Daily Briefing: Guterres speech | El Niño ‘deaths’ | Electrification pledge

23.09.26

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News

UN chief says ‘big oil’ treats atmosphere as open sewer

Agence France-Presse

Oil companies are treating the atmosphere like an “open sewer,” outgoing UN secretary general António Guterres announced in his UN general assembly speech, according to Agence France-Presse. The newswire says he told the audience that “fossil-fuel interests won’t step aside on their own” and that major polluters must help “repair damage they caused”. Climate Home News notes that, for the first time, Guterres also urged “every government to adopt a national plan to transition away from fossil fuels”, including clear timelines, protection for workers and alignment with limiting warming to 1.5C. The Associated Press reports that Guterres said the future will be shaped by how the world addresses “four great tests of power”, including the power driving climate change.

The Guardian says that over Guterres’ decade in office, the secretary general noted that “the climate crisis went from distant warning to daily reality”. The Kathmandu Post notes that Guterres recalled his own warning from three years ago about rapidly melting glaciers in Nepal, noting recent “tragic events” that show impacts “arriving sooner, hitting harder and spreading further than many anticipated”.

MORE ON UN

Angolan president João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço told the assembly that “the voices of Africans must be heard” including on “climate issues”, reports the Associated Press.
Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, “pitched her country as a force for stability and strength”, ready to tackle climate change, says the New York Times.
French president Emmanual Macron called for a moratorium on strikes against energy targets in the Ukraine-Russia war, according to France 24.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney held a news conference, in which he said “the need for multilateral cooperation is very much alive”, citing climate change as a threat, according to BBC News.
The Guardian covers two studies, including one from the UN’s refugee agency, showing how climate change is “increasing the risk of people becoming stateless” and another about the “climate inequality” that will persist even as emissions are cut.
Bloomberg: “The UN says carbon removal Is necessary. Who will cover the cost?”

Trump rejects AI regulation, citing parallels with climate change, in UN address

Adam Kovac, Scientific American

US president Donald Trump used his speech at the UN general assembly to dismiss efforts to regulate AI, reports Scientific American. It adds that the president “compared the apparent risks of AI to climate change and falsely claimed that the latter has been a hoax that hasn’t lived up to warnings of its dangers”. PBS News says Trump told assembled world leaders that the people who warn that AI is going to “kill us” are the same ones who warned about global warming. A CNN factcheck identifies “at least four things wrong” with Trump’s climate remarks, including the claim that “the planet was cooling, not warming, and nobody was dead [due to climate change]”. An Associated Press factcheck notes that Trump also falsely claimed that the US and Venezuela “have more than 60% of the oil”, but the real figure is “about 22%”.

Inside Climate News notes that Trump also claimed his administration had stopped what he called a “global carbon tax” on shipping, referring to efforts at the International Maritime Organization to block a “net-zero framework”. [In fact, while the US helped to delay the framework, it may still be adopted at a meeting later this year.] The news outlet notes that there were “competing climate visions” at the UN assembly, with Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressing the importance of combining “economic value with reduced emissions” and regulating big tech.

MORE ON US

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is examining the feasibility of Trump’s call for diesel-export restrictions, according to Axios.
Scientists that were working on the national climate assessment scrapped by Trump have published a “special collection of climate-change findings designed to fill the perceived gap left behind”, reports NBC News.
Reuters: “US judge dismisses Michigan climate lawsuit against oil companies.”
A group of lawyers say the $345m verdict against Greenpeace US should be overturned due “staggering” missteps, says the New York Times.
The New York Times reports that Texas is “effectively halting” new data centres as governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, confronts “growing opposition”.
PBS News: “New York and California sue to block Trump’s plans to cancel offshore wind projects.”

This year’s El Niño-driven heat could cause nearly half a million more deaths, group says

Sibi Arasu, The Associated Press

This year’s El Niño climate event and the record global heat it is driving could lead to as many as 451,000 more heat-related deaths worldwide by the end of February, according to new research covered by the Associated Press. The news outlet says the University of Chicago-based Climate Impact Lab concluded that “the heaviest toll…is expected in poorer countries, already struggling with food insecurity and high energy costs, partly due to climate change and the fallout of the war in Iran”. The Guardian covers the findings on its frontpage.

The Press Association reports on a UK Met Office warning that “global weather patterns are set to experience ‘far-reaching’ consequences after the ongoing El Niño climate event surpassed all historical records several weeks before reaching its expected peak”. The Independent reports that the event is “on course to shatter an all-time record” as the world’s oceans log 100 consecutive days of unprecedented heat. Carbon Brief has an explainer outlining why this El Niño event is projected to be the most intense since records began.

