The European Union is “mulling a new strategy in its diplomatic efforts on climate change after a bruising UN summit last year where it struggled to rally support for faster, more ambitious action to cut planet-heating emissions”, according to an internal EU document seen by Reuters. The newswire adds: “The 27-country EU is now assessing how to strengthen its strategy for future negotiations by using its trade, finance and development leverage in climate talks, the document showed. EU climate ministers will discuss the ideas at a meeting in Cyprus on Friday. ‘The EU encountered increasing difficulty in lining up international support for translating its high level of ambition into concrete negotiation outcomes,’ the document said, referring to the EU’s attempts to secure a stronger deal on cutting emissions. It said changing geopolitical dynamics had contributed to ‘a feeling that (the EU) was largely isolated in the final phases of negotiations’ at COP30.” [See Carbon Brief’s detailed summary of the key outcomes from COP30.]

BusinessGreen covers new analysis by Carbon Tracker which finds that “governments and businesses are continuing to ignore systemic climate risks that could crash [the] global economy”. According to the outlet, the report “warns many economic models are failing to capture the extreme events, compounding shocks and systemic risks that are likely to result as temperatures approach 2C above pre-industrial level”. It continues: “The report argues mainstream economic models that suggest climate change is likely to knock just a handful of percentage points off projected GDP growth fail to capture so-called cascading risks, whereby climate impacts trigger a series of intensifying economic consequences. For example, a severe drought may trigger food shortages and price inflation, which could, in turn, result in migration, supply chain disruption, debt defaults, conflict and, ultimately, even economic collapse.” The Guardian explains that “models assume the future will behave like the past, despite the burning of fossil fuels pushing the climate system into uncharted territory”. The Independent adds: “The report also warns that commonly used measures like gross domestic product can mask the true cost of climate damage. GDP can rise after disasters because of reconstruction spending, even as deaths, ill health, inequality, ecosystem loss and social disruption increase. This can leave policymakers and investors with a false sense of resilience.”

The Guardian covers a new report by the Center for American Progress (CAP), which finds that “Donald Trump’s aggressive rollback of environmental protections directly contradicts the promises of his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA) campaign”. According to the newspaper, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s actions, including dismantling environmental regulations and weakening clean air regulations, will “make children more vulnerable to many of the same chronic diseases the MAHA agenda says it wants to eradicate, including cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, autism and attention deficit disorder”. Bloomberg covers a separate analysis which finds that the EPA’s “enforcement of polluters slumped in the first year of the second Trump administration”.

MORE ON NORTH AMERICA

• Greenland, which is currently at the centre of geopolitical tension as a result of Trump’s desire for the US to “own” it, experienced its warmest January on record this year, according to Reuters. 
• The Associated Press covers a new study finding that particle pollution from wildfire smoke contributes to 24,100 deaths per year in the US. The article quotes an author of the study who links increasing wildfire frequency and intensity to climate change.
• The Economist outlines how the “Trump administration is eroding vital climate data”. 
• The Independent covers the results of a survey finding that 49% of homeowners in the US are “considering moving in 2026 due to climate events”.
• Axios: “Majority of Trump voters back solar power, poll finds.”
• The New York Times reports that “a Trump ‘blockade’ is stalling hundreds of wind and solar projects nationwide”. 
• Bloomberg reports that “Canadian prime minister Mark Carney is set to announce a new system of fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, replacing an electric vehicle mandate that was hated by the auto industry”. Reuters adds that “Ottawa is also expected to bring back popular incentives for consumers purchasing electric vehicles”. 

In response to news of a potential EU-US partnership on critical minerals, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has said that “all parties” should resume dialogue to “maintain the stability of global supply chains for critical minerals”, reports Reuters. Bloomberg says that the EU is ready to “sign a memorandum of understanding” with the US on developing a “strategic partnership roadmap” on sourcing critical minerals and cutting reliance on “abundant, cheap Chinese minerals”. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has accused Beijing of “weaponising” its dominance in critical minerals, reports the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Lutnick also said that the US could “use pricing, tariffs and industrial policy” to shrink China’s hold on critical minerals. The Financial Times says that 33 projects developed in response to China’s rare-earth “dominance” are “on track” to begin production this decade, according to data compiled by advisory firm Adamas Intelligence.

