Global sea temperatures were the second highest on record for the month of April, “stoking concerns among scientists that an El Niño warming cycle is brewing that would intensify extreme weather”, reports the Financial Times. It continues: “The naturally occurring El Niño weather phenomenon, where water temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean become significantly warmer, temporarily accelerates the rise in global air temperature, resulting in the spread of fires, floods and droughts. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported record sea-surface temperatures across much of the tropical Pacific in April, while the global average for non-polar oceans reached 21C – just shy of the 21.04C record set in April 2024 during the last El Niño event.” The newspaper adds that, according to Copernicus, “El Niño conditions [are] now expected in the coming months”. The Boston Globe reports that a “rare ‘monster’ El Niño could emerge this summer”.

MORE ON EXTREME WEATHER

• Heated: “As Super El Niño approaches, Trump proposes gutting NOAA.”
• Bloomberg: “Asia heatwave spells double trouble for economies hit by oil.”
• Vox: “The exploding costs of US wildfires.”
• A “quieter” US hurricane season this year could still impact the US power grid, says Bloomberg.

Canada’s National Observer reports that the Trump administration has “forced a Canadian-backed renewable energy company to abandon its landmark wind power project – and is demanding an equivalent investment in US fossil-fuel development if the company wants to recoup $120m in offshore wind leases”. It continues: “The project, Golden State Wind, is a joint venture wind-power project off the coast of California. Reventus Power, a UK-based, wholly owned portfolio company, is the wind-power generation venture of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). As of 2024, the Canada Pension Plan had over CA$1bn invested in wind-power generation through Reventus Power.” The newspaper adds that the US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that Golden State Wind had “voluntarily ended” its offshore wind lease in a statement on 27 April.

MORE ON US

• The US defense department is “holding up the development of more than 250 new onshore windfarms on private lands by failing to complete its national security reviews”, an industry group tells the Associated Press.
• A “tentative state budget deal in New York includes an agreement with lawmakers to soften a landmark climate law that had called for steep and immediate cuts to planet-warming emissions”, says Bloomberg.
• A pilot scheme in New York City is offering renters battery-powered air conditioning, to help cope with high bills and demands on the grid during heatwaves, says the Associated Press.
• Bloomberg: “The bust in US home solar has worsened after Trump ends subsidies.”
  

China’s 22 major solar panel manufacturers posted a total loss of 10.5 bn yuan ($1.5bn) in the first quarter of the year, as raw material prices tumbled and demand remained “sluggish”, reports business news outlet Yicai. It says that the revenue of these 22 companies decreased by 11.6% from a year earlier and adds that the impact of efforts to curb excessive production in the solar sector has been “slower than expected”. Meanwhile, industry news outlet BJX News cites data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) saying China’s newly installed solar capacity fell 31% year-on-year to 41.4 gigawatts (GW) in the first quarter, below pace for the forecast of 238-287GW in average annual additions during the 15th five-year plan period. The outlet also says investment in solar projects now faces three major challenges: “profitability pressure” from market-based pricing reforms for renewables; power consumption and grid integration; and “stringent taxation” from local authorities.

MORE ON CHINA

• Seven central ecological and environmental inspection teams started another round of inspections in regions including Guangdong and Xinjiang, reports Xinhua.
• Erik Solheim, former UN under-secretary general, writes in China Daily that China demonstrates “energy production and ecological restoration are not competing”.
• Peking University’s Wang Xi writes in People’s Daily that more resources should be directed toward “green energy” and “green manufacturing”.
• China Daily: “Green energy revolution sparked by political will.” Another China Daily article marks the 20th anniversary of China’s renewable energy law entering force.
• Brazil “reclaimed top spot globally for Chinese investment” in 2025 as China worked to expand its foothold in the Brazilian clean-energy sector, reports Reuters.
• Bloomberg reports that the Canadian government is “debating how to divide up the new low-tariff quota for Chinese-made electric vehicles”.

