Energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced that the UK government will “speed up its plans to permanently ban fracking…in order to counter the [hard-right populist] Reform party’s promises to bring back the controversial practice”, the Guardian reports. It continues: “[Miliband] said he would put forward legislation as part of the North Sea transition plan which is to be published this autumn. This means that in order to allow fracking, a future government would have to repeal the legislation with a parliamentary vote. This would be very difficult, as it means the government would have to gain the votes of MPs whose constituencies sit on shale gas.” BBC News reports that “Reform UK has said it would bring back fracking and has threatened to ‘wage war’ on renewables developers if it wins power”. The Daily Mail has a story in its print edition under the headline: “As energy bills surge, Red Ed vows to BAN all UK fracking.” It says: “Taking aim at Reform’s promise to bring back fracking for shale gas, Mr Miliband urged Labour members to ‘send this bunch of frackers packing’. The energy secretary insisted that fracking ‘will not take a penny off bills, it will not create long-term sustainable jobs, it will trash our climate commitments’.” The Times also quotes Miliband’s speech at the Labour party conference: “Reform would wreck everything we are doing. They’ve said they would ‘wage war’ on clean energy. A culture war they are importing from the US, driven by the rich and powerful interests who fund them…I’m incredibly proud of British climate leadership. I’m incredibly proud of Labour climate leadership. And I say Reform’s war on the future would betray every young person in our country and every person yet to be born.” Separately, the Guardian explains that the Labour government has “no intention to frack”, meaning the legislation is intended “to trip up a future Reform government”. The Daily Express, BusinessGreen, Sky News and the Press Association also cover the news.

MORE ON UK

• BusinessGreen covers new analysis showing that 187 UK constituencies are “in areas that could be vulnerable to development for fracking if Reform UK were to form the next government and make good on its plans to revive the fracking industry”. 
• The Times says two mosquito species, which are capable of spreading yellow fever, dengue and zika, have been detected in the UK. This is “linked to climate change”, the newspaper says.
• The Times has a frontpage story under the headline “Britons spend £1bn to switch off wind farms this year”. The Daily Telegraph also carries the story.
• The Daily Express reports that former Conservative minister “Priti Patel has slammed the Labour government’s ‘obsession’ with imposing pylons” on the East of England.
• BBC News says: “Council leaders are set to be quizzed over Reform UK’s decision to scrap plans for solar panels on buildings throughout Durham.”

“Pope Leo XIV has hit out at those who minimise the ‘increasingly evident’ impact of rising temperatures in his first major statement on climate change”, BBC News reports. According to the broadcaster, Pope Leo spoke at a conference marking 10 years since the publication of a “landmark document” written by Pope Francis called “Laudito Si”, which “made the issue of climate a central part of the church’s concerns”. It continues: “The new Pope, who was elected in May, was worried that the question of climate change was now becoming more divisive. Referring to his predecessor’s writings, he said: ‘Some have chosen to deride the increasingly evident signs of climate change, to ridicule those who speak of global warming, and even to blame the poor for the very thing that affects them the most.’” The Financial Times says the speech comes “just days after US president Donald Trump described [climate change] as a ‘con job’”. It adds: “Climate change is not the only issue on which Leo has found himself at odds with the Trump administration and the so-called ‘Maga Catholics’.” The New York Times calls Pope Leo’s speech his “first significant address on climate change”. The Guardian adds: “Leo told the estimated 1,000 representatives from environmental and Indigenous groups that they needed to put pressure on national governments to develop tougher standards to mitigate the damage already done. He said he hoped the upcoming UN climate conference ‘will listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor’.” Bloomberg, Politico, TIME and CNN also cover Pope Leo’s speech.

Kemi Badenoch has promised to “scrap” the Climate Change Act if her Conservative party ever comes to power, Bloomberg reports. The outlet continues: “The act was first passed by a Labour government with cross-party support in 2008 and strengthened under Conservative prime minister Theresa May to set a legally binding target of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch now says that the emission regulations have become too burdensome for consumers and are hurting economic growth.” The Guardian says: “The Conservative party leader was already committed to scrapping the UK’s net-zero target, but repeal of the [act] would go much further. It would remove the need to meet ‘carbon budgets’ – ceilings, set for five-year periods, on the amount of greenhouse gas that can be emitted – and disband the Climate Change Committee, the watchdog that advises on how policies affect the UK’s carbon footprint.” BBC News quotes Badenoch, who says: “Climate change is real. But Labour’s laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions. Previous Conservative governments tried to make Labour’s climate laws work – they don’t. Under my leadership we will scrap those failed targets. Our priority now is growth, cheaper energy, and protecting the natural landscapes we all love.” The Financial Times reports that Badenoch is “facing a business backlash and strong Conservative criticism”. It continues: “The CBI employers’ group said the Conservative leader’s move was a ‘backward step’ while Lord Deben, a Tory peer and former chair of the independent Climate Change Committee, said: ‘This reverses everything the Conservatives stand for.’” BusinessGreen, Politico, Sky News, the Daily Telegraph, the Press Association, the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Daily Mirror also cover the news. The Daily Telegraph has the story on its frontpage under the headline “Badenoch: I’ll rip up laws on net-zero”. (See Comment below, plus, for context behind some of Badenoch’s misleading claims, these Carbon Brief articles.)