MORE ON CHINA

• Xinhua says China’s coal consumption will peak around 2027, but that use in the chemicals and power sector will “continue” to grow, while oil consumption is expected to peak “around 2026”. 
• The Guardian covers new analysis for Carbon Brief, which finds that “China’s clean energy industries drove more than 90% of the country’s investment growth last year, making the sectors bigger than all but seven of the world’s economies”.
• China has said the EU’s probe into Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind sends a “protectionist signal” and undermines “investment confidence”, says Reuters.
• The Moscow Times reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed the two countries’ “strategic” energy in a video call with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
• Xinhua says that China’s “No 1 document” for 2026, which traditionally focuses on agriculture and rural affairs, calls for promoting “low-carbon” agriculture.
• China Daily reports that China’s space industry is “driving rapid growth” in the space solar sector. Elon Musk has sent a team to China’s leading solar firms, says Reuters.
• Bloomberg reports that “China’s solar industry is expecting a massive drop-off in installations in 2026 due to a policy shift instituted last year that has threatened to slash revenue from renewable generation.”

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering staging future Winter Olympic Games as early as January”, according to the Independent. The outlet continues: “With temperatures rising across the globe, natural snow is becoming less plentiful in some regions and water availability for snowmaking is falling as a result of climate change, putting the global snow sport industry at risk. By 2040 only 10 nations will be able to host the snow sports of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to an IOC study.” ABC News reports that the 2026 Winter Olympics are about to kick off in Milano Ocarina, where average temperatures have risen by 6.4F (3.6C) since the region first hosted the games in 1956. It says: “As a result, event organisers were required to ship in 3m cubic yards of artificial snow, despite the games taking place in the high altitudes of the Italian Alps.” Climate Home News outlines how the Winter Olympics are “cutting emissions and adapting to climate change”. 

Writing for the Climate Cafe substack, climate journalist Bud Ward and climate scientists Henry Jacoby, Gary Yohe, Richard Richels and Kristie Ebi “review some climate and climate-related developments deserving a careful watch in 2026” in the US. They say: “Given the scope and depth of the upheaval of US environmental, economic and international policy in 2025 and the first few weeks of 2026, it is reasonable to expect more of the same this year.” Their list includes issues with university and federal agency climate science research – including administration plans to shut down the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, as well as “continued funding and programmatic anxieties and uncertainties” in academic and federal agencies. They also discuss changes in regulations – for example, asking whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding could be watered down or reversed. Their other categories are “news media face continuing challenges, uncertainties”, “renewable energy sources vs fossil fuels” and “administration rulings face judicial challenges”. 

MORE COMMENT

• DeSmog has published an interview with science journalist Adam Becker on “how Silicon Valley tech billionaires have invented new forms of greenwashing and climate denial in their quest for ever-more fantastic technology”. 
• Mohamed Shaheen, a Loughborough University lecturer, writes in the Conversation argues “city skylines need an upgrade in the face of climate stress”.
• Climate-sceptic commentator Bjorn Lomborg writes in the Washington Post that the US should remain part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and “wield outsize leverage as the IPCC’s largest funder”. He says: “The White House could make sure the IPCC does not waver from its previous, invaluable methodological rigor, ensuring that Working Group I stays evidence-based while pruning alarmist excesses elsewhere.” [Yesterday, the Washington Post reportedly “sent layoff notices to at least 14 climate journalists”, according to the Climate Colored Googled substack.]
• Todd Abrajano – the US Nuclear Industry Council president and CEO – writes in the Hill that “the resurgence of nuclear energy points to an industry poised for long-term growth”. 
• Dominic Pino, editorial writer for the Washington Post comment section, outlines why California’s gas prices are high. He lists California’s “fuel mandate” and lack of oil drilling. 
• Wall Street Journal columnist Barton Swaim asks: “Is AI the next climate change?”

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

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