There is further coverage of the Trump administration’s plans to open up more of the Alaskan Arctic for oil drilling. The Associated Press reports that “top Trump officials” spoke at an energy conference that “environmentalists criticised as promoting new oil and gas drilling and turning away from the climate crisis”. The newswire continues: “Several dozen protesters were outside [the] annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage, where US interior secretary Doug Burgum, energy secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin were featured speakers. The federal officials were continuing a multiday trip aimed at highlighting Trump’s push to expand oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in the state.” 

Elsewhere, the New York Times reports on how thousands of scientists are opposing a new push from the Trump administration to impose new standards for research. It explains: “Trump has ordered what he called a restoration of a ‘gold standard science’ across federal agencies and national laboratories. But the 23 May executive order puts his political appointees in charge of vetting scientific research and gives them the authority to ‘correct scientific information’, control the way it is communicated to the public and the power to ‘discipline’ anyone who violates the way the administration views science. It has prompted an open letter, signed by more than 6,000 scientists, academics, physicians, researchers and others, saying the order would destroy scientific independence. Agency heads have 30 days to comply with the order.” The New York Times also reports on warnings from scientists that federal cuts are pushing academics to leave the country. E&E News covers how the Trump administration’s decision to lay off all federal staff working on rules to protect workers from extreme heat could “make it easier to ditch draft regulations for heat safety”. CNN reports that the new Trump-appointed head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency “bewildered” staff by telling them he was not aware the US had a hurricane season, which started on Sunday. Reuters says that “fishing companies and offshore wind opponents” are suing the Trump administration over its decision to let work go ahead on an offshore wind project near New York.

A House of Lords report has backed the idea of splitting the UK power market into zones, with houses and businesses paying different rates depending on which zone they are in, the Financial Times reports. The report, from the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, says the “zonal pricing” proposal “should help cut the costs of electricity, but warned any reforms would need to be carefully managed given the probable impact on some generators and heavy industry”, the newspaper says. It adds that the “intervention marks the latest development in a long-running debate over zonal pricing, which has split the energy industry”. The Daily Telegraph leads on how the proposals could cause price increases in London and the south, but falling bills in Scotland. The Daily Express carries criticisms of the plans from groups that oppose zonal pricing. Bloomberg also covers the report, noting that it warns that the government’s goal of a “clean power grid” by 2030 is close to slipping out of reach as a result of “planning delays and infrastructure bottlenecks”.

The Financial Times also reports that UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has “signed off plans to spend billions of pounds on a new railway line between Manchester and Liverpool and other urban transport schemes as part of next week’s Whitehall spending review”. However, the newspaper adds that “eleventh hour ministerial haggling continues with the Treasury over funding over the next three years for other sensitive areas”, including “green energy schemes”. The Guardian reports that just three Whitehall departments are “still to agree their multi-year budgets with the Treasury before the spending review”, including the Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero fronted by Ed Miliband. It continues: “Some departments, including Defra and education, settled early this week. The environment secretary, Steve Reed, is said to have sealed his own settlement with capital cash for flood defences.” The Daily Telegraph speaks to an unnamed source who says the government is “poised to ditch” a target to install 600,000 heat pumps a year in homes by 2028. [In its latest advice, the Climate Change Committee recommended a lower goal of 450,000 installations a year by 2030.] The Daily Express also covers the news, describing it as a “u-turn”. [The target was set by the previous government.] Relatedly, the Press Association covers a report saying that households may be more inclined to buy heat pumps if they were aware of how much money they could save them in the long term.

Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph reports that the Conservative former foreign secretary James Cleverly is to give a speech today urging Conservatives to stick to net-zero policies. According to the newspaper, he will say: “Conservative environmentalism doesn’t mean a choice between growth and sustainability. It means creating policies that unlock the potential of new industries while ensuring that we protect the environment. It’s about finding practical solutions to achieve long-term growth without sacrificing our environmental obligations.” The Daily Express describes the speech as a “revolt over net-zero”. The Guardian reports on a warning from fire chiefs that fire stations in England are “falling apart” following sustained cuts over the last decade. Reuters speaks to the head of turbine company Siemens, who says the UK must secure a record amount of new offshore wind capacity at its next renewable energy auction if it is to meet its clean power target. BBC News reports on a letter from a council to the government saying that a planned solar farm in Oxfordshire could cause “major harm lasting generations”, largely down to its “visual effect on the landscape, noise and vibration and [impact on] public rights of way”. MailOnline says climate scientists have “called for immediate action on global warming” following the UK’s hottest spring on record.

China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) is planning to build around 100 new “key laboratories” during the next ten years to enhance the country’s “environmental science and technology level”, business news outlet Yicai reports. The laboratories will cover eight “major research areas”, including carbon emissions reduction, it adds. State news agency Xinhua reports that the MEE and other ministries jointly issued opinions on “further strengthening ecological cultural development”, calling for “promoting green and low-carbon production and lifestyles”. The Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily publishes an article in its print edition calling on China to build on “solid progress…in green, circular and low-carbon development” by developing the “strictest systems” and the “most rigorous rule of law” to protect the environment. 

Meanwhile, International Energy Net reports the National Energy Administration (NEA) issued opinions on “deepening the management of electricity qualification permits” to better construct a “new electricity system”, exempting “distributed solar, decentralised wind, new-energy storage and smart microgrids” from needing electricity business permits. Industry news outlet BJX News reports that China released a document on building a “modern business environment for electricity use”, which called for promoting “green electricity consumption”. China Energy Net says the “15th five-year plan period [2026-2030] will be a key window for China to achieve carbon peaking and build a new power system”.

Elsewhere, the “faster adoption” of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) means China’s refined oil demand will “decline at a faster pace” in 2025, state-run newspaper China Daily quotes an analyst from consultancy Rystad Energy as saying. “More and more Chinese trucks are being powered by batteries”, pushing down oil demand, Bloomberg reports. China Daily reports that, between January and April 2025, NEVs accounted for more than 53% of vehicle trade-in activity under China’s equipment trade-in policy. BJX News reports that China issued a notice promoting NEV uptake in rural areas, calling for the application of rural “vehicle-to-grid” technologies.

Finally, Xinhua quotes Mauritanian minister of environment and sustainable development Messouda Baham Mohamed Laghdaf saying China’s “green development approach” is now “integrated into Mauritania’s national development policies”. In an interview with Climate and Capital Media, Alliance of Sustainable Investment chair Ma Jun says that China should “rightfully play a stronger role” in addressing climate change by “working together with partners such as the EU and BRICS”, following the US withdrawal from climate negotiations.

In a “​​succinct and strongly-worded” submission to UN Climate Change ahead of the upcoming Bonn climate talks, India has said that “without sufficient climate finance, even proposed nationally determined contributions (NDCs) will not materialise, leave alone any ambitious future [pledges]”, the Hindustan Times reports. According to the story, India reiterated its objection to the climate finance outcome at COP29 in Baku, adding that the “Baku to Belém Roadmap…is an opportunity to put the financial discussion on the right track in accordance with Article 9.1 of Paris Agreement”. The country added that the roadmap must “recognise the country-led nature of climate action” and warned that “overleveraging for climate initiatives through excessive borrowing poses risks to the country’s fiscal stability”, the newspaper reports. It quotes Avantika Goswami at India’s Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) as saying: “In an atmosphere of aid cuts and reducing international cooperation, there are few hooks remaining to hold developed countries accountable for what they owe and committed to. Reinforcing their duty to provide finance to developing countries is a demand that the Global South must not give up on.” 

