Days of heavy rainfall in southern Brazil have led to “massive flooding and landslides” in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state, BBC News reports. It says: “More than half of the 497 cities in the state have been affected by the storms, with roads and bridges destroyed in several areas. The storms also caused landslides and the collapse of a hydroelectric dam near the city of Bento Gonçalves, killing 30 people. A second dam in the area was also at risk of collapsing due to rising water levels, authorities said.” The Guardian reports that 75 people have died and more than 100 are still missing. It adds that more than a million people lack access to drinking water. The state governor, Eduardo Leite, posted on social media that “the current event will be the worst climate disaster that our state ever faced”, the outlet adds. The i newspaper says a “state of emergency” has been declared in southern Brazil. The Associated Press adds: “It was the fourth such environmental disaster in a year, following floods in July, September and November 2023 that killed 75 people in total. The flooding statewide has surpassed that seen during a historic 1941 deluge.”  Agence France-Presse adds that the Guaiba River, which flows through the city of 1.4 million people, reached a record high level of 5.3 metres. According to Reuters, more than 69,000 people have been displaced due to the storms. Al Jazeera says: “Residents in several cities and towns have been left completely cut off from the world, with no electricity or telephone access, while others have been forced to abandon their livestock.” Semafor calls the flooding the “worst disaster” in the last 80 years, noting that “the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul received more than 70% of all the rain it typically gets in the month of April in the space of four days”. It adds: “Experts point to climate change and this year’s juiced El Niño-La Niña weather pattern as the likely driver – with deadly consequences.” The Washington Post covers the reaction of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It says: “[Lula] told senior congressional and judicial officials that the country needed to change its approach to climate-driven disasters. He called for a national plan to prevent ‘climatic accidents’ and directed top environmental lieutenant Marina Silva to begin forming a strategy. ‘We have to stop just running after disaster,’ Lula said. ‘We have to start preparing for what can happen from disasters.’ In a comment provided exclusively to the Washington Post, Lula blamed the devastation in Rio Grande do Sul on the failures of the global community to respond to climate change. He said there was a ‘historic debt.’ Poorer countries that have historically emitted few greenhouse gases, he said, are suffering from the pollution of wealthier nations.” The Daily Mail and EuroNews also cover the story.

Elsewhere, the Financial Times reports that flooding in Kenya has killed more than 200 people and displaced around 160,000. The paper quotes Kenyan president William Ruto: “Ruto warned that ‘we’ve not seen the end’ of the rain linked to the El Niño weather pattern, as he predicted it would increase ‘in duration and intensity for the rest of this month and possibly after’. He added: ‘The current unprecedented crisis of floods…is a direct consequence of our failure to protect our environment, resulting in the painful effects of climate change we are witnessing today. Our country is poised to remain in this cyclical crisis for a long time unless and until we confront the existential threat of climate change.’” The paper also quotes ​​Raila Odinga, leader of the Kenyan opposition, who said that “the government has been talking big on climate change, yet when the menace comes in full force, we have been caught unprepared”.

Meanwhile, the Times reports that East Asia is “in the throes” of a “brutal 48C heatwave”. It says that around 48,000 state schools across the Philippines were closed last week and at least 30 people have died from heatstroke this year in Thailand. In Cambodia, high temperatures were a factor in an explosion at an army base that killed 20 soldiers last weekend, it says. It adds: “Vietnam’s coffee crop is suffering because of drought, and in Dong Nai province hundreds of thousands of fish have died after a reservoir dried up, resulting in an overwhelming stench.” The Guardian reports on broken records across the continent, including Bangladesh’s hottest April ever recorded. Separately, the Guardian reports that “ruins of a centuries-old town have emerged at a dam parched by drought in the northern Philippines”. Radio Free Asia estimates that 40 people are dying each day in Myanmar due to the heat. The South China Morning Post reports that Malaysia is bracing for a rise in dengue cases. And the Times of India reports that the Uttarakhand health department in India issued a heatwave alert across the state on Monday. Elsewhere, Bloomberg reports that “a long, hot summer is set to worsen conditions in Gaza”. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that Pakistan has recorded its wettest April since 1961, with more than double the usual rainfall for the month. And the South China Morning Post asks: “Why was Hong Kong pelted with torrential rain on Saturday and is global warming to blame?”

