There is blanket media coverage of the power failure that hit Spain and Portugal on Monday. The Associated Press says the outage “brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill [on] Monday, stopping trains, cutting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATMs for millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula”. The Guardian says: “The Portuguese operator, REN, said the outage was caused by a ‘rare atmospheric phenomenon’, with extreme temperature variations in Spain causing ‘anomalous oscillations’ in very high-voltage lines…REN said the phenomenon, known as ‘induced atmospheric vibration’, caused ‘synchronisation failures between the electrical systems, leading to successive disturbances across the interconnected European network’.” However, the New York Times says REN “vigorously denied” that an “unspecified ‘atmospheric phenomenon’ had caused the outage”. Reuters notes that “outages on such a scale are extremely rare in Europe”. A second Reuters article says Spain’s generation was “nearly back to normal” as of Tuesday morning, while a third Reuters piece says Portugal had also restored supplies.

The Financial Times quotes Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez saying: “At 12:33 this morning, 15GW [gigawatts] of generation were suddenly lost from the system and they were lost in just five seconds. This is something that has never happened before…15GW is equivalent to approximately 60% of the country’s demand at that time. The 60% that caused this sudden disappearance of supply is something the specialists have not yet been able to determine, but they will and the relevant state institutions and all the private operators are working in a co-ordinated way to understand what has happened.” However, the newspaper adds that “Monday’s crisis is likely to stoke concerns about power networks’ ability to meet the added demand and the increased volatility of supply from renewables”. The Washington Post says the cause of the blackout is “uncertain”. The newspaper says there had been “no evidence so far” of a cyberattack, but adds that such an attack has not been ruled out. It then quotes Sánchez saying: “It’s best to not speculate. We will know the causes soon. We are not discarding any hypothesis, but right now, we just focus on what’s most important: returning electricity to our homes.” Elsewhere, many publications are in full speculation mode. The Guardian says that Spain “has abundant sun and wind” and notes that the country’s power generation is increasingly coming from renewables. It continues: “That shift will help Spain end its reliance on energy imports, but it also brings its own challenges. Every national grid in the world will need to spend heavily to upgrade distribution systems to connect scattered renewable generation and ensure it is balanced.” Politico says: “The EU has been pressing the Iberian Peninsula, which has long operated as an energy island within the bloc, to link up better to Europe’s grids. Already on Monday, specialists were debating whether such connections could have helped prevent the massive blackouts – or put more countries at risk of experiencing spillover effects.” The Times, Guardian, Financial Times and i newspaper also carry the story on their frontpage.

A number of publications attempt to blame the blackout on the energy transition, with the Daily Telegraph carrying a frontpage story headlined: “Net-zero blamed for blackout chaos.” The article contradicts its own headline by concluding: “What exactly happened remains unclear for now. And the real answer is likely to involve several factors, not just one.” None of the experts quoted in the piece blame net-zero for the incident. The Daily Telegraph also carries an editorial seeking to blame renewable energy for the blackouts and states: “Over-reliance on renewables means a less resilient grid.”

In other European news, Bloomberg reports that “power prices across Europe plunged deep below zero this weekend as sunny weather boosted output from the region’s growing fleet of solar parks”. Separately, Bloomberg reports: “France plans to publish a long-awaited decree that should pave the way for new nuclear power plants and set fresh renewables targets by the end of the summer.”

The Liberal Party led by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has won the Canadian election, the Financial Times reports. It continues: “Carney’s Liberal party was on track to win the largest number of seats and the right to form a government. But it was still unclear whether it would be able to secure a parliamentary majority as counting continued.” The newspaper adds: “The result marks a stunning recovery for the Liberals, who were on course to lose power until Justin Trudeau, prime minister for almost a decade, quit as party leader this year and was replaced by Carney in March. His victory will also be greeted around the world as a sign that centrist, internationalist politics can succeed electorally in the age of Trump.” (See the Carbon Brief grid of manifesto pledges relating to nature, energy and climate, as well as Carbon Brief analysis of the emissions impact of those policies.)

