dutch campaigning group on climate issues.

This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Ayesha Tandon, with contributions from Aruna Chandrasekhar, Henry Zhang and Anika Patel. It was edited by Simon Evans.

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