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Stephanie Van Den Berg, Reuters
Residents from the Dutch-Caribbean island Bonaire appeared at the Hague yesterday to argue that “that climate change had made life on their island unbearably hot and dry” and to ask “judges to order the Dutch state to cut greenhouse gases more quickly”, Reuters reports. Eight residents of Bonaire, a former Dutch colony that became a special Dutch municipality in 2010, told the district court of the Hague that they want the Netherlands to “cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040, 10 years ahead of its current plans”, the newswire says, because the Dutch government has “not done enough to protect the island against rising sea levels”. It adds: “Legal experts on climate change cases say the Dutch case is one of the first to test the obligations set in a landmark 2024 European climate ruling and this year's world court opinion on a national level.” Agence France-Press notes that a “2022 study by Amsterdam’s Vrije Universiteit showed that as much as a fifth of Bonaire could be swallowed up by the sea by the end of the century”. The Associated Press also covers the news.
Yusuf Khan and Scott Patterson, The Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration plans to cut nearly $24bn in funding for more than 600 climate projects across the US, according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. It continues: “Among the companies facing cuts are carbon-capture startups Heirloom and Climeworks, which together had been lined up for more than a $1bn of public funding for direct-air capture projects in Louisiana.” The newspaper says that this latest move “builds on” cuts of $7bn announced last week that mostly targeted Democratic-led states, adding: “The latest move from the DoE [Department of Energy] builds on these cuts and now impacts Republican-led districts too.” It carries a response from a DoE spokesperson saying: “The department continues to conduct an individualised and thorough review of financial awards made by the previous administration. No determinations have been made other than what has been previously announced.” Reuters also has the story.
MORE ON US
Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to approve a 211-mile industrial road that would cut through pristine Alaskan wilderness to reach a proposed copper and zinc mine, the New York Times reports. The National Guard “logged more than 400,000 member service days per year over the past decade responding to hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters, the Pentagon has revealed in a report to Congress”, Inside Climate News says. The Guardian covers research on how glacier melt could leave California’s Sierra Nevada ice-free by the beginning of the next century.
Jonathan Bunn, Press Association
More than half of voters for the hard-right, populist Reform UK party approve of their pensions being invested in renewable energy, according to a poll covered by the Press Association. It continues: “A survey by YouGov found 79% of voters overall are in favour of their pensions being invested in renewable energy, including 53% of Reform UK supporters. The findings have led to claims that politicians who oppose investment in the sector ‘have grossly misjudged’ voters’ views.” The research was commissioned by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), PA says. It quotes UKSIF chief executive James Alexander, who said: “This data shows political parties that have opposed the vital rollout of renewable energy have grossly misjudged their voters’ views.”
Elsewhere, the Guardian rounds up some of the Conservative party’s new policies, including repealing the Climate Change Act and “disband[ing] the Climate Change Committee, the watchdog that advises on how policies affect the UK’s carbon footprint”. [Carbon Brief has published an in-depth factcheck into what the act means for the UK.] Meanwhile, former Conservative deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has criticised the move, warning that the “threat from global warming must not be ignored in the hope that it may not happen or because there is a backlash against the cost”, reports Sky News. The Daily Mirror also covers Lord Heseltine’s comments.
MORE ON UK
Extreme marine heatwaves are projected to become more common off UK and Ireland shores, according to research covered by the Guardian. Sales for the Chinese carmaker BYD surged by 880% in the UK in September compared to a year earlier, making the nation the company’s biggest market outside China, BBC News says. Extreme weather’s impact on harvests has caused the loss of a “year’s worth of bread” in the UK since 2020, the Guardian says. BBC News reports that “a landscape conservation charity has raised concerns about plans for up to 65 turbines in the Highlands' Monadhliath Mountains”.
Reuters
China is “building oil reserve sites at a rapid clip” in a move to “boost crude stockpiles”, Reuters reports. The newswire says that state oil companies “will add at least 169m barrels of storage across 11 sites during 2025 and 2026, according to public sources including domestic news reports, government reports and company websites”. It continues that China’s “heavy dependence on foreign oil... is a strategic vulnerability that Beijing is seeking to mitigate”, adding that the country is also “rapidly developing renewable energy and electrifying its vehicle fleet”, with “overall oil consumption likely to peak in 2027”.
MORE ON CHINA
Reuters: “IEA trims renewables outlook as US policy shifts and China auction reforms weigh.” The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that China has launched the world’s “first commercial underwater data centre in Hainan”, which can “reduce energy consumption needed for cooling”. Bloomberg reports that Nigeria is in talks with China for a $2bn loan to “build a new super grid to reduce power shortages” in the country. SCMP publishes a comment by Asma Khalid, an independent researcher, under the headline: “Europe should focus on beating US tariffs, not Chinese EVs.” The Guardian reports that Ineos, the UK chemicals company, is blaming “dirt-cheap carbon-heavy” imports from China for cutting jobs at one of its plants.
Puja Das, Down to Earth
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest renewables report, India is “set to become the second-largest growth market” for renewable energy, Down to Earth reports. India’s renewable outlook “stands out” among major economies, it adds, with the Paris-based agency attributing this to “record [renewable] auction volumes, improved rooftop solar support and faster hydropower permitting”. Separately, energy thinktank Ember said that India achieved “record growth in solar and wind, with both exceeding demand growth” in the first half of 2025, leading to “a decline in coal use and a 3.6% fall in power sector emissions” compared to the same period last year, Hindustan Times reports. At the same time, energy giant BP said that India’s oil demand “is expected to grow to 9m barrels per day (bpd) in 2050, accounting for 10% of total global consumption”, Business Standard reports. Per BP, coal’s total share in India’s energy mix is likely to “stay above 40% in 2050” on the country’s current trajectory. Finally, Reuters reports that Indian state electricity distributors are “signing long-term contracts” with coal power generators to meet a “projected surge in evening demand”.
MORE ON INDIA:
Meteorologists predict that northern India may experience a “colder-than-usual” winter this year due to the likely development of a La Niña event, Economic Times reports. An Al Jazeera feature explains how a climate activist from the Himalayan region of Ladakh – renowned for his “ice stupas” – was arrested and stands “accused of treason” by the Indian government. A Scroll.in report examines the large renewable projects coming up in Ladakh’s “ecologically fragile” pasturelands.
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