US president Donald Trump “lashed out at Canada” on Friday over wildfire smoke that has blanketed large swathes of the US, reports the Financial Times, and threatened to levy billions more in tariffs on Canadian imports in retaliation. In a social-media post, Trump said Canada was “not properly maintaining their forests and brush therein”, the newspaper reports, claiming that the US was being “unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted and unhealthy air”. He added that the cost of the pollution “is incalculable” and should be “added to the tariffs Canada currently pays”. At yesterday’s World Cup final, Trump told Canadian prime minister Mark Carney that Canada must “do better” at controlling the fires, reports Reuters. Other Republican lawmakers made similar criticisms and threats, reports Politico. The New York Times notes that, in recent months, the Trump administration has “moved to shutter several government laboratories” that studied wildfires.

Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, where there are 191 active wildfires, expressed frustration with Trump’s comments, reports CNN. According to the outlet, Ford noted that the Trump administration had a “very short, short memory”, adding: “We had the water bombers, everyone ready, going over to California. It was last year.” Scientists have attributed the proliferation of wildfires across North America to a range of factors, including hot and dry conditions worsened by climate change, says Al Jazeera. On his “Climate Brink” Substack, Carbon Brief’s climate science contributor Zeke Hausfather notes that “the surge in Canadian [wildfire] burning tracks temperature with striking consistency”. The story is widely covered, including in the Independent and Axios, while the New York Times, Reuters and the Associated Press all cover the Canadian fires and the health impacts of the smoke. 

MORE ON US

• Scientists have warned that climate change is driving increasingly common bouts of heavy rain in the US that cause deadly and damaging flash floods, reports the Guardian.
• Homeowners trying to rebuild after last year’s Los Angeles wildfires are facing a barrier of mortgage lenders “delaying and denying access to their insurance funds”, reports the Los Angeles Times.
• The Guardian: “Majority of US voters link extreme weather to climate crisis, study finds.” 
• A Washington Post editorial says that “Californians have been mitigating the danger of worsening wildfires by hiring goats to munch on flammable brush, but the state’s revised labour law risks sending these goats to slaughter”.
• US oil companies signed roughly $60bn in agreements and partnerships with the Iraqi government on Friday, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf, reports the Associated Press.
• CNN: “US EV sales are down, but not out. Here’s why automakers won’t pull the plug.”

As Andy Burnham becomes the UK’s new prime minister later today, there is widespread media coverage of his potential policies. BBC News says that Burnham is set to announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. While details of the plans are “not clear”, the outlet says, Burnham is expected to honour the Labour party’s 2024 manifesto, which pledged to issue no new licences, but to honour existing ones. The article notes that “at the heart of the debate are two oil and gas fields in Scotland – Rosebank and Jackdaw”, which are currently subject to a legal challenge. These ongoing legal processes mean that Burnham will “not be able to explicitly announce their approval, but he will likely nod to it” in his first speech as prime minister today. Burnham could also “pledge to speed up existing plans to drill more” as “many oil and gas licences already approved in recent years remain largely undeveloped”, the article adds. 

Effectively confirming the story, Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell said Burnham would stick to the Labour manifesto, but bring a “change of emphasis” on North Sea oil and gas, reports a separate BBC News article. Speaking on the TV programme Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Powell said: “We’ve been really clear that the way to achieve…long-term energy security and lower bills is by ensuring that we do have our own homegrown, clean, much cheaper energy,” the article says. [Read Carbon Brief’s North Sea factcheck to see why these statements are misleading.] On social media, US president Donald Trump celebrated the move, claiming it would prevent the UK from becoming a “poverty stricken disaster”, reports the Independent. Trump also said that the North Sea was being “open[ed] up all the way”, which is not the case, notes the Times. The story is also covered by the Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail and on the frontpage of the Sun.

MORE ON BURNHAM

• Labour “insiders” have warned that Burnham risks his first confrontation with his MPs if he announces new oil and gas drilling licences, reports the Guardian.
• In a letter to Burnham, a group of charities has warned that new drilling licences in the North Sea would damage UK’s security and hurt families struggling with the cost of living, reports the Sunday Mirror.
• Industry documents show that “only 27 direct full-time jobs would be created by Jackdaw”, reports the Guardian. 
• Burnham is “considering radical plans” that could cut household energy bills by £130 a year and make running a heat pump cheaper than a gas boiler, says the Guardian.
• The Times looks at who could be in Burnham’s cabinet, noting that Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is the “frontrunner after a vituperative campaign from senior allies of Burnham” to stop energy secretary Ed Miliband from getting the role.