Oil major BP is selling its stakes in two flagship UK carbon capture and storage projects in northern England, says Reuters. It continues: “The oil major said it plans to sell a portion of its equity in the Net Zero Teesside (NZT) Power project ​and the Northern Endurance Partnership project (NEP) in northern ​England, without disclosing the size of the stakes on ⁠offer or potential buyers.” The Guardian says that the news comes as BP “continues to retreat from the green agenda”, adding: “BP’s flagship carbon-capture projects were backed by Bernard Looney, the company’s former chief executive, as ‘the right thing for the world, a tremendous business opportunity’ which would create the nation’s first major carbon-capture project and ‘maybe the world’s first zero-carbon industrial cluster’. His departure almost three years ago has led to a tumultuous period for the 117-year-old company, including a leadership overhaul and a steady dismantling of Looney’s green agenda, which failed to win over BP shareholders.”

MORE ON UK

• The Times: “Centrica buys Severn gas power station in south Wales.”
• More farmers are going organic to “meet consumer demand and protect land”, says the Times.
• UK drivers could save up to £1,000 a year by switching to an electric car, as the Iran war pushes up petrol prices, says the Independent.
• The Daily Telegraph covers a government report commissioned in 2024 and published online this March, which it says suggests that home energy efficiency measures “may result in consumers turning up their heating more”.

In the FT magazine, columnist Simon Kuper says that “Trump has pulled off an improbable feat: the oilman’s president has made fossil fuels both expensive and unreliable”. He continues: “People used to worry that addiction to oil made us dependent on Middle Eastern autocracies. We have learnt since 2022 that it also makes us dependent on Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. Even if the strait opens tomorrow, will countries want to remain tethered to those people’s whims?…Europe and the Asia-Pacific need a reliable energy base. That now requires abandoning fossil fuels, and electrifying their economies…A fast green transition seemed an impossible dream. Trump may have found the way to achieve it. The man deserves a prize.”

MORE COMMENT

• An editorial in the Mirror calls for windfall taxes on oil and gas firms to “strengthen” in the face of “eye-watering profits”.
• In an editorial on the UK’s exposure to the energy crisis, the Times says: “There will always be need for an insurance energy source to underpin wind. The obvious candidate is nuclear, but the UK is only now replacing its old reactor fleet. That means imported gas for years to come.”
• Historian Ewan Gibbs writes in the Guardian that “decades of complacency cannot be magicked away by drilling in the North Sea – or even by hoping that renewables will quickly power everything”.
• Guardian columnist Nils Pratley has another piece supporting gas, in which he writes that it made “strong sense” for Centrica, the owner of British Gas, to purchase a gas power station in south Wales.
• In the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph, energy editor Jonathan Leake – and former national media manager for the oil and gas industry – is critical of the UK government’s continued stance on not issuing new oil and gas licences, as Norway opens the door to further expansion.
• The Daily Mail has a full-page column from actor Christopher Biggens who claims he got “trapped” inside his electric car. (He acknowledges that he did not realise there was a manual door release.)

Several publications have pieces celebrating the 100th birthday of UK nature broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. An editorial in the FT describes Attenborough as the “world’s most authoritative voice on nature and the environment” who has “deepened popular appreciation for life on Earth, while warning of its vulnerability to human activity and climate change”. He is further described as the “greatest ambassador for life on Earth” in the Guardian, the “most consequential broadcaster of our times” by the FT’s media editor, and a “risk-taker who changed how we see Earth” by BBC News. For Time magazine, Prince Harry writes that “Attenborough’s voice is a lesson in wonder and planetary stewardship”. A column in the Scotsman says “scientists have repeatedly honoured Attenborough for his transformational effect on us all”. The Daily Express has a comment by Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, who asks: “Would we have the same momentum behind restoring nature and tackling the climate crisis without him?”

The Times carries a message from Attenborough himself, which says: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly but it seems that many of you have had other ideas. I’ve been completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings, from preschool groups to care home residents, and countless individuals and families of all ages. I simply can’t reply to each of you all separately but I would like to thank you all most sincerely for your kind messages, and wish those of you who have planned your own local events tomorrow a very happy day.”

This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Daisy Dunne, with contributions from Henry Zhang and Simon Evans. It was edited by Simon Evans.

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