Reuters reports that, for the first time, wind and solar power produced more electricity than fossil fuels in the EU. It continues that new data published by thinktank Ember found that renewables generated 30% of the EU’s electricity in 2025, just above the 29% supplied by fossil-fuel plants running on coal, gas and oil. The Guardian reports that this is a “major tipping point” for clean energy, quoting Beatrice Petrovich, the lead author of the report, who said: “The importance of this goes beyond the power sector. The danger of relying on fossil fuels looms large in destabilised geopolitics.” Bloomberg notes that 20% of the bloc’s electricity came from nuclear in 2025. Relatedly, Reuters reports that Italy’s solar power production hit a new record in 2025, rising 25% compared with 2024.

Climate Home News covers Al Gore’s speech, comments by Donald Trump and other key climate-related stories at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. It reports that Trump [falsely] claimed in his speech that the UK has high energy prices because it is not producing enough North Sea oil and gas. The Independent reports that Trump said the UK is “sitting on top of the North Sea, one of the greatest reserves anywhere in the world, but they don’t use it” and that this is the reason for high energy prices. It adds that the US president also claimed that there were “500 years” of oil left in the North Sea and that the UK takes “92%” of the revenues. The Times factchecks the false claim concluding it is “far-fetched”. BBC News looks at whether the UK takes 92% of North Sea revenue, finding that, including the windfall tax introduced in 2022 amid the energy crisis, companies pay 78% tax on profits, not revenue. A Guardian factcheck assesses Trump’s other false claim that “China makes almost all of the windmills…but they don’t use them themselves”. It notes that China has more wind capacity than any other country, with 40% of wind generation in 2024 in China. [See Carbon Brief’s chart on this topic, posted on social media yesterday by Dr Simon Evans.] The Financial Times covers a speech by US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick at Davos, where claimed the “world should focus on coal as an energy source rather than renewables” and was then “booed” by former US vice president Al Gore, who said afterwards: “It’s no secret that I think this administration’s energy policy is insane.” Many other outlets covered Trump’s comments about the North Sea and Chinese wind power, including BusinessGreen and the Daily Mail.

China has “defended its wind power development and reinforced its commitment to promote global green and low carbon transition” at Davos, reports Reuters. “China’s efforts to tackle climate change and promote the development and application of renewable energy in the world are obvious to all,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry, said at the event, according to the newswire.

Also speaking at Davos, China’s vice premier He Lifeng reaffirmed China’s commitments to its “dual-carbon” goals and called for deeper global climate cooperation, inviting foreign companies to “partner with China on green energy and sustainable finance”, reports financial news outlet Caixin. State-run China News publishes the full text of He’s speech, in which he said China will “deeply” implement a philosophy of “innovation, coordination, green development, openness and sharing”. He said China will “actively” promote a global energy transition, “bridge gaps” in cleantech “production capacity” and ensure “free global circulation” of “green products”. He also expressed concerns around the “over-securitisation” of trade. Separately, state-run newspaper China Daily quotes climate envoy Liu Zhenmin saying the US’s absence will not cause global climate governance to “stall”. Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told journalists that “China stands ready to work with all parties to build a clean and beautiful world”, according to Xinhua.

MORE ON CHINA

• China’s “maximum electricity load” has surpassed 1,400 gigawatts for the first time in winter, as heat and energy supply entered a “critical period”, says People’s Daily.
• Reuters reports a China-backed hydropower plant in Indonesia has had its permits revoked after “accusations of environmental breaches that worsened…floods”.
• China has announced the country’s first batch of pilot demonstration zones for “construction of a beautiful countryside”, reports China Daily.
• Dialogue Earth: “How the global south can deepen the benefits of Chinese clean-tech investment.”

