The Guardian reports in an “exclusive” that UK energy secretary Ed Miliband will “explicitly call out politicians who reject net-zero policies for betraying future generations in an unprecedented update to parliament about the state of the climate crisis, which he is calling ‘an exercise in radical truth-telling’”. The newspaper adds: “With Reform UK proposing to scrap all net-zero measures and even questioning the science behind climate change and the Conservatives ditching environmental targets, Miliband hopes to regain the initiative with a stark warning to MPs. In what is planned to be an annual event, the energy security and net-zero secretary will make a ‘state of the climate’ address to the Commons setting out the findings of a new Met Office-led report that says the UK is already facing extreme weather and its effects.” Miliband tells the Press Association: “Our British way of life is under threat. Whether it is extreme heat, droughts, flooding, we can see it actually with our own eyes, that it’s already happening and we need to act. That’s why the government has a central mission to make Britain a clean-energy superpower and tackle the climate crisis.” Similarly, environment secretary Steve Reed tells the Times: “It’s fundamentally unpatriotic of parties like Reform to refuse to act on things [such as climate change] which are affecting our way of life so profoundly.” BBC News says the Met Office’s new report explains that the UK is “breaking heat and rainfall records increasingly frequently as its climate continues to warm”. The outlet adds: “The country’s changing weather patterns mean the UK now experiences a ‘notably different’ climate to what it was just a few decades ago, its State of the UK Climate report says. We now have many more very hot days and many fewer extremely cold nights, according to this latest assessment. It shows just how much global warming caused by the vast emissions of greenhouse gases our civilisation creates is reshaping the country’s climate.” The Guardian says the Met Office report shows that the “country is firmly in the grip of the climate crisis”. The Financial Times zooms in on another of the report’s key findings: “The UK’s sea level is rising faster than the global average and at an accelerating rate.” The Times examines whether this could be the UK’s “worst year ever” for wildfires. Separately, the Guardian says that “England’s reservoirs are at their lowest level for a decade as experts call for hosepipe bans”. And BBC News has a feature headlined: “As UK faces third heatwave, is this ‘just summer’?”

There is widespread UK media coverage of the announcement by the government that, as the i newspaper explains in an exclusive, “motorists will be offered thousands of pounds off the cost of buying a new electric vehicle as part of a government drive towards greener transport”. The outlet adds: “The grant scheme will be backed by £640m of government funding and will favour UK-made electric vehicles, sources said. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander is due to announce the policy on Tuesday.” The Sunday Times says: “The UK is to announce a £700m subsidy scheme to convince drivers to switch to electric vehicles. Officials in Whitehall are this weekend adding the final touches to new policies to address concern about the high upfront cost of EVs and the perception of a lack of charging infrastructure.” The Times says the “return of electric vehicle grants for motorists could be the ‘firecracker’ needed to increase demand, industry experts have admitted”.  Transport secretary Heidi Alexander tells BBC News that “we will be making it cheaper for those who do want to make the switch to an electric vehicle”.

MORE ON UK

• The climate-sceptic Sun carries an “exclusive” about how Labour MPs in the Commission for Carbon Competitiveness have called for the prime minister to “cut net-zero levies on industry or risk killing off manufacturing jobs for good”. The Sun on Sunday uses the story to run an editorial which ends: “When are you going to see sense and scrap net-zero, PM?” The Daily Telegraph also covers the story.
• The Guardian’s Jillian Ambrose completes the newspaper’s four-part series on the “rise of the right” with a news feature on “the battle over solar farms and pylons as Reform UK takes aim at net-zero”.
• The i newspaper “reveals” that “people would be able to apply for government grants to help pay for air conditioning units in their homes under plans being considered by ministers”. The Daily Telegraph follows up on the story saying “British households could be allowed to claim £7,500 to install air conditioning heat pumps in their homes”. (See Comment below.)
• The net-zero-sceptic Daily Telegraph continues its deluge of news stories attacking net-zero. Headlines include: “Badenoch: Rush to meet net-zero is pushing up holiday costs”; “Farmland falls to solar gold-rush”; and “The weather phenomenon driving up Britain’s electricity bills”.
• BBC News covers comments made by a Reform UK councillor in Nottinghamshire who has “been criticised after claiming man-made global warming is a ‘hoax’”. The outlet adds: “Scientists around the world agree human activities are causing temperatures to rise.”

