More than 1,000 human-caused “methane super-emitter events” were detected in 2022, according to new data reported on the frontpage of the Guardian. The newspaper notes that most of the events were from oil and gas fields. It continues: “The methane super-emitter sites were detected by analysis of satellite data, with the US, Russia and Turkmenistan responsible for the largest number from fossil fuel facilities. The biggest event was a leak of 427 tonnes an hour in August, near Turkmenistan’s Caspian coast and a major pipeline. That single leak was equivalent to the rate of emissions from 67m cars, or the hourly national emissions of France.” Meanwhile, separate data reveals 55 “methane bombs” – defined as “fields where leakage alone from the full exploitation of the resources would result in emissions equivalent to at least a billion tonnes of CO2” – the paper reports. It says that more than half of these fields are already in production – including the three largest, which are all in North America. It adds: “The methane bomb emissions are also significantly higher than the emissions limit of 380bn tonnes of CO2 from all sources needed to keep global heating below 1.5C, according to the Global Carbon Budget’s recent estimate.” These datasets show that tackling leaks from fossil fuel sites is the fastest and cheapest way to slash methane emissions, the paper says. Separately, the newspaper reports on the impacts of the “Pennsylvania climate disaster” – one of the super-emitter events in the main investigation – on the local community.

Flood damage in the UK could be reduced by 13-23% if international climate targets are met, according to new research covered by the Independent. The New Scientist also covers the research: “With 1.8C of warming, the average yearly cost of flood damage in the UK is predicted to increase by 4%.” BBC News has published the flood risk map produced by researchers, revealing which locations will be most severely impacted by flooding. MailOnline adds that “parts of the south east and north west of England, south Wales and central Scotland, are most at risk”.

In other UK news, Bloomberg reports that “the UK grid issued a rare warning that power supply will be tight on Tuesday and asked coal plants to stand by, as a snowy cold snap strains the system”. The Daily Telegraph reports that the West Burton A coal power plant will be placed on standby and Bloomberg adds that wind generation is forecast to drop throughout Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Guardian covers new analysis which finds that a publicly owned electricity generation firm could save Britons nearly £21bn a year in total or £252 per household. This finding bolsters Labour’s case to launch a national energy company if the party gains power, the paper says.

Elsewhere, the Guardian reports that four Insulate Britain activists who blockaded a street in London have been found guilty of “public nuisance”. The Daily Express reports that at his first Commonwealth Day message at Westminster Abbey next week, King Charles is “expected to reflect issues surrounding climate change, supporting free and democratic societies, and promoting peace and prosperity”. And Unherd reports on new polling data which shows that most of the UK “is now supportive of the ‘green’ emphasis of the main political parties, but pockets of resistance remain in Yorkshire, the North East and Wales”. The outlet continues: “When presented with the statement ‘The government spends too much time on green issues’, 30% of the population agrees, but a larger group, 42%, disagrees, believing that the emphasis is appropriate or even insufficient. A further 29% are not sure.” The outlet or polling firm does not define what it means by “green”.

Australian fire services are battling a fire in north-west Sydney which was triggered by the region’s first emergency fire warning in two years, BBC News reports. The outlet notes that temperatures in some parts of the state hit 40C on Monday for the first time since January 2021. It continues: “On Tuesday, 33 fires were still burning across the state, 10 of which were not under control, fire authorities said…Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology also warned that dry thunderstorms were possible across eastern NSW, which could spark new fires.” Reuters reports that these are the worst bushfire conditions since the “devastating fires in 2019 and 2020 in Australia’s east”. The Independent adds that eastern Australia has experienced three consecutive summers of La Niña conditions which have contributed to above-average rainfall causing widespread flooding, but says that these conditions are likely near their end. And the Guardian reports that, amid the extreme heat, residents of New South Wales have made their biggest demand on the electricity grid in more than three years.