The Guardian reports that emergency services are searching for several people after a landslide hit a campsite during “record-breaking rains” that have caused damage across the North Island. It adds that Tauranga – a city near the landslide at Mount Maunganui – received “295mm of rain in the 30 hours to 6am and then the landslide hit around 9.30am”. Reuters reports that homes were evacuated and roads closed as rain “lashed almost the entire eastern seaboard of the North Island”. Sky News reports that the number of people missing in the landslide was in the “single figures” and that no sign of life has been detected since the emergency services arrived. Al Jazeera notes in its coverage that climate change is making extreme rainfall more frequent and that scientists have warned that similar “extreme weather will continue to worsen without significant steps taken to reduce pollution”.

The Times reports that French energy giant EDF is in negotiations with the UK government to extend the life of the Sizewell B nuclear power station until 2055. It adds that the company has said it hopes to reach a subsidy deal with the government “soon” over the Suffolk nuclear plant. The article notes that a deal would “unlock” £800m in investment by EDF and its partner Centrica. The Financial Times notes that Sizewell B supplies about 3% of the country’s electricity. It adds that “Britain is facing a sharp fall in nuclear output later this decade as much of its ageing reactor fleet is retired”.

MORE ON UK

• The Guardian covers new guidelines for housing developments, including provisions for nature being incorporated in design and protections against flooding as it becomes more prevalent due to climate change.
• BusinessGreen covers a new report from thinktank E3G in collaboration with EnBW Generation UK that finds North Sea wind farms are “a major geostrategic asset for Europe”.
• The Daily Telegraph reports that “Britain’s wind farm turbines wasted enough energy to power all of London’s homes last year”, with 10 terawatt hours of power turned off in 2025 at a cost of £1.4bn, according to energy analyst Montel.

There is continuing coverage of the wildfires in Chile which have now burned “more than 40,000 hectares of forests…over the past weeks, tripling the amount of land burned in 2025”, reports La Tercera. BioBioChile also covers the impacts of the wildfires ravaging Chile, where firefighters’ president from Ñuble region said brigades are “tired and mentally drained, but we keep going forward”. According to the outlet, increased temperatures and winds are worsening the fires. The outlet adds separately that the president of Chile’s wildfires prevention commission has “negatively rated” prevention efforts across the country, pointing to structural shortcomings, such as lack of regulation on lands without management plans. 

MORE ON LATIN AMERICA

• After two weeks, wildfires in southwest Argentina’s Patriada port “remain active”, reports La Nación.
• Researchers from Brazil’s University of the Rio dos Sinos Valley write for Folha de São Paulo about a study revealing what the consequences could be for a warmer Amazon by looking at sediments of an ancient Amazon lake.
• In the run-up to Costa Rica’s general elections on 1 February, presidential candidates have “barely mentioned” climate change in their manifestos, reports Ojo al Clima.
• A commentary in El Espectador reflects on the challenges Colombia’s government faces to preserve the country’s energy sovereignty while supplying energy. 
• Climate change “looms”, but “global attention is focused on geopolitical and economic problems”, columnist Lorena Rivera writes for Excélsior in Mexico.

In India’s Economic Times, executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, argues that India should scale up its nuclear power industry. He notes that the country’s “remarkable economic momentum” means electricity demand is expected to increase by more than 5% a year over the next decade. Birol adds that India has operated nuclear power plants for more than 50 years and has a proven large reactor design, as well as small modular reactors, increasingly looking like they could offer a “competitive advantage”. He concludes that “the country is increasingly well-positioned to play a leading role in the future of nuclear power. And doing so will not only strengthen its energy security, but also support its economic development ambitions for future generations”.

MORE ON COMMENT

• An editorial in the Times argues that while “Trump’s wind power criticism is harsh…his North Sea point is valid”. Editorials in the climate-sceptic Sun and Daily Mail are supportive of Trump’s false claims about UK energy policy.
• In the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph, Tone Langengen, senior energy policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute, argues that net-zero is “doomed” if energy bills do not come down.
• In the Guardian, columnist Aditya Chakrabortty questions “what happens when the taps run dry?” as England becomes “in danger of self-imposed drought”.

This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Molly Lempriere, with contributions from Yanine Quiroz, Henry Zhang and Anika Patel. It was edited by Leo Hickman.

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