An “exclusive” story in the Washington Post reveals how former president Donald Trump offered to weaken climate regulations in exchange for a $1bn contribution from oil company bosses to support his return to the White House later this year. During a dinner for senior oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago club last month, Trump “vowed to immediately reverse dozens of president [Joe] Biden’s environmental rules and policies and stop new ones from being enacted” if they gave him the money, according to the newspaper. One top priority for the executives, which Trump said they would get “on the first day”, was an end to the freeze on permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, the article notes. The newspaper says that, according to a list of attendees, those present at the dinner included chief executives from LNG companies Venture Global and Cheniere Energy, as well as representatives from Chevron, Continental Resources, Exxon and Occidental Petroleum. The story has been picked up by other news outlets, with Reuters noting that Trump also promised to end Biden’s emissions rules aimed at promoting electric vehicles (EVs). Specifically, Politico says Trump said he would cut tax credits for EVs and spend less government money developing wind power – two topics that “he’s sounded repeatedly in his public rallies”. The Daily Telegraph notes that “electric cars have the potential to be a major battleground in November’s US elections”, after the current Democrat administration has spent billions to encourage EV sales and domestic production, as well as building out a charging network. Trump also promised to increase oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and remove barriers to drilling in the Alaskan Arctic, according to the Guardian. [See Carbon Brief’s reporting for more on the potential impacts of oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on polar bears.] The newspaper adds that, for their part, leaders at major oil companies “have been preparing for a possible Trump second term by drafting executive orders designed to be ready to sign as soon as he returns to office”. The New York Times expands on the Washington Posts reporting with more details from the dinner, which was billed as an “energy round table” but saw executives met at their chairs with “printouts of PowerPoint slides about migrants at the southern border”. The article says the event was set up by oil billionaire Harold Hamm, “who has for years helped to shape Republican energy policies”. The newspaper notes that, in spite of Trump’s pitch and the fossil fuel industry’s frustration with Biden’s climate agenda, the sector has in fact seen record profits and record oil production under his administration.

In a separate story, the Hill reports that 25 Republican-led states have filed a legal challenge in an attempt to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new flagship rule that will require coal and new gas power plants to capture their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Biden is poised to announce new tariffs on China as soon as next week, which will target strategic sectors including EVs.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that the US and China’s newly appointed climate envoys are meeting in Washington to “build on agreements reached last year and restore top-level engagement as pledged at Xi-Biden summit”. The outlet quotes Jennifer Turner, director of the China environment forum at the US-based thinktank Wilson Center, saying that the “potential outcomes might focus on areas devoid of ‘geostrategic conflict’”, including collaboration on methane reduction and advances in carbon capture technology. The New York Times also covers the meeting between John Podesta and Liu Zhenmin, saying that “tensions will be high” during the meeting as China’s dominance in the production of renewable energy and products as well as most of the “minerals that go into clean energy technologies”, raises “economic and security concerns” for the Biden administration. Climate focused media outlet Heatmap publishes an editorial on US-China economic ties and climate cooperation. It says that “the [US] government is forcefully intervening across the economy – but only because it’s worried about China”. It adds: “The challenge of decarbonisation is leading policymakers to think about the real economy in new ways” and the US “was rooted in the fear – now partly realised – that China would dominate the clean-energy future.”

Meanwhile, the economic news outlet BJX News carries an analysis of China’s electricity consumption, which finds that total consumption in 2023 increased 5.7% from the previous year, representing the fastest growth since 2012. Fossil energy consumption saw a significant increase, contributing approximately 80% to the growth in total energy consumption, it says. Bloomberg publishes an analysis of China’s “factory glut”, saying that the country’s high-tech industries such as EVs and solar panels are “crucial” to Chinese president Xi Jinping’s “blueprint for reviving the economy”. This is “why China probably won’t stop supporting them, however much it’s urged to”, before adding that high-tech industries’ strategic importance for other countries has caused increasing “trade barriers”, it says. State broadcaster CCTV reports that the new national standard for electric bicycles is about to be implemented to “enhance the quality and safety level of lithium-ion batteries”. Reuters reports that Chinese automaker BYD “will consider building a second assembly plant in Europe in 2025” and aims to be a leading EV maker in Europe by 2030.

The Communist Party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily publishes another comment article under the assumed name of Zhong Caiwen, which is linked to the party’s Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission. The paper has published comments from the ministry consecutively for three days. It says that “the global production landscape is a result of economic globalisation” and that “the correct and positive approach should be to engage in open and fair competition with Chinese companies… rather than… firing off cold accusations of ‘overcapacity’”. The South China Morning Post publishes a commentary article by Chinese academic Wang Wen under the title: “No good reason for Europe to follow the US’ China containment strategy.” It argues that the rapid growth of Chinese EVs and solar panels, combined with the establishment of the “world’s largest green finance system”, has “subjected Europeans’ professed dedication to low-carbon development to a rigorous stress test”.