The EU is set to recommend a three-year delay on penalties for energy importers that do not comply with the bloc’s new methane emissions rules, reports the Financial Times, with the decision coming “after fierce lobbying from the US and member states that raised fears about gas supply risks”. It continues: “Under the present regulation, energy companies that fail to show they are properly monitoring, reporting and verifying leaks and flares of the highly potent greenhouse gas could face penalties by member states of up to 20% of their annual revenue from next year. But the measure has come under intense pressure from major gas importers.” According to “several officials and diplomats”, the European Commission is planning this week to “recommend to member states that they do not penalise infringements of the rules over the first three years”, the article says, noting that the “recommendation will not be legally binding”. E&E News also covers the story.

Meanwhile, there is continuing coverage of the European Commission’s plan to overhaul the EU Emissions Trading System (EUETS), which – the Guardian says – proposes “giving companies a less demanding and cheaper pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”. The newspaper notes that “some heavy industries will benefit from free pollution permits for longer, while the number of permits in circulation will be reduced more slowly, also giving companies more leeway”. The move would see EU industry “continue emitting planet-warming gases well into the 2040s”, says Politico. This “represents a significant watering down of ambition”, it says, and is “likely to spark a fight in parliament and among member countries between those who want more concessions for industry and those who want to accelerate the path to climate neutrality”. There is further reporting in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC News and Reuters, while Euractiv says that, rather than the EUETS being extended to all long-haul flights, it will now include “only flights departing from Europe and landing within a 5,000km radius of Frankfurt airport”.

MORE ON EUROPE

• The European Commission has also unveiled its electrification action plan, which aims to double the current levels of electrification, but “back[s] away from setting a legally-binding target”, says Politico.
• Reuters: “Greece says EU sanctions against Russia risk ceding LNG market share to rival.”
• Reuters: “Electric cars became cheaper in Germany despite rising average prices.”

Internal reports show that five safety limits on the UK’s electricity grid were breached during last month’s heatwave and “system security was compromised”, reports the Times. The National Energy System Operator (Neso) “insisted at the time that the electricity system ‘operated securely’ during the incident” on 23 June, the newspaper says, adding: “Neso confirmed that the reports were genuine, but said they were preliminary documents produced quickly after the event and did not represent its final assessment.” On Friday, energy regulator Ofgem announced that it would oversee an investigation into whether the grid was operated safely and what the Times describes as “allegations that Neso covered up the seriousness of the incident”. A spokesperson for Neso said its analysis showed that the grid operated securely during “an unprecedented period of extreme heat”, adding: “No customer demand was disconnected, frequency and voltage remained within statutory limits, and no lines or cables were overloaded.”

The Sunday Times notes that “scientists have repeatedly warned that Britain will experience an increasing frequency of hot summers and needs to adapt its infrastructure – including the power grid – to cope with the heat”. It adds that “on three days during the heatwaves of June and July the operator’s energy reserves fell perilously low as a surge in air conditioner and fan use coincided with a lull in wind power”. The Financial Times reports on how Neso “faces scrutiny”, while the Times reports on concerns that Neso staff “could not hand over information anonymously” for the investigation. The Financial Times also reports that Neso has “paid households and businesses to cut their electricity use at certain times on multiple occasions since mid-April to help manage the system”. 

MORE UK NEWS

• The Guardian: “Bank of England to stop accepting bonds linked to coal for key loans.”
• There is widespread coverage of continuing wildfires in the UK, including BBC News on blazes in Derbyshire and Greater Manchester and an uncontained fire in the Cairngorms. The Times covers how a “firewave” has “gripped Britain”.
• Central and south-east England have experienced their most prolonged period without recorded rainfall this century, reports the Press Association.
• A frontpage story in the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph claims that “by the end of next year, electricity suppliers will be able to remotely turn down heat pump central heating to help Britain’s energy system cope with high demand”.
• Bloomberg: “UK backs $400m AFDB loan for South Africa climate push.”
• The hot spring season means that the UK is “set for [a] bumper year” for butterflies, reports BBC News.

