Daily Briefing: Diesel ‘crisis’ talks | US states sue EPA | Europe’s heat stress

02.10.26

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News

EU countries in crisis talks over release of diesel stocks

Ian Johnston, Henry Foy and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, Financial Times

European countries are in “crisis talks” over the release of diesel stocks, as the US threatens them with a diesel export ban unless they release strategic reserves, according to the Financial Times. The newspaper explains that US president Donald Trump is under pressure to “lower prices at the pump” ahead of midterm elections. It notes that there has been a “lobbying campaign” by the US oil industry to urge Europe to release diesel stocks, due to concerns that “a diesel ban would undermine its efforts to promote the US as a reliable energy exporter” – and may even raise prices. Politico reports that, under the proposal circulated to officials, EU governments would release 120m barrels of diesel from their national strategic reserves over 180 days – accounting for “well over a third” of their reserves.

In a frontpage story, the Times says the UK has joined talks with EU allies to discuss the “Trump ultimatum”. The newspaper says the group is “pushing back against the demand” due to fears that “complying could leave the continent dangerously exposed if the crisis in the Gulf flares up over the winter”. The Guardian notes that others participating in the emergency call were the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland. In another frontpage story, the Daily Telegraph reports that the Trump administration is “frustrated with France and Germany, believing they have not met earlier pledges to release emergency oil and petrol supplies”. Reuters reports that US energy secretary Chris Wright told Fox News ‌that he was “highly confident” Europe could help ease soaring global fuel prices by drawing down emergency diesel. The New York Times reports that the Trump administration’s threat has “set off global alarms”, noting that, besides Europe, the US is a top supplier to many countries including Mexico and Canada.

Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that oil supplies from the strait of Hormuz have “largely returned to levels seen before the outbreak of the Iran war”, noting that 40% of the region’s crude is now transported without transiting the strait. However, Foreign Policy notes that “what is not leaving the strait…are refined products such as gasoline and diesel”, meaning “little relief at the pump for consumers in the US or Europe”.

US: States and cities sue over Trump’s EPA eliminating rule that limits emissions from power plants

Matthew Daly and Jennifer McDermott, The Associated Press

New York is leading a coalition of 25 US states and cities in a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s ‌Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), trying to block its repeal of greenhouse gas emission limits for power plants, according to the Associated Press. The news outlet explains that the EPA announced its plan to revoke Biden-era restrictions on emissions from coal and gas plants last month. Reuters reports that the Democrat-led group of states and cities is arguing that the EPA did not adequately consider the health and climate costs of this decision. The New York Times notes that the EPA also “argued that greenhouse gases from power plants did not endanger human health or the environment”, meaning they could not be regulated under the US clean air act. It adds that “if courts uphold this argument, it could prevent future administrations from imposing similar regulations on power plants”.

MORE ON US

NPR says that studying the ongoing El Niño climate pattern “could save lives”, but instead the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is “scaling back research”.
The New York Times reports that a “super PAC” backed by renewable energy investors intends to spend $15m targeting seven anti-renewable Republicans in the US midterm elections “who may be vulnerable”.
The Trump administration’s cancellation of climate policies, combined with the AI boom, “create a private investment opportunity for clean energy”, according to Bloomberg.
Reuters: “Canada to fast track oil pipeline designed to diversify economy away from US.”
CNBC reports that private investment firms of ultrawealthy families have been investing in US geothermal energy startup Mazama Energy.

Half of Europe faced very strong heat stress this summer, EU scientists say

Kate Abnett, Reuters

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has reported that 52% of Europe experienced “very strong” levels of heat stress over the summer, “exposing people ‌in a record-high share of the continent to the health risks of extreme heat”, according to Reuters. Le Monde has an article noting that while summer 2026 was “the hottest ever recorded in western Europe”, it “fail[ed] to spark political action”. In its reporting of the Copernicus data, the Guardian notes that “to stave off the heat, doctors and climate scientists have called on governments to stop burning fossil fuels, shade buildings, green cities and install air conditioning in hospitals, schools and care homes”.

MORE ON EUROPE

The Financial Times reports that France and Germany are “inch[ing] towards” a “grand bargain on EU car regulation”, that looks set to include weaker emissions standards.
A 350-metre onshore wind turbine – taller than the Eiffel Tower and “described by its developer as the world’s tallest” – has been erected in eastern Germany, reports the Associated Press.

