There is widespread coverage of flooding across different parts of the world. The Guardian reports that eight people have drowned in Austria, Poland and Romania and four others are missing in the Czech Republic as Storm Boris continues to lash central and eastern Europe. BBC News reports that the Austrian province surrounding the capital Vienna has been declared a disaster area, with its leaders speaking of an “unprecedented extreme situation”. Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has declared a state of natural disaster, it says, adding: “Some of the worst rainfall has been in the Czech Republic, where some areas have seen around three months’ rainfall in just three days.” Storm Boris has been “so devastating” for two reasons, the outlet explains: “Firstly, cold air from the north has mixed with moisture drawn up from the unusually warm waters of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Secondly, an area of low pressure has been stuck in a blocked weather pattern, meaning it is trapped between high pressure to both the west and east.” Another BBC News article notes that “extreme precipitation is becoming more likely in Europe, as across much of the world, due to climate change”, adding: “A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, which can lead to heavier rainfall.” There is more coverage of the floods in the Press Association, Associated Press, EurActiv, Independent, Sky News, Daily Mail, Deutsche Welle, Politico, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

Meanwhile, there is continued coverage of flooding in west and central Africa. The New York Times reports that more than 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed. According to humanitarian agencies, up to four million people have been affected by the floods and nearly one million forced to evacuate, the newspaper says. On the number of deaths, the exact number “has been difficult to tally given the scale of the disaster and the officially reported figures are not up-to-date”, it says, adding: “In Nigeria, the authorities said that at least 200 people had died, but that was before the floods hit Maiduguri, which has added at least 30 people to that toll. In Niger, more than 265 have been reported dead. In Chad, 487 people had lost their lives as of last week. In Mali, which is facing its worst floods since the 1960s, 55 died.” In Nigeria, Reuters, CNN and the Daily Mail report that hundreds of inmates were able to escape from prison when floodwaters collapsed walls at a jail in Maiduguri in the north-east.

Elsewhere, there is further reporting on the devastation caused by Typhoon Yagi in Asia. Reuters reports that Myanmar’s death toll has risen to 113, while the Associated Press says that the number of recorded deaths has hit 233 in Vietnam. Reuters also reports that damages in Vietnam have been estimated at $1.6bn and may cut into the country’s growth rate by 0.15%. 

Finally, CNN reports that a weather system moving into California “will bring rare early-season snow” today and potentially “a month’s worth of rain”. And the Observer has obtained figures showing that “thousands of flood defences in England that are supposed to protect properties from serious damage are in a state of disrepair”.

Plans to build the UK’s first deep coal mine in more than 30 years have been quashed, reports BBC News. It continues: “Two campaign groups had brought legal action over the previous government’s decision to grant planning permission for the site near Whitehaven in Cumbria. At the high court [on Friday], judge Justice Holgate said the assumption the mine would not increase greenhouse gas emissions was ‘legally flawed’.” Challenges to the planning permission in 2022 had been submitted by Friends of the Earth and local campaign group South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC), the outlet says, claiming “the government did not take into consideration the environmental impact of burning the coal extracted and focused only on running the facility”. Bloomberg notes that the incoming Labour government had “said it wasn’t going to defend the claim shortly before the July hearing after accepting it had been unlawfully granted – although West Cumbria Mining Ltd (WCM), the developer, continued to fight [the] suit.” WCM said the project – which planned to extract coking coal for manufacturing steel, rather than to generate electricity – would be a “unique ‘net-zero’ mine”, says Reuters. The Associated Press quotes attorney Niall Toru of Friends of the Earth, who said: “This is fantastic news and a huge victory for our environment and everyone who has fought against this climate-damaging and completely unnecessary coal mine…The case against it is overwhelming: it would have huge climate impacts, its coal isn’t needed and it harms the UK’s international reputation on climate.” The Independent quotes a representative of SLACC, who said they “sincerely hope[d] that…this ill-conceived idea is permanently shelved”. Responding to the ruling, a spokesperson for WCM said the company “will consider the implications of the high-court judgement and has no comment to make at this time”, reports the Press Association. The Financial Times says the “closely watched verdict” underlines how the new Labour government “is curbing the development of any new fossil fuel projects in the UK”. The Daily Mail quotes former MP and climate-sceptic former Conservative energy secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said: “This is how the green ideology makes us cold and poor.” The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and CNN also have the story.