The High Court ruled on Friday that the UK government’s latest climate strategy is unlawful, the Financial Times reports. The paper continues: “Campaign groups ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth, and Good Law Project had argued that the government’s revised strategy was unlawful because it provided too little information on the government’s assessment of the risk of policies not being delivered. They filed three separate claims heard together by the court. The groups also raised concerns about the reliance on technologies such as carbon capture and storage, which is expensive and has yet to be proven at scale anywhere.” The newspaper notes that the latest, revised climate plan was published in March last year, following an earlier court defeat for the government. According to the Times, the groups argued that Grant Shapps acted unlawfully last year when, as energy security and net zero secretary, he approved the government’s climate strategy. It continues: “The Climate Change Act requires the government to meet five-yearly carbon budgets to stay on course for net-zero [greenhouse gas] emissions by 2050. The government’s own analysis found that it had low or very low confidence in policies that were designed to make half of the carbon reductions necessary to meet its fifth and sixth carbon budgets, covering the years 2028-37.” According to the Associated Press, the judge ruled that the details in the draft plan were “vague and unquantified” and did not provide officials with enough information on whether the plan should be approved. The Guardian reports that energy secretary Claire Coutinho “will now be expected to draw up a revised plan within 12 months”. It adds that the new plan “must ensure that the UK achieves its legally binding carbon budgets and its pledge to cut emissions by more than two-thirds by 2030, both of which the government is off track to meet”. BBC News quotes a spokesperson from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who says: “The UK can be hugely proud of its record on climate change. We do not believe a court case about process represents the best way of driving progress towards our shared goal of reaching net zero.” It adds that Tony Bosworth, lead campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said it was “an embarrassing day for the government”. Politico notes that this is the second time that the UK government’s plans for hitting climate goals have been ruled unlawful in the High Court. It adds that the High court judgement “upheld four of the five legal challenges” brought by the campaign groups. Reuters, BusinessGreen and the Press Association also cover the story. 

COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev has said that poor countries must demonstrate clearer accounting and transparency to justify their calls for climate finance, according to a Guardian exclusive. The newspaper says that Babayev “urged governments in developing countries to draw up reports showing their progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and their spending on the climate crisis”. It notes that at COP29 in November, countries are expected to come up with a new global goal on climate finance for poorer countries, adding that some governments from the global south are calling for the sums to reach more than $1tn a year. Separately, the Guardian reports that COP29 “will be the first ‘COP of peace’, according to plans being drawn up by organisers”. The paper says: “Nations may be asked to observe a ‘COP truce’, suspending hostilities for the fortnight-long duration of the conference, modelled on the Olympic truce, which is observed by most governments during the summer and winter Olympic Games.” Elsewhere, the Hindustan Times says: “Major differences are emerging again between rich and developing countries on who should contribute to the new quantified goal on climate finance, according to the Third World Network, an independent non-profit that is tracking the negotiations at Cartagena in Columbia.”

In related news, Climate Home News reports that the 26-member board of the UN loss and damage fund will pick its host nation in June. The outlet notes that the board held its first three-day meeting in Abu Dhabi last week. It continues: “Selecting the host country for the board is a priority because only then will it be able to take up legal responsibility and enter into formal arrangements with the World Bank, which governments have asked to host the loss and damage fund ‘on an interim basis’ despite the initial reluctance of developing countries. The World Bank has until mid-June to confirm it is willing and able to take on this role.” Separately, Avinash Persaud – special advisor to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank on Climate Change, who was previously a member of the negotiation committee to establish the loss and damage fund – has penned a comment piece in Climate Home News. He writes: “The establishment of this fund is a monumental milestone. We are still some way off, but equally historic are seismic shifts underway in how we may finance it. ” He calls the first meeting a “modest success” noting that the board has agreed on processes to select an executive director and a host country. He discusses options for financing and concludes: “Viable financing solutions exist. We have to decide to use them.” Inside Climate News also reports on the fund’s board meeting.

There is widespread coverage of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe, his first for five years. In talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping and French president Emmanuel Macron, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU “cannot absorb massive over-production of Chinese industrial goods flooding its market”, adding that “Europe will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its market”, Agence France-Presse reports. Xi “agreed that economic and trade frictions should be addressed through dialogue”, it adds, although he also said the problem of China’s overcapacity “does not exist either from the perspective of comparative advantage or in light of global demand”. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reports that China and France agreed to “strengthen cooperation in nuclear energy, innovation and finance, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as green energy”, with Xi stressing that “China is willing to deepen cooperation with France in the areas of climate change and biodiversity”. The two countries also signed the “Sino-French Joint Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation on Biodiversity and the Oceans: Kunming-Montreal to Nice”, according to the People’s Daily. The Communist party-affiliated People’s Daily, industry newswires China Energy Net, International Energy Net and BJX News and other Chinese newspapers also covered Xi’s comments on “overcapacity”, while the Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Reuters and others also covered the meetings.

