The record-breaking June heatwave in Europe resulted in more than 10,000 “excess deaths”, reports Reuters, citing “official data” for 27 countries. It continues: “Scientists have said the late-June heatwave would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without human-caused climate change, ​which is making heatwaves more frequent and intense.” The Financial Times reports on a separate study, finding that heatwaves in May and June have been linked to 2,700 deaths in England and Wales. It quotes a statement on the findings from energy and net-zero secretary Ed Miliband: “These record-breaking heatwaves show once again that the climate crisis isn’t a future threat. The impacts are here with us today with extreme heat having an impact on our nation’s health, economy and public services.” BBC News and the Independent also have the story. The Guardian puts it on its frontpage.

MORE ON EUROPE EXTREMES

• France24 reports on a “virulent” wildfire in Fontainebleau near Paris being tackled by water-bombing planes. BBC News says the fire is of “exceptional scale”.
• There is ongoing coverage from BBC News, Agence France-Presse and the New York Times of a Spanish wildfire that killed 12 people at the end of last week. The story is on the frontpage of the Financial Times and the frontpage of the Guardian.
• The Guardian looks at what caused the deadly fire in Spain. The Associated Press says European wildfires have “killed hundreds over the last decade”.
• The Press Association says Stratford station in London was closed by a nearby fire, while BBC News reports on fires in Berkshire, Devon and Sussex. The Daily Mirror reports on “exceptional” wildfire risks, as well as a blaze in Derbyshire.
• BBC News says a “large-scale wildfire in north Wales has been declared a major incident” as “firefighters tackle wildfires across [the] UK”.
• Organisers shortened Sunday’s stage of the Tour de France by 30km because of an “exceptionally intense heatwave”, says Reuters. [Recent research, covered by Carbon Brief, has warned that riders at the event are at high risk of extreme heat.] 

At least 44 people have been killed by floods in Bangladesh, reports Reuters. It says floods and landslides have been “triggered by days of ​torrential monsoon rain”, leaving more than a million people “stranded”. The newswire adds: “Scientists say climate change is making extreme rainfall more frequent ​and intense, increasing the scale and severity of such disasters.” Bangladeshi outlet the Daily Star reports that many districts of the country remain at “risk of fresh flood[ing]”.

MORE ON EXTREME EVENTS

• Some 15 people have been killed by landslides in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Bavi, the “biggest…in decades”, says Le Monde.
• The typhoon made landfall in China on Saturday, says Reuters. More than 2.8 million people had been evacuated in the country, says another Reuters article.
• A person has died after flash floods in Missouri, reports the Associated Press. The state governor declared a state of emergency, says Reuters.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecast the first annual decline in global oil demand since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, reports CNBC. Citing the latest IEA oil market report, it says the decline is expected after the “Iran war wreaked havoc with production and exports in the Middle East”. The outlet adds: “The IEA’s forecast rests on the assumption of a ceasefire and the gradual reopening of Hormuz, an outcome that looks increasingly uncertain as the US and Iran traded hostilities this week.” The Associated Press says the expected drop is due to “higher oil prices and disruptions to physical supply”. Reuters says the expected decline in 2026 would be followed by a “rebound” in 2027, according to the IEA. The Wall Street Journal says the latest hostilities “cloud” the outlook. The Financial Times focuses on warnings of a “petrol and diesel supply crunch”.

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has issued the 2026-28 plan for energy conservation and carbon reduction in the energy sector, aiming to increase the share of non-fossil energy consumption by one percentage point annually on average by 2028, reports energy news outlet International Energy Net. The plan also calls for “vigorously” promoting carbon reduction in thermal power generation, including phasing out a batch of coal-fired power units with a capacity of 300MW or below and adopting zero-carbon fuel blending and carrying out carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) retrofits, adds the outlet. The plan also encourages the clean transformation of transport energy use, carbon reduction in buildings and rural areas, and the coordinated development of “green electricity” and emerging industries, it continues. The plan also calls for “exploring digital and intelligent solutions for energy conservation and carbon reduction”, according to financial newspaper Securities Times.

