Daily Briefing: EU’s €100bn fuel bill | Trump diesel talks | Antarctic ice low

30.09.26

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EU nations seek energy alternatives after spending over $113bn extra since Iran war began

Sam McNeil, The Associated Press

The Associated Press reports that EU nations have spent an extra €100bn ($113.5bn) on energy imports since the start of the Iran war. It adds that consumers in some European countries are paying nearly 50% more for petrol and diesel following the closure of the strait of Hormuz. It quotes EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen, who told a gathering of energy ministers in Dublin that “times are serious”. The Financial Times reports that ministers discussed “releasing the remainder of the strategic petroleum stocks committed to in March ‘to alleviate price pressure’”. It adds that Jørgensen told journalists: “It’s now €100bn that we’ve paid extra for our energy this year, without receiving one extra molecule of gas or oil”. Politico covers the informal gathering of European energy ministers in Dublin, adding they had “limited new ideas to protect against a winter of soaring power bills”.

MORE ON EUROPE

Reuters reports that Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg have urged the EU to set a 2040 renewable energy target, whereas others want a goal that includes nuclear.
Le Monde reports that Jørgensen proposed a delay to rules on cutting methane emissions, ahead of a “tough winter” with high oil and gas prices.
A Reuters explainer looks at Europe’s methane emissions rules and why the European Commission is considering postponing them.
Politico: “EU accused of hiding environmental impact of data centres.”
Reuters reports that Spain is capping the rise in regulated gas prices for households.
Reuters: “Italy and Czech Republic to call for softer EU rules on carbon permits, energy supply.”

US: White House holds crunch talks on diesel export ban as midterms near

Myles McCormick, Jamie Smyth and David Sheppard, Financial Times

The Financial Times reports that US president Donald Trump has held “crisis talks with advisers over whether to impose a diesel export ban or take other steps to contain a fuel crisis that threatens to derail his Republican Party’s midterm election campaign”. It cites a White House official saying that Trump was “evaluating all the options on the table” to lower domestic fuel prices, but that no decision had been made. The New York Times lists the Republicans who have called on Trump to ban diesel exports, as well as others who are sceptical about its impact on lowering costs. Politico reports that senior EU officials have “expressed cautious optimism” that Trump will step back from an export ban. Reuters reports that oil prices have risen after Trump denied he would ease sanctions on Iran.

MORE ON OIL AND GAS

The Associated Press reports that Canada’s first large-scale LNG export terminal is investing to double its capacity.
The Financial Times reports that Middle Eastern oil exports have hit their highest levels since the Iran war began in February.
Reuters covers reports that International Energy Agency members may discuss releasing further strategic oil reserves.
Reuters reports that Russia has extended its ban on diesel exports until the end of October.

China expects strongest super El Niño event on record this year

Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee, Reuters

China expects the current El Niño event to become the strongest on record, officials of China’s National Climate Centre said at a press conference yesterday, reports Reuters. The outlet says: “The sea surface temperature index is projected to peak at 3.2C to 3.5C around November, for the strongest super El Niño event since records of instrument measurements began.” [Recent Carbon Brief analysis showed that the current El Niño event has already become record-breaking for daily strength.] Business news outlet 21st Century Business Herald also covers the story, saying officials warned “intermittent severe cold waves” could raise heating demand in northern China this winter, while widespread high temperatures next summer could boost air-conditioning demand and peak electricity loads.

MORE ON CHINA

Chinese vice-premier Ding Xuexiang said yesterday that China will accelerate the “all-round green transformation of its economic and social development”, according to Xinhua.
China has issued a notice on recommending and managing national “green factories” for 2026, reports BJX News.
China’s top battery manufacturer Gotion will invest $1.25bn in Volkswagen’s battery plant in Spain, reports Reuters.
Bloomberg reports that China’s gas imports are set to decline for a second month as surging prices driven by the Middle East conflict curb demand.
Reuters publishes a commentary by columnist Gavin Maguire under the headline: “China’s metal-heavy commodity imports map a messy energy transition.”
Two leading Chinese solar equipment manufacturers are taking each other to court in the US, reports Jiemian.

UK: Andy Burnham to launch GB Grid to fix ‘broken’ energy market

Herbie Russell, The Times

In a story trailed yesterday, the government is set to launch a new publicly owned “Great British Grid” in an attempt to bring down energy costs, reports the Times. It adds that the move, announced by UK prime minister Andy Burnham at the Labour party conference yesterday, would be the first publicly owned competitor to electricity networks since the system was privatised under Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher. BusinessGreen adds that Burnham also highlighted the role of renewables and nuclear, noting that these were dampening the impact of rising fossil-fuel prices. It adds that the prime minister “signalled his intention to deliver further reforms to the energy market in support of a new ambition to bring UK energy costs “in line with our neighbours” within 10 years”. The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph have further coverage of his speech.

MORE ON UK

BBC News covers forecasts that household energy prices will rise by 16% in January, with the typical bill jumping £276.
The Independent reports that electric van drivers could save around £2,400 per year compared to diesel. [Carbon Brief recently reported that driving an EV in the UK is up to nine times cheaper than diesel.]
The Financial Times reports that the average UK diesel price is set to reach £2 a litre for the first time ever within days.
BusinessGreen covers new data on record renewable generation in the UK power mix, helped by solar installations hitting a 14-year high.
Politico covers comments by climate minister Katie White that the UK should avoid a US-style climate debate. Politico also covers comments by energy minister Michael Shanks that the UK faces threats against its energy infrastructure “all the time”.
The Times covers the confirmation from the UK government that it “will not deploy” solar radiation management.