US president Donald Trump “defended the state and federal response to deadly flash flooding in Texas on Friday as he visited the stricken Hill Country region, where at least 120 people, including dozens of children, perished a week ago”, reports Reuters. The newswire adds: “The Trump administration, as well as local and state officials, has faced mounting questions over whether more could have been done to protect and warn residents ahead of the flooding, which struck with astonishing speed in the pre-dawn hours on 4 July, the US Independence Day holiday. Trump reacted with anger when a reporter said some families affected by the floods had expressed frustration that warnings did not go out sooner. ‘I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances,’ he said. ‘I don’t know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask a question like that.’” The Associated Press says “Texas leads the nation in flood deaths due to geography, size and population”. It continues: “Flooding is the second leading weather cause of death in the country, after heat, both in 2024 and the last 30 years, averaging 145 deaths a year in the last decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” The Guardian’s Ed Pilkington explains why the “most disaster-prone US state is so allergic to preparing for disasters”. (See Carbon Brief’s media-reaction summary: “The 2025 Texas floods and the role of climate change”.)

MORE ON US

• The New York Times says, “in an effort to shrink the federal government, President Trump and congressional Republicans have taken steps that are diluting the country’s ability to anticipate, prepare for and respond to catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather events, disaster experts say”.
• Politico reports that “Democrats couldn’t save Biden’s energy programs – so they’ll try to make them a weapon against the GOP” by “centring their 2026 energy pitch on kitchen table economics by contending Republican policies will cost people money”.
• The Wall Street Journal has a feature on how “Trump’s executive order forms new clouds over renewable energy”.

The Financial Times reports that the International Energy Agency has said it “expects global oil demand to grow at the slowest pace since 2009, outside of the coronavirus pandemic, amid early signs that US tariffs are weighing on economic activity”. It adds: “The energy advisory body said it expected consumption to increase by only 700,000 barrels a day this year. That would be the smallest rise in annual demand since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, with the exception of 2020 when demand contracted by 8.7m b/d as governments shut key parts of the economy in order to contain the spread of Covid-19.”

MORE ON ENERGY

• The Press Association reports that “BP has said it expects to report higher oil and gas production for the second quarter, after the energy giant renewed its focus on fossil fuels to help boost profits”.
• Reuters says: “Several Saudi companies, including utilities heavyweight ACWA Power and a subsidiary of oil giant Aramco signed power purchase agreements on Sunday for clean-energy projects with a capacity of 15 gigawatts and investments worth around $8.3bn, the Saudi state news agency (SPA) said.”

Reuters covers comments made by EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra during high-level talks in Beijing with Chinese officials where he said the “world needs China to show more leadership on climate action”. The newswire says Hoekstra has highlighted the “importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy’s reliance on coal”. He tells the outlet in an interview: “We do encourage China to take more of a leadership role going forward and really hit the road with meaningful emission reductions in the next couple of years, and also move out of the domain of coal.” Separately, Reuters reports that “most European Union countries have backed plans to agree a deal on their new climate change target by September, sources familiar with the discussions said on Friday”.