There is continuing coverage of the news that Germany is “blocking” final approval of the European Union’s legislation to ban the sale of new CO2-emitting cars from 2035. Politico reports that EU ministers were due to give final approval to the law on Tuesday, but Germany “baulked” at the minute. The outlet continues: “The Free Democratic Party (FDP), one of three parties making up Germany’s ruling coalition, wants the European Commission to include a loophole in the legislation that would allow sales of vehicles with combustion engines, as long as they use so-called e-fuels.” Together with Italy, Poland and Bulgaria, Germany “can form a blocking minority that prevents the EU from adopting the zero-emissions mandate”, the outlet says. But it adds that the Greens – another party in the German coalition – do not agree with this objection. Separately, the outlet reports that the German chancellor Olaf Scholz has made clear that he supports the FDP’s push to amend the article. Politico adds that the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tried to lift the block, but the meeting on Sunday “came up short”. Elsewhere, Reuters reports that Germany’s transport minister said on Monday that he is hopeful for a solution to the dispute. Bloomberg says the objection risks “derailing” the EU green deal.

Elsewhere, Reuters reports on a new study which finds that extreme weather caused by climate change could cost Germany up to 900bn euros in economic damage by mid-century. In other European news, Reuters reports that EU countries “intend to push for a global phasing out of fossil fuels among their climate diplomacy priorities this year, which the bloc hopes to approve this week after rewriting a contentious section on nuclear energy”. Meanwhile, Bloomberg says the EU “plans to take its first steps into the global natural gas market as a buyers’ cartel next month as it seeks to drive down energy prices”.

Environmental groups including Earthjustice and Sierra Club sued the Biden administration on Monday to block the sale of oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico, Reuters reports. The newswire says the lawsuit “seeks to stop the US Interior Department from offering up drilling rights in 73.3m acres of the oil-rich region later this month, even though the auction is mandated by last year’s landmark energy and climate law”. The Hill notes that Biden had previously cancelled the lease sales due to “contradictory court rulings”, but reinstated them after provision negotiated by Senator Joe Manchin in the Inflation Reduction Act requiring their sales. Elsewhere, Reuters reports that “US Senator Dan Sullivan on Monday urged the Biden administration to approve an Alaskan arctic oil project fiercely opposed by environmental groups and stalled while the US reviews an environmental analysis”.

In other US news, the Financial Times reports that “an oil industry that opposed President Joe Biden’s signature climate law is now manoeuvring to claim billions of dollars of US tax credits established by the legislation”. Elsewhere, Reuters reports that “US imports of solar panels are finally picking up after months of gridlock stemming from implementation of a new law banning goods made with forced labour”. And Reuters analysis shows that “a large majority of the $50bn of announced investments in domestic manufacturing [as part of the Inflation Reduction Act] to support the clean energy transition has been in states with laws that make it harder for workers to unionise”.

There is continuing coverage of comments made by outgoing Chinese premier Li Keqiang at the beginning of the National People’s Congress’s (NPC) annual meeting on Sunday, where he said, reports the South China Morning Post, that coal is “likely to be at the core of China’s energy infrastructure to ensure its energy security”. Beijing will, he added, “continue to push the installation of renewable energy sources to support the country’s carbon-neutral goals”. The research and development of “clean and efficient use” of coal will be one of the Chinese government’s “key tasks” for 2023, the outlet adds. Bloomberg has a video report in which BloombergNEF’s APAC head of research Ali Izadi-Najafabadi discusses what Li Keqiang’s speech “signals for the energy, renewables and carbon trading markets”.

Meanwhile, China Daily writes that, as the “ongoing two sessions grab attention for legislation that may have a global impact”, Nicholas Stern, a “leading British economist” who chairs the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in London, has said he “believes that China’s transition to a carbon-neutral economy will benefit not only itself, but also contribute to a green and prosperous future for the world”. He has published a report “with experts from China and the UK ahead of the two sessions on ways the Chinese government may better turn its growth model toward green development”, the state-run newspaper adds. Stern is quoted saying: “I think that the carbon neutrality commitment is very serious, as the Chinese leadership has emphasised it many times, so the purpose of the report is to help lay out a road map of how those objectives can be achieved.”