There is widespread media coverage of the US government shutdown, which will result in thousands of government employees being furloughed until the deadlock is resolved. The New York Times says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is operating under its “shutdown plan”, which only requires 1,734 employees – about 11% of its staff – to continue working. The newspaper reports that several EPA employees said they “did not expect to be paid until after the shutdown ended”, but adds that a spokeswoman for the agency “disputed their contention”. The Hill says: “During the furlough period, the agency will no longer carry out most civil inspections related to potential violations of environmental law.” Bloomberg reports that weather forecasting “will continue uninterrupted”, but some “US climate disaster preparedness and environmental programmes” will be “curtail[ed] or halt[ed]”. The Los Angeles Times says the government shutdown began late Tuesday and “could last days if not weeks”. The Press Association, the Los Angeles Times also cover the story. Bloomberg reports that “the Trump administration plans to continue issuing permits for oil drilling and do other work on ‘priority conventional energy projects’ during the government shutdown, but will freeze activities on some renewable energy projects”. E&E News says the government shutdown “may slow oil and gas drilling on public lands’. 

Separately, Reuters reports that the US Department of Energy plans to cancel $7.56bn in funding for hundreds of energy projects. It adds: “The move was part of a broader, $26bn funding freeze that was unveiled on Wednesday as President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to use the federal government shutdown to target Democratic priorities.” CNBC reports that the cancelled projects are “in primarily Democratic-controlled states”. According to the outlet, Russell Vought – director of the Office of Management and Budget Director – wrote a post on Twitter saying “nearly $8bn in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled”. Bloomberg says one of the cancelled projects is “an initiative to upgrade electric transmission lines in California”. 

MORE ON US

• E&E News reports that US consumers “can no longer use a $7,500 tax credit from the federal government to help buy an electric vehicle”. It says the “Biden-era incentive” was “swept away in the Trump administration’s purge of climate and clean energy programmes”. 
• E&E News says: “As much as $283m in federal funding for electric vehicle charging stations could expire when the fiscal year ends Tuesday, according to a new analysis.”
• Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration “intends to reconsider a key US government approval that authorized the construction of Equinor ASA’s planned second phase of an offshore wind project near New York and New Jersey”. 
• Bloomberg reports that “Trump, data centres and pricey gas are fuelling a US coal revival”. 
• “Five unoccupied homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the sea Tuesday”, as two hurricanes “coursed through the Atlantic, stirring up coastal waters”, Yale360 reports. 

China’s offshore investment in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain – including “capital-intensive” battery and raw material projects – is “showing signs of slowing” following “five years of aggressive global expansion”, Nikkei Asia reports. Companies are now “shifting their spending toward Asia and the Middle East” amid an “uncertain geopolitical environment”, the outlet says. It adds that more than a third of the $10bn investment in EVs by Chinese companies was allocated to “downstream” assembly factories. The Financial Times reports that Europe will “fall behind” China in the electrification of trucks if the EU does not “take urgent action to support the transition”, according to industry experts. Meanwhile, investors tell Bloomberg that “further information about the timeline and implementation for various clean-tech sectors and green-financing incentives is needed” following China’s announcement of its new climate pledge in order to help financial institutions “understand the pathway” to carbon neutrality.

MORE ON CHINA

• China’s “subsea pipeline network” now exceeds 10,000km amid efforts to “explore offshore resources to meet its energy-security needs”, reports the South China Morning Post.
• China Environment News reports that China’s leading environment officials have said the country’s new climate targets show its “firm determination to actively address climate change”.
• CCTV says 158m tonnes of “proven shale oil reserves” have been found in China.
• People’s Daily publishes an article in its print edition by He Yin – a byline indicating the views of party leadership on foreign policy – saying China’s “innovative strength is gathering momentum” in “frontier fields” such as the new energy industry.

Bloomberg reports that an “ambitious fund to save the rainforests that Brazil aims to launch at November’s COP30 climate summit is running behind schedule as officials deliberate on how to structure the complex financial vehicle”. The outlet adds: “Brazil hopes to raise as much as $125bn through the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, which would pay countries to protect swathes of tropical forest using investment returns from high yielding fixed-income assets. The main roadshow for potential investors was supposed to take place in September, but has yet to be held. Meanwhile, an event convening investors during [last week’s] New York Climate Week…was canceled, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing non-public information.” Elsewhere, more than 200 civil societies have published a letter asking Brazil’s COP30 presidency to “do more to protect the UN climate talks from the ‘unchecked’ influence of the fossil fuel industry and other high-emitting businesses”, Climate Home News reports. 

