The head of fossil-fuel giant BP has pledged to “fundamentally reset” its strategy and announce a “new direction”, amid a dip in profits and pressure from a US activist investor, the Times reports. BP boss Murray Auchincloss said he would announce details of his plans at an investor day on 26 February after reporting that underlying profits fell by a third to $9bn last year, the newspaper reports, adding: “He is widely expected to ditch [BP’s] goal of cutting oil and gas output and scale back its low-carbon spending plans.” BBC News notes a shift away from renewables back to oil and gas would see BP following “similar moves from rivals including Shell and Equinor”. It says: “BP has already been scaling back on renewables. In December it put the majority of its offshore wind assets into a joint venture with Japanese company Jera to separate them from the company’s core fossil fuel business. It is expected to cut its previous $10bn commitment in renewables until 2030 by up to a half. BP also froze new wind projects in June last year.” The broadcaster adds that activist shareholder Elliott Management has “bought a stake in BP to push for more investment in oil and gas, with investors anticipating board changes”. Also reporting on the possible impact of Elliott, the Guardian says: “The New York-based investor is expected to use its grip on the company to demand sweeping changes to BP, which could include ousting the BP chair, Helge Lund, and executing a boardroom cull, or a break-up of the 120-year-old company.” The Daily Telegraph also has the story, describing BP as “retreating from net-zero”. Elsewhere, Reuters reports that BP plans to add six wells to its project in Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea.

China plans to list “green bonds” in London, which according to Bloomberg “will test appetite among international investors to shift climate bets”, after US president Donald Trump revoked its international climate funding. A total of $540bn green bonds have been issued by China since 2015, but only about 1% were in the overseas market, says the outlet. Another Bloomberg report says that Trump has spoken with Chinese president Xi Jinping since his inauguration, amid a “brewing trade war”. Reuters says that the US is expected to “boost coal exports to India” following China’s additional tariffs on its energy products. China, meanwhile, has received cheaper oil offers from Russia, a separate Bloomberg report says. 

Separately, China’s sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) – including electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids – increased more than 10% from a year earlier in January, according to Reuters. However, for the second straight month, combustion engine cars outsold NEVs, the outlet says, quoting the China Passenger Car Association attributing the blip to the lunar new year. China News Service says the exports of NEVs increased by about 30% last month. Business news outlet Jiemian reports that Chinese companies make up six of the top 10 firms globally in terms of battery production capacity, according to a Korean thinktank, with CATL and BYD ranking first and second. CATL has reopened its lithium mine and refinery in Jiangxi province, Reuters says.

Elsewhere, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that Chinese researchers have found a link between climate change and the “downfall of some of the most powerful Chinese imperial dynasties” by using “tree rings to track rainfall patterns on the Tibetan Plateau”.

In comment, the Wall Street Journal publishes a piece by columnist Walter Russell Mead,  arguing that Trump’s “proposed upending of global climate policy would transform China’s drive to dominate the energy transition from a major win to an expensive misfire for Beijing”. China Daily publishes a comment by Huang Mengmeng, an associate professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, arguing that climate issues have been a “core concern” for Europe and China. An editorial by China Daily says that Sino-UK relations have “warmed up” since UK prime minister Keir Starmer took office last year, adding that Xi has said that the two countries should cooperate in areas including clean energy.

India “expressed deep concerns over the failure of developed countries to meet financial commitments for a just transition, climate adaptation, and additional funding for biodiversity conservation” at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Business Standard reports. The story quotes the country’s climate minister Bhupendra Yadav as saying “[c]limate change and biodiversity loss remain critical challenges, and these cannot be addressed without a transformative change in how the world approaches development”. It notes that the statement “comes a day after almost all” countries – including India – missed the February 10 deadline to submit their third round of UN climate pledges. According to the paper, Yadav “urged developed countries to fulfil financial promises made and work together to close this gap as the world approaches the final stretch towards 2030”, adding that “without adequate financing, many nations face a debt burden that threatens their ability to pursue sustainable development.” Meanwhile, unnamed government sources tell the Press Trust of India that the country “has not yet finalised” its new climate pledge, which it is likely to submit closer to COP30 in Brazil and “will have targets achievable with the means available”.

