Daily Briefing: UK grid plan | Trump fuel rollback | Diesel ‘record’

29.09.26

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News

UK: Burnham promises to roll back privatisation with government-backed grid plan

Kiran Stacey, Jessica Elgot and Pippa Crerar, The Guardian

Later today, UK prime minister Andy Burnham will announce the creation of a “new government-backed body to invest in the electricity grid” called GB Grid, reports the Guardian on its frontpage. According to the newspaper, the body will “use money previously allocated to Great British Energy to compete with privately owned companies such as National Grid”. Reuters says: “Burnham will also set a target of bringing Britain’s energy costs in line with those of other ‌European ⁠countries within 10 years…The proposed GB Grid would help speed up ⁠grid connections for businesses, boost competition and support ⁠reindustrialisation and drive down bills, the party added.” BBC News adds: “Burnham is expected to bill the creation of the GB Grid as the first significant move in his ambition to provide greater public control of utilities, which he put at the centre of his pitch for power.”

The Daily Mirror says on its frontpage that Burnham will pledge to overhaul the “broken energy market”. In a story trailed on its frontpage, the i newspaper says: “[D]rive to ‘buy British’ when upgrading the power network…could push up…bills, ministers have admitted.” The Daily Mail says on its frontage: “PM to vow public control of energy, water and housing.” Separately, the Guardian reports that energy secretary Miatta Fahnbuleh told the Labour party conference that “billions of pounds worth of green levies could be taken off bills…as the government investigates funding green infrastructure through taxes instead”. BusinessGreen says Fahnbulleh announced that “management of the government’s £15bn warm homes plan will be devolved in order to give mayors and councils greater control over how promised green upgrade programmes are delivered”, adding that she called net-zero a “‘force for reindustrialisation’ that can tackle the climate crisis and curb energy bills”.

MORE ON UK

BBC News says: “Homes are being built today that could become uninsurable in the future due to the risk of flooding, the boss of insurance giant Aviva has said.”
The Times: “Crown Estate sea-bed auctions could add £38 a year to energy bills.”
The Press Association: “Heathrow expansion ‘important for our future’, says Treasury minister.”
The Daily Mail says “ministers are pressing [chancellor] John Healey to scrap plans to hike fuel duty by up to 7p a litre”.

Trump sharply scales back fuel-economy rules for new cars

Brad Plumer and Maxine Joselow, The New York Times

As expected, the Trump administration finalised new rules yesterday to “significantly weaken fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles, scaling back Biden-era rules meant to reduce gasoline consumption and speed the shift to electric vehicles”, reports the New York Times. The newspaper says: “Under the new rules from the transportation department, automakers will be required to achieve an average fuel efficiency of 34.9 miles per gallon for new cars and light trucks in model year 2031. That’s far below the standard of 50.4 miles per gallon set by the Biden administration.” Reuters reports administration claims that the new standard will cut costs for carmarkers, while raising fuel use and emissions. The Washington Post says “analysts are doubtful” that the fuel economy rules will cut car prices. Inside Climate News and the Associated Press also cover the story.

MORE ON US

The Guardian covers new research which finds that “fossil-fuel firms have spent years trying to regulate climate research by donating to US universities”.
Politico reports that California attorney general Rob Bonta is leading a “multistate lawsuit against the EPA’s move to revoke the endangerment finding”.
The New York Times says: “In a previously unreported letter, a top lobbyist floated the idea of using emergency powers to keep ageing coal plants open.” It adds: “Trump obliged.”
The Washington Post: “Texas governor declares emergency to bring down fuel prices.”
Politico: “Why a diesel export ban could send California gas prices soaring.”

UK diesel prices hit record highs due to impact of Iran war

Seher Dareen, Reuters

The motoring body RAC has announced that “the price of diesel at the pump in the UK has hit record highs due to the US-Israeli war on Iran”, according to Reuters. The newswire says diesel now costs 199.18p, beating the previous record set in June 2022. BBC News says: “Over the past seven months, the Iran war has severely disrupted the production and transportation of wholesale oil across the region, causing the price of fuels made from oil to surge.” It adds that the price of Brent crude is currently around $108 per barrel. The Times says “Andy Burnham will lobby Donald Trump not to impose a US diesel export ban, amid fears in government that it would lead to shortages at the pump”. BBC News reports that “the UK is in talks with US authorities over a potential stoppage of diesel exports and has started preparing for a ban”.