Finally, the Financial Times has an editorial about Xi’s trip to Europe this week. The piece says “Beijing fears EU tariffs”, meaning a key part of the president’s tour was keeping Europe’s market open to Chinese products – notably EVs and other low-carbon technologies. It continues: “Yet his confidence underestimates the extent to which the majority of EU countries now see China both as a security threat, exacerbated by its growing ties to Russia, and an economic threat, given its potential to undercut European manufacturing just as the economy recovers from the pandemic and a surge in energy prices.” 

The UK government has scrapped plans for a pilot “hydrogen town” that would have seen thousands of homes heated with low-carbon hydrogen gas in the coming years, according to the Press Association. It notes that, since the plan was announced in 2020, many studies and experts have said hydrogen will only have a small role to play in heating buildings in the future. The government has now confirmed that any decisions about the hydrogen town will now be delayed until after 2026, the deadline for “strategic decisions” on the role of hydrogen in decarbonising heat. The Daily Telegraph says the move came after “a wave of protests” in two smaller communities that had been earmarked as potential “hydrogen villages” – Redcar in Yorkshire and Whitby, near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. The Daily Mail quotes energy efficiency minister Lord Callanan, who says: “Heat pumps and heat networks will be the main route to cutting household emissions for the foreseeable future.” With the UK lagging behind many of its European neighbours in installing heat pumps, Bloomberg notes that “some industry experts said consideration of hydrogen for home heating has been a distraction”. However, hydrogen heating advocates have argued that it could offer a less disruptive low-carbon heating option than switching millions of homes to heat pumps or district heating networks, according to BusinessGreen. The news website says this friction has “sparked an increasingly intemperate war of words, with advocates for hydrogen briefing the media that heat pumps are too expensive and difficult to install in many properties”. The Financial Times notes that one hydrogen heating trial, supplying around 300 homes, is still set to go ahead in Fife, Scotland – but its start has been delayed until next year.

Meanwhile, DeSmog reports that ministers in the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) met with fossil-fuel companies and lobbyists more than 100 times in 2023. In a year that saw significant rollbacks in UK climate policies, the news outlet calculates that ministers met these people four times as much as they did external climate scientists, campaigners and charities. 

The Financial Times reports on the outcome of a UK-government commissioned review into tackling political violence and disruption, which concludes that protests should be banned near UK defence and energy sites. The newspaper cites “Whitehall insiders” who say the proposal is likely to be embraced within the government, because ministers have been left “frustrated” by protests by groups such as Just Stop Oil. Finally, a Guardian editorial focuses on the UK’s polluted waterways, explaining that the problem is exacerbated by the “wider context of an accelerating climate and nature crisis”, with heavy rainfall leading to overuse of sewage outflows.

Following coverage yesterday of the Australian government’s plans to extract and use gas until “2050 and beyond”, the Guardian reports that prime minister Anthony Albanese is facing an “internal revolt” from backbenchers in his Labor party. It cites statements by five MPs representing “inner city” areas that push back against the policy, as well as another statement from Ged Kearney, the assistant minister for health and aged care, asserting that Australia could “not draw out our reliance on fossil fuels any longer than is necessary”. The article says some Labor MPs are concerned that the “spotlight on gas expansion might undermine support from progressive communities concerned about whether Labor’s plans to deal with the climate crisis were serious”. The government treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has “attempted to head off” a backlash to the plan by stating that there “won’t be any new money” for the plan in next week’s budget, the Guardian reports. The plans have also been criticised by the Australian Greens and “teal” independent candidates, who will target Labor politicians based on their climate policies as they did in the last election to oust Scott Morrison’s coalition government, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. 

Another Guardian article reports on an accusation by an Indigenous group – the Nurrdalinji Native Title Aboriginal Corporation – that their words have been “twisted” by the government to make the case for gas power. According to the newspaper, the government’s gas strategy uses quotes from the corporation about the need for reliable power in Indigenous communities – but leaves out the part that says “the answer for the problems of energy security in our communities is not gas, but solar energy”.

Separately, the Australian reports that hydrogen company Hysata, based in the Australian city of Wollongong, has secured record backing from large energy companies led by oil major BP. The newspaper says the company is aiming to “bring down the cost of green hydrogen” – which is made using low-carbon electricity.

