Oil and gas decline | Europe’s climate cost | Debate down under
News
Global oil and gas field decline rates are increasing, IEA says
The rate of output decline from global oil and gas fields is accelerating, meaning companies would “need to step up the pace of investment just to keep output flat”, Reuters reports, covering a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Financial Times says production is “growing more precarious because of an increasing reliance on shale oil and gas, where fields need continuous new drilling to maintain their output”. It says the IEA’s findings are “likely to be greeted enthusiastically by the oil industry”, which has argued that it needs to invest in more production. It adds that the IEA has faced “pressure from the Trump administration”, which has accused it of discouraging investment by forecasting “peak oil” this decade. Euractiv headlines its coverage with the IEA’s conclusion that “halting investment in oil and gas would tip [the] security balance towards [the] Middle East and Russia”, noting that “western oil and gas fields decline more rapidly”.
MORE ON OIL AND GAS
- Oil giant ExxonMobil is introducing a unique shareholder “auto-voting” mechanism that may help “fend off” activists, following “several high-profile activist shareholder campaigns tied to climate issues in recent years”, Reuters reports.
Latest heatwaves, droughts, floods could cost Europe €126bn by 2029
The heatwaves, droughts and floods that struck Europe this summer are expected to cost the region’s economy more than €120bn in the long term, according to a new study covered by Radio France Internationale. In total, it says experts calculated that there were around 100 heatwaves, 200 droughts and more than 50 floods in Europe over recent months. Politico says the EU has already faced an estimated €43bn in costs this year due to these events, “knocking nearly half a percentage point off the region’s economic output”. It notes that the study included physical damage to buildings and infrastructure, the impact on worker productivity and “spillover effects” on other parts of the economy. Euronews notes that the study “hasn’t yet been submitted for peer review, but is based on relationships between weather and economic data published in a separate academic study earlier this month”.
MORE ON EUROPE
- The EU is “weighing sanctions on companies in India and China that are enabling Russia’s oil trade” as part of a series of fresh restrictions following US president Donald Trump’s push for sanctions on Russian oil, Bloomberg reports.
Germany to scrap fixed tariffs for new renewables, pivot to market support
Germany plans to phase out fixed-price subsidies for new renewables, shifting to market-based mechanisms, Reuters reports. It says a 10-point plan from the economy ministry emphasises “pragmatism and realism”, as German electricity demand grows more slowly than projected. Tagesschau quotes economy minister Katherina Reiche criticising “uncontrolled electricity production by renewables”. It notes that the plan also includes expanding gas-fired plants that could later switch to hydrogen, as well as enabling carbon capture and storage for gas power plants. FAZ notes that energy-intensive industries welcomed the proposals, while WirtschaftsWoche says the plans may spark controversy within the ruling CDU-SPD coalition.
Clean Energy Wire carries a Q&A on the ministry’s report: “The highly anticipated report that economy minister Katherina Reiche labelled as a ‘reality check’ of the transition’s progress found that Germany continues to need a faster expansion of renewable energy sources, power grid infrastructure and flexibility options to manage the expected surge in electricity demand. However, it also concluded that cost efficiency so far has been given insufficient importance in energy policy, leading the government to announce it will limit capacity expansion to a level required for achieving the country’s climate targets while maintaining supply security.” A commentary for Der Spiegel by reporter Markus Becker is headline: “How Katherina Reiche is slowing down renewable energies.” He criticises the push for more gas plants, arguing that claims of excessive renewable subsidies are “flimsy”, as new backup gas units would also require “massive subsidies”.
MORE ON GERMANY
- Fuel Cell Works reports that Germany will relax the EU’s “strict” definition of “green” hydrogen in favour of “a more flexible, technology-neutral approach” as part of the economy ministry’s energy policy reset.
- Handelsblatt notes the government is considering purchasing a significant portion of German power grids currently owned by the Netherlands.
- Die Welt highlights that German state-owned company SEFE has finalised a strategic liquefied natural gas (LNG) partnership with China.
Australia: Andrew Hastie threatens to quit Coalition frontbench over support for net-zero
The Australian shadow home affairs minister Andrew Hastie has announced he is prepared to quit or be dropped from the shadow cabinet, if the right-wing Coalition – of which he is a member – does not abandon its support for the nation’s net-zero target, according to Sky News. The Liberal Western Australian MP’s comments, made in a radio interview with ABC Radio Perth, placed him among “a growing number of Coalition MPs to speak out against net-zero”, the Guardian says. It adds that this comes as Sussan Ley, the opposition leader, is leading a post-election review of the Coalition’s policies, including those concerning climate and energy. The Sydney Morning Herald describes Hastie as a “leading light in the [Liberal] party’s hard right or conservative faction”, as well as “an outspoken critic of Australia’s commitment to net-zero”. ABC News reports that Hastie also described a new national climate risk assessment as “climate alarmism”. Shadow education secretary Jonno Duniam warned that the Liberals could face a “mass exodus” from the frontbench if they pursue net-zero by 2050 at “any costs”, the Guardian reports.