Around 70,000 hectares have burned across Spain so far this year, reports Euronews, with authorities “recording 18 major wildfires, almost three times the area affected during the same period in 2025”. The outlet continues: “The La Mierla wildfire has scorched nearly 13,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of 16 villages in central Spain. Another 15,400 hectares have burned near Orés in north-eastern Spain.” For the latter fire, the Independent says that “around 450 ground personnel, 11 fire engines, 16 ground crews, six helicopters and two bulldozers were deployed to battle the blaze”. It adds that more than 1,100 have been evacuated. On Twitter, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez warned that “denying the climate emergency does not make it disappear. It only makes us more vulnerable,” reports Euractiv. The Sunday Times reports on a British couple who managed to escape the fires this week. The Guardian reports on how the scale of fires in Europe have forced firefighters to “ration resources and decide which to fight”. Reuters says that “wildfires, drought and storms hound Europe even as [the] heatwave recedes”. 

MORE ON EUROPE

• A frontpage story in the Daily Telegraph warns that France is facing a shortage of onions and other vegetables after heatwaves decimated crops across the country.
• Le Monde: “Paris region deaths doubled during June heatwave, say health authorities.” 

China will impose a “consumption tax on some previously tax-exempted battery products”, including lithium-ion batteries and solar cells, according to the country’s finance ministry, reports Reuters. A 2% consumption tax on lithium-ion batteries, used in EVs and energy storage systems, will be imposed from this September and on solar batteries from April 1, 2027, reports Bloomberg. The new policy came as Beijing “seeks to rein in intense competition in the industries central to the clean-energy transition”, adds the outlet. Beijing National Accounting Institute’s Li Xuhong has told state news agency Xinhua that the new tax policy will promote the “healthy development” of the battery industry. Business news outlet Jiemian carries the full text of the statement. Chinese tax experts have “proposed extending consumption tax to all new energy vehicles” to create a “more level playing field between fuel-powered vehicles and NEVs”, says Yicai. 

MORE ON CHINA

• Offshore wind is seeing its profitability “rapidly eroded” following the introduction of the renewables pricing reform, says Jiemian.
• China has issued an action plan calling for optimising the layout of water-intensive industries in coastal areas, including thermal power and nuclear power, reports BJX News. The plan also encourages greater use of clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, in seawater desalination, says another BJX News report.
• China has become a “leader in global ecological and environmental governance”, says Huang Runqiu, head of the MEE, reports China Daily.
• Caixin reports that China’s industrial capacity utilisation dropped to 73% in the second quarter amid weakness in the coal and petrochemical sectors.
• The Global Mayors Dialogue, held in China’s Yunnan, is “addressing global challenges such as extreme heat, climate change, and ecological conservation”, reports CGTN.

As “excess deaths from high temperatures make clear, air conditioning is not optional for Europe, but a necessity”, argues an editorial in the Financial Times. In recent weeks, “big European cities have wilted in record temperatures”, the newspaper says, but while air conditioning “can make the heat more bearable [it] has somehow been entangled in culture wars”. Much of Europe has relatively little air conditioning, the article notes, “but not for ideological reasons: until now, it hasn’t been needed”. Europe is the fastest-warming continent, it says, and “this year’s heat will be repeated in the years to come as the world remains dependent on burning fossil fuels”. The newspaper argues: “For reasons of comfort, productivity and mortality, Europe needs to get comfortable with the technology – and invest in its widespread adoption.” [See Carbon Brief’s “Eight facts about air conditioning amid an overheated global debate”.]

In the Los Angeles Times, Sara Yassi – chair of the UK’s youth delegation to COP30 – warns that “air conditioning alone won’t save us from killer heat”. Air conditioning “isn’t the enemy”, she says: “It saves lives…The mistake is designing cities that need more and more of it every year.” She adds: “The alternative to the air-con divide isn’t asking people to suffer through the hottest summers on record. It’s treating cooling like clean water: public infrastructure, not a personal purchase.”

MORE COMMENT

• Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria writes that the Iran war is a “gift” to China, noting that it has stockpiled oil, continued using coal, expanded nuclear and “electrified its economy on a scale no other major country has matched”.
• In the Financial Times, economist Christof Rühl asks: “How long can oil markets absorb the Hormuz shock?”
• In the Times weekend essay, columnist Emma Duncan writes that the “Iran war has created a new energy superpower – China”.
• Columnists at the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph continue to attack Ed Miliband, while Fraser Nelson in the Times talks up Shabana Mahmood for chancellor while claiming: “As energy secretary, Miliband has pursued a net-zero agenda that harmed industry and hurt living standards while making a negligible difference to global warming.”
• The climate-sceptic comment section of the Wall Street Journal has editorials on a so-called “climate coup” at the US National Academies of Science and why the New York governor is “shortsighted” for a one-year pause on permits for datacentres.

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

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