“Chinese and French enterprises also announced a series of deals” on the sidelines of a Sino-French business conference, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports, including on batteries. Chinese economic newspaper Caixin says that deals were signed on “electric-car battery recycling in France and energy-from-waste projects”. At the conference, Xi said that “entrepreneurs in France are welcome to participate in China’s modernisation efforts”, according to state-run newspaper China Daily. He also told attendees that “China and France need to…actively address climate change, advance the global process of biological diversity protection, and jointly protect the Earth, our common home”, People’s Daily says.

Le Figaro publishes an article by Xi ahead of his visit to France, in which he says “our two countries…spearheaded cooperation in aviation and nuclear energy…[and] contributed to the conclusion of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”. Xi adds: “Our two countries can deepen cooperation on innovation and jointly promote green development…The Chinese government supports more Chinese companies in investing in France. And we hope that France will ensure that they operate in a fair and equitable business environment.” Xinhua publishes an official Chinese government English translation. Meanwhile, von der Leyen said ahead of her meeting with Xi and Macron that “we have to act to make sure that competition is fair and not distorted”, according to Agence France-Presse. The Financial Times quotes Macron saying ahead of the meeting that “whether on climate or security, we need the Chinese…However I think we must…be much more realistic in defending our interests.” Macron also told La Tribune that “I’m calling for an adjustment [of trade relations] because China now has excess capacity in many areas and exports massively to Europe”, according to Euronews.

Elsewhere, Reuters reports that, at the same time as the meetings, “France’s car industry will aim to ramp up electric car sales fourfold by 2027” following the signing of a strategy agreement on Monday. Another Reuters article says industry data shows France’s efforts to exclude the purchase of models made in China from its cash bonus scheme has taken effect, as Chinese-made NEV sales have dropped to just 4% of the French market in April. Xinhua covers the launch of a report on China-EU climate cooperation, which says that the two sides “have similar ideas and broad consensus in promoting green and low-carbon development”.

Economic newspaper Caixin quotes Zhong Baoshen, chair of solar giant Longi, saying Chinese solar manufacturers may have to open factories in the US to “head off potential anti-dumping and countervailing duties”. The Washington Post reports that US consumers will “no longer be able to claim federal tax credits of up to $7,500” for new energy vehicles (NEVs, mostly electric vehicles) made with Chinese materials. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that Mexico, under pressure from the US to limit its trade relationship with China, has established new tariffs on 544 products, including steel and aluminium, that will directly affect Chinese exports. 

SCMP reports that China has ramped up procurement of key minerals, such as lithium, cobalt and graphite, from African nations. Another SCMP article says that China is bankrolling the building of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda after Western-backed lenders abandoned the project, adding that the move is driven “more by geopolitics than by geoeconomics”, according to observers. Xinhua announces that, according to China’s central bank, the country’s green loans increased by 3.7tn yuan ($521bn) in the first quarter of 2024, hitting an “all-time high” of 34tn yuan ($4.8tn).

Finally, the Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily carries an article by Chao Qingchen, director of China’s National Climate Center, saying that, as climate change causes “the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events to further increase”, the centre will “strengthen” research on climate change and capacity to monitor its effects. SCMP publishes an opinion article arguing that China’s industrial policy “play[s] the long game” by “prioritising widespread adoption over immediate profits”.

British electric vehicle sales “have got off to a record start this year”, with more than 100,000 EVs sold between January and April, the Independent reports. The newspaper continues: “The figures for total electric vehicle sales marked a 10% increase from April 2023, according to data published on Sunday by New AutoMotive, an independent transport research organisation.” The i newspaper adds  the UK is on track for 1.9m car sales throughout 2024, of which more than 300,000 are expected to be electric. Elsewhere, the Guardian reports that the UK installed a record number of public electric vehicle charging stations, with nearly 6,000 new chargers installed in the first three months of 2024. The number of public chargers in the UK has doubled since the start of 2022, the paper notes. MailOnline reports: “Electric vehicle (EV) charging prices across the public network remained stable last month while petrol prices soared, new data shows.” Meanwhile, the Times reports that electric vehicles are being “heavily discounted to shift unsold stock”. Elsewhere, the Financial Times reports that “global policymakers are imposing new taxes on electric vehicles as the shift away from combustion engines threatens to leave a $110bn hole in government revenues owing to a drop in receipts from fuel duties”.

