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Zia Weise, Politico
The UK has issued joint statements with the governments of France and Spain stressing that ongoing wildfires epitomise the threat climate change poses to Europe, according to Politico. The UK-France statement says that the two nations will work together to advance international climate resilience, reports BusinessGreen. The news outlet adds that the UK-Spain statement describes climate change as a “national security emergency” that is “threatening our way of life".
Human-caused climate change made the hot and dry conditions responsible for Spain’s wildfires 20 times more likely, according to a rapid attribution analysis covered by the Associated Press. The World Weather Attribution study also found that climate change made the fires in France twice as likely, according to Reuters. In its coverage of the analysis, Politico includes a statement from UN climate chief Simon Stiell, who says: “These megafires show how fast climate-driven extreme heat and dry landscapes can turn wildfires into devastating national disasters.” The Economist has a story headlined: “France and Spain are suffering their biggest wildfires on record.” The magazine says “the new generation of blazes, fired by climate change …are of almost uncontrollable ferocity”. The Guardian says fire weather in the EU has “broken records for severity for this time of year”. Agence France-Presse covers another new report that concludes southern Europe is "becoming more flammable", with the “number of summer days primed for extreme fire conditions more than doubling since 1981”.
Reuters says Greece, France and Spain continue to fight fires, although the latter two have seen some ”respite”. The Wall Street Journal reports that fires have disrupted “some of France’s most strategically important defence and aerospace sites”. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which has “spent years opposing green regulations”, is using the fires to claim the French state can no longer protect its citizens, reports E&E News. EU officials warn that Greece, Italy and parts of central Europe will be vulnerable to more wildfires in the coming weeks, according to the Financial Times. European fires are also contributing to climate change, emitting 18m tonnes of CO2 this year already, reports Reuters.
Meanwhile, a forest fire in the UK county of Suffolk has triggered a “major incident” declaration, according to the Times. The newspaper notes that Sizewell B nuclear power plant is located three miles south of the fire and reports on “concerns” about the facility. The wildfire in Suffolk – and its proximity to the nuclear plant – appear on the frontpages of the Guardian, the i newspaper, the Daily Telegraph and the Times. Despite this widespread coverage, Reuters says there is “no threat” to the nuclear plant and BBC News reports the fire is “stabilising”. The Times reports on a meteorologist calling for tougher government action to stop bonfires and barbecues during droughts, “as climate change brings hotter and drier summers”.
MORE ON EUROPE
As Shell sees “bumper profits” of almost $10bn, its chief executive Wael Sawan tells the Times that wildfires in Europe are “very worrying” and defends his company’s “green record”. Amid a heatwave, water levels on the Rhine river in Germany have fallen and are “approaching record lows”, threatening cargo vessels, according to Reuters. BBC News reports that the record-low water levels of the River Danube has forced Hungary's only nuclear power plant to shut down entirely for the first time. A nuclear power plant in France has also been forced to switch off as a “blistering heatwave pushes temperatures toward 40C”, reports Bloomberg. Lake Brenets, a lake on the Swiss-French border, is “all but drained” amid a “prolonged drought that has hit waterways across Europe”, according to Reuters. BBC News reports that thousands have been evacuated on the Greek island of Crete due to fires, while Türkiye Today reports that Antalya province, the Turkish region that will host the COP31 climate summit this year, has also been facing forest fires.
Damian Carrington, The Guardian
England is on track this year for the highest number of heat-related deaths since records began, according to initial estimates by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), covered by the Guardian. The newspaper says that an estimated 2,877 people died in the May and June heatwaves – not far off the record of 2,985 that was set in 2022. BBC News reports that the report authors clearly link these deaths to global climate change and warn that it is “vital” that the country is prepared to deal with rising temperatures.
Meanwhile, in Germany, nearly 10,000 people have died due to high temperatures this year, more than in any full year since 2016, according to estimates from the Robert Koch Institute, covered by Deutsche Welle. The article notes that more than half of these deaths were attributed to the “intense heatwave in the second half of June”. [For more on how heat-related deaths are estimated, see Carbon Brief’s recent explainer.]
MORE ON UK
BBC News reports that a drought declaration has been extended across the whole of Wales, with “the country on course for its driest July on record in 190 years”. The latest UK government figures show that record output from offshore wind and solar saw the share of the nation’s renewable electricity reach 52% last year, according to BusinessGreen. An “urgent call to action” to protect food security and reduce the UK’s import dependence, as extreme weather threatens supplies, has been signed by more than 100 firms, including supermarkets Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, reports the Times. A Daily Telegraph article features input from both Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice and Conservative shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho implying that a government-commissioned report on datacentres is calling for e-books to replace regular books, due to net-zero policies. The Times reports that the UK is facing a “national shortage of wasps” due to recent extreme weather.
Kate Whannel, BBC News
UK prime minister Andy Burnham has said he told US president Donald Trump he would take a "pragmatic approach" to North Sea oil and gas, according to BBC News. Bloomberg quotes Burnham telling reporters: “There is a resource there…When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that.” A frontpage Daily Mail story claims, based on these few words, that Burnham “admit[ted] that “oil drilling can ease cost of living”. The Daily Telegraph describes this as Burnham’s “strongest hint yet he will open fields to fresh drilling”. The newspaper concedes that Burnham is expected to uphold Labour’s pledge to issue no new drilling licences – albeit with the possibility that the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, which already have licences, may be opened up.
The i newspaper has an “exclusive” frontpage story headlined: “Burnham set to approve North Sea gas field in win for Trump.” This refers to the Jackdaw gas field, which “could be given the green light within weeks”. There is little new information about this apparent decision in the article, beyond “sources” who “expect an announcement as soon as September”.
MORE ON OIL AND GAS
Analysts are expecting major oil companies to report “large spring profits” while the Iran war blocked petroleum shipments and consumers paid more for fuel and confronted shortages, according to the Associated Press. Bloomberg reports that Portugal’s government has approved a temporary tax on windfall profits from oil and refining companies. The Financial Times reports that oil giant BP is cutting 700 “non-frontline” jobs, citing “potential oversupply and lower oil and gas prices”.
Zhang Haozhe, Xinhua
China’s investment in power grids, charging and battery-swapping infrastructure, and new energy storage increased by 13.5%, 21.8% and 74.3% year on year, respectively, according to a press conference by the National Energy Administration, reports state news agency Xinhua. Investment in the hydrogen sector continued to grow rapidly, rising by more than 160% year on year, adds the newswire. The NEA also said that renewable energy generation accounts for about 40% of total power generation in the first half of the year. Power supply across China has remained stable during the summer peak demand season, according to a separate Xinhua report. A third Xinhua article says the utilisation hours of new energy storage reached 1,195 hours in 2025. China wi |
