More than 2m new cars were sold in the UK last year, driven by the growth in electric cars sales, which were up 23.9% in 2025. It says that pure battery EVs made up 23.4% of the market, up from 19.6% in 2024. It continues: “The government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate set a headline target for at least 28% of cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK last year to be zero-emission, which generally means pure battery electric. But the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank has estimated the actual sales requirement to avoid penalties was just 20.4%, as companies also get credits for selling large numbers of lower emission petrol and diesel cars.” BBC News notes that these “flexibilities” were extended in April, following heavy lobbying by manufacturers, while the fines for failing to comply with the ZEV were also reduced.

The Times misleadingly says that December was the only month where car sales hit the 28% headline target set under the ZEV mandate, without noting that flexibilities reduce the target share significantly. [Carbon Brief’s Simon Evans noted yesterday that national news media has consistently failed to report these flexibilities accurately.] The sales figures were also covered by the Independent and Bloomberg. The Financial Times adds that the “rapid rise of Chinese brands” contributed to the increase in EV and plug-in hybrid sales in 2025.

MORE ON UK

• The Financial Times covers the “boom” in power grid jobs in the UK as the energy sector shifts away from fossil fuels. 
• The Guardian covers a study that finds there is a “silent majority” who support “green policies”, which MPs underestimate.
• Financial Times: “Phillips 66 to buy UK’s Lindsey refinery but will not reopen it.” The Guardian, BBC News, the Times and others all have the story. 

US oil refiners are “braced” for an influx of Venezuelan crude that would make them “early winners of president Donald Trump’s extraordinary plans for an energy-led regime change in Caracas”, reports the Financial Times. Shares in the American refining groups have jumped as traders “bet their US Gulf coast operations could snap up big volumes of Venezuelan heavy crude as Washington looks to ease sanctions and revive production”. The Associated Press reports that shares of major US energy companies were “sharply higher” on Monday after Trump announced plans to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry. Reuters notes that oil prices fell due to “expectations of ample global supply amid weak demand” on the prospect of higher Venezuelan production. The Guardian explains why Venezuelan crude oil appeals to US refineries, with Gulf coast facilities that were built for heavy oil now looking at ramping up production to 3m barrels a day.

The Times notes that Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, an estimated 303bn barrels. However, it adds that restoring oil output to former highs could cost up to $200bn “under an arduous process lasting more than a decade”. Reuters reports that Trump has stated that the US might subsidise oil companies to rebuild energy infrastructure in Venezuela. There was additional coverage of the unfolding events following the US’s abduction of the Venezuelan president and focus on the nation’s oil sector in the New York Times, ABC News, Politico, the Sun, Drilled, BBC News, the Times and others.   

MORE ON TRUMP

• Bloomberg: “Europe backs Greenland after Trump resumes takeover threats.”
• The Observer notes that Greenland’s location and mineral resources have made it an “attractive target for Trump”.
• The New York Times adds that the island has “huge stores of rare earth minerals”, which are vital components in batteries, EVs and other technologies.

China’s Ministry of Commerce and eight other government departments released an action plan on Monday to “accelerate the green transition of consumption and support high-quality development”, reports state news agency Xinhua. The plan outlines 20 policy measures to “strengthen incentives” for “green consumption”, calling for building “green supply chains and conducting carbon footprint assessments” as well as encouraging the purchase of new energy vehicles (NEVs), adds the newswire. It also provides details on “financial and other supporting policies to enhance the green consumption environment”.

In related news, Bloomberg reports that China has lowered certain import tariffs in a move designed to boost the country’s lithium-battery recycling industry. China’s State Council has issued a plan to “systematically” advance integrated solid-waste management to reduce energy consumption and improve energy utilisation efficiency, reports Ideacarbon, a carbon-emission-focused news outlet. The Shanghai-based news outlet the Paper reports on efforts to strengthen carbon footprint systems, in order to implement the dual control of carbon system, according to China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

MORE ON CHINA

• Science and Technology Daily reports that China’s carbon trading market has been operating smoothly in 2025, with cumulative trading volumes reaching 865m tonnes with a total transaction value of 57.663bn yuan ($8.3bn), according to the MEE.
• CCTV reports that the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) has “disregarded the achievements China has made in low-carbon development”, setting a “significantly inflated baseline default value” for the carbon intensity of Chinese products.
• The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that China aims to expand its west-to-east power transmission network to more than 420 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, according to the NEA and the NDRC.
• New research finds that “slashing carbon emissions” can “dramatically boost productivity”, according to another SCMP article.
• SCMP publishes an opinion article by Sonalie Figueiras, the founder and editor-in-chief of Green Queen Media, under the headline: “How China quietly became the world’s climate policy leader.”
• People’s Daily covers a new government rule on medium- and long-term power markets, while Science and Technology Daily covers a methodology for CO2 reduction from hydrogen production.