The Trump administration has dismissed the hundreds of volunteer scientists and experts working on the country’s National Climate Assessment report, the New York Times reports. According to the newspaper, the “flagship” report is produced by the federal government every few years. It adds that the report looks at “how rising temperatures will affect human health, agriculture, fisheries, water supplies, transportation, energy production and other aspects of the US economy”. It continues: “On Monday, researchers around the country who had begun work on the sixth national climate assessment, planned for early 2028, received an email informing them that the scope of the report ‘is currently being re-evaluated’ and that all contributors were being dismissed.” Reuters adds: “The climate assessment had been overseen by the Global Change Research Programme, which the Trump administration dismissed earlier this month, and had coordinated input from 14 federal agencies and hundreds of external scientists. Its findings were meant to inform federal agencies and lawmakers for decision-making around climate policy and funding priorities.”

In other US news, the Guardian covers a report from Amnesty International, which warns that Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have “supercharged a global ‘freefall of rights’”. The newspaper says: “The report warned that governments risked failing future generations on the climate, economic inequality and corporate power. It cited the collapse of the UN’s COP29 climate conference, under fossil-fuel corporations’ influence, while rich countries ‘bullied’ low-income nations into accepting inadequate climate financing. Trump’s exit from the crucial Paris climate agreement threatened ‘to drag others with him’, Amnesty warned.” The Hill reports that the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) will allow the use of petrol containing a higher percentage of ethanol all year round. The outlet continues: “This type of gasoline is typically restricted in the summer due to concerns about smog – which can form more easily from evaporation in the heat. However, the government can choose to issue a waiver to allow E15 gas nationwide in the summer.” The Associated Press reports that the EPA signed an “emergency waiver” which means that retailers do not have to stop selling E15 on 1 May. Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration claims the move will “keep gasoline prices low and support US agriculture”. Elsewhere, Bloomberg says: “The US wants central and eastern European countries to join its path of ‘energy freedom’ instead of following the wider region’s transition to a net-zero economy, energy secretary Chris Wright said in Warsaw.” Separately, Reuters says: “Major automakers want Congress to bar California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 that has been adopted by 11 other states, warning the rules could begin impacting vehicle shipments in a few months.”

Analysis by DeSmog finds that “GB News gave a platform to at least 953 anti-climate attacks in the immediate run-up and aftermath of the 2024 general election”. The outlet says that half of the “attacks” criticised clean energy policies. It continues: “The broadcaster aired an average of around 4.5 anti-climate claims per day during the period from 31 May to 31 December, with attacks on climate science, policy, or environmental groups featuring in almost 12% of all half-hour segments.” Separately, the Independent says: “Tony Blair has warned Western policies to tackle global climate change are ‘failing’, demanding a radical reset to win over hearts and minds on the issue.” The Guardian covers recent figures showing that “only 5% of Forestry Commission grants for woodland creation have been spent on the natural regeneration of trees, while the remaining 95% is spent on tree planting”. As a result, campaigners say targets for woodland creation are unlikely to be met, according to the newspaper. BusinessGreen reports that “a record number of grant applications were made under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme last month, as March saw over 4,000 applications submitted for the first time”. The Times says: “Data centre developers are seeking to connect to Britain’s gas pipelines and build their own gas-fired power plants in frustration at long delays accessing the electricity grid.” Sky News reports that Greenpeace UK said it is an “absolute scandal that homes are built without rooftop solar panels in this day and age”. The newspaper notes that just four in 10 new homes in England come with solar power. The Press Association covers a report which finds that “underground electricity cables are on average 4.5 times more expensive than overhead lines”. The newswire says: “The country needs to roll out thousands of miles of new cables in the coming years to meet growing demand, upgrade ageing lines and decarbonise the electricity grid as part of efforts to tackle climate change. But public opposition to new overhead lines and pylons is strong, especially among potentially affected communities, with many campaigning for the transmission network to be buried underground.”

The Guardian covers a report by Common Wealth which says that Britain’s gas power stations “should be nationalised to prevent their owners from holding the electricity market ‘to ransom’”. Separately, the Guardian has a piece on this week’s local elections with the headline “‘It’s an existential moment’: Greens take on Reform in fight for fed-up voters”. The Daily Telegraph reports that “the UK’s first outdoor citrus grove has been planted amid expectations that such fruits will ‘prosper’ under climate change”. The Times also covers the story. There is ongoing coverage in the Daily Telegraph that defence companies have been warned not to plug phones into Chinese electric vehicles. The MailOnline reports that Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB Union, “said it was ‘bonkers’ and ‘absolute madness’ to be cutting off investment into North Sea oil and gas”. The Sun also covers the story. Separately, the Daily Telegraph says: “Net-zero taxes are killing manufacturing, failing to tackle emissions and making Britain more reliant on foreign imports, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned.”

