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Craig Saueurs, Euronews
There is ongoing media coverage of the flash flooding that hit Texas last week, killing more than 100 people. Euronews says: “A slow-moving storm brought heavy rainfall to the so-called hill country, a region of rocky hills, plains and valleys between San Antonio and Austin, overwhelming riverbanks and inundating small towns with water that rose faster than many could escape.” The outlet reports that “officials have repeatedly referred to the event as a ‘100-year flood’”. However, it says the term “might not reflect present and future risks”. It continues: “Central Texas has long been known as ‘flash flood alley’ for its combination of steep terrain, tropical moisture and slow-moving storms – especially in July. But meteorologists say the scale of this week’s rainfall was anything but typical…The combination of near-record water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, remnants of Tropical Storm Barry and the lack of a jet stream to blow it away funnelled extreme moisture into Texas. In retrospect, a warning sign that the floods could be historic.” Bloomberg says: “The surrounding county was 100% in drought at the start of July. Ironically, that drought helped beget the deadly floods that swept through the region on Friday.” The Climate Brink says: “Climate change doesn’t cause rain events. Rather, the role of climate change is like steroids for the weather – it injects an extra dose of intensity into existing weather patterns.” BBC News says: “The influence of climate change cannot be ignored as another factor in extreme weather events like this. Whilst it is difficult to directly attribute the influence of the warming planet to one particular weather event, sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, where some of the air originated from, continue to be warmer than normal.”
The Independent says: “The National Weather Service (NWS) predicted between 1 and 3 inches of rain, with some isolated spots possibly getting 5 to 7 inches. Instead, parts of Kerr County were slammed with 10 to 15 inches, and in some places, over 20 inches, within a few hours.” The Hill reports that flood warnings “weren’t heard by the people who needed them”. It continues: “State and county officials told reporters that the storm had come without warning. But a wide array of meteorologists – and the Trump administration itself – has argued that those officials, as well as local residents, received a long train of advisories that a dangerous flood was gathering. The timeline of the floods on Friday, experts say, revealed a deadly gap in the ‘last mile’ system that turns those forecasts into life-saving action.” According to the Independent, former NWS employees have “defended” the actions taken, arguing that the flood warnings issued were “about as timely and accurate as could be expected with the data they had”. The Associated Press reports that “the NWS office responsible for that region had five staffers on duty as thunderstorms formed over Texas Thursday evening, the usual number for an overnight shift when severe weather is expected”.
The Guardian reports that Texas senator Ted Cruz has “ensured a reduction in funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) efforts to improve future weather forecasting of events that cause the sort of extreme floods that are being worsened by the human-caused climate crisis”. It adds: “A further $50m in NOAA grants to study climate-related impacts on oceans, weather systems and coastal ecosystems was also removed.” The Hill reports that Democrats are “calling for investigations into why the alert systems in place were not more effective”. Yale Climate Connections says that “the loss this year of many of the weather service’s most experienced leaders – people with decades of experience in the particular weather vulnerabilities in local areas – poses a significant danger to the mission of protecting people and property”. The New York Times notes that “Trump has suggested ‘phasing out’ the Federal Emergency Management Agency and handing its authority to states”. The Financial Times reports that “Trump’s administration pushed back on allegations that cuts to the federal workforce hampered its response” to the floods. The New York Times airports that Trump has “cautioned against casting blame” for the flooding. BBC Verify reports that Trump’s proposed cuts of 25% to the budget of NOAA “have not yet taken effect” so “can’t have directly contributed to the Texas tragedy”. It adds: “Staffing cuts could theoretically have had a negative impact on the NWS performance and some NWS employees had warned of their potential impact on safety. But – at this stage – we don’t have evidence to show if they contributed to the Texas tragedy.”
Bloomberg says: “In the aftermath of devastating floods in Texas, social media users have spread misinformation that cloud seeding is to blame. Meteorologists have been quick to debunk the claim, but the rumours underline how weather can be a magnet for conspiracy theories.” The Independent reports that “a fresh spell of thunderstorms and flash flooding could strike across central Texas”. Bloomberg reports that the risk of heavy rainfall rose on Monday. Separately, Bloomberg says: “On the list of disasters costing $1bn or more, Texas ranked first from 1980 to 2024 with 190, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.” The flooding is covered by a wide range of other outlets, including CBS News, the Times of India, Al Jazeera, Axios, Deutsche Welle, the Daily Telegraph, Sky News, Scientific American, Forbes and the MailOnline.
Kate Abnett and Julia Payne, Reuters
A group of 18 EU member states have written to the European Commission asking for “further changes to the bloc's anti-deforestation law”, Reuters reports. It lists the signatories to the letter, which do not include Germany, France or Spain. The newswire says: “From December, the deforestation law, a world first, will require operators placing goods including soy, beef and palm oil, onto the EU market to provide proof their products did not cause deforestation…Brussels has already delayed its launch by a year and cut back reporting rules following criticism from trading partners, including the US, as well as from EU countries.” The outlet reports that the letter calls for the EU rules to exclude imports from countries at “low risk” of deforestation. Bloomberg quotes the letter as saying: “Instead of targeting deforestation where the risk is highest, the regulation imposes disproportionate bureaucratic obligations on countries, where deforestation is demonstrably insignificant.”
In other EU news, Euractiv reports that the EU is launching a review of its law banning petrol and diesel cars from 2035. Reuters reports that the EU “will develop rules for ‘nature credits’ that pay farmers and foresters to take care of ecosystems, in an attempt to make this work more economically beneficial, the European Commission said on Monday”. Meanwhile, the Press Association reports that “Authorities in Greece imposed mandatory work breaks on Monday in parts of the country where temperatures are expected to exceed 40C, with the heat wave forecast to last through Thursday”. And the Guardian reports that “low water levels after heatwaves and drought are limiting shipping on some of Europe’s biggest rivers including the Rhine and the Danube and pushing up transport costs”.