MORE ON AUSTRALIA
- Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has described the recent climate risk assessment as a “wake-up call” that reinforces the need for “serious” action to tackle climate change, the Guardian reports.
China launches atomic energy law, first foundational law for nuclear energy industry
China’s atomic energy law, the country’s first law for its nuclear energy sector, has been adopted by the country’s legislature, business news outlet Jiemian says. It adds the new law will help with the “healthy and sustainable development of the atomic energy industry and the establishment of China’s image as a responsible nuclear power”. The new law calls for the “active, safe and orderly development of nuclear power”, promotion of “comprehensive utilisation of nuclear reactors” and application of nuclear reactors in fields such as power generation, heating and hydrogen production, energy news outlet International Energy Net reports. The law also says the development of China’s nuclear research and industry “shall adhere to the strategies of innovation-driven development, green development and sustainable development”, industry news outlet BJX News says. Elsewhere, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports China is considering plans to “convert retiring coal-fired plants into nuclear power stations”.
MORE ON CHINA
- Former climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and MEE minister Huang Runqiu “will visit Brussels on 16 September to meet with Teresa Ribera”, the EU’s top climate official, Reuters says, adding current climate envoy Liu Zhenmin is not confirmed to attend. Huang recently met with COP30 executive director Ana Toni, Tanpaifang says.
- In a commentary for Economic Daily, Huang Runqiu and party secretary Sun Jinlong call for a “more effective, dynamic and internationally influential” carbon market.
- Liu Zhenmin said China must pursue technological breakthroughs in the face of “fierce global competition in green technology”, the Paper reports.
- Inspection teams found that “some regions” in China are continuing with “high energy consumption and high pollution” projects and that “some [state-owned enterprises]” failed to enact environmental policies, China Daily reports.
- China issued a policy clarifying pricing rules for “localised new energy projects”, such as directly-connected renewable power supply projects, Jiemian reports.
- Reuters reports that low solar power prices in China’s first provincial auction for wind and solar power could “discourage new project investments”.
US: Young activists won a landmark state climate trial. Now they’re challenging Trump’s orders
A group of young climate activists who won a “landmark” climate trial against the state of Montana are asking a federal judge to block US president Donald Trump’s executive orders promoting fossil fuels, according to the Associated Press. In a two-day court hearing starting on Tuesday, the young people filing the federal lawsuit will argue that Trump’s boosting of fossil fuels and halting of renewables “violates their constitutional rights”, the article explains. The New York Times says the US Department of Justice is “urging the judge to toss the case”, arguing that it is similar to another case led by the same NGO – Our Children’s Trust – which was dismissed in 2015. The activists’ previous victory – on the basis that Montana had deprived them of a “clean and healthful” environment – “resounded across the country”, according to the Daily Montanan. Nevertheless, it adds that state policies “haven’t changed in the wake of the case”.
MORE ON US
- Energy secretary Chris Wright says the US should boost its strategic uranium reserve “to buffer against Russian supplies and increase confidence in the long-term prospects of nuclear power generation”, according to Bloomberg.
- A Washington Post analysis finds that the Trump administration has “axed nearly two dozen projects addressing health and environmental issues” in black communities across the US south.
- Danish wind power company Ørsted plans to sell new shares at a 67% discount as it “moves to shore up its finances after its US developments were derailed by the Trump administration”, the Financial Times reports.
- Politico reports on US solar industry hopes that they will benefit from the “urgent need for electricity”, amid rising power prices and demand from new data centres.
Weakening net-zero policy ‘will spook investors’, warns UK’s climate adviser
The Guardian interviews Nigel Topping, the recently appointed chair of the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC), who says there is “robust evidence” that the country would benefit economically from strong climate policy. The newspaper notes that this comes amid “calls from some politicians to back down” on the nation’s net-zero targets. Topping tells the Guardian: “The business community want[s] strong, stable policy signals and flip-flopping is not good for investment. We see it right now in the US with a huge brain drain and capital drain, as whole sectors are being de-invested or even attacked.”