MORE ON LATIN AMERICA

• COP30 will have 1,240 volunteers, who “represent 28% of the vacancies”, Folha de São Paulo reports. Meanwhile, 13 of the 23 Argentinian provinces have gathered in Córdoba to oppose a potential withdrawal of Argentina from the Paris Agreement, La Nación reports. It adds that it is unclear whether the country will attend COP30.  
• Uruguay is expanding solar energy as “demand soars”, Dialogue Earth reports.
• El Espectador covers Colombia’s upcoming finance law, which proposes a higher carbon tax. This mechanism has raised $3.6bn over the past eight years.
• Deutsche Welle reports on how Santiago de Cuba, Cuba’s capital, has been affected by “one of its worst droughts”.
• A commentary by Odette Ferrer for El Universal says that Mexico is expected to publish its new climate pledge during COP30.
• El Mostrador: “Amid Trump’s insults to science, Chile raises its climate commitment.”

Bloomberg opinion columnist Lara Williams notes a story in last week’s Financial Times that UK prime minister Keir Starmer is “reportedly” planning to skip COP30, making the UK “just one of many supposedly environmentally conscious administrations reneging on promises”. She continues: “US president Donald Trump’s loud skepticism attracts most of the attention, we risk pardoning the world’s leaders for backtracking on their climate promises.” For example, she notes that the EU is “still fighting over their 2035 and 2040 emission-reductions targets” and has “once again delayed the implementation of new anti-deforestation rules for another year”. Williams also criticises Mexico and Canada. She adds that “74% of Paris Agreement signatories have failed even the very basic task of submitting new NDCs with targets for 2025”. She concludes that “the world’s leaders mustn’t be allowed to shun their long-term climate obligations for short-term political reasons”. 

MORE COMMENT

• Prof Myles Allen and postdoctoral research associate Kai Jiang, both from the University of Oxford, write in the Conversation that “when China makes a climate pledge, the world should listen”. They write that “China, unlike many other countries, tends not to make climate commitments that it doesn’t understand or intend to keep”. 
• Six climate scientists write in Climate Cafe: “We are witnessing the next phase of the Trump administration’s campaign to cripple any US response to a changing climate…It is attempting to hamper the prospect of any future action by expunging the foundation of federal climate policy.”
• In the first of a three-part series on Backchannel, “adaptation expert Susannah Fisher explains why the scale of climate impacts poses hard choices around how to live safely in the climate-changed world”.

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch has given a frontcover interview to Tim Shipman in the Spectator, which is strewn with false and misleading claims. Speaking about the 2008 Climate Change Act, Badenoch says: “‘Ministers have to do lots of stupid things just to hit the target, even if they are not cutting [worldwide] emissions or even if we can’t afford them or they’re impractical.” She continues: “I’m not sceptical about climate change. That’s very obviously happening. But there’s been a lot of deception around the net-zero agenda and I really want to expose that…We need to do what we can sensibly to tackle climate change, but we cannot do it alone. If other countries aren’t doing it, then us being the goody-two-shoes of the world is not actually encouraging anyone to improve…We’re the only country in the world that is compliant with the Paris Agreement [on climate change]. The Climate Change Committee wants us to eat insects and less meat.” The article adds that Badenoch is “especially concerned by Labour’s failure to exploit Britain’s own energy assets such as North Sea oil and gas” and spoke to Donald Trump about the issue at a recent state dinner.

MORE UK COMMENT

• An editorial in the climate-sceptic Sun says that Ed Miliband’s decision to end fracking ends “any hope of getting cheaper electricity from Britain’s vast reserves of shale gas”. (See Carbon Brief’s factcheck on why this claim is highly misleading.) It also calls Kemi Badenoch’s pledge to scrap the Climate Change Act “good news”. 
• An editorial in the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph claims Miliband “seeks to close off all sources of energy save for renewables at whatever cost to consumers and industry, which pays higher prices than any other major economy”.
• An editorial in the climate-sceptic Daily Mail says fuel costs are rising due to Miliband’s “ruinour net-zero policies”. (See Carbon Brief’s factcheck on why this claim is highly misleading.)
• Britain Remade’s Sam Richards claims in the climate-sceptic Spectator that “Miliband’s sprint to get fossil fuels off the grid by 2030 will lock us into higher electricity prices and make it harder to decarbonise”. 
• Parliamentary sketchwriter Quantin Letts writes in the Daily Mail: “Ambitious Ed took ownership of the PM. Maybe, just maybe, he could seize the helm again.” He adds: “[Miliband in his speech] ranged beyond his departmental brief. The unpopularity of net-zero went unaddressed.”

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

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