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Helena Horton, The Guardian
Energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced that the UK government will “speed up its plans to permanently ban fracking…in order to counter the [hard-right populist] Reform party’s promises to bring back the controversial practice”, the Guardian reports. It continues: “[Miliband] said he would put forward legislation as part of the North Sea transition plan which is to be published this autumn. This means that in order to allow fracking, a future government would have to repeal the legislation with a parliamentary vote. This would be very difficult, as it means the government would have to gain the votes of MPs whose constituencies sit on shale gas.” BBC News reports that “Reform UK has said it would bring back fracking and has threatened to ‘wage war’ on renewables developers if it wins power”. The Daily Mail has a story in its print edition under the headline: “As energy bills surge, Red Ed vows to BAN all UK fracking.” It says: “Taking aim at Reform's promise to bring back fracking for shale gas, Mr Miliband urged Labour members to 'send this bunch of frackers packing'. The energy secretary insisted that fracking 'will not take a penny off bills, it will not create long-term sustainable jobs, it will trash our climate commitments'.” The Times also quotes Miliband’s speech at the Labour party conference: “Reform would wreck everything we are doing. They’ve said they would ‘wage war’ on clean energy. A culture war they are importing from the US, driven by the rich and powerful interests who fund them…I’m incredibly proud of British climate leadership. I’m incredibly proud of Labour climate leadership. And I say Reform’s war on the future would betray every young person in our country and every person yet to be born.” Separately, the Guardian explains that the Labour government has “no intention to frack”, meaning the legislation is intended “to trip up a future Reform government”. The Daily Express, BusinessGreen, Sky News and the Press Association also cover the news.
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BusinessGreen covers new analysis showing that 187 UK constituencies are “in areas that could be vulnerable to development for fracking if Reform UK were to form the next government and make good on its plans to revive the fracking industry”. The Times says two mosquito species, which are capable of spreading yellow fever, dengue and zika, have been detected in the UK. This is “linked to climate change”, the newspaper says. The Times has a frontpage story under the headline “Britons spend £1bn to switch off wind farms this year”. The Daily Telegraph also carries the story. The Daily Express reports that former Conservative minister “Priti Patel has slammed the Labour government’s ‘obsession’ with imposing pylons” on the East of England. BBC News says: “Council leaders are set to be quizzed over Reform UK's decision to scrap plans for solar panels on buildings throughout Durham.”
Matt McGrath, BBC News
“Pope Leo XIV has hit out at those who minimise the ‘increasingly evident’ impact of rising temperatures in his first major statement on climate change”, BBC News reports. According to the broadcaster, Pope Leo spoke at a conference marking 10 years since the publication of a “landmark document” written by Pope Francis called “Laudito Si”, which “made the issue of climate a central part of the church's concerns”. It continues: “The new Pope, who was elected in May, was worried that the question of climate change was now becoming more divisive. Referring to his predecessor's writings, he said: ‘Some have chosen to deride the increasingly evident signs of climate change, to ridicule those who speak of global warming, and even to blame the poor for the very thing that affects them the most.’” The Financial Times says the speech comes “just days after US president Donald Trump described [climate change] as a ‘con job’”. It adds: “Climate change is not the only issue on which Leo has found himself at odds with the Trump administration and the so-called ‘Maga Catholics’.” The New York Times calls Pope Leo’s speech his “first significant address on climate change”. The Guardian adds: “Leo told the estimated 1,000 representatives from environmental and Indigenous groups that they needed to put pressure on national governments to develop tougher standards to mitigate the damage already done. He said he hoped the upcoming UN climate conference ‘will listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor’.” Bloomberg, Politico, TIME and CNN also cover Pope Leo’s speech.