Meanwhile, there is continued coverage of the forthcoming closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland. After initial reports of a potential buyer, Scotland’s acting energy secretary said she was “wary” of such talk, reports the Press Association. Instead, Gillian Martin told BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show that she was “confident” the refinery’s “highly skilled staff” would find other work, BBC News reports. The Financial Times says that “saving Grangemouth jobs tests Scotland’s shift to net-zero”, adding: “The closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery next year has accelerated efforts in Holyrood and Westminster to plot a pathway for a green future at the sprawling industrial complex at Grangemouth.”

Elsewhere, the Times reports that Labour will allow new hybrid cars to remain on the UK market until 2035, “despite bringing forward a ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel-powered cars”. It explains: “Sir Keir Starmer committed Labour in its manifesto to scrapping the sale of ‘new cars with internal combustion engines’ by 2030 as part of his plans to hit net-zero by 2050…The government has now clarified that “some” hybrid vehicles will continue to be sold between 2030 and 2035.” This came after the Sunday Telegraph reported that Labour was “back[ing] away from [the] 2030 petrol car ban”. However, a government spokesperson tells the Times that “the original phase-out date included the provision for some hybrid vehicle sales between 2030-35, adding: “We know it is important to provide certainty and stability for drivers and will set out further details in due course.”

In other UK news, the Guardian reports that the UK’s electricity system operator (ESO) will be transferred into public ownership, in a £630m deal, to create a new national energy system operator (Neso), which will also oversee the gas system. The government “hopes that by bringing together the separate units involved in planning Great Britain’s electricity and gas networks under one publicly owned company, the system operator can adopt a more strategic approach to achieving a net-zero energy system by 2030”, the newspaper says. The Daily Telegraph says the cost will be “clawed back from households through their energy bills”. The Financial Times covers a new report from energy consultants Wood Mackenzie suggesting oil and gas production in the North Sea could halve by 2030, far faster than currently expected, under tax proposals that would cause “irreversible damage” to the sector. The Daily Telegraph reports that energy secretary Ed Miliband has been urged to “abandon large reactors in favour of mini-nukes”. The Scotsman reports in an “exclusive” that SNP ministers “have come under fire for sneaking out a lacklustre dossier of climate action needed to get progress back on track amid fears there is an ‘appalling lack of ambition’ from the Scottish government after ‘years of inaction and delay’”. And, finally, the Guardian reports that “UK airport expansion gears up for takeoff” and also that “campaigners have urged the chancellor to start taxing jet fuel – with a report showing that charging duty at the same rate paid by motorists would raise up to £6bn a year for the public finances”.

The Hague in the Netherlands has become the first city in the world to pass a law banning advertisements promoting fossil fuel products, reports the Guardian. It continues: “Legislation passed on Thursday spells the end of publicly and privately funded advertising for petrol and diesel, aviation and cruise ships in the streets of the Dutch city, including on billboards and bus shelters. It takes effect from the start of next year…The Hague’s ban, which has taken two years to pass, is legally binding. It outlaws fossil fuel products and services with a high carbon footprint, but it does not cover political advertising by the fossil fuel industry or adverts that promote a general brand.” The decision follows a “fiery speech by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in June calling for countries to ban fossil-fuel advertising”, says Reuters. The proposal had been introduced by the city’s animal welfare-focused Party for the Animals, the newswire notes. Bloomberg quotes Leonie Gerritsen, a member of the city council for the party, who said: “The Hague wants to be climate neutral by 2030. Then it is not appropriate to allow advertising for products from the fossil industry.” Gerritsen also tells the Financial Times that “we really hope to initiate a snowball effect so local governments can take charge if their national governments aren’t doing what’s necessary”. Al Jazeera also has the story.

