|
Dharna Noor, The Guardian
New analysis shows that US president Donald Trump has placed more than 40 people with direct ties to oil, gas and coal within his administration, reports the Guardian. According to a new report from consumer advocacy and ethics non-profit Public Citizen and corporate watchdog Revolving Door Project, dozens of people with ties to the fossil-fuel industry have been given positions, it adds. The nominees and appointees have been placed within the White House and eight agencies dictating energy, environmental and climate policy, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the interior and energy departments and others, the article notes. Relatedly, Politico reports that the Senate confirmed more than 100 Trump administration nominees this week, including several energy and environmental candidates.
MORE ON US
The Financial Times reports that the US is “demanding the EU water down parts of its green legislation just months after agreeing a tariff pact to avoid an all-out transatlantic trade war”. The Wall Street Journal discusses the impact of Trump’s “wind energy assault” on the Republican states that have been leading the rollout of the technology. Politico has a list of potential clean-energy projects whose funding could be cut by the Trump administration, impacting hydrogen and direct air capture hubs in red states. Reuters reports that, earlier this week, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney “raised the prospect” of reviving the Canada-US Keystone XL oil pipeline in a meeting with Trump. Former energy department deputy secretary Dave Turk, who served throughout most of the Biden administration, is joining the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as director of its environment programme, Politico reports.
Adam Vaughan, The Times
Officials in Downing Street have blocked publication of a report warning that the collapse of tropical rainforests could push up food prices in UK supermarkets, the Times reports. The ‘global ecosystem assessment report’, which looks at the consequences of the degradation and destruction of tropical and boreal forests, coral reefs and mangroves for the UK, was due to be published today. In its coverage, the Guardian notes that the report from parliament’s joint intelligence committee is understood to say that one of the “biggest risks facing Britain” is the “destabilising impact of the climate and nature crises on national security”. An unnamed source tells the paper that they feared the report was being suppressed because the government was “unwilling to face the issues raised” against a backdrop of cuts to foreign aid, which could help “stabilise countries most at risk from the climate crisis and avoid some of the impacts”.
MORE ON FOOD
New analysis shows that UK wheat production is down by the equivalent of more than one year’s supply of British bread in recent years amid increasingly extreme weather, reports Press Association. BusinessGreen also has the story. The UK food industry says domestic policies, not global pressures, are forcing grocery bills higher, according to the Financial Times. The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Reuters and Wall Street Journal all report that food giant Nestle has quit a global initiative to cut methane emissions from dairy suppliers.
Gong Zhe, China Global Television Network
There is continuing regional coverage of a mid-year report by thinktank Ember on global electricity generation. China’s state broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN) reports that “global renewable electricity generation exceeded coal in the first half of 2025, marking a major shift mainly due to the massive scale of clean energy deployment in China”. It continues: “The analysis…confirms China's role as the primary driver of the transition, responsible for more solar and wind capacity additions than the rest of the world combined. In the first six months of the year, China accounted for 55% of global solar generation growth and an impressive 82% of the global increase in wind generation.” State-supporting newspaper Global Times also covers the story.
MORE ON CHINA
Xinhua: “China's National Day holiday travel goes green as charging network expands.” Dialogue Earth publishes an article discussing how China’s effort to boost its green ammonia industry can help the growth of the country’s “green hydrogen” sector. South China Morning Post publishes a comment by Winston Mok, a private investor, under the headline: “China is driving a green energy future while the US is frozen in the past.” Bloomberg reports that China’s auto dealerships are facing “existential threat” amid a “long-running price war” and overcapacity in the electric vehicle sector.
James Murray, BusinessGreen
There is widespread coverage of the conclusion of the Conservative party conference yesterday. Party leader Kemi Badenoch promised what she called a “proper strategy” for tackling climate change, reports BusinessGreen, but she offered “no indication” of what that strategy might entail, the outlet notes. In her conference speech, Badenoch set out previously announced plans to “scrap” the Climate Change Act, repeal the UK’s headline net-zero target and end the “renewables obligation subsidy scheme for legacy wind and solar projects”, the outlet explains. A scorecard published after the conference by the Tories alleges that “axing net-zero-related programmes” could cut public spending by £1.6bn a year, the article notes.
In its coverage, the i newspaper says there are “battles to come” over Badenoch’s climate change policy proposals and reports on predictions it will be “watered down once it goes through internal party processes”. The Guardian, BBC News, Politico, Sun and Times mention Badenoch’s energy and climate proposals in their coverage of the party conference. Meanwhile, the Press Association covers comments from shadow Scotland secretary Andrew Bowie, who reportedly described the UK’s current oil and gas policies as “unhinged”.
MORE ON UK POLITICS
Tayguara Ribeiro, Folha de São Paulo
A study covered by Folha de São Paulo finds that 64% of Brazilian people say they are supportive of COP30 being held in their country. However, the study, published by the institute Ipsos-Ipec, also finds that 55% of Brazilians consider themselves “uninformed” about the climate summit, the outlet notes. Another 56% say the event will yield more benefits than drawbacks for the country’s economy, the newspaper adds. Meanwhile, the Brazilian congress approved a bill that “symbolically transfers Brazil’s capital from Brasília to Belém [during COP30] this year”, G1 reports. It adds that acts and orders signed by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will refer to Belém, rather than Brasilia.
Elsewhere, Estadão reports about three problems Brazil’s government needs to address in Belém, ahead of COP30, including the country's participation at the event, submissions of national climate commitments and ensuring that finance discussions do not delay the agenda. Ana Toni, COP30 CEO, told the outlet that countries are being consulted about their interests in order to set up a strategy.
MORE ON LATIN AMERICA
Between 2022 and 2024, a fifth of global oil reserves were discovered in the Amazon, according to an analysis by InfoAmazonia. The Colombian Amazon lost 1,198 hectares of forests between April and June this year, according to a report covered by El Espectador reports. The figure is 15.6% lower than last year and the second lowest in the past five years. Chequeado and other organisations produced a report showing that 73% of official commitments by Argentina “are not on track to be achieved by 2030”. México’s city governor announced that the city will commit to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030, Animal Político reports. However, the governor did not mention the strategy for achieving the commitment, the outlet adds. El Aragüeño reports that Venezuela will hold a global meeting on climate change today and tomorrow in Caracas. The event will include various actors and social movements to bring a joint proposal to COP30. Venezuela’s president said the country “will have a prominent delegation at the upcoming [COP30]”.
Charles Daly, Bloomberg
The Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to a team of scientists who created “molecular constructions with potential to help combat climate change”, reports Bloomberg. The team, made up of scientists from Japan, the UK and Jordan, created constructions with large spaces that allow gases and other chemicals to flow through, it adds. “Applications for the so-called metal-organic frameworks include capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from desert air”, the article notes. The Washington Post notes that the researchers have already used the molecular structures to “harvest water from desert air, extract pollutants from water, capture carbon dioxide and store hydrogen”. |