China’s State Council has approved the construction of 10 new nuclear reactors, with a combined investment of more than 200bn yuan ($27.4bn), the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports. Bloomberg also covers the story, saying that China now has 30 reactors under construction, around 50% of the global total, and is expected to “leapfrog the US to become the world’s largest atomic energy generator by the end of the decade”. The news outlet adds that it’s “the fourth year in a row that China has approved at least 10 new reactors”. China now has a total of 102 nuclear power units either “in operation, under construction, or approved for construction”, with an installed capacity reaching 113 gigawatts (GW), according to state broadcaster CCTV. 

Meanwhile, China’s hydrogen energy production and consumption exceeded 36m tonnes in 2024, “ranking first in the world”, reports state news agency Xinhua, citing a National Energy Administration (NEA) press conference. China also accounted for more than 50% of the global green hydrogen produced in 2024, adds the outlet. Industry news outlet BJX News covers the same press conference and says that China added 76GW of renewable energy in the first quarter of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 21%, pushing up the total renewable energy capacity to 1,966GW. Separately, Reuters says: “Chinese firms are still building new coal-fired power plants in Indonesia despite a 2021 pledge to stop financing coal projects overseas, according to an analysis of energy investments in BRICS countries released on Tuesday.”

Elsewhere, the draft of the “ecological environment code” – an environment law – has been submitted to “an ongoing session of China’s top legislature for a first reading”, reports China Daily. Xinhua also covers the news. Nikkei Asia says that China has stopped importing liquified natural gas (LNG) from the US. BJX News reports that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) thinks the reduction of energy imports from the US will have “no impact” on China’s energy supply. The Financial Times also covers the story. Another Financial Times article cites data from BloombergNEF, saying that “emerging markets” accounted for 43% of Chinese clean tech exports in 2024. A third Financial Times report is under the headline: “China stockpiles oil as Trump tariff shock hits crude prices.” SCMP carries an article under the headline: “Could US-DR Congo ‘minerals-for-security’ deal threaten China’s mining dominance?” 

In comment, Dimitri De Boer, director for China at ClientEarth and special adviser of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, writes in China Daily that “the world is gearing up for climate action, and countries and businesses around the world should prepare themselves for a future in which the low-carbon economy rules”.

In a comment for the Hill, William Becker, former Department for Energy regional director and current executive director of the non-partisan Presidential Climate Action Project, writes about Trump’s first 100 days in office. Becker outlines Trump’s actions on climate, including “gutting federal climate science and the government’s ability to predict the weather” and withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement. He also notes that Trump “declared a non-existent energy emergency shortly after taking office to ‘unleash’ fossil fuels and achieve ‘energy dominance,’ even though the US already leads the world in oil and gas production”. He concludes: “Trump has set the stage for families to become sicker, poorer and less safe while destroying the public health and disaster response programs that could help them.”

In other comment, UK Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse writes in BusinessGreen that “ineffective energy trade with the EU is costing us a fortune”. She says: “Since leaving the EU, our trading arrangements have become fragmented and inefficient and are estimated to have added between 0.25% to 0.7% to electricity costs. In 2022 alone, this translated into an additional £120m-£370m and over this parliament, it could rise to be as much as £500m.” She concludes: “We need to re-engage with our neighbours, deepen our trading relationship, and create the conditions that will allow both government and consumers to capitalise on the UK’s clean energy mission.” Finally, media columnist for the i newspaper, Ian Burrell, writes that “the Greens need to learn from Nigel Farage”, arguing that they “do not possess his media opportunism”. 

Sustainable development could be key to cutting the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance by 2050, new research estimates. The study investigates the socioeconomic and environmental drivers of more than 4,000 cases of antimicrobial resistance in more than 100 countries, and uses modelling to make projections about the future. Within sustainable development, interventions that could cut prevalence the most include reducing out-of-pocket health expenses, improving immunisation coverage, more investments in healthcare and ensuring universal water access, the study says.