Meanwhile, China Electric Power News (CEPN) publishes explanations from nine experts on China’s new carbon peaking action plan. Experts from Tsinghua University said that the plan lays out the “blueprint” for carbon peaking across three areas: optimising the energy mix by setting targets for expanding clean energy and its consumption capacity; promoting the “green and low-carbon upgrading of industry”; and providing strong institutional support by enhancing the carbon accounting system. Two of the “expert explanations” were published in full by IdeaCarbon and CPNN. China’s top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said that the plan came as global protectionism rises and domestic green transition continues to face significant challenges, according to CEPN. A commentary in state-run newspaper Economic Daily under the byline Jin Guanping – used to signal the party leadership’s views on economic matters – says carbon peaking is a “catalyst” for growth, not a constraint. Analysis of the plan was also published by the South China Morning Post, Caixin, China Daily, International Energy Net, CCTV, China Youth Daily and the Beijing News.

MORE ON CHINA

• China is expecting a “strong to super El Nino event” this year, with possibly more intense heatwaves and flooding extending into next year, reports China Daily.
• The NDRC has issued a notice on the regulation of provincial and regional grid transmission and distribution tariffs, reports BJX News.
• The South China Morning Post publishes an opinion article by Hong Kong businessman Bernard Chan under the headline: “Trump’s climate jibes at China and EU just make him look out of date.”

The Financial Times reports the comments of Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency: “Europe has made a ‘major mistake’ by failing to wean its economy off imported fossil fuels quickly enough since the 2022 energy crunch.” The newspaper says: “In a joint interview with Europe’s energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen, both leaders said that Europe needed to electrify its economy faster after facing two energy crises in less than five years.” It explains that the interview comes ahead of the launch on Friday of a new EU electrification target for 2040 EU.

MORE ON EUROPE

• E&E News: “Italy leads push to weaken green rules in €2tn EU budget.”
• E&E News: “Don’t gut flagship green rules, Sweden tells EU.”

Ahead of the expected appointment of Andy Burnham as Labour leader and UK prime minister later this week, London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for him to make energy secretary Ed Miliband chancellor, reports the Financial Times. The newspaper says: “Miliband, a Treasury veteran, is facing a backlash from some union leaders and many Labour MPs – particularly in Scotland – who argue that his net-zero agenda is hitting North Sea production and harming Britain’s industrial base.” It adds: “Senior Labour figures say that allies of Miliband have been calling influential figures in the party to reassure them that the energy secretary is not as hostile towards North Sea exploration as his image suggests.” Meanwhile, the Guardian looks at Burnham’s “bulging in-tray of challenges”, including on North Sea oil and gas and the ongoing Hormuz crisis. Another Guardian article says: “Labour MPs call for Andy Burnham to restore aid spending target set by Brown.”

The Times looks “behind the scenes” at who might be part of Burnham’s government. It says: “Even Ed Miliband, one of his closest political allies who is expected to become the next chancellor, does not yet know his fate. ‘Ed still hasn’t got the nod,’ said [a] senior Labour figure.” It adds that Miatta Fahnbulleh – Labour MP and former housing, communities and local government minister – is “understood to have pulled together ideas from MPs into a package for Burnham. A close ally of Miliband, she is seen as being on the soft-left of the party and keen to keep the energy secretary’s net-zero drive intact and push for him to be made chancellor.” The Daily Telegraph says that Burnham is “considering a plan to cut energy bills for millions of households” via a “rising block tariff”. Another Daily Telegraph article [not labelled as comment] runs under the headline: “How do you solve a problem like chancellor Miliband?” 

MORE ON UK

• The Daily Telegraph: “Tory centrists defy Badenoch’s red lines on net-zero and ECHR.”
• Bloomberg: “UK grid operator probes allegation about power supply insecurity.” The Times has the story and Times contributor Dominic O’Connell comments on it.
• The Sunday Times: “SNP’s ScotWind bonanza threatened by Westminster energy plan.”
• The Guardian: “Green MP Hannah Spencer to introduce bill on maximum workplace temperatures.”
• The Guardian looks back at how pupils “struggle[d] in 40C-plus classrooms” during recent heat.
• The Guardian: “MPs call on UK government to host televised emergency briefing on climate crisis.”

