There is widespread media coverage in the UK of the extreme heatwave affecting large parts of the country. The Independent covers warnings from scientists that politicians in the UK are failing to appreciate the “magnitude of the climate crisis” after the Met Office forecast temperatures “could hit 40C”, for just the second time since records began. BBC News reports that the UK is set for the hottest June day on record with 35C forecast for today, but temperatures are expected to rise further tomorrow. The Times adds that temperatures are expected to reach 38C on Wednesday and Thursday, a level the UK has only reached four times: in 2003, 2019 and twice in 2022. The Guardian adds that the Met Office has issued a rare “red” weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday due to the forecast extreme heat and humidity, indicating “a risk to life for even the healthy population”. The Financial Times adds that this week marks only the second time the Met Office has issued a red alert for heat. Another article in the Guardian looks back at the summer of 1976, when heatwave records were shattered by 15 consecutive days where the peak temperature was above 32C. It runs under the headline: “How the historic heatwave has become our new normal.” 

Separately, Reuters reports that at least 18 people have died in France amid the heatwave, which “smash[ed] temperature records in several cities on Monday”. The Guardian adds that two children have been found dead in their family’s car in south-eastern France, amid the “ferocious heatwave forecast to shatter absolute temperature records”. The Associated Press reports that France saw temperatures above 40C on Monday, with conditions unlikely to ease until Friday. Euronews adds that France has now been facing this “exceptional heatwave” for nearly a week, with Météo-France placing 54 regional administrative areas on red alert, an alert that will affect 39 million people. The Independent reports that nearly 2,700 schools have closed amid the heatwave. France24 adds that the heatwave is driving demand for air-conditioning, “a politically charged issue”.

The Daily Telegraph adds that the heatwave has also hit Spain, Portugal and Croatia, “with scientists warning that human-driven climate change is making such extremes more frequent, longer and more intense”. Deutsche Welle adds that parts of Germany are seeing high temperatures of up to 40C and parts of northern Portugal are under “orange” weather alerts due to the high temperatures. Bloomberg reports that the heatwave has caused water levels in the Rhine to fall, “choking fuel shipments to parts of western Europe”. 

There is widespread coverage of UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s resignation and expected succession by Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. BusinessGreen reports that Starmer has set out a timetable for the transfer of power, which will see a new prime minister in office by September at the latest. Analysis in the Guardian by Fiona Harvey looks at Starmer’s “strong green record” and the “rightwing backlash” that led to him weakening some commitments. It concludes that the “lesson to draw from Starmer’s time in office, however, is that voters are greener than the Tories and Reform would have the public believe, and Labour has much more to lose to the left than the right on these issues”. Bloomberg adds that, with the UK having some of the world’s highest energy prices, Starmer’s successor will face pressure to shift away from the country’s “world-leading climate goals”. It adds that Burnham has said he is “open-minded” about the prospect of more drilling in UK waters. A separate article in the Guardian looks at the possibility of energy secretary Ed Miliband becoming chancellor under a Burnham-led government. Relatedly, the Guardian reports that Miliband is expected to call for the UK to stick to its net-zero targets to deliver jobs and growth in a speech today.

MORE ON THE UK

• Outlets including Reuters, Bloomberg, the Press Association and others cover the National ‌Energy System Operator’s latest report, confirming it is “confident” that “Britain will have enough electricity supply this winter despite disruptions to energy flows ​caused by the Iran war”. 
• BusinessGreen covers a study by thinktank ECIU that finds Scottish households are deploying solar panels and heat pumps faster than in the rest of the UK.
• The Press Association covers new research that suggests homeowners view the transition to heat pumps as a “high stakes gamble”, with a range of concerns that go beyond just the initial expense.
• The Times covers a report from the Energy Transition Institute at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen that claims Scotland could lose 18,000 oil and gas jobs over the next decade, but employment levels could be maintained if offshore wind ambitions are achieved.
• The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph claims that charities “lobbied” the long-running BBC Radio 4 rural soap opera The Archers to include more climate change storylines. 