The world’s developing countries need around $500bn of climate finance per year, according to a new UN report that “will pave the way for tough talks at this year’s COP29 climate summit”, reports Bloomberg. The UN’s standing committee on finance “evaluated the costs required by 98 developing countries to enact their climate plans and found that – from as far back as 2015 – as much as $6.9tn in total may be needed by 2030”, the newswire explains. The report “gives one of the most comprehensive evaluations of what is needed by the developing world, yet it provides only a starting point for talks”, the article says: “Countries will need to not only work out how much public finance should be pledged, but also agree on a far bigger number – possibly in the trillions – that needs to be mobilised from the private sector. A big fight is also expected over whether China – a rapidly growing economy and now the world’s highest emitter – should also have to contribute.” 

Meanwhile, the Financial Times “Climate Capital” newsletter says that “oil-rich nations are making a concerted effort to slow progress on a landmark UN climate agreement to end the use of fossil fuels”. The newspaper continues: “Negotiators from five western countries told the Financial Times that they were applying pressure to Azerbaijan as the host country for the upcoming UN COP29 summit to prioritise fossil fuel phaseout discussions, in an attempt to counter a ‘pushback’ from the petrostates and their allies.”

Brazil is fighting wildfires that have been “fuelled by heatwaves and the nation’s worst drought on record”, reports the Financial Times. It says: “The area of the Amazon in Brazil, home to about two-thirds of the world’s largest rainforest, suffered its highest number of blazes for 14 years in August, according to the national space research agency Inpe…The total area burnt this year in Brazil estimated at 34.5m hectares – or about the size of Germany – more than double the average for the same period across 2012-23.” The intensity of this year’s burning season “has caused serious alarm”, the newspaper says. The article explains how “decades of destruction [to the forest] have contributed to the drought and infernos”, while “global warming is also playing a role”. It quotes Izabella Teixeira, a biologist and Brazil’s former environment minister, who said: “The evidence is clear: climate change is both contributing to and exacerbating these crises…We also know that Brazil is much more likely to experience even more of these extreme weather events as climate change further intensifies.” Le Monde reports that “more than 60% of Brazil is covered by smoke, which is also spreading to neighbouring countries”. Reuters says that Brazil’s supreme court yesterday “authorised the government to exempt spending on wildfires and droughts in the Amazon and Pantanal regions from this year’s fiscal target as the country grapples with the economic impacts of its worst drought on record”.

Meanwhile, Politico reports on “two big issues standing in the way of (yet) another push to complete talks on creating a free-trade zone between the EU and the Mercosur bloc”. It says: “For Brazil, the deal can still happen as long as imports of electric cars are limited…For the European Union, it can only happen as long as the cows aren’t raised on deforested land.” And the Financial Times has a “big read” on whether Brazil can be a “climate champion and an oil giant”.

China is “preparing a new energy security law to become more self-reliant, diversify imports of resources and enhance supplies of renewable energy”, Japan-based Nikkei Asia reports. The outlet says that Beijing aims to “build up a stockpile of energy and create a mechanism for its production and transportation during emergencies”. The country is said to “have an energy self-sufficiency rate of over 80% as of 2022”, says the outlet, adding: “It is focusing on bolstering its energy security amid protracted tensions with the US and its partners.”

Meanwhile, the EU has rejected Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers’ bid to “adjust their prices…to avoid sharply higher tariffs ahead of potentially pivotal talks between Beijing and Brussels next week”, the Financial Times reports. In response to the EU’s rejection, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it is “disappointed”, Reuters reports. Wang Wentao, China’s commerce minister, will visit Europe in the coming days for talks, according to a separate Reuters article. The Global Times, a state-supporting newspaper, says in an editorial that it is “not surprising at all” that the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez now wants the EU to “reconsider” its tariffs on Chinese EVs. Reuters carries another article, titled: “China’s carrot-and-stick tactics on EU nations start to pay off.”

Elsewhere, Reuters reports that the US has “locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports”, adding a “100% duty on EVs, 50% on solar cells and 25% on steel, aluminium, EV batteries and key minerals” will enter into effect from 27 September. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that the US’ House of Representatives passed a bill last Thursday that restricts EV tax credits, which “could jeopardise licensing deals between American car makers and Chinese EV battery companies”.

In other China news, Shanghai was hit by typhoon Bebinca – “in what could be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Chinese financial