In extreme weather news, the Times of India reports that “severe” monsoon rains continue to devastate India’s northeastern regions, “swe[eping] away]” a key national highway between the states of Nagaland and Manipur. According to the Hindustan Times, districts in Mizoram are now facing “an acute water shortage due to landslides and soil erosion that have severely disrupted water supply systems”. Another Hindustan Times story reports that schools in the state have remained closed for the fourth consecutive day “due to heavy rain that triggered landslides, mud-flows, and rock falls in different parts of the state”.  A comment in regional news outlet EastMojo observes that “while the skies have changed, the systems meant to manage these risks have not”, pointing at “a model of development that treats the [country’s] northeast as a space to be filled, not as a complex, fragile ecology to be understood.” BBC News, similarly, carries a piece looking at why monsoon rains “wreak havoc annually in India’s cities” as “climate change has made erratic weather…a more regular phenomenon, directly affecting millions of people.” Finally, citing “two sources”, Reuters reports: “India’s finance ministry wants green hydrogen prices to soften before deciding on financial support for production of steel using clean energy.”

Daily Telegraph associate editor Gordon Rayner writes that, by delivering a speech urging the Conservatives to stay committed to net-zero in a speech later today, former foreign secretary James Cleverly will “present an alternative vision for the Conservatives’ green agenda in an apparent attempt to appeal to the moderate wing of the party”. He says the move could cause “chatter about leadership challenges”, adding: “Moderates believe [current Conservative leader Kemi] Badenoch has been forced to drop support for the net-zero target in order to keep up with [Reform UK leader] Nigel Farage, who has called net-zero ‘lunacy’. There is plenty of evidence that she is being dragged further to the right on other matters to see off the threat of Reform. Critics believe the Tories can’t out-Farage Farage and that the only way to differentiate the Conservatives from Reform is to occupy the centre ground from which elections have traditionally been won in the past.”

Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph speaks to Farage in his “most personal interview”, where he describes net-zero as “so farcical it’s almost funny”. The Daily Telegraph challenges Farage on his recent claim – proved incorrect and described as “fantasy economics” – that scrapping net-zero would save £40bn a year. He tells the newspaper: “With the big numbers out there, the cost of climate change, the cost of DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion], at least it’s starting a debate. If we have to revise those numbers a bit, we’ll revise them. Any numbers you produce in politics will be questioned.” The Daily Telegraph also carries a comment in its print edition by climate-sceptic “consultant” Kathryn Porter, who says “Miliband’s net-zero is muddle” is “putting lives at risk”.

The Guardian interviews senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on a wide range of issues in US politics. On climate change, Sanders tells the Guardian he believes some Republicans are too “scared” to speak against Trump. The Guardian says: “Sanders has used Gaza as an example when he says that politicians are afraid to speak out on Israel’s actions in case Super Pacs – which can put forward unlimited amounts of money for a candidate – will penalise them at the next election. Today, he says it’s not just Gaza, but a host of other issues. ‘If you say, ‘Do you really think it’s a good idea to cut Medicaid and give tax breaks to billionaires? Do you really think that climate change is a hoax?’ there will be a number, not a majority, but a number of Republicans who would say: ‘No. But if I stand up and vote no, the next day, Elon Musk would say, ‘All right, you are going to be primaried [a candidate will be fielded against you], and Trump will support your opponent. I will put unlimited sums of money to elect your opponent.’ Good luck to you.”

Premature deaths in Europe could rise to 282,000 a year by 2100 under a low-ambition climate scenario – but drop to 67,000 if ambitious action is taken to cut emissions, new research finds. The study uses Coupled Model Intercomparison Project scenarios to look at how varying levels of climate ambition could impact air pollution-related deaths in 1,366 regions. It finds that over 90% of Europe’s population could live in areas meeting World Health Organization PM2.5 air pollution guidelines under the most ambitious scenario by 2100, but less than 10% under the least ambitious one. To reach their conclusions, the researchers modelled PM2.5 concentrations and combined this with population data, regional age structure and total mortality.