The Trump administration is cancelling a large-scale wind project in Idaho, which is “another blow to the US wind industry as the president seeks to propel fossil fuel development nationwide”, Bloomberg reports. It continues: “The 231-turbine Lava Ridge wind project had won approval during the waning weeks of the administration of former president Joe Biden. The Interior Department revoked approval for Lava Ridge after ‘crucial legal deficiencies in the issuance of the approval’ were discovered, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.” The Associated Press reports that the project had been on hold since the first day of Trump’s second presidential term, when he issued an executive halting the permitting of wind-power projects nationwide. The newswire adds that the interior secretary Doug Burgum claimed in a statement that the move would “[protect] tens of thousands of acres from harmful wind policy while shielding the interests of rural Idaho communities”.

MORE ON US

• US energy secretary Chris Wright has denied established science by claiming that climate change does not make extreme weather more likely or intense, while touting a “misleading” climate report released from his department, Bloomberg says. He was challenged about the report during a CNN interview.
• The Associated Press says that Trump is “is moving to shut down two NASA missions that monitor a potent greenhouse gas and plant health, potentially shutting off an important source of data for scientists, policymakers and farmers”.
• Politico reports on an industry analysis finding a “sweeping Interior Department order will ensnare wind and solar projects on private land across the country, risking investments and potentially preventing new power supplies from coming online”.
• A second Politico story says the White House has instructed the Bureau of Land Management to cut spending associated with renewable energy.
• Inside Climate News reports that a $7bn scheme to “reduce electricity bills while increasing the use of rooftop solar is facing potential cuts from the Trump administration”.
• Inside Climate News also reports on how environmental groups have taken the Environment Protection Agency to court over cuts to climate resilience spending.

Wildfires in France have “scorched an area larger than Paris”, BBC News reports. The outlet says that the country’s prime minister, François Bayrou, describes an ongoing “huge, deadly wildfire” in the country’s south as a “catastrophe on an unprecedented scale”. BBC News adds: “Bayrou said the wildfire is linked to global warming and drought.” This fire has burnt more than 15,000 hectares of land, killing one woman and injuring 13 people, the outlet says. It is the country’s second biggest fire in 50 years, the Guardian reports. The newspaper notes: “The environment ministry says the fire had destroyed the same amount of land in 24 hours that wildfires typically burned across France in a year.” The fire in the southern department of Aude was “still out of control and spreading fast on Wednesday evening”, officials tell the Times. Climate scientist Serge Zaka tells the newspaper: “We’ve never seen a fire spread so fast this century.” Elsewhere, a forest fire “blazed through southern Spain, forcing the evacuation of tourists and locals from a popular beach resort”, the Independent reports. 

MORE ON EXTREME WEATHER

• Rescue efforts were “hampered” by heavy rain and blocked floods after four people died in “sudden flooding and landslides” in India’s Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, Reuters reports. 
• Flash floods have killed six people in a Myanmar-China “border town”, according to the Straits Times.  
• The Financial Times reports that flash floods are causing “havoc” in parts of Asia – “even as scientists said the global temperature rise in the past three months had eased from record levels”. 
• Hundreds of wildfires across Canada and parts of the US are “reducing air quality in both countries”, the Guardian reports, with about 81 million Americans under air quality alerts. 
• A “massive” wildfire in California has “become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year”, reports the Associated Press. 
• Around 950 homes are still without power in northern Scotland after Storm Floris, says BBC News. 

A study estimates that 440 “excess deaths” are attributable to the wildfires that “devastated parts of the Los Angeles area in January”, Reuters says. This “far exceed[s] the official toll of 31 fatalities”, the newswire notes. Reuters adds that the research uses “models that compared predicted mortality under normal circumstances to actual numbers documented” between 5 January and 1 February this year. BBC News explains: “Some are attributed to lung and heart conditions exacerbated by smoke or stress, while others are more indirect – like delayed healthcare treatment for dialysis or cancer patients as a result of fire-related disruptions.” Separately, research looking at the “aftermath” of the Hawaii fires in August 2023 finds that “the Maui fire left one in five people with lung damage, and as many as half with symptoms of depression”, the Guardian reports. The Washington Post also covers the new wildfire studies. 

MORE ON CLIMATE SCIENCE

• Last month was “Earth’s third warmest July since records began”, Reuters says, which “continue[s] a trend of extreme climate conditions that scientists attribute to man-made global warming”. 
• A “major climate-GDP study” published in Nature last year is “under review”, which “may culminate in a rare retraction”, after a re-analysis “challenge[d]” its conclusion, Agence France-Presse reports. The Washington Post also covers the story. 
• Climate change has “increased the intensity of monsoon rains in Pakistan by 15%”, according to a World Weather Attribution report covered by the nation’s Nawa-i-Waqt newspaper. 
• The New York Times reports the findings of a new study that California’s wildfire season is starting earlier in the year – “and human-caused climate change is a major reason”. 
• Another New York Times article looks at how the “famously rainy” Washington state in the US is “facing longer, hotter and drier fire seasons”. 

Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to double tariffs on India as a “punishment” for the country buying Russian oil, the New York Times reports. It continues: “Under a new executive order, India would face a 25% tariff starting on 27 August if it continues to buy oil from Russia. That would be in addition to a 25% duty that Trump announced last week, citing unfair trade barriers, which he plans to implement beginning Thursday.” The newspaper adds that India’s foreign ministry responded to Trump’s announcement, “reiterating that its motives for importing oil from Russia were tied to the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people”. The newspaper quotes a ministry statement saying: “It is, therefore, extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.” The Financial Times notes there is “no easy way” for India to rapidly end its reliance on Russian energy. The Times of India reports on research showing that the European Union has bought more Russian energy than India since the start of war in Ukraine.

China’s central bank, alongside six other departments, have issued guidance on “supporting access to financing” for “new energy” and other sectors that are considered part of “new industrialisation”, reports industry news outlet BJX News. The guidance also encourages state-run investment funds to focus on the “future energy” sector and other “future industries”. It calls for regulators to “encourage banks” to support projects related to the energy transition of “high-carbon industries” and “strengthen the application” of “green” bonds and loans. Financial institutions will also be encouraged to “develop financial products supporting green manufacturing” and increase investments in areas such as “low-carbon development”, “clean production” and “environmental protection”, the outlet says. 

MORE ON CHINA

• Reuters reports that “extreme rainfall” in south China is threatening to “worsen a major outbreak of chikungunya”. In the city of Guangzhou, extreme rain triggered a landslide that left seven missing, Xinhua says.
• Xinhua reports that China has issued a plan to “secure” a “good autumn harvest” amid “frequent extreme weather and climate events”.
• Jiemian discusses how China’s campaign to restrain price wars will affect the solar sector.
• An article by George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University and SOAS, in the Guardian says China’s “overcapacity problem” is “creating instability”. 
• An opinion article by China Daily commentator Li Yang argues complaints about “overcapacity” in China’s electric vehicle sector is western “protectionism in disguise”.
• SCMP carries a commentary by Shanghai-based economist Andy Xie arguing “cheap and abundant renewable energy is the most important pillar of China’s…prosperity”.

The UK has opened applications for its next offshore wind subsidy auction, as it strives to meet its 2030 clean-power target, Bloomberg reports. It continues: “The process, which guarantees the price of power for renewables developers, is crucial this year as it’s one of the last opportunities to line up capacity that will be operational by the end of the decade. To attract projects, the government increased the maximum electricity price on offer compared to last year but that could make it more difficult to lower bills for consumers, which it has also promised to do.” The timeline for the auction has not yet been announced, but it will take place by next February, the outlet adds.

MORE ON UK

• The Daily Telegraph reports that two heat pump adverts have been banned by the advertising watchdog for failing “to highlight eligibility criteria for a government grant of up to £7,500 to fit a heat pump”.
• Another Daily Telegraph article says there have been 30,000 heat pumps installed in UK homes in the last six months – far below an annual goal of 600,000.
• A story trailed on the frontpage of the Daily Telegraph says that the hard-right Reform UK party has “threatened to pull solar subsidies”, if elected to power.
• The Daily Telegraph also reports that UK taxpayers “face a £33m bill” from “curtailing” wind power during Storm Floris, when “the electricity network was too congested to accept their power”.
• The Daily Express says that Camden Council, Keir Starmer’s local council, is to switch to vegan catering, a move the newspaper describes as “woke”.

Brazil’s COP30 president-elect André Correa do Lago acknowledges that the high price of hotels in Belém may undermine the summit negotiations and “COP30’s legitimacy may be questioned if not all countries attend”, Folha de São Paulo reports. The newspaper adds that the high costs of accommodation in Belém has prevented the Austrian president from attending the climate conference; instead, he will be represented by negotiators and the environment minister. O Globo highlights that COP30 “risks an empty meeting” due to high accommodation prices and side events and that, despite the “great tension over the organisation of the event”, Correa do Lago says “there’s no B plan” for COP30. The outlet adds that another meeting will take place on 11 August for Brazil to “present further actions to solve the problem”. Finally, Folha de São Paulo reports that Pará has attempted to lower the costs of accommodation for COP30 by releasing “exclusive vacancies” on the official booking platform.  

MORE ON LATIN AMERICA

• Lena Estrada has resigned as Colombia’s environment minister and been replaced by Irene Vélez, director of the country’s national environmental licensing authority, reports El Espectador. According to the newspaper, no reason has been given for her resignation.
• A commentary in Excélsior addresses how the recent opinion by the International Court of Justice that countries have a legal obligation to reduce emissions means that Mexico will have to adjust its energy policy and review its national plans.
• Standard Chartered bank plans to sell “forest protection carbon credits” on behalf of the Brazilian state of Acre, says the Wall Street Journal.

For the Financial Times, commentator and former Times leader writer Simon Nixon says that recent European Commission rowbacks of climate regulations “will harm companies and investors”. He writes: “The Green Deal was never just a plan to reduce emissions; it was supposed to be a growth strategy. Robust sustainability disclosures are not a luxury, they are a necessity for a continent that lacks resources and wants to remain at the forefront of the industries of the future.”

MORE COMMENT

• The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph has one column on how “net-zero” could “doom” Heathrow expansion plans and another speculating on job losses associated with the energy transition.  
• The Daily Express gives space to Lois Perry, UK director of the US climate-sceptic Heartland Institute lobby group, to criticise Ed Miliband’s actions to tackle climate change and boost energy security.

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

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