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Binsar Bakkara, The Associated Press
In continued coverage of the “catastrophic” floods and landslides in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia, the Associated Press reports that the death toll has risen past 1,400 with 1,000 people still missing. The newswire says that rescue teams are trying to reach isolated communities amid difficulties such as “villages l[ying] buried under mud and debris”. Agence France-Presse reports on “growing frustration” in Indonesia about the “pace of the rescue effort and aid delivery”. Another Associated Press article says that these kinds of extreme weather events are “what climate scientists expect: a new normal of punishing storms, floods and devastation”. It adds that “climate patterns last year helped set the stage for 2025’s extreme weather”. Analysis in the Guardian says that “global heating and other human activity are making Asia’s floods more lethal”. The impacts are also covered by the Independent, BBC News, Le Monde, Sky News, Nikkei Asia and CNN.
In Sri Lanka, the death toll from “the worst floods in a decade” is now over 410 people, with 336 people still missing and 1.2m affected, Reuters reports. The country has “declared a state of emergency” after the flooding and landslides, with disaster management chief Sampath Kotuwegoda telling Al Jazeera the country is facing a “humanitarian crisis of historic proportions”. The outlet quotes climate scientist Roxy Matthew Koll saying: “Warmer oceans fuel stronger rain bands around tropical cyclones, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and releases it in more intense bursts.” It also quotes climate activist Harjeet Singh who says that countries “that grew wealthy by burning fossil fuels have a legal and moral obligation to urgently deliver grant-based finance” to help countries respond. Science writer Nalaka Gunawardene tells Deutsche Welle: "The entire disaster management structure – from policymakers to state officials – should be held accountable for cascading failures that made a bad disaster much worse."
MORE ON SOUTH ASIA
A Foreign Policy piece looks at how Pakistan “became a poster child for climate justice” after devastating floods, but still “faces a steep learning curve” to secure adaptation finance. An Indian Express column by Vikram S Mehta, head of thinktank the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, talks about the “trade-offs and dilemmas” that India’s energy policy must navigate in an era of climate change and artificial intelligence.
Vivian Chime, Climate Home News
Tanzania “urged” ministers from African countries to “position themselves against transitioning away from fossil fuels” halfway through the COP30 climate summit last month, reports Climate Home News. The outlet says this recommendation emerged in a “four-page presentation” dated 15 November and delivered by Tanzania’s lead negotiator while “calls for the inclusion of a fossil-fuel roadmap in the conference’s main outcome were gathering speed”. [This was not agreed but will be developed outside the formal UN negotiations.] Despite this, the outlet notes that two African countries stated their support for a roadmap during the talks and a formal position from the African group was “not declared openly during the summit”. [Last week, Carbon Brief published the “informal list” of countries that were said to be against including a roadmap within the formal COP30 outcome.]
MORE ON ENERGY
Oil major TotalEnergies and partners on a $20bn LNG project in Mozambique have agreed to give “additional equity” to replace funding pulled by UK and Dutch export credit agencies, reports Reuters. A report from Oxford Economics for the Nuclear Industry Association “warns” that the island of Great Britain “faces a surge in gas-fired power generation to meet demand from data centres unless construction of new nuclear plants can be sped up”, according to the Daily Telegraph. The Trump administration continues to pursue efforts to halt development of a New England windfarm, reports Bloomberg. The administration has also renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as the National Laboratory of the Rockies, reports Inside Climate News. Oil-producing countries that are members of OPEC+ will “undergo an annual assessment of their oil production capacity starting next year for use in 2027”, reports Reuters. The head of Poland’s power-grid operator tells Bloomberg the country should focus on “cheaper” land-based wind energy, rather than offshore.
Xinhua
A unit of “high-efficiency” gas turbines has been connected to the grid in China, reports state news agency Xinhua, adding that its “remarkable” efficiency rate stands at 64%, 17 percentage points higher than gigawatt-scale coal-fired power plants. State-run newspaper China Daily reports that the unit will replace Zhejiang province’s largest coal-fired power plant, as part of “national efforts” to replace older units with “larger, more modern and cleaner facilities”. The unit’s carbon intensity is only 40% of a “comparable coal-fired plant”, it adds. The turbines are the first to be “locally manufactured” in China, says Bloomberg, helping the country reduce “reliance on imported technology”. The outlet quotes Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air analyst Qi Qin saying gas is playing a “growing role” on China’s coast, where renewables expansion faces “land scarcity and grid constraints”.
MORE ON CHINA
BJX News reports that China’s national “utilisation rates” for solar and wind power in October reached 95% and 96%, respectively. China will create an “eco-police” force that will strengthen governance of “environmental and resource-related violations”, reports China Daily. The NDRC has made “clean-energy” projects, “clean” coal-power projects and other energy-related projects eligible for investment from real-estate investment trusts, says International Energy Net. China has created a new “streamlined” system for approving rare-earth export licences, says Reuters, adding initial beneficiaries are automotive industry suppliers. The Wall Street Journal documents how rare-earth magnet manufacturers are creating “workarounds” for export restrictions to maintain overseas sales. Prime minister Keir Starmer says the UK will adopt a “pro-business” approach to China, but adds “protecting our security is non-negotiable”, reports Bloomberg.
Reuters
The European Council says it has reached a deal with the European parliament on phasing out imports of Russian gas by 2027, reports Reuters. The newswire says: “The agreement will include a legally binding, stepwise prohibition on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline gas imports from Russia with a full ban from the end of 2026 and autumn 2027, respectively.” Bloomberg says the deal has come “faster than originally planned” and aims to “finally sever ties between the bloc and its once-primary energy supplier”.
MORE ON EU
Reuters reports that the European Commission could delay announcing an auto package, which includes a “possible weakening of its 2035 combustion engine phase-out”. The EU is set to release its plan later today to try and end the bloc’s dependence on China for rare-earth minerals, according to Agence France-Presse. EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra downplayed the concept of a backlash against environmental policies, reports Politico.
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