The governor of the US territory of Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency following heavy rains, widespread flooding and landslides across the island, according to the Associated Press. One person has been reported missing after more than 10 inches (25cm) of rain were reported over two days, “with some streets turning into flowing rivers”. In Brazil, CNN reports that even more heavy rain is expected to hit the country, following last week’s extreme weather that has already killed at least 107 people.

In Kenya, Africanews reports that continued heavy rain and flooding have left 200,000 people affected and over 40,000 households displaced. An article in the Conversation by development economist Dr Timothy Njagi Njeru reflects on the Kenyan floods, stating that “with climate shocks becoming more frequent, there is a need to invest in better weather prediction and early warning systems”.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has launched an appeal for $430m to help those most in need in Zimbabwe, after the country was hit by its worst drought in four decades, the Associated Press reports. The article notes that around 7.6 million of the country’s 15 million people need “lifesaving and life-sustaining” humanitarian assistance. (Recent analysis by World Weather Attribution concluded that the El Niño weather phenomenon has been a “key driver” of the drought in southern Africa.)

The German energy provider EnBW has signed a 15-year contract with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for the supply of liquefied “natural” gas (LNG), reports Stuttgarter Zeitung. According to the statement, ADNOC will deliver 600,000 tonnes of LNG per year starting in 2028, over 15 years, which means 9m tonnes of LNG overall, explains the newspaper. It adds that the EnBW, based in Karlsruhe, aims to diversify its gas supply following the end of gas deliveries from Russia. The article quotes Peter Heydecker, an EnBW representative, who says: “With this agreement, we are taking the next step in diversifying our procurement portfolio and building our own LNG value chain.” Reuters adds that, in March, ADNOC also committed to delivering LNG from its new Ruwais LNG project to EnBW’s German rival SEFE. (ADNOC is led by COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber.)

Meanwhile, Merkur reports that, according to a German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) study, the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany has not significantly contributed to the price spikes in recent years and has not caused substantial grid bottlenecks. The study concludes that the “missing” quantity of 65 terawatt hours (TWh) compared to 2021 would have been compensated for by fossil fuels, according to the researchers’ model. “However, in reality, this effect has been compensated for by the simultaneous expansion of renewables and the overall decrease in electricity consumption,” reports the DIW. Bild carries news about the construction of the “world’s tallest wind turbine” in Brandenburg, which aims to reach 365 metres. 

Finally, the Kyiv Independent reports that Germany will provide Ukraine with €45m in the form of a grant for energy restoration, which will fund a project for “improving the efficiency of electricity transmission”, signed by Ukraine’s state-owned energy operator, Ukrenegro and the German Development Bank, KfW.

Writing in the Guardian, Christiana Figueres, former head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), reflects on the newspaper’s article this week detailing the views of hundreds of climate scientists about their expectations for the future. She draws on her own experiences in climate diplomacy and says that climate scientists are not “scaremongering” when they lay out the facts of climate change. Nevertheless, she adds: “Collective doubt in our ability to respond to the climate crisis is by now dangerously pervasive…A sense of despair is understandable, but it robs us of our agency, makes us vulnerable to mis- and disinformation, and prevents the radical collaboration we need.” Figueres says that everyone has the right to grieve, but warns that this grief must not simply end in despair: “We also have the responsibility – and the opportunity – to shape the future differently. We must take stock of the science, triple down on our efforts and deploy the perspective of possibility.” Figueres also reflects on the progress that has been made, and the many people who have been inspired to take action to address climate change and make things better for the children of the future. She says: “It doesn’t mean they will live in a utopian future – we know too much climate change is already baked into the system – but enormous positive change is coming.”

At the same time, the Guardian continues its coverage of the views of leading scientists, including an article about the “expert view” on “the most powerful climate actions you can take”, another about climate scientists who are wary of starting families due to their concerns about the future, and another featuring a response from a UN spokesperson to the investigation.

Elsewhere, writing in the New York Times Climate Forward newsletter, reporter David Gelles considers how to reconcile the “doom v optimism debate” – referring to the positive news about growth in clean energy and other developments, alongside news about worsening climate impacts and rising emissions.

A new study finds that sea surface temperature anomalies across the northern Indian Ocean can act as an indicator for epidemics of dengue, a mosquito-borne virus that can cause serious illness and death. By looking at climate data and dengue incidence around the world over 1990-2019, researchers develop a new index based on these temperature anomalies. They find that the index captures both the seasonal patterns and the annual magnitude of dengue epidemics across 24 countries. The authors write that their new index “can potentially enhance the lead time for dengue forecasts, leading to better-planned and more impactful outbreak responses”.