In other EV news, the Washington Post reports on how political polarisation is impacting EV sales, noting that “polling and sales data have consistently shown that while Democrats have been buying the new cars in droves, Republicans haven’t jumped onto the EV-buying train”. Elsewhere, BBC News asks “have the wheels come off for Tesla?” The outlet notes that Tesla’s share price has fallen by more than a quarter since the start of the year, adding that “the company is struggling with falling car sales and intense competition from Chinese brands, as well as problems with its much-hyped Cybertruck”. The New York Times says that Elon Musk’s decision to lay off the 500-member team responsible for installing Tesla charging stations “puts [the] onus on others to build electric vehicle chargers” in the US. MailOnline adds that Biden wants to have 500,000 EV chargers installed by 2030.

In a story trailed on its frontpage, the Financial Times reports that shareholders at oil and gas company BP “are preparing for the company to scale back its climate targets further”. The newspaper reports that in 2023, the company set a target to cut oil production by 25% from 2019 levels. However, it adds that “shareholders believe that Murray Auchincloss, who took over from Bernard Looney as chief executive in January, is prepared to be more flexible as demand for oil and gas continues to grow”. BP plans to cut £1.6bn in costs from its business by the end of 2036 in response to “worse than expected” profits for the first quarter of 2024, the Guardian reports. The newspaper adds: “The oil company revealed that its underlying profits fell to $2.7bn for the first three months of 2024, down from $5bn in the first quarter of last year, in part due to falling gas prices and an unplanned outage at a large BP refinery in the US.” Reuters notes that BP’s first quarter earnings in 2024 are down 40% from last year. The Financial Times also covers the news. Elsewhere, Meanwhile, DeSmog reports that BP “was warned by Princeton University researchers in 2016 that climate change accelerated in part by new global supplies of shale gas could lead to catastrophic events such as ‘mass extinctions and unprecedented famine.’” However, the company still “embarked on a marketing campaign to ‘advance and protect the role of gas – and BP – in the energy transition’”, according to documents released as part of a joint US House and Senate investigation, the outlet says.

Separately, the Financial Times reports that Shell sold millions of “phantom” carbon credits tied to CO2 removal that never took place. The paper continues: “As part of a subsidy scheme to boost the industry, the Alberta provincial government [in Canada] allowed Shell to register and sell carbon credits equivalent to twice the volume of emissions avoided by its Quest carbon capture facility between 2015 and 2021, the province’s registry shows. The subsidy was reduced and then ended in 2022. As a result of the scheme, Shell was able to register 5.7m credits that had no equivalent CO2 reductions, selling these to top oil sands producers and some of its own subsidiaries. Credits are typically equivalent to one tonne of CO2. Some of the largest buyers of the credits were Chevron, Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips, Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy.” Elsewhere, Energy Monitor reports that Shell’s first quarter earnings announcement reveals “significant success in growth for the company”. The New York Times reports that Shell and others “say they plan to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico in part because doing so releases fewer greenhouse gases than drilling on land”. In other news, the New York Times reports that European companies TotalEnergies and Shell “are considering moving their stock listings to New York, as pressure mounts for them to improve their valuations, which lag their American counterparts”. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that according to Joe Biden’s energy advisor, the US “has sufficient supply of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address any supply concerns and is monitoring markets on how to use it”.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has “pledged to press ahead with ‘world-leading green action’ after comfortably winning a historic third term”, Bloomberg reports. The outlet says that in his victory speech, Khan “vowed to continue enacting policies meant to limit carbon emissions and reduce crime”. Separately, Bloomberg says: “The mayor oversaw a surge in electric vehicles on the city’s roads within his last two terms – and he plans for thousands more EV chargers to be installed across the UK capital. His controversial expansion of the city’s low-emission zone, which restricts highly polluting vehicles, faced pushback from both Conservatives and his Labour party. His opponent, Susan Hall, waged a controversial campaign built on that opposition…The extent to which Khan can further tackle climate change will depend a lot on whether his Labour Party wins the next general election, which is expected by January 2025. The mayor’s budget is set by the government and many of the policies he wants to introduce need to also be backed on a national scale to have serious impact.” In other election news, the Guardian and BBC News report that the Greens have become the biggest party in Bristol City Council, although they did not get enough votes for an overall majority. According to BusinessGreen, the election results “point to how public support for climate action is as robust as ever”. 

