Europe’s “unprecedented early summer heatwave” has been linked to “more than 1,300 excess deaths”, reports BBC News, picking up comments from the head of the World Health Organization. The broadcaster adds: “On Sunday morning, France’s national health ministry said there had been around 1,000 more deaths than expected in the country since Wednesday.” It says that temperature records were “broken across the continent again on Sunday – including in Germany, Poland and Czechia – as the extreme heat continued to move east”. The Guardian says Germany, Czechia, Poland and Hungary have all seen record temperatures above 40C. Deutsche Welle reports on the German heat record being broken for the third day in a row, hitting 41.7C. The Associated Press also reports on France’s “1,000 excess deaths”.

Reuters reports: “Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on 20 June, was the worst recorded in Europe, and the blistering conditions have disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems.” Le Monde says the heatwave is “in line with that of 2003, which was much more intense than that of 1976”. CNBC says “red-alert heatwaves are becoming Europe’s new normal”. The New York Times says Europe’s “trains, nuclear plants and factories can’t take the heat either”. Agence France-Presse says Swiss glaciers are “facing drastic loss from the heatwave”. The Guardian reports that a “fourth toddler dies in France” amid the heat.

The Financial Times asks what the heatwave will cost, saying: “A growing body of research points to economic damage from extreme heat.” Politico reports on attempts by US energy secretary Chris Wright to downplay the impact of Europe’s deadly heatwave, saying: “More people die in the winter.” It says the comments were made at a conference attended by Nigel Farage, leader of the UK’s hard-right Reform UK. It adds: “Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, the owner of Politico, also spoke at the conference.” DeSmog also covers the “far-right” event.

MORE ON CONTINENTAL EUROPE HEATWAVE

• Financial Times: “Parisians seek refuge from heatwave in air-conditioned hotels.”
• The Times: “Sweltering French say it’s better to be cool than green.”
• The Economist: “Berlin is even worse equipped than Paris for Europe’s heatwave.”
• E&E News: “France’s record heatwave burns Le Pen’s National Rally.”
• The New York Times: “As Europe sweats, some politicians talk of air-conditioning, not climate action.”
• Politico: “Why Europe’s heatwaves are still so deadly.”

The UK saw its hottest June day on record for the third day in a row on Friday, reports BBC News. It says the heatwave “resulted in travel disruption, hundreds of schools closing and six NHS trusts declaring critical incidents after being overwhelmed with patients”. It adds: “While it is hard to link climate change to individual extreme weather events, scientists say climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and intense.” [A rapid attribution study found last week’s heat would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change.]

The Guardian says the third day in a row of broken records had triggered “increasingly urgent calls for action to protect people against the intensifying effects of the climate crisis”. A frontpage story in the Independent says the heatwave “must be [a] ‘wake-up call’ for Britain to prepare for Mediterranean climate, experts warn”. The Observer looks at how Europe is “heating up at nearly twice the global average”. The Guardian asks: “[A]fter decades of climate warnings, why is Europe so unprepared for rising heat?” The Times says the heatwave saw “refrigerated warehouses…pushed to their limits”.

The Times reports on a moorland wildfire in Derbyshire that came “after June heat record smashed again”. The climate-sceptic Daily Mail attempts to link the fire to “Labour’s ‘woke’ rewilding drive”. It says: “While the cause of [the fire] remains unknown, the government was warned its rewilding policies may have added fuel to the flames.” A frontpage story in the Sunday Telegraph reports on plans to trial a “cooling drive” in London homes, which it criticises for not prioritising air conditioning. The Guardian reports on “emerging research” that it says “suggests datacentres create a heat island effect, pushing up temperatures in the immediate vicinity by as much as 9C”. BBC News: “Why some trees might fall during extreme heat.”

MORE ON UK HEATWAVE

• BBC News: “Record temperatures drives up home air conditioning sales.”
• The Times: “Britons embrace air con units, the pricey way to beat the heatwave.”
• Financial Times: “Extreme heat elevates national security risk at London climate week.”

Germany has called on the EU to suspend implementation of new rules on methane imports, reports the Financial Times, “after the US warned that the proposed crackdown on leaks and flares puts Europe’s gas supplies at risk”. It says the Germany intervention “came ahead of a meeting of energy ministers in Luxembourg on Friday, where 12 member states including Italy, the Netherlands and Poland called for a three-year suspension of the legislation. Germany had not signed the declaration, but had previously called for the regulation to be implemented with ‘pragmatism’.” The newspaper adds: “On Friday, EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen told ministers the Commission would not amend the legislation as this ‘would only increase insecurity and uncertainty in the market’. But he said the Commission was working on further guidance to help industries and member states to demonstrate they comply with the rules.” Reuters and Bloomberg also have the story. E&E News: “Big Oil’s campaign to stop EU methane restrictions is working.”