MORE ON EXTREME WEATHER

Climate Home News reports that Nepal is “crowdfunding flood relief”, as efforts to secure support from a UN “loss and damage” fund face delays.
The Guardian reports on “the Patagonia town where Nepal’s deadly glacier flood could be repeated”.
The Associated Press: “Climate disasters are growing. So are cuts to programmes that prepare for them.”
BBC News reports that Hurricane Polo has “rapidly intensified off the coast of Mexico to become one of the most powerful storms of the season in the Pacific Ocean”.

COP31 electrification pledge leaves out clean-power commitment

Matteo Civillini, Climate Home News

A “flagship initiative” from the Turkish COP31 presidency to accelerate the electrification of the world’s economy “has been criticised for failing to include a commitment to produce the power from clean energy”, according to Climate Home News. The article explains that the voluntary pledge, which countries can sign up to at this year’s UN climate summit, will commit to increasing electricity’s share of total energy consumption to 35% globally by 2035. However, the outlet notes that, in the draft text unveiled by Turkey, “governments are not explicitly asked to commit to producing the extra power with clean sources”.

MORE ON ENERGY TRANSITION

Reuters: “South Korea plans to cut its reliance on Middle East crude oil imports to 50% by 2035.”
Gulf News reports that “millions of households and businesses in the Philippines and Pakistan are turning their rooftops into small power stations”.
Reuters: “Global biofuel output to jump nearly 70% by 2030 due to Gulf energy crisis, study finds.”
The Financial Times reports that “Europeans are spending an extra €30 on diesel each time they fill up” due to high global prices.
The Guardian reports that electric vehicles in the UK “with 90,000 to 120,000 miles on the clock are more likely to pass MOTs than petrol models of the same age”. The Times leads its coverage of the same report with a negative angle on EVs.

Australia: Coalition vows to ‘take a chainsaw’ to climate laws, offshore wind

Jake Evans, ABC News

The right-wing Coalition, which is currently the main opposition in Australian politics, has pledged to repeal the nation’s net-zero target if it gains power, according to ABC News. The news outlet says the group has also pledged to abolish most of Australia’s “offshore wind zones”, remove laws requiring polluters to cut their emissions and remove regulations requiring carmakers to provide more efficient vehicles to Australia. It quotes the shadow energy minister, Dan Tehan, saying: “We will take a chainsaw to Labor’s ideologically driven, energy-restrictive approach to energy.” The Australian says the “eight-point plan to end Labor’s green revolution” was announced at the newspaper’s Energy Nation summit.

Meanwhile, the Independent reports that “solar and wind power set a new renewable energy record on two consecutive days last week in Australia, meeting 80% of the demand on the main electricity grid”.

MEE: China to promote recycling, pollution control of the ‘new three’ products

China News Service

Zhong Bin with China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) said at a press conference that the “recycling and pollution prevention” of discarded “new three” products – solar panels, wind turbines and batteries – must be addressed to “ensure the healthy development of the new energy industry”, reports state news agency China News Service. The newswire adds that Zhong said the MEE will improve laws and regulations and accelerate the formulation of relevant pollution-prevention standards. Zhong also said China will step up regulatory enforcement, focusing on illegal disposal of the products, according to business news outlet the 21st Century Business Herald. Meanwhile, MEE’s Pei Xiaofei said at the same press conference that China’s “ecological protection red lines” showed an “improving trend in terms of protection outcomes”, with key indicators including water conservation, biodiversity protection and vegetation coverage improving, reports state news agency Xinhua. It adds that she also said some key ecological protection areas face degradation risks from climate change.

MORE ON CHINA

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart Johann Wadephul that China and the EU should “find a way to avoid a confrontation over trade”, reports Bloomberg.
The NDRC’s Li Chao said that “China has a solid foundation and sufficient capacity to withstand risks and challenges such as El Niño”, reports the South China Morning Post.
China’s passenger vehicle market is expected to decline by 20% in 2026, according to Ralf Brandstaetter, Volkswagen’s top executive in China, reports Reuters.
China’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao greater bay area will promote the application of 16,000 fuel cell vehicles and build 100 new hydrogen refuelling stations in the next four years, reports Xinhua.
The NEA said the amount of electricity traded in China’s national market increased by 19.2% year on year from January to August, reports BJX News.

Trump backs India-Middle East-Europe corridor, calls for energy shift from Iran

Aditra Halder, The Times of India

On Tuesday, Trump said his administration “strongly supports” the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor “in the form of getting oil out, whether it’s pipelines or anything else”, reports the Times of India. Meanwhile, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is quoted in Moneycontrol as saying India will “continue to source energy from wherever it is available and economically viable”. Sitharaman’s comments, the story adds, “come against the backdrop of a US law that gives Trump the authority to impose” tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas. The article quotes the minister saying that “replacing Russian crude” with supplies from other markets could put “further pressure on global oil prices”. Relatedly, India’s oil and gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri called for “closer cooperation between India and OPEC towards a balanced, stable and predictable global energy market” on Tuesday, reports the Economic Times.