In a virtual address at the start of India Energy Week, prime minister Narendra Modi said that the country plans to produce 5m tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, ANI reports. Meanwhile, Indian Express quotes the country’s petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri as saying the “[energy] transition isn’t about eliminating hydrocarbons overnight but leveraging them strategically while scaling renewables to mitigate emissions”, adding that “oil and gas will be around for a long time” as part of India’s energy mix. Per the paper, Puri underlined that “[e]nergy justice must remain at the core” and that a “fragmented transition risks deepening inequality, leaving billions without reliable energy while wealthier nations surge ahead”. Separately, on 31 January, the country hit a “historic milestone of surpassing 100 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power capacity”, the Times of India reports, adding that the milestone “came three years late” because of pandemic disruptions.

On Tuesday, India and the UK announced the establishment of a joint “offshore wind taskforce” that “will focus on advancing offshore wind ecosystem development, supply chains, and financing models in both countries”, the Economic Times reports. A second Economic Times article quotes UK energy secretary Ed Miliband saying: “As one of the world’s biggest emitters, working with India on clean energy and climate is crucial to protecting British families and businesses from the threat of climate change.” It says Miliband is visiting New Delhi for the fourth UK-India energy dialogue “ahead of the expected re-launch” of free trade negotiations. Mint and BusinessGreen also report on what is expected from the next phase of India and UK’s “bilateral energy partnership”.

Finally, in extreme weather news, Down to Earth reports that India is facing its fifth driest January since 1901, with 89% of all districts “suffering from deficient, large deficient, or no rainfall” according to national met data. IndiaSpend, meanwhile, looks at how climate change impacts India’s power sector, from heatwaves and cyclones to extreme rainfall. 

The head of Heathrow Airport will today announce that the company will submit its proposal for a third runway to the government by summer, Reuters reports. Heathrow will “pledge to use UK steel and boost growth”, the Guardian says. BBC News says the airport has plans to expand two of its terminals ahead of building a third runway.

Elsewhere, the Sun reports that a UK government spokesperson has said that North Sea windfarms are subject to the “highest levels of national security”, after the newspaper reported that a Chinese firm is supplying wind turbines for a project due to be approved in weeks. According to the newspaper, “the Ministry of Defence and Energy department raised major national security concerns with the project but are said to have been overruled by the Treasury”. A spokesperson for the prime minister tells the paper: “We will always act in the national interest to protect our national security. And when it comes to China, we’ve been clear that we’ll cooperate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must.” The Evening Standard says the project is “due to be Europe’s largest floating offshore windfarm” and “is a joint venture between a Japanese and an Italian-Norwegian company”. 

FT columnist Pilitia Clark examines why the world is experiencing a lull in ambition to tackle climate change, while temperature records and extreme weather events still intensify. She says: “Why is all this happening now? What has changed since 2020, when companies and countries alike were scrambling to support net-zero policies? There is no single answer but it is no coincidence that the green backlash has emerged as countries stop merely setting net-zero goals and start launching policies to meet them. This was always going to be fraught, especially during a cost of living crunch…Thoughtful leaders acknowledge the need for a rethink.” Elsewhere, FT columnist Martin Wolf writes on “the case for persisting with foreign aid” after Donald Trump’s administration’s gutting of USAid, noting among other issues that climate change does not “recognise international borders”.

An editorial in the Economist analyses the news of BP changing course amid dropping profits and pressure from the US activist investor Elliott (see above). The article says: “What might such a makeover entail? BP’s renewables ventures seem to be squarely in the crosshairs. Elliott’s past interventions at American energy firms suggest that it will push for financial returns rather than carbon concerns.” In the Guardian, financial editor Nils Pratley says “it is time” for BP chairman Helge Lund to quit, saying: “Nobody would pretend his job was easy. At one end of the spectrum, some investors wanted BP to run harder with renewables; at the other, sceptics never truly signed up.” In the Times, chief business commentator Alistair Osborne says either Lund or BP CEO Murray Auchincloss “may have to go”. Daily Telegraph associate editor Ben Marlow says Elliott’s targeting of BP shows “how low Britain has sunk”.

Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph has a column piece from Brian Wilson, who was energy minister under former Labour prime minister Tony Blair from 2001-3. He urges Starmer to give final approval to the Rosebank oil field, based on what he views as a likeness between criticism against the North Sea now and criticism against nuclear back in the Noughties.

Truck electrification measures in the US have reduced air pollution-related premature mortality in “disadvantaged communities”, according to a new study which investigates the combined effects of Inflation Reduction Act investments in heavy-duty vehicle decarbonisation. However, while mortality rates have fallen in disadvantaged communities in the wake of federal investments, the findings suggest that a “disproportionate share of benefits” have accrued to “non-disadvantaged communities”. The researchers note that 40% of benefits of IRA investments are intended to flow towards disadvantaged communities.