A US federal appeals court has “rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s bid to withdraw Biden-era limits on soot ‌pollution from coal-fired power plants and factories”, reports Reuters. The Associated Press says: “The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel is a setback for the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda and its repeated efforts to boost coal, a reliable but polluting energy source.” Another Reuters story says the Trump administration “issued an emergency order to keep ​a coal-fired power unit in Colorado operational ‌to ensure reliable electricity supply, the US Department of Energy said on Friday”.

MORE ON US

• Euronews reports: “Why Trump is losing the war on renewables.”
• The Daily Telegraph: “Shine, baby, shine: Trump’s White House oversees golden age of solar.”
• BBC News: “Three firefighters die battling huge wildfires in Colorado.”
• The Associated Press: “Winds hamper crews as fast-moving fire in Utah, the largest in the US, burns through forests.”
• Bloomberg: “America’s biggest windfarm arrives just as industry heads for declines.”
• The New York Times: “Oil industry lawyers fight a $50bn climate case in Oregon.”

Energy regulator Ofgem has provisionally “given the green light to 16 long-duration electricity storage projects under a scheme aimed at strengthening domestic power supply and lowering costs”, reports the Times. It says the projects, including three large pumped hydro schemes making up 4 gigawatts (GW) of the 7.6GW total, are set to receive support under a “cap-and-floor” scheme that offers minimum income and a limit on profits. The Guardian says the hydro projects are the first major schemes of the type in 40 years. It adds that “most” of the remaining projects are lithium-ion batteries. The Financial Times, BusinessGreen and the Daily Telegraph all have the story.

MORE ON UK

• The Times says that a mooted £400m pledge for rainforest protection was “shelved…during a bitter row over defence spending”.
• BBC News: “Reform UK climate debate delayed over extreme heat.”
• The Daily Mail calls the UK’s emissions trading system a “controversial emissions tax”, in an article that sums revenues over several years to make them seem bigger.
• The Daily Telegraph continues its climate-sceptic reporting with articles on the heatwave “melt[ing] Britain’s power network”, net-zero “putting [bricks]…at risk” and “pro-union rules” in the wind industry.
• Briefing continues against energy secretary Ed Miliband’s bid to become chancellor under incoming prime minister Andy Burnham, with articles in the two articles in the Daily Telegraph and more from the Daily Express and the Times. The Guardian reports Labour’s deputy leader saying Miliband would make a “good” chancellor.
• The Times reports calls from Labour donor, renewable energy entrepreneur and serial campaigner against climate policy Dale Vince for Burnham to “ditch net-zero”.

Head of China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), Wang Hongzhi, has said at a press conference that China’s investment in “key energy projects and new business models” over the next five years will exceed 20tn yuan ($2.9tn), according to International Energy Net. Wang said investment in strengthening energy security will rise 10% than during the “14th five-year plan”, grid investment will rise 30% and investment in projects including “green hydrogen” and “direct green power connections” will exceed 2tn yuan. Shanghai-based outlet the Paper quotes NEA’s Ren Yuzhi, saying China aims to reduce carbon emissions per unit of electricity generated by more than 10%. Ren also said China will save more than 150m tonnes of coal equivalent in key industries, reports the Beijing News. The NEA’s vice head, Wan Jinsong, said fossil fuels should be kept “limited but stable” to safeguard China’s energy security, reports state broadcaster CCTV. Bloomberg cites Wang saying that China will “always prioritise energy security”, which shows that the “stability” of China’s energy market “continues to outweigh climate concerns”. Meanwhile, there is ongoing coverage of the details of the plan in state news agency Xinhua, power news outlet BJX News and Reuters.

MORE ON CHINA

• China and Europe have established a cooperation consortium for “green electricity certification” to promote the connection of “renewable energy standards, rules, and resources”, reports Yicai.
• Chinese president Xi Jinping has said that China and Bangladesh will expand cooperation in “green and low-carbon development”, reports Xinhua.
• A Global Times editorial says China’s “green production capacity” has “bridged the global supply-demand gap in green development” and “promoted the world’s energy transition”.
• China Daily reports the EU “failed” to address China’s concerns, casting a “dim outlook” over their first meeting under a consultation mechanism. China has urged Austria to respect each other’s “core interests” and work to improve China-EU ties, reports Reuters.
• Chinese scientists have found that thawing permafrost can form a “previously overlooked natural carbon sink” by absorbing some CO2, says Shangguan News.
• China Daily: “Adapting to climate change vital for agriculture.”