MORE ON UK
- Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho tells the Daily Express that she thinks Labour energy secretary Ed Miliband is the “most dangerous man in Britain” due to his support for net-zero policies.
- The Press Association reports that, despite recent rainfall, groundwater and reservoir levels across England continue to decline, with drought conditions likely to remain through autumn amid the “growing impacts of climate change”.
- Opposition parties on the Reform UK-led Kent county council have “expressed anger” at an attempt to withdraw a declaration of “climate emergency”, with the Reform motion calling on councillors to be “open minded but sceptical” of man-made climate change, BBC News reports.
- The Guardian reports on the expected greenhouse gas emissions from a “huge” new data centre planned for Essex.
Comment
Australia: Cost of years of inaction on climate change is now revealed
Editorial, The Sydney Morning Herald
A Sydney Morning Herald editorial lays out the “grim” findings of the Australian government’s latest national climate risk assessment. It says: “The report brings home a truth that those not paying attention to the science may not have grasped: a mere 0.5 or 1C increase in Earth’s warming is likely to have a massive impact on our everyday lives.” According to the editorial, the release of this document – with its predictions of heat deaths, rising seas and coastal flooding – has a “strategic logic”, given it comes ahead of the government launching its new 2035 emissions reduction target. It explains: “The report warns that the outcomes it outlines are not inevitable.” The newspaper concludes that, ultimately, whether Australia faces this future will depend on “whether the government’s target is up to the challenge its own risk assessment presents”. The Guardian has an analysis on the risk assessment by Australia climate editor Adam Morton, which also reflects on the government’s impending decision on a new climate target.
MORE ON AUSTRALIA
- Daily Mail Australian political editor, Peter van Onselen, writes that the Liberal party – the larger player in the nation’s right-wing Coalition – is about to “split on the net-zero issue”, with moderate and conservative factions supporting and opposing the goal.
Trump has a point about Europe’s reliance on Russian oil
Editorial, The Washington Post
Even though US president Donald Trump has shown “tremendous weakness” in dealing with Russian president Vladimir Putin, that does not mean he is incorrect in calling for the EU to “stop buying oil from Russia”, according to a Washington Post editorial. It says: “Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago, but the EU still bought $25.7bn worth of Russian oil and gas in 2024, down only 1% since 2023.” It notes that gas imports from Russia to the EU are set to end by 2027, but Slovakia and Hungary will be exempt from a ban on oil imports. It states: “Europeans should be considering hastening the timeline not to keep a cranky Trump happy, but for their own sakes.”
MORE COMMENT
- Patricia Miranda from the NGO Latindadd and Jon Sward at the Bretton Woods Project write for the Daily Telegraph about the importance of “special drawing rights” reform at the International Monetary Fund, which they say could help developing countries “pursue previously unattainable investments for climate and development initiatives”.
- Lina Yassin, a Sudanese climate policy researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), writes for Climate Home News about people from “some of the world’s most vulnerable countries” being shut out of New York Climate Week due to “Trump’s travel ban”.
- Bloomberg columnist Max Hastings writes about Trump’s UK visit, stating that it is unlikely a “dedicated [climate] campaigner” such as King Charles will “enjoy entertaining a leader who is bulldozing every green measure”.
Research
The US’s ability to adapt to climate change is “substantially weakened because of increased distrust of institutions and political polarisation”
Including aerosols in climate attribution studies can improve their accuracy
Undisturbed forests are “critical for forest specialist birds”
Global Ecology and Biogeography
This edition of the Daily Briefing was written by Josh Gabbatiss, with contributions from Henry Zhang and Anika Patel. It was edited by Simon Evans.
Other stories
- Shipping companies support a first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases, opposed by Trump officials (The Associated Press)
- Rising Nato military spending to cause huge spike in emissions, report warns (The Guardian)
- A steady ocean pattern just failed for the first time ever observed (USA Today)
- Bali battles worst floods in more than a decade (The Guardian)
- UN sessions on solar geoengineering trigger unease (Climate Home News)
- Wildfires are blazing across Africa – but leaders like Trump are turning away (The Independent)
- COP observers invited to reveal who is bank-rolling their participation at climate talks (Climate Home News)
- How climate risks are putting home insurance out of reach (Yale Environment 360)
- Carbon capture still an expensive last resort, conference hears (Climate Home News)
- Comment: Zany climate ideas show how far off track we are (Bloomberg)
- African Union proposes mining coalition (Semafor)
- Kenyan banks need skills to bridge $5bn green funding gap (Bloomberg)
- Methane emissions remain a blind spot for fashion industry, report finds (The Wall Street Journal)