China has “for the first time set renewable energy mandates for the steel, cement and polysilicon industries, as well as for some data centres, according to a National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) notice on Friday”, reports Reuters. The newswire adds: “Beijing’s renewable portfolio standards, or RPS, set out targets for the percentage of power consumption that the various industries must obtain from renewables in each province. Previously the RPS only affected companies involved in power trading and the electrolytical aluminium industry.” The NDRC and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have also approved a plan by China’s major grid operators to “normalise electricity trading” between regions covered by separate grids, business news outlet Jiemian reports. It adds that, according to the grid operators’ plan, the initial focus for low-carbon energy trading will be “listed trading” (挂牌交易) promoting the transmission of low-carbon electricity between specific provinces. Industry news outlet BJX News says the decision will help “achieve the optimal allocation of power resources, to better support China’s power supply”. Energy news outlet International Energy Net says that under the plan, China will “explore signing multi-year green electricity trading contracts to meet electricity users’ green-power consumption needs nationwide”.

MORE ON CHINA

• China has been involved in 155 “climate-related projects” in Africa since 2021, of which 66% were focused on renewable energy, reports China Daily. 
• Reuters says that “new-energy truck” sales in China may have risen 175% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, which could see diesel consumption fall 6%.
• According to the IEA, China’s share of global “clean energy spending” has increased from a quarter to almost a third in the past 10 years, SCMP says. 
• SCMP reports that China’s investments in exploration for “minerals for…green energy industries” rose “more than half from a year earlier” in the first half of 2025.
• Xinhua covers a BBC News article – which was based heavily on analysis for Carbon Brief – saying that China’s emissions have fallen even as “demand for power across the Chinese economy grew rapidly”. 
• The Observer similarly bases an article on the Carbon Brief analysis under the headline: “China’s energy endeavours offer a sliver of hope for the planet.”

By 2100, the Rhine’s water temperature could rise by up to 4.2C due to climate change, threatening ecosystems, industry and transport routes, according to German and Dutch researchers, reports Tagesspiegel. High temperatures reduce oxygen levels in rivers, endangering aquatic life, explains Die Zeit. It adds that the “low-water crisis” on the Rhine in 2018 alone led to additional costs of €250m for the German chemical company BASF. The article also discusses the impact of extreme weather events on human health: in 2022, more than 8,000 Germans died from heat. Productivity losses and missed workdays cost Germany around €7bn annually, adds the outlet. 

MORE ON GERMANY

• According to Fraunhofer ISE and the German Federal Statistical Office, solar power is “gaining ground” in Germany: between 15% and 17% of the country’s total electricity production now “comes from the sun”, reports T-Online. 
• Berliner Zeitung discusses whether Germany can “continue to afford to forgo nuclear energy”, especially if it aims to become Europe’s AI hub.
• Der Spiegel reports that, while Germany remains concerned about gas shortages due to its heavy reliance on imports and aims to reduce dependency by reviving conventional domestic production, new offshore gas projects are considered unlikely.

Euronews reports that “two people are reportedly missing in Catalonia after a torrential downpour triggered widespread flooding in the northeastern Spanish region on Saturday. The downpour also disrupted rail services for several hours.” The outlet adds: “Heavy rain also caused major flooding in Italy’s Genoa, particularly in the Val Polcevera area…In Tuscany, a yellow weather alert for hydrogeological risk and severe thunderstorms has also been extended. Meanwhile in Poland, emergency services issued alerts for five regions in the country, as storms with powerful winds reaching 80km/h and heavy rain of up to 50mm is forecast…The intense downpours comes days after Europe saw extreme heatwaves across the continent, which has broken records and sparked alarm, as temperatures reached above 40C in parts of the continent.” 

MORE ON EXTREME WEATHER

• The New York Times: “It’s paradise lost as climate change remakes Europe’s summers.”
• The Associated Press reports that “some of Syria’s worst wildfires in years have been brought under control…following days of grueling firefighting in the forested countryside of the coastal Latakia province”.
• The Independent: “How heatwaves and soaring temperatures are changing tourism across Europe.”
• Al Jazeera covers a new report by the UN World Meteorological Organization which has found that sand and dust storms are leading to “premature deaths” due to climate change, with “more than 330 million people in 150 countries affected”.
• The Mediterranean Sea heatwave “might feel nice for holiday swimming”, but “there’s a catch”, says BBC News.