The Times reports that “Labour has reiterated plans to force blue-chip companies and banks to align with UN climate goals if it gets into power”. The paper quotes shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband, who said that under a Labour government, it would be a “[legal] requirement  for companies to have transition plans for how they’re going to comply with the 1.5C target”. The Daily Telegraph carries the news under the headline “Labour plots new net zero crackdown on corporates”. In other UK news, the Financial Times carries a warning from “industry bosses and analysts” that investment in the UK’s North Sea has been damaged by the windfall tax, introduced by prime minister Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that “officials have approved 31 licences for [North Sea] oil and gas drilling in a move that will extend production until as late as 2060, about 20 years longer than previously expected”. Elsewhere, the Times writes about how floating offshore wind could “re-energise” Port Talbot in South Wales, following the decline of Tata Steel in the area. The Independent reports that farmer confidence in England and Wales is at an “all-time low”, with more than four-fifths saying they have been negatively affected by months of wet weather. FarmingUK also covers the news and quotes the head of the National Farmers Union saying: “With climate change wreaking havoc on food systems across the world and geo-political tensions high, Britain cannot afford to lose its ability to feed itself.” And the Times covers Carbon Brief analysis in a piece with the headline “How Britain’s national grid ran without fossil fuels for an hour”. 

The European Commissions has proposed placing sanctions on Russia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry for the first time, according to documents seen by Politico. The outlet continues: “The measures wouldn’t directly bar Russian LNG imports to the EU. Instead, they would prevent EU countries from re-exporting Russian LNG after receiving it…The sanctions would also ban EU involvement in upcoming LNG projects in Russia.” Separately, the outlet reports that the proposal “would only touch a fraction of the billions Moscow gets annually from liquified natural gas”. Reuters notes that imports of Russian LNG to Europe have increased since the war began. It adds: “The details are still being discussed, but one source said the Commission proposal would be finalised by the end of next week.”

Climate activists intend to offer the German energy company RWE €1.5m for a piece of land located next to the demolished village of Lützerath in the Rhenish lignite mining area to ensure that “the coal remains in the ground”, reports Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Under the motto “coal against coal”, the money will be raised through crowdfunding, notes Die Zeit. It also says that the purchase proposal will be presented at RWE’s digital shareholders’ general meeting. T-Online reports that a RWE spokesperson has declined to comment on the proposal, stating that “everything has already been said about the former settlement of Lützerath, which was occupied by activists about a year ago”. It was cleared by the police to allow coal mining and subsequently demolished, the outlet explains.

Meanwhile, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports that, in the coming days, the new liquefied “natural” gas (LNG) terminal on the German island of Rügen is set to begin operations. Meanwhile, the local municipality, which fears negative impacts on local tourism, has filed a lawsuit with the Federal Administrative Court against the operating permit issued for the terminal. The lawyers representing the municipality of Binz state that several existing expert opinions had concluded “that the risks of incidents at the LNG terminal are unacceptable”, FAZ notes. Stern adds that the Rügen terminal is expected to reach an annual “injection capacity” of more than 13bn cubic metres of “natural” gas.

Finally, Deutsche Welle quotes German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock during her visit to Fiji: “The climate crisis is literally washing the ground out from under people’s feet here.”  Baerbock has pledged support for damage repair and renewables promotion in Fiji and other Pacific states, adds DW.

Afzal Khan – vice chair of the UK’s Net Zero All Party Parliamentary Group and the Labour MP for Manchester Gorton – has penned a comment piece in Politics Home. Khan writes that “Labour’s Financing Growth paper made some eye-catching and exciting commitments, pointing to a stronger, greener economy”. He says he was “particularly excited by the pledge to require financial institutions and FTSE100 companies to publish their carbon footprint and adopt credible 1.5C-aligned transition plans”. Khan says that voluntary carbon markets will be an “important interim measure” while businesses reduce their emissions, but adds that they must be “properly regulated to ensure that the schemes are of high integrity and do all that they say they will”. He continues: “Hence Labour’s pledge to advance plans for the UK Green Taxonomy, ensuring it is science-based and interoperable with international standards, and user-friendly for business. The government has delayed the taxonomy for more than a year. A Labour government promises to define a clear timeline for completion of the taxonomy, and voluntary and mandatory reporting for all businesses in scope. Good progress has already been made over the last 12 months, with some of the main companies involved in monitoring these projects agreeing robust new standards.”