CNN reports that the Trump administration has “reversed decades of longstanding environmental law protecting endangered species…opening up sensitive habitats of those protected species to drilling, mining, farming and real estate development”. The outlet adds: “Environmental groups decried the move and said they planned to challenge the change in court imminently.” Reuters says the change “limits the reach of the 50-year-old Endangered Species Act” and adds: “The act is a key regulatory consideration for government ⁠agencies when granting permits for oil and gas, mining, electric transmission and ​other operations on federal lands and water.” The Washington Post says: “Trump rule says habitat destruction does not harm endangered species.” The New York Times, Guardian and Los Angeles Times all have the story.

MORE ON US

• There is ongoing coverage in the Guardian: “Trump taps climate sceptic to run US government’s flagship climate report.” The story is also in the Washington Post and the New York Times.
• The Associated Press: “Rapidly growing wildfire in Los Angeles County prompts evacuations in remote high desert.”
• The Washington Post: “Trump says a nuclear renaissance is coming. The deals aren’t.”
• The Associated Press: “As gas plants rise to power AI, renewable energy allies are fighting for cleaner alternatives.”
• The Guardian: “Trump spends billions to kill clean energy and keep coal alive.” Inside Climate News says an advocacy group is challenging a Trump administration order to keep a Florida coal plant open.
• The Independent says “Trump’s views have forced UN agencies to change how they address the climate crisis”.

For Euractiv, Ursula Woodburn, head of Corporate Leaders Group Europe, argues in favour of a stronger, rather than a weaker EU emissions trading system (EUETS). Woodburn writes that the scheme, subject of a review due to be published on 17 July, is “under fire”. She says: “Austria, Italy and Poland are putting the [European] Commission under enormous pressure to halt or at least severely weaken the carbon market.” In the face of this pressure, says Woodburn: “The EU needs to double down on reforms to unlock massive investments in a new low-carbon industrial base.” She concludes: “EU leaders shouldn’t use the ETS as a scapegoat, but convert it into the investment tool we need. That is the only way Europe can be competitive while protecting its citizens from ever more dangerous global warming.”

MORE COMMENT

• A Financial Times “big read” looks at how “tropical nights” have “come to Europe”.
• Bloomberg: “Families in Europe’s scorched cities are being tested by heat.”
• The New York Times Ezra Klein Show interviews veteran environment campaigner Bill McKibben.
• The Guardian: “We know how to mourn other humans – but what about ecological grief?”

In the Guardian, Jonathan Watts looks at “common misconceptions and deceptions” about heatwaves, as “some [are] still unable to accept humanity’s role in climate chaos”. It tackles questions such as whether this year’s heatwaves are “caused by natural weather cycles”, noting that while there have always been such cycles, “now the consequences are worse because of our warmer world”. It also looks at claims such as “CO2 is basically plant food” and “isn’t it too late to do anything about the climate?” [See Carbon Brief’s “Eight facts about air conditioning amid an overheated global debate.”]

MORE UK COMMENT

• Kemi Badenoch, self-styled “net-zero sceptic” and leader of the UK opposition Conservatives, claims in the Mail on Sunday that the non-binding advisory climate-change opinion of the International Court of Justice “will…bankrupt” the UK.
• A letter to the Guardian by Prof Myles Allen and others responds to a recent column: “George Monbiot suggests that we can solve climate change without carbon capture and storage. Physics says otherwise.”
• In the Independent, journalist Harry Cockburn writes that “green issues are a proven vote winner” and that incoming PM Andy Burnham “needs to lean into the reality that our shared economic future depends on living within our planetary means”.
• A Sun on Sunday comment by Richard Walker, the government’s “cost of living champion”, says he wants the 2030 clean power target to be delayed despite being “an environmentalist” who “support[s] the need to meet our climate commitments”.
• A Sun on Sunday editorial supports Walker and criticises Miliband. A comment in the Daily Express by personal finance editor Harvey Jones calls Miliband “deluded”.
• The Daily Telegraph gives space to climate-sceptic “energy consultant” Kathryn Porter to make a series of false claims about air conditioning.

An editorial in the Washington Post says the impact of Trump administration rollbacks on clean energy is “not as significant as some of the sky-is-falling rhetoric would lead you to believe”. It cites a new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, which it says finds: “More than half of the projected emissions reductions expected from Biden’s green policies will probably happen anyway.” The newspaper adds: “This reflects the strong market demand for clean energy sources. Solar, in particular, has become increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels.” The editorial concludes by arguing for permitting reform, which it says would have delayed “many clean-energy projects” from moving forward “even under Biden’s policies”.

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

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