Elsewhere, Reuters reports that US imports of solar panels are “finally picking up after months of gridlock stemming from implementation of a new law banning goods made with forced labor, according to two Chinese solar companies”.

A Guardian editorial argues that the UK government is “failing to make good on Britain’s net zero pledges to the world.” After a High Court ruling last year brought by campaigners, including ClientEarth, the government must now “clarify” by the end of this month, how its net-zero strategy targets will be met, the editorial says. It continues: “Given the track record, it will be hard to give them any credence…On climate policy, the government is demonstrably failing to make good on its promises to the world.” Meanwhile, Graham Stuart – minister of state for energy security and net-zero – writes in the Daily Express that “with Putin’s illegal war on Ukraine showing no signs of ending, energy security and affordability are a bigger priority for the UK and its allies than ever before”. Stuart writes that “our overriding mission is for the UK to have amongst the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe” and says “we will do this by making the most of our position as world-leaders in renewables and nuclear technology as well as our vital oil and gas sector”. He calls wind power a “major British success story” and says “we are reforming our planning systems so we can quickly capture more wind power in the North Sea – enough for every home in the UK by 2030”.

In the Guardian, columnist Owen Jones warns of the impacts of climate change on immigration policy. He writes: “The rulers of a declining, grotesquely unequal global north will claim legitimacy by promising to drive back the human tides. We may see a form of eco-fascism: far-right parties may stop denying the climate emergency as it becomes too obvious to wish away, but claim the catastrophe underlines the need to keep the rest of the world out.” Elsewhere, an editorial in the Sun warns that chancellor Jeremy Hunt must not be “the first chancellor in a decade” to raise fuel taxes and “surrender to well-heeled officials who think fleecing drivers is painless”. Also in the Sun, the climate-sceptic motoring lobbyist and founder of “FairFuelUK”, Howard Cox, reiterates that “[r]aising fuel tax in next week’s budget will be political suicide.” He adds: “The Office for Budget Responsibility says our tax burden will hit a record high of 37.5% as a share of GDP in 2024-25. This level of needless take, if maintained, will see UK growth wither and die.” (Carbon Brief analysis published in 2020 showed that the long-running fuel duty freeze had increased UK emissions by up to 5%.) And in the Daily Telegraph, Eamonn Ives, head of research at the Entrepreneurs Network and former COP26 special advisor, warns that “the government is taxing wind farms out of existence”.

Meanwhile, in US comment, an editorial in the Chicago Tribune proposes that Illinois’ geology is suited for “carbon capture” and could be a future “boon” for the state. It continues: “This is especially timely because last year’s Inflation Reduction Act significantly increases the federal funding for carbon capture, via grants and state incentives as well as a big boost in the credits per ton for storing carbon dioxide underground.” And New York Times writer Margaret Renkl laments the “terrifying” early onset of spring in the American South.

Global food consumption could add nearly 1C to temperature rise by 2100 – with 75% of this driven by foods that produce a lot of methane such as red meat, dairy and rice, a new study finds. However, more than half of this warming could be avoided if the world adopted a healthy diet, cut food waste and improved production practices, it adds. The research is the first to examine the climate impact of food items by specifically examining what types of greenhouse gases they produce.

A brief communication in Nature Sustainability finds that electric vehicle critical mineral targets set under the US’s landmark climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, may be difficult to achieve for some types of car batteries. The IRA stipulates that, for an electric vehicle to be eligible for tax credits in 2027, 80% of the market value of critical minerals in its battery must be sourced domestically or from US free-trade partners. (This has caused tension with its trade partners, especially the EU.) The new research finds that the target may be achievable for fully electric vehicles with nickel cobalt aluminium cathode batteries, but achieving the target with lithium iron phosphate and nickel cobalt manganese batteries would be challenging.