Euractiv covers talks between the EU, Canada and China on Monday, with all three reaffirming their support for the 2015 Paris Agreement. It adds that the trio represents two of the world’s three largest economies and nearly a third of global GDP. It quotes EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, who said the talks provided an “opportunity to help shape what the next decade of climate action must deliver”. Reuters quotes Chinese environment minister Huang Runqiu, who said: “The ​multilateral process will not stop, or even slow down, because of the absence of ​individual countries”, adding that the ⁠world’s low-carbon transition is “irreversible”.

China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other departments have outlined new rules that “mandate increased use of renewables”, setting “binding targets” for the share of “electricity and non-electric energy that must come from renewable sources” starting August this year, reports Bloomberg. Under the new plan, explains industry news outlet BJX News, electricity consumption targets for key industries can be met through “self-generation and self-consumption”, “direct green electricity connections” and “green electricity trading”, while non-electric energy targets can be met through “renewable heating and cooling, the production and use of ‘green hydrogen’, ammonia and methanol, and non-electric biomass energy applications”. In an explanatory note, the NDRC said that the measures establish a framework of both “consumption-side obligations” and “responsibility for local authorities”, according to state news agency Xinhua. The former helps “foster a larger green consumption market”, while the latter promotes the “optimal allocation of green power resources nationwide”, adds the newswire.

MORE ON CHINA

• China’s push to ensure “reliable” renewable power for AI-focused data centres is “running into hurdles”, reports Reuters. The “bottleneck” is if the grid can deliver stable power at the right time to data centres, says Caixin, adding that even bullish future demand estimates would, nevertheless, make up “around 1% of the total load”.
• The Financial Times reports China has restricted trade with two US rare-earth companies. China’s exports of rare earths used for magnets to Japan were “negligible” in May, reports Reuters.
• China has issued a new policy to support “foreign-funded enterprises” to invest in areas including “green consumption”, according to Xinhua.
• A Global Times editorial says that “high-quality” and “affordable” Chinese imports have supported Europe’s “green transition”.
• China accounted for 78% of newly grid-connected offshore wind capacity worldwide last year, maintaining its position as the global leader, reports CCTV.

Reuters covers the Colombian election results, with initial counts showing that right-wing nationalist lawyer and political newcomer Abelardo De La Espriella has been narrowly elected as president. It adds that the vocal supporter of Trump ran on a platform that included promises to revive oil and gas projects halted under his predecessor. Inside Climate News says that “a de la Espriella presidency would mark a sharp reversal for one of the world’s most ambitious experiments in fossil-fuel phaseout”. It adds that outgoing president Gustavo Petro banned fracking and led Colombia to become the first major oil-producing nation to halt new oil-and-gas exploration licenses, “positioning itself as a bellwether for developing countries seeking to align their economic policies with climate goals”.

MORE ON LATIN AMERICA

• Bloomberg reports that the Climate Investment Funds has approved $14bn in “climate-focused capital” for Brazil and Mexico.

Former UN negotiator for Brazil and president of the Talanoa Institute, Natalie Unterstell, argues in a comment piece for Reuters that while climate adaptation has never had so much public attention, it “has also never been further from the decisions that actually govern how money moves, how infrastructure gets built and how states prepare their citizens for the conditions already arriving.” She continues to explore why the gap between opportunity and delivery remains so wide with regard to climate adaptation. She concludes: “Adaptation is not a defensive agenda. It is how economies stay productive, how societies stay stable and how the energy transition becomes durable.”

MORE IN COMMENT

• In the Financial Times, columnist John Gapper looks at the impact of AI data centres and electricity shortages on New York’s commitment to phasing out fossil fuels and asks what those pressures will mean for other regions or nations such as the UK. 
• In the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph, Brenda Shaffer, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Centre, dubs plans by UN agencies to tax global shipping and aviation for their greenhouse gas emissions as a “sinister power grab”.
• In Reuters, columnist Ron Bousso argues that the Iran war has triggered a race to build out oil reserves.
• In Bloomberg, columnist David Fickling looks at the potential for solar power in Iran, concluding: “There is no time to lose. Iran needs to join the renewable revolution it has ignored for too long.”

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

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