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Elena Giordano, Politico
The US has “succeeded” in removing climate change from the main priorities of the International Energy Agency (IEA) during a “tense ministerial meeting” in Paris, reports Politico. It notes that climate change is not listed among the agency’s priorities in the “chair’s summary” released at the end of the two-day summit. Bloomberg says the meeting marked the first time in nine years the IEA failed to release a communique setting out a unified position on issues – opting instead for the chair’s summary. This came after US energy secretary Chris Wright gave the organisation a one-year deadline to “scrap its support of goals to reduce energy emissions to net-zero” – or risk losing the US as a member, according to Reuters. The newswire says the politician claimed that many nations were talking “in private” about plans to move away from net-zero goals and increase production of fossil fuels. Euronews reports that Wright said: “We don’t need a net-zero scenario, that’s never gonna happen, net-zero by 2050.”
Politico says the European leaders expressed “growing defiance” toward Trump officials, with French president Emmanuel Macron saying in a video address that nuclear, renewables, storage and smart grids were the “choice of the 21st century, because fundamentally, no one wants to live on a planet at +4C”. The Financial Times reports that France, Spain and the UK were “among the countries maintaining the importance of renewable energy sources”. CNBC, Forbes, New York Times and Associated Press also have the story.
Derek Harrison, Inside Climate News
A “landmark civil climate case” that kicked off yesterday in France aims to compel oil giant TotalEnergies to curb its oil and gas production and emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C warming limit, reports Inside Climate News. The outlet reports that judges are examining – “for the first time in the country’s history” – whether a multinational oil and gas company can be legally required to reduce its fossil fuel production in line with climate objectives. Legal experts and climate advocates say the case would set an “important precedent for corporate accountability that could have ripple effects far beyond France” if successful. Bloomberg also covers the case, which is being brought by NGOs Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa and France Nature Environnement.
MORE ON MAINLAND EUROPE
Reuters reports on a warning from Germany's cartel office that the shift away from flexible power supply sources – such as coal and nuclear – has left “remaining plants increasingly crucial” for meeting demand and thus increased the “dominance” of energy giants RWE and LEAG. Politico covers a “tender document” revealing the EU plans to spend up to €16m over the next four years to fly its top officials by private jet – an increase of €3m from the previous four-year period and 50% higher than the period to 2021.
Zahra Hirji, Bloomberg
Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the “endangerment finding” comes with “costs ranging from hundreds of billions of dollars on the low end to more than 1.5tn on the high end”. These numbers, it says, come from the "administration’s own analyses” published on Wednesday in the US federal register. Bloomberg notes that the numbers run counter to the administration’s claim that “repealing climate emissions standards for all vehicles and the scientific determination underpinning them” would save Americans $1.4tn. [See Carbon Brief’s Q&A on the endangerment finding repeal.]
MORE ON US
The Associated Press reports that the rollback of the endangerment finding will “likely mean more illness and death for Americans”, with “minority areas hit hardest”. There is widespread coverage, including in Bloomberg and Reuters, of news that the US has only paid a fraction of what it owes – $160m of $2bn – to the UN. Trump voters “overwhelmingly support greater use of solar”, according to a poll covered by Semafor. Inside Climate News covers legislation proposed in Ohio that would require new power plants to be able to operate at any time of day or night – and have “a minimum capacity factor” of 50%. It notes that the “incoherent” bill – being pushed by “fossil-aligned groups” – would ban wind and solar, as well as coal. The Trump administration is being sued by environmentalists and Indigenous groups over its drilling expansion plans in Alaska, reports Inside Climate News. The Los Angeles Times covers legislation proposed in California that would require insurers to offer coverage to homeowners who make their property resistant to wildfires.
Emily Gosden, The Times
Profits at Centrica, the owner of the UK’s second-largest energy supplier, “almost halved” amid warmer weather and “volatile markets”, the Times reports. The paper quotes CEO Chris O’Shea as saying that Centrica was continuing to “morph from a gas company with diminishing assets…into a power company with a growing asset base”. The paper notes that the company did not refill its Rough gas storage site in the North Sea last year and is now selling off its remaining gas, as it awaits a decision from the government about whether it will provide funding to convert the site into an “expanded gas and ultimately hydrogen storage facility”. Rough’s losses hit $45bn last year, according to the newspaper. In a comment piece for the same newspaper, chief business commentator Alaistair Osborne notes that closing Rough altogether “matters” as it is the only “large-scale gas storage facility” in the UK. He writes that a “reserve of gas (and later for a potential fuel of the future, hydrogen) brings security against abrupt supply shocks – a sort of national insurance policy”.
Meanwhile, there is continuing coverage of an announcement that UK energy bills will fall by £117 a year in April, following the government’s decision to move levies supporting renewable energy projects into general taxation and scrapping an energy efficiency scheme. The Daily Mail says the drop is less than the £150 promised by chancellor Rachel Reeves in the autumn budget. It quotes Conservative government officials as saying this amounts to “gaslighting” the public.
MORE ON UK
Sky News reports on the “blockers” campaigning against onshore windfarms in Wales The UK has recorded its 50th consecutive day of rain, according to the Sun. The Independent covers new research that finds that the chikungunya virus – a “debilitating and painful tropical disease” carried by mosquitoes – “could become established in the UK in the coming years as temperatures rise. Solar energy company Hive – which four months ago secured a £60m taxpayer-funded loan – is on the “brink of administration”, reports the Daily Express. A cross-party group of 14 MPs and peers have called on the energy minister to halt subsidies “worth £2m a day” to biomass plant Drax, according to the Guardian. Press Association: “EDF pledges fresh £15bn UK investment as nuclear outages drag on output.”
Daniel Ren, South China Morning Post
“Rising battery costs and a cooling car market” may drive Chinese consumers to purchase hybrid vehicles rather than pure battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) this year, reports the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP). BEVs could be up to 20% more expensive than hybrids, in part due to higher battery costs, it adds. SCMP also publishes an article titled: “Does Trump’s retreat on electric vehicle policy risk ceding ground to China?” Current affairs outlet Phoenix News says that the average volume of charging sessions for people travelling by electric vehicles (EVs) in the first three days of the Spring Festival holiday rose 63% year-on-year. The Communist Party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily publishes an article on experiencing a “green and low-carbon Spring Festival“ where villagers “now visit relatives and friends in EVs”. State news agency Xinhua reports that Chinese EVs are “slowly taking off in Zimbabwe”, although it does not provide corresponding data.
MORE ON CHINA
China’s finance ministry will offer VAT refunds and other “import tax incentives” for certain types of gas exploration projects and imports, says International Energy Net. The IMF has called for China to cut “state support” for industry amid “international concerns” about the country's overcapacity, reports the Financial Times. Xinhua reports on how “steadfast coal miners” provide energy for festivities during the Spring Holiday. Dialogue Earth: “China’s Belt and Road must adapt to survive a hotter world.”
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