Nichola Groom, Reuters
Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order telling federal agencies to “strengthen provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that repeal or modify tax credits for solar and wind energy projects”, Reuters reports. The newswire continues: “In an executive order, Trump said the renewable energy resources were unreliable, expensive, displaced more dependable energy sources, were dependent on foreign-controlled supply chains and were harmful to the natural environment and electric grid. The order directs the Treasury department to enforce the phaseout of tax credits for wind and solar projects that were rolled back in the budget bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump last week. It also directs the Interior department to review and revise any policies that favour renewables over other energy sources. Both agencies are required to submit a report to the White House within 45 days detailing actions taken.” Bloomberg reports that the order “also calls for the implementation of restrictions on incentives for clean-energy projects that have ties to foreign entities of concern, including China”.
In other US news, the Associated Press reports that “federal officials on Monday took a first step toward reopening vast areas of public lands in two Western states to new coal [mining] sales as part of President Donald Trump’s push to expand US fossil fuel production”. It continues: “The Interior Department proposal comes after the Biden administration, citing climate change, tried to end sales of the fuel from the nation’s most productive coal fields.” Bloomberg reports that “a Trump administration report warns that blackouts in the US could increase 100 times by 2030 due to an expected increase in power demand brought on by AI, and blames the expected shortfall on the closures of coal and natural gas power plants and the over-reliance on renewable energy”. The outlet notes: “Renewables were positioned to be leading providers of energy supply in coming years, with utility-scale solar last year accounting for 61% of US capacity additions…Solar was primed for further growth because it’s the cheapest domestic electric source, batteries capable of deploying excess power in the evening have become mainstream, and it’s quicker to build than natural gas-fired plants or atomic reactors.”
Liang Rui, Global Times
Multiple regions in China are “battling intense heatwaves” in recent days, with temperatures reaching 40C in some areas and “triggering yellow heat warnings and high-temperature health risk warnings”, according to the country’s weather bureau, state-supporting newspaper Global Times reports. The newspaper adds that the heatwave has “pushed electricity demand to historical levels”, with multiple local authorities implementing measures to “ensure stable power supply”.
Meanwhile, China is “hammering out the final details of China’s new climate change targets”, the Financial Times reports. The outlet adds that: “According to analysis published in June by US thinktank the Asia Society Policy Institute, China must hit peak emissions immediately and reduce them by 30% from current levels by 2035…However, when it comes to the headline target in Beijing’s NDC, many climate campaigners are bracing for a low level of ambition, possibly a 2035 emission reduction goal of 10-15%, according to Yao Zhe, Greenpeace’s Beijing-based global policy adviser.” Separately, the Global Times reports that China and Brazil have signed cooperation documents in areas including new energy, according to China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In response to a report by Financial Times (see Monday’s Daily Briefing), Mao Ning, a spokesperson from China’s foreign ministry, has defended China’s “green and low-carbon development” and says that China will continue to work with other countries to “strengthen international cooperation on climate change”, reports the Global Times.
Elsewhere, Xinhua reports that 79 of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s writings, speeches and instructions on “ecological civilisation” have been published in a collected volume, including some published for the first time. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) publishes an article under the headline: “China to power grid with record renewable energy as AI spurs demand.”
Finally, Reuters publishes an article under the headline: “How China tightened its grip over its rare earth sector.” Another Reuters article says that Beijing’s curbs on rare earth exports are “a big headache” for Chinese companies that are “already struggling with a slow economy”.
Stephanie van den Berg, Reuters
The International Court of Justice will issue its “nonbinding opinion on countries' legal obligation to fight climate change, a decision expected to be cited in climate change-driven litigation around the world” on 23 July, Reuters reports. The newswire adds that the court “is also expected to address whether large states contributing the most to greenhouse-gas emissions should be liable for damage caused to small island nations”. [See Carbon Brief’s interview with leading lawyer Prof Philippe Sands on this case.] The outlet continues: “The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a similar opinion last week finding that its 20 Latin American and Caribbean member states must cooperate to tackle climate change and not take actions that set back environmental protections.”
Francois De Beaupuy, Priscila Azevedo Rocha, Samy Adghirni and Alex Wickham, Bloomberg
The UK government has “moved a step closer to approving” the planned Sizewell C new nuclear plant in Suffolk after reaching an agreement with French state-owned utility company EDF, Bloomberg reports. According to the outlet, the firm “will retain a stake in the Sizewell C project of just 12.5% while the UK government and other investors will hold the rest”. It continues: “The progress should be unveiled as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the UK later this week, said the people, who spoke under the condition not to be named as the information isn’t public yet…EDF is due to hold a board meeting on Tuesday to greenlight its participation in Sizewell C, which should help the UK government make a final investment decision on the project soon after, people familiar with the matter also said.”
In other UK news, the Times reports that “the UK’s hottest and driest spring on record has overheated rivers around the country, leading to concentrated water pollution, low flows and more fish deaths, according to the Angling Trust”. The Daily Telegraph reports that “farmers have warned that wildfires are a ‘disaster waiting to happen’ as a third heatwave looms”, in a piece that manages to avoid mentioning climate change. And the Scotsman says: “Scottish ministers have been accused of ‘taking a wrecking ball’ to the North Sea oil and gas industry after a new report revealed the government’s energy fund has only saved 120 jobs.” |