Several UK outlets carry comment focused on the country’s attitude to air conditioning. An editorial in the Times says: “Though Britain remains a country in which debates over winter heating benefits can lead to deep political ructions, air con is still dismissively treated as just that, a con: an expensive, environmentally damaging, luxury. That myopic view fails to appreciate air conditioning for the life-enhancing, sometimes life-saving, technology it is…At present, Britain’s pathologically intrusive planning regulations effectively block the installation of air con in all but the most luxurious newbuilds. Those regulations should be scrapped.” An editorial in the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph yields to the fact that the planet is warming: “Houses are hot, but the heat pumps installed under government grant schemes are unable to run as air conditioning units, and in London Sadiq Khan’s planning rules prioritise ‘passive ventilation’ over air conditioning in part owing to fears over energy use. As shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho correctly notes, this is a ‘poverty mindset’; Britain’s energy and water policies ‘should fit what people want to do, not the other way around’…With heatwaves marked by spikes in excess deaths, it is surely time to change course and embrace an approach rooted in meeting the needs of the population, expanding water storage capacity, removing constraints on air conditioning and providing the energy generation necessary to do so.” In the Times, Deena Mousa writes: “Heat makes us slow and stupid – Britain needs air con now!” The Guardian gives space to Emma Beddington to say: “How do I feel about air conditioning? On the one hand, I’m extremely hot. On the other, it’s destroying the planet.” In the Times, Sathnam Sanghera writes: “Heatwave is killing off key bits of British life. Climate change is destroying more than just profits at Greggs.” The London Centric substack has a feature headlined: “Why London homes don’t have air con.”

MORE UK COMMENT

• Simon Jenkins in the Guardian: “Ed Miliband would let a turbine farm destroy Brontë country. We need net-zero, but at what cost?”
• Writing in the climate-sceptic Spectator, Neil Clark explains “why I’ve changed my mind about climate change”. He adds: “Surely we can reach a sensible consensus…It is hot out there. Britain has morphed into North Africa, and not because of immigration. Saying that this is normal is no longer credible.”
• Iain Macwhirter in the Times writes: “John Swinney has blown our chances of a payoff for all those turbines. The Scottish first minister should be pushing Westminster to move forward with zonal energy pricing to help Scottish consumers and industry.”
• An editorial in the climate-sceptic Sun says: “Why is the government using taxpayers’ money to subsidise the price of electric vehicles to consumers? It’s the job of car manufacturers to make EVs cheap and reliable – not the government’s…When it comes to an obsession with hitting net-zero targets all common sense seems to go out of the window.”

An editorial in the Guardian ponders the outcome of last week’s BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summit in Brazil which “revealed a loose alliance of emerging powers becoming more complex – and perhaps more consequential”. The editorial adds: “There are things that the BRICS get right. Financial global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund are in need of reform; the rich world has failed to honour climate finance promises. The group’s understandable response in the face of inaction is to create its own development bank to promote a form of green industrialisation. A pre-summit agreement on a formal collective BRICS stance on funding climate action will help. Rapid growth in renewable energy means fossil fuels now account for less than half of the bloc’s total electricity generation. Given the climate emergency, such progress can only be welcome. BRICS member states now lead in green tech and boast booming consumer markets – offering both the tools and the scale to drive industrial growth.”

The New Yorker’s Elizabeth Kolbert focuses on how the Trump administration has reacted to the deadly floods in Texas: “So far, Trump’s assault on climate science (and on so many other aspects of reality) has found eager collaborators in Congress. But, in the case of NOAA, the House and the Senate still have the opportunity to reject the president’s schemes. And perhaps, in the aftermath of the tragedy in Texas, they will find the gumption to do so. Because, as the death toll along the Guadalupe River has made horrifically clear, ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away.”

MORE US COMMENT

• Tim Palmer in the New York Times argues that “floods are inevitable, catastrophe Is not”. He adds: “Stop building in floodplains.”
• Nathaniel Keohane in the Washington Post: “The budget bill’s surprising lessons for climate and clean energy.”

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

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