UK clean power tsar stands down

Gareth Chetwynd, Recharge News

Chris Stark is stepping down as the UK government’s “clean power tsar”, two years after his appointment by former energy secretary Ed Miliband, reports Recharge News. The news outlet says Stark’s appointment as head of mission control for clean power had initially “raised hopes for faster growth in the renewable energy sector”. The article states: “In recent months, the UK government has been switching the focus of its clean energy drive toward the need to build ‘as much homegrown power as possible to protect households against global gas markets’.” Energy Voice quotes Miatta Fahnbulleh, who took over as energy secretary when Miliband became foreign secretary this summer, saying Stark “leaves strong foundations as we press ahead with our drive to clean power, to make energy affordable, create good jobs and protect families from global fossil fuel price shocks”.

MORE ON UK

The Daily Telegraph reports that “Heathrow’s third runway has suffered a fresh setback after the head of the Commons transport select committee cast doubt on the scheme’s benefits”.
Greenpeace has issued “further legal threats” against the crown estate over the “extortionate” fees that it charges to offshore wind developers seeking to secure plots on the UK seabed, according to BusinessGreen.

China’s carmakers eye record 12m overseas sales in 2026 as ‘go global’ plan pays off

Daniel Ren, The South China Morning Post

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) estimates that overseas Chinese auto sales could reach 12m units in 2026, up 44% from 8.3m in 2025, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. The outlet says that Chinese leading automakers have “doubled down” on overseas expansion amid weak domestic demand and an international energy shock caused by the Iran war. The outlet also quotes Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the CPCA, saying that Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are entering “various markets where demand for EVs is growing”, and that “the growth trajectory can be maintained over a long period”.

MORE ON CHINA

Chinese fuel exporters have cancelled some oil shipments scheduled for export in October amid “an extended period of upheaval in global energy markets”, reports Bloomberg.
An article by Bloomberg says China’s solar panel exports to Pakistan are “colliding” with the country’s coal power stations built under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Bloomberg: “Inside the little-known world of China’s clean tech startups.”
Li Xiaojiang, former president of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, tells the 21st Century Business Herald that climate adaptation is difficult to commercialise and should rely primarily on government investment.

Comment

Europe should take Trump’s diesel ban seriously, if not literally

Lex, Financial Times

The Financial Times’ Lex column says it is “not surprising” that the Trump administration wants to “turn the screws on European countries” on diesel stock, as record diesel prices in the US have become a “political flashpoint”. The column states that Europe must assess how credible the threats to withhold diesel are: “Blocking diesel exports would be disruptive to the US too, because it has finite room to store the surplus that would soon result.” It notes that European nations have reasons of their own to release some of their diesel stocks, to deal with high domestic prices.

Meanwhile, Financial Times columnist Gillian Tett writes that the Trump administration’s diesel threats “could go very wrong” for the US. She writes that, during the UN general assembly meeting: “I heard non-American executives and government officials outlining plans to protect themselves from the fossil fuel squeeze by ‘diversifying’, i.e. embracing renewable energy.” While she says this “might create new vulnerabilities”, due in part to China’s supply chain dominance, “these risks look less daunting when set against the dangers of being a hostage to capricious US trade policy or wars in the Gulf”.

MORE COMMENT

A Nature Sustainability editorial says “more can and should be done to contain the damage and prevent loss of life” resulting from disasters such as the flooding that recently struck Nepal.
Gavin Maguire, the global energy transition columnist for Reuters, writes about coal overtaking gas in Bangladesh’s electricity generation, noting that this should “give ‌LNG [liquified natural gas] investors pause”.

Research

An assessment of flash-flood risk to galleries, libraries, archives and museums in the US finds that facilities in north-eastern regions and the Great Plains are at the greatest risk | Weather, Climate and Society
In a study of how climate scientists are perceived on social media, public surveys in Germany reveal a tension between “purely informational duties and demands for a more active role in public debates, such as providing calls for political action” | Climatic Change
An analysis of Turkey’s climate policy reveals a “fundamental disconnect between stated intentions and tangible outcomes” | Environmental Research Letters