The Trump administration is suing two Californian cities in an effort to block local laws that restrict gas infrastructure and appliances, reports the Guardian. It continues: “The lawsuit is the administration’s latest attack on energy policies that seek to rein in the use of fossil fuels to combat climate change.” The piece notes that California has some of the most “aggressive” climate-change policies in the world. Reuters adds that the administration argues that the rules passed by the San Francisco-area cities of Morgan Hill and Petaluma since 2019 violate a law that prevents states and cities from regulating “energy use”, passed in 1975. It adds that the complaint states that “the natural gas bans not only impose crushing costs on California residents but are also unlawful”. 

MORE ON US

• Bloomberg reports that data centres have added $6.5bn to the cost of procuring power supplies.
• E&E News reports that the Department of Energy has ordered a damaged coal-fired power plant in north-west Colorado to remain online, “escalating President Donald Trump’s divisive push to revive fossil fuels across the US”.
• The Financial Times reports that US shale oil magnate Harold Hamm is accelerating his expansion into Argentina. 

“Blistering temperatures” are expected to hit more than half of Australia, in “the worst heatwave since the devastating black summer bushfires”, reports the Guardian. It adds that the national Bureau of Meteorology has warned that several states will see temperatures topping 45C, leading to dry and hot conditions that could create extreme fires. The article notes that the “climate crisis has increased the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves”. Relatedly, Bloomberg reports that millions of people in the outskirts of Australia’s major cities are at risk of urban wildfires similar to the “deadly blazes” in Los Angeles last year. It adds that a new report from the Climate Council thinktank and a group of former Australian fire chiefs identified at least 6.9 million inhabitants who live in residential areas where homes adjoin highly flammable grasslands. The Guardian adds that up to 90% of homes in the outskirts of Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart were built before modern bushfire standards.

A Lex column in the Financial Times says that, despite US president Donald Trump’s preference for “‘very large’ US oil companies going into Venezuela, investing billions of dollars and getting the oil flowing again”, the companies themselves “have reason to be less keen”. It explains: “Venezuela’s resources could prove costly and disruptive…returning Venezuela’s production to historic levels will be challenging.” It continues: “Jorge León from Rystad Energy estimates that roughly doubling production to 2m barrels by the early 2030s will cost $115bn – some three times ExxonMobil and Chevron’s combined capital expenditure last year. Companies will not want to put anything like that sort of money at risk until there is visibility on Venezuela’s future.” It adds that if Venezuelan production were to increase, pushing down oil prices, then US shale firms could be “hurt”. Also in the Financial Times, chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman writes under the headline: “Venezuela and the trouble with the Donroe doctrine.”

Reuters columnist Ron Bousso has a piece titled: “Trump offers US oil companies a poisoned chalice in Venezuela.” In the Guardian, financial editor Nils Pratley says that while Venezuela has vast oil reserves, the “invitation – or command – from the White House” for US companies to move in is not straightforward. He adds that while there has been “initial kneejerk positivism” in share prices, the “risk v reward calculations around re-entry are more complicated – and wholly unclear at this point”. In the New Yorks Times, economist Rebecca Patterson queries who will win from “Trump’s Venezuela oil gambit”. The Daily Telegraph’s associate editor Ben Marlow argues that BP and Shell “cannot afford to miss out on [a] Venezuelan gold rush”. Finally, the Daily Mail gives its lead comment slot to climate-sceptic commentator Matt Ridley, who writes under a headline saying that “Trump’s strike against Venezuela proves oil is still the lifeblood of prosperity.”

MORE COMMENT

• Financial Times: “Brussels’ misguided beef with veggie burgers.”
• New York Times columnist David Wallace-Wells writes about wildfires.
• The Daily Telegraph gives space to Neil Record to question the scientific evidence on climate change, without revealing that he is the chair of and has been a major to the UK’s main climate-sceptic lobby group Net Zero Watch.

This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Molly Lempriere, with contributions from Henry Zhang and Simon Evans. It was edited by Simon Evans.