An editorial in France’s Le Monde reacts to the record-breaking heatwave that has gripped France over the past couple of weeks: “With heatwaves becoming more frequent and intense, this presidential campaign year should be an opportunity to move beyond the opposition between ‘adaptation’ and ‘mitigation”, it argues, adding: “These two approaches, which are complementary, require policies with different timeframes. Adaptation is urgent, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Expanding air conditioning, particularly in hospitals and schools, is one necessary response. The second, which takes longer to implement, is essential: nothing will be solved without addressing the root causes of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.”

Separately, deputy editor Ellen Halliday writes in Prospect magazine that, in response to the deadly heatwave, ”many usually sensible people seemed to approach the heat with a kind of scepticism”. Halliday concludes: “Net-zero isn’t a slogan. It is a goal based on incontrovertible scientific evidence, and it is under attack from parties not just on the hard right but also on the centre right…When we choose…not to feel the heat, or to acknowledge its dangers – we are not being brave. We’re seeking comfort in denial.” News analysis from Nature looks at “whether scorching summers are the new norm” for Europe. Analysis from CBC News is titled: “Why Europe can’t air condition its way out of extreme heat.” Trailed on the Observer frontpage, climate editor Jeevan Vasagar says: “Access to cooling should be a right for all.”

MORE HEATWAVE COMMENT

• Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian: “Climate sceptics cheering as they melt in record temperatures? This heatwave is where satire has come to die.”
• Phineas Harper in the Guardian: “Not just for rich people: the progressive case for air conditioning.”
• In the Sunday Times, columnist Robert Colville writes on the “air-con wars”. 
• A Lex column in the Financial Times says: “Why keeping Europe cool need not be a luxury.”
• The Times science writer Tom Whipple says record temperatures make the idea of solar geoengineering seem less “far-fetched”.
• A Sunday Times “weekend essay” by AN Wilson is headlined: “We’ll muddle through this heat – but it will change us.”
• Climate-sceptic William Sitwell in the Daily Telegraph claims: “Shut­ting schools because of heat teaches kids to give up.”

Many UK outlets continue to publish commentary reacting to last week’s recording-break heatwave. An editorial in the Times argues that “Britain is not prepared for the effects of extreme heat, and it must become so at speed”. It adds: “More far-sighted, ingenious solutions are needed to tackle the effects of climate change as well as to slow it down. Every pound wisely spent on the former, the CCC argues, will result in five more being saved down the line. Along with heatwaves, the government must also consider the increase in winter floods and summer droughts…short-term thinking is no longer an option. The future is already here.” An editorial in the Sunday Mirror says the heatwave shows the world is “clearly getting hotter” and that things will “only get worse…unless climate change targets are met”. It says this is “why we must not let up on net-zero goals”. An editorial in the Sunday Times complains about a “hotter, drier climate” that “suits less welcome species” in UK gardens.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the Observer, trailed on the frontpage and titled “It’s the climate, stupid,” says that the heatwave “exposed a national tendency to discuss weather, not climate, and effects, not causes”. Arguing that it is “time for a serious strategy”, it says that energy secretary Ed Miliband “has the misfortune of becoming a political outlier by thinking straight and doing the right thing on net-zero while the world shifted around him”. It calls on incoming prime minister Andy Burnham to approve the Jackdaw gas field, but also to “show that he sees the big picture as clearly as Miliband by committing at the same time to the grid upgrades and energy storage needed for full low-carbon electrification”. The Scotsman also calls for “both net-zero and North Sea oil”. An editorial in the Independent is headlined: “Heatwave Britain must do more to prepare for this scorching new normal.”

MORE UK COMMENT

• Mariana Mazzucato, an economics professor at University College London, makes her case in the Guardian for a new “economic vision” under Andy Burnham: “Every £1 of public money spent on net-zero delivers between £2.20 and £4.10 in return.”
• Josh Ryan-Collins, another professor of economics at UCL, writes in the Guardian: “Ed Miliband as chancellor would benefit every part of the UK – and the bond markets”
• An editorial in the climate-sceptic Sun, fearing Ed Miliband could become chancellor under Burnham, claims misleadingly that he has “already sacrificed thousands of jobs on the altar of net-zero”.
• Climate-sceptic columnist Stephen Pollard also rages in the Daily Mail against Miliband’s “obsession with net-zero”. Two comment articles in the Daily Express also attack Miliband.
• Heather Stewart in the Guardian: “Rising cost of insuring against climate crisis will have wider knock-on effects for UK economy.”
• In the Times, weather columnist Paul Simons writes: “UK can set an example with net-zero progress.” Also in the Times, contributor Jessica Cook says there is a “hidden cost of net-zero”, adding: “The climate benefits may yet arrive. The opportunity cost already has.”

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

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