In other UK comment, an editorial in the Daily Telegraph responds to last week’s local election results, in which the ruling Conservatives suffered heavy losses. It says: “It is notable that [prime minister Rishi Sunak’s] greatest successes in breaking through with the public have come when he has been willing to make bold choices, whether facing down the SNP on gender ID, pushing through the Safety of Rwanda Bill, or delaying elements of ner-zero. It is time he learnt from these successes.” An editorial in the Sunday Mirror says that “the climate crisis is arguably the most pressing issue of our time”, but adds that “campaigners such as Just Stop Oil do their cause no favours”. Elsewhere, Luis Gallego, CEO of International Airlines Group, writes in the Financial Times that sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are the “most promising technology of all for long-range flying”, arguing that “the demand is there”, but production needs to ramp up. He continues: “Earlier this month, the UK confirmed a 10% SAF mandate. This is a welcome step, supporting industry-wide efforts to decarbonise while positioning the UK as a potential leader. But mandates alone are not enough. The UK now needs to build on this by quickly deploying incentives to encourage production…Now is the time to support critical industries in the transition towards net zero. Providing incentives for SAF to scale will in turn attract private sector investment, create jobs and deliver long-term economic growth.”

Elsewhere, climate sceptic Times contributor Dominic Lawson writes that “the electric car crash will rival the dotcom bubble”. He says: “As things stand, China will be the only winner. It, uniquely, is able to sell EVs more cheaply than the equivalent combustion engine models, and is about to flood European markets. The EU will soon be forced to choose between its vaunted commitment to fighting climate change and the existence of its own car manufacturing businesses.” Meanwhile, Tony Lodge, a research fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies, writes in the Times that the UK “can’t keep track of emissions with imported electricity”. And in the Daily Telegraph, climate-sceptic writer Ross Clark asks “have Gen Z forgotten about climate change?”. 

The Financial Times has published a “Big Read” about how different countries are funding their green transitions. The piece notes that the upcoming COP29 summit has already been dubbed the “finance COP”, and adds: “The International Energy Agency estimates that the public sector will have to stump up about 30% of climate finance globally needed, with 70% coming from the private sector.” According to the paper, Ireland “said it would progressively increase its carbon tax to €100 per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted by 2030 and ringfenced the increased revenues for financing climate-related investment and preventing fuel poverty”. Meanwhile, in the UK, “Labour has proposed its so-called green prosperity plan would be funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas giant”, the paper says. It adds that Hawaii and Barcelona, among others, are proposing tourism taxes. The piece goes on to quote Kingsmill Bond, an energy strategist at Rocky Mountain Institute, who says: “There is plenty of capital available in the industrialised world. It just needs to be deployed effectively – with better use made of the private sector.” The piece continues: “In some cases, developing countries that are rich with natural resources are looking at options such as carbon credits to generate income. India, Fiji and Egypt are among those issuing sovereign green bonds, where governments issue bonds akin to traditional sovereign bonds, but with proceeds ringfenced for green projects. A range of initiatives, such as the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative, are looking at how to better mobilise private sector finance, both in industrialised countries as well as the global south.” 

Elsewhere, the Financial Times Lex column says “the world needs good carbon offsets”. The piece notes that more than 90% of voluntary credits fund “avoidance and reduction” projects, which means “paying people not to cut down forests, or distributing low-emission cookstoves in Africa to replace those that use wood, paraffin or kerosene”. The piece notes the pitfalls of this approach. It says that “accounting should be a fixable problem”, but adds: “The bigger concern is that even high-quality avoidance and reduction is not really additional: what most of these actions achieve is already included in global net-zero pathways. Companies are meant to be cutting their own emissions at the same time as oceans and forests recover their carbon-absorbing potential. If they substitute the latter for the former, the world will veer off track.” The piece continues: “There is one corner of the market that is worth a proper look. Projects that permanently sequester CO2 are scientifically measurable and logically unassailable.” However, it notes that carbon capture is currently “tiny” and “wildly expensive”.

The activity of tornado-producing tropical storms may increase “substantially” in the US by 2050 as climate change worsens, new research finds. The study uses high resolution climate models to examine how the number of tornado-producing tropical storm surrogates could increase in future. It finds “robust evidence that tornado activity from tropical storms may increase in the future”, including “enhanced tornado activity at night, when people are asleep and more likely to miss warnings”.