27 killed across Nepal due to incessant rainfall since 24 September

The Press Trust of India

At least 27 people have been killed after heavy rainfall in Nepal, reports Press Trust of India. It says heavy rains triggered flooding and landslides that have “destroyed” more than 200 houses and “damaged” 31 bridges. The outlet adds that an avalanche also struck the base camp of the 7,126m Himlung Himal peak, leaving 22 missing. A BBC News video shows a government building in a flood-hit district in western Nepal “teetering on the edge”, before collapsing into the Daram river. Four days of rain and flooding “have left a school in Bharatpur buried under mud, forcing classes to stop”, reports the Kathmandu Post.

Following heavy rains in Nepal, the Gandak river “swelled to a record level” in India’s Bihar, the Times of India reports, “damaging embankments and triggering flooding” in several villages. At the same time, the Indian government has declared a drought in five Indian states as the country “recorded a rainfall deficit of about 12%” at the end of the monsoon season, says the New Indian Express. The Indian government has lowered its foodgrain target by 2.6m tonnes, reports the Indian Express. In a comment for the National Herald, agriculture correspondent Jaideep Hardikar warns: “[H]alf of India has had a bad monsoon, and while the national deficit figure may look manageable, it disguises the distress of large swathes of rain-deficit India.”

MORE ON INDIA

Coal stocks at Indian power plants are down 24% due to record September power demand coupled with low hydropower output, reports the Indian Express.
India has “raised concerns” with US lawmakers over new sanctions on Russia and Iran, warning that they could impact India-US bilateral ties, reports Moneycontrol.
A Mongabay comment says that India’s plans to double its coking coal output by 2030 could “lock in higher emissions in mining operations for decades”.
A Frontline longread examines whether solar power could replace diesel generators – “the standard backup” – in the world’s largest milk-producing nation.

Antarctic winter sea ice falls to third-lowest level on record as scientists warn of ‘now problem’

Graham Readfearn, The Guardian

The Guardian covers new data showing that Antarctica’s winter sea ice has peaked at its third-lowest level on record. It adds that the amount of sea ice fell one million square kilometres short of the long-term average, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado. The article adds that this means the four lowest sea-ice years on record for the continent all occurred in the past four years. It quotes Dr Ariaan Purich, a Southern Ocean expert at Monash University in Melbourne, who said: “We are seeing low winter after low winter and that suggests the sea ice is behaving differently because we have warmed our climate. This is not a future problem. It’s a now problem.” [Carbon Brief covered the provisional data earlier in September.]

Thailand’s government approves $122m for flood recovery

Jintamas Saksornchai, The Associated Press

The Associated Press covers the Thai government’s approval of emergency funds for flood victims amounting to $122m, following a “deluge that had battered the country since mid-September, affecting more than 2.6 million people and killing at least 19”. It adds that the country’s capital Bangkok was recovering from the torrential rains and flooding, but disruptions remained, including flight cancellations. It adds that neighbouring countries have also been affected, with at least 10 killed by flooding in Myanmar and nearly 4,000 people evacuated in Cambodia.

Comment

UK: Burnham’s electricity grid idea is interesting – but it’s not ‘public control’

Nils Pratley, The Guardian

In the Guardian, financial editor Nils Pratley responds to Burnham announcing plans for GB Grid, saying it could give “the regulator perfect data to drive down costs”. He adds that “just having a state-backed horse in the race for new projects could yield benefits in a world in which a standard complaint is that the monopoly network companies have an advantage…in terms of knowing more about real construction costs”. An editorial in the climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph critiques Burnham’s speech, complaining about the state’s “heav[y]-handed role in our lives”, including that “energy prices are shaped by regulators, subsidies and absurd net-zero levies”. Climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph columnist and Conservative peer Lord David Frost writes that Burnham “showed no sign of understanding net-zero is the problem”. In the Independent, chief political commentator John Rentoul writes off GB Grid as “an attempt to sound like nationalisation”.

MORE COMMENT

In Climate Home News, Patrick Schröder, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, calls for COP31 to “aim higher” with emissions cuts from the use of materials.
In the Backchannel substack, Dr Dola Oluteye, senior fellow at University College London and ambassador Nancy Karigithu write under the headline: “Why COP31’s AI and electrification pledges live or die in the Global South.”
In the Scotsman, comment editor Ian Johnston argues “Tories’ net-zero denial is not true Conservatism”, calling for a “centre-right path to net-zero”.
An editorial in the Washington Post argues that “Trump’s fuel-efficiency rules do not doom climate goals” as consumers are choosing “more environmentally friendly cars, thanks to market forces”.
An editorial in the Wall Street Journal focuses on a US Supreme Court case on whether cities and counties may sue oil companies over global climate change.

Research

Many young people are experiencing feelings of “institutional betrayal” due to a perceived “disconnect” between their visions for addressing climate change and the actions of institutions | Environmental Science & Policy
Climate change is lengthening the growing season of Italian forests, with warmer temperatures advancing the onset of the season by up to 10 days and changes in temperature and moisture extending it by up to 30 days | Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Rainfall in arid regions has decreased, on average, by nearly 40mm per decade over the past 40 years | Journal of Climate

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