Will Mathis, Bloomberg
Kemi Badenoch has promised to “scrap” the Climate Change Act if her Conservative party ever comes to power, Bloomberg reports. The outlet continues: “The act was first passed by a Labour government with cross-party support in 2008 and strengthened under Conservative prime minister Theresa May to set a legally binding target of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch now says that the emission regulations have become too burdensome for consumers and are hurting economic growth.” The Guardian says: “The Conservative party leader was already committed to scrapping the UK’s net-zero target, but repeal of the [act] would go much further. It would remove the need to meet ‘carbon budgets’ – ceilings, set for five-year periods, on the amount of greenhouse gas that can be emitted – and disband the Climate Change Committee, the watchdog that advises on how policies affect the UK’s carbon footprint.” BBC News quotes Badenoch, who says: “Climate change is real. But Labour's laws tied us in red tape, loaded us with costs, and did nothing to cut global emissions. Previous Conservative governments tried to make Labour's climate laws work – they don't. Under my leadership we will scrap those failed targets. Our priority now is growth, cheaper energy, and protecting the natural landscapes we all love.” The Financial Times reports that Badenoch is “facing a business backlash and strong Conservative criticism”. It continues: “The CBI employers’ group said the Conservative leader’s move was a ‘backward step’ while Lord Deben, a Tory peer and former chair of the independent Climate Change Committee, said: ‘This reverses everything the Conservatives stand for.’” BusinessGreen, Politico, Sky News, the Daily Telegraph, the Press Association, the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Daily Mirror also cover the news. The Daily Telegraph has the story on its frontpage under the headline “Badenoch: I’ll rip up laws on net-zero”. (See Comment below, plus, for context behind some of Badenoch’s misleading claims, these Carbon Brief articles.)
Lisa Friedman, The New York Times
There is widespread media coverage of the US government shutdown, which will result in thousands of government employees being furloughed until the deadlock is resolved. The New York Times says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is operating under its “shutdown plan”, which only requires 1,734 employees – about 11% of its staff – to continue working. The newspaper reports that several EPA employees said they “did not expect to be paid until after the shutdown ended”, but adds that a spokeswoman for the agency “disputed their contention”. The Hill says: “During the furlough period, the agency will no longer carry out most civil inspections related to potential violations of environmental law.” Bloomberg reports that weather forecasting “will continue uninterrupted”, but some “US climate disaster preparedness and environmental programmes” will be “curtail[ed] or halt[ed]”. The Los Angeles Times says the government shutdown began late Tuesday and “could last days if not weeks”. The Press Association, the Los Angeles Times also cover the story. Bloomberg reports that “the Trump administration plans to continue issuing permits for oil drilling and do other work on ‘priority conventional energy projects’ during the government shutdown, but will freeze activities on some renewable energy projects”. E&E News says the government shutdown “may slow oil and gas drilling on public lands’.
Separately, Reuters reports that the US Department of Energy plans to cancel $7.56bn in funding for hundreds of energy projects. It adds: “The move was part of a broader, $26bn funding freeze that was unveiled on Wednesday as President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to use the federal government shutdown to target Democratic priorities.” CNBC reports that the cancelled projects are “in primarily Democratic-controlled states”. According to the outlet, Russell Vought – director of the Office of Management and Budget Director – wrote a post on Twitter saying “nearly $8bn in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled”. Bloomberg says one of the cancelled projects is “an initiative to upgrade electric transmission lines in California”.
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E&E News reports that US consumers “can no longer use a $7,500 tax credit from the federal government to help buy an electric vehicle”. It says the “Biden-era incentive” was “swept away in the Trump administration’s purge of climate and clean energy programmes”. E&E News says: “As much as $283m in federal funding for electric vehicle charging stations could expire when the fiscal year ends Tuesday, according to a new analysis.” Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration “intends to reconsider a key US government approval that authorized the construction of Equinor ASA’s planned second phase of an offshore wind project near New York and New Jersey”. Bloomberg reports that “Trump, data centres and pricey gas are fuelling a US coal revival”. “Five unoccupied homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the sea Tuesday”, as two hurricanes “coursed through the Atlantic, stirring up coastal waters”, Yale360 reports.
Pak Yiu, Nikkei Asia
China’s offshore investment in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain – including “capital-intensive” battery and raw material projects – is “showing signs of slowing” following “five years of aggressive global expansion”, Nikkei Asia reports. Companies are now “shifting their spending toward Asia and the Middle East” amid an “uncertain geopolitical environment”, the outlet says. It adds that more than a third of the $10bn investment in EVs by Chinese companies was allocated to “downstream” assembly factories. The Financial Times reports that Europe will “fall behind” China in the electrification of trucks if the EU does not “take urgent action to support the transition”, according to industry experts. Meanwhile, investors tell Bloomberg that “further information about the timeline and implementation for various clean-tech sectors and green-financing incentives is needed” following China’s announcement of its |