MORE ON INDIA

A Global Times comment argues that the rise in global oil prices calls for “practical economic cooperation” on clean energy between India and China.
Meanwhile, Nikkei Asia reports that China’s “reluctance to share cutting-edge technologies is forcing” Indian companies to scale back their battery cell ambitions.
Australia’s climate minister and COP31 president of negotiations Chris Bowen “chose New Delhi over New York this week”, says Open, with Bowen describing India as a “key partner in the effort to secure” COP31’s outcomes.
A Hindu longread explores “canal-top photovoltaics” and whether India’s large canal network could offer a “land-free path” to solar installations.
The Indian Express reports that the south-west monsoon has begun its retreat “even as nearly 43% of the country’s geographical area remains in a rain deficit”.

Comment

‘It’s my duty to tell the truth’: UN chief on the climate crisis, capitalism and reasons to be hopeful

Fiona Harvey, The Guardian

Guardian environment editor Fiona Harvey interviews António Guterres, who will finish his second term as UN secretary general this year. He tells her: “I believe the UN has the obligation to, at every moment, put the climate in the centre of the concerns of the international community, because climate is the most relevant global existential threat.” Guterres says that while the UN secretary general “has not much power” they do have “a voice” – and he sees it as his “duty” to advocate for climate action. The New York Times Climate Forward newsletter also features an interview with Guterres, reflecting on the time he has spent “raising the alarm about climate change” since he took over in 2017. He tells the outlet that the world must urgently “speed the transition from fossil fuels” and “introduce elements of justice in climate policies”.

MORE INTERNATIONAL COMMENT

Former White House speechwriter Ted Widmer writes in the Guardian about Trump’s “brutish” UN speech, which included “a lengthy assault on climate crisis, claiming (falsely) that the earth’s climate is cooling, and that the science is a hoax when August tied a record for the hottest month ever recorded”.
In the Backchannel substack, former French chief negotiator Paul Watkinson calls for “more delivery, less rhetoric” at this year’s COP31 climate summit, focusing on “real-world action” rather than a comprehensive new negotiated “cover decision”.
The Independent publishes the text of a speech by David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, from a New York event in which he advocates for more finance flowing into climate adaptation.

The climate may have some surprises in store

David Wallace-Wells and Dr Zeke Hausfather, The New York Times

New York Times columnist David Wallace-Wells and Carbon Brief contributor Dr Zeke Hausfather co-author a piece in the New York Times about the potential for “truly alarming climate futures”. They note that political attention has largely drifted away from climate action and that there is a widespread understanding that the real progress that has been made has ruled out “worst case” warming scenarios. However, the authors note: “Because we’re still burning an awful lot of fossil fuel – and because the climate itself may have some surprises in store – harrowing temperature increases remain unnervingly possible.” On current pathways, they add that the world is “virtually certain” to exceed 2C or warming by the end of the century and it “probably will” get even hotter. They conclude: “The faster we can replace fossil fuels with clean-energy alternatives and cut emissions, the more we reduce the risks of truly catastrophic warming…The world still isn’t nearly concerned enough.” Hausfather also includes some extra commentary and charts in his Climate Brink substack.

MORE COMMENT

Journalist Ivan Ehlers writes in the Los Angeles Times that “Trump chose to be unprepared” for the “super” El Niño.
After businessman Jim Ratcliffe said his company Ineos was mothballing three UK chemical plants due to the nation’s “ridiculously high gas prices”, Times assistant business editor James Hurley writes: “Pinning this on the Labour government is harsh, given gas prices are at four-year highs largely because of the Iran war.”
The Daily Express gives its lead comment slot to climate-sceptic columnist Tim Newark, who follows up Ratcliffe’s comments by criticising the UK’s “pathetic high-cost energy policy, following net-zero to a self-destructive degree”.
Daily Telegraph contributing editor Dia Chakravarty writes in favour of a carbon tax, which she frames as a “tax cut [that] could save Britain – and the planet”.
An editorial in the Washington Post praises the US for achieving “natural gas affordability through abundant supply driven by technological progress”.

Research

Residents of European cities are “increasingly at risk” from climate-related hazards, including wildfire and extreme heat | The Lancet Public Health
The south-western Amazon “will become highly vulnerable” to future El Niño-linked changes in temperature and rainfall | Environmental Research Letters
Climate change “disproportionately undermine[s]” the physical and mental health of adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa | Climate and Development

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