MORE ON OIL AND GAS

CNBC reports that Trump says the White House is still “very seriously” considering a diesel export ban.
The Financial Times: “TotalEnergies boosts buybacks and dividends as oil prices surge.”
The New York Times: “Oil prices climb on continued impasse in US-Iran talks.”
Reuters says that oil prices “rose for a second successive session” today.
Reuters: “Oil stocks in US strategic petroleum reserve fall to lowest level since 1982.”
The Daily Telegraph says: “Britain’s borrowing costs hit their highest level since 2007 after Middle East tensions pushed oil prices above $108.”

Trump-Xi summit yields coal pledge as tariff talks extend

Bloomberg

The White House said that China has agreed to import at least 10m tonnes of coal from the US in 2027 and again in 2028 as part of the outcome of the Trump-Xi meeting last week, reports Bloomberg. Another Bloomberg article says China can “easily” meet the target, making the “most specific pledge” of the summit an “easy promise to keep”. State-supporting newspaper Global Times reports that tariffs on China’s coal imports from the US will be included in the “$30bn for $30bn” reciprocal tariff reduction framework. State news agency Xinhua carries an “explanatory note” from China’s commerce ministry, saying that coal imports from the US would be a “useful supplement to China’s domestic coal market while bringing stable revenue and jobs to the US coal industry”. Bloomberg carries the full list of goods the US and China agreed to cut tariffs on.

MORE ON CHINA

China’s 15th “five-year plan” for the battery industry aims to achieve large-scale application of all-solid-state batteries by 2030, reports Xinhua.
China’s NEA said ensuring a stable gas supply during the heating season still faces challenges from the Iran war and extreme weather events, according to Xinhua.
Huang Runqiu, head of China’s MEE, said the Himalaya floods serve as a warning that climate change is an “urgent and pressing threat”, reports Xinhua.
Global Times publishes an editorial under the headline: “Resolving [the] EU’s energy price crisis needs broader trade cooperation.”
China’s first new-energy project to deploy 18 megawatt offshore wind turbines at scale has entered operation, reports CEPN.

US: Justice Samuel Alito recuses from climate case after scrutiny over oil stock holdings

Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press

US Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito has recused himself from a “major climate-change case” after “facing calls to step aside due to stock holdings in oil companies”, the Associated Press reports. The newswire says: “The recusal comes shortly before the court hears the case filed by local officials in Boulder, Colorado, against Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil. It’s one of dozens of similar cases alleging companies deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change. Billions of dollars in damages could be at stake.” Reuters says Alito owns stock in several oil and gas companies, but not in Suncor or ExxonMobil. CNBC, Politico, Inside Climate News and the New York Times also cover the story.

Comment

Cash-rich oil majors face post-Iran strategy rethink

Ron Bousso, Reuters

Reuters energy columnist Ron Bousso says “the world’s biggest energy companies are poised to deliver another quarter of bumper profits, fuelled by record refining margins”. However, he notes that the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran “changes the calculus for an industry that makes multibillion-dollar investment decisions with time horizons measured in decades”. Bousso outlines “concerns about the long-term outlook for fuel demand remain, especially in Asia, where the growth in electric vehicles has exploded amid the surge in gasoline and diesel prices”. He also says the conflict has “exposed the need for buyers to diversify supplies” and “reshaped global trade flows”. He concludes: “The winners of the next decade will not be the energy companies that merely harvest today’s windfall profits. They will be those that use them to prepare for a world of higher geopolitical risk, longer supply chains, and a global push for energy security.”

MORE COMMENT

An editorial in the Daily Mirror says “Burnham is right to say [the] energy system is broken”, adding that “his plan for a publicly owned GB Grid is a chance to wrest back control from a market that has too often failed ordinary people”.
An editorial in the Guardian about chancellor John Healey says “an energy shock will mean households and businesses need to be offered help in the budget”.
An editorial in the Times says that Burnham “needs to demonstrate his commitment to growth by backing the expansion of Britain’s most important airport”.
An editorial in the Sun says: “With the price of filling a family car soaring past £110, it would be political suicide for the chancellor to scrap the 5p fuel duty discount.”
Carbon Brief’s contributing science writer, Dr Zeke Hausfather, unpacks “the impacts of this year’s record-shattering El Niño” in his Climate Brink substack.

Research

More than two-thirds of the land area that will be inundated under future sea level rise by mid-century will be “environmentally suitable” for known invasive species | Nature Ecology & Evolution
Marine heatwaves could cause declines in ocean biomass by up to 7% per degree of warming | Global Change Biology
Limiting global warming to below 2C would result in wildfire impacts “comparable to modern levels”, while exposure would increase by more than 300% by the end of century under a very-high-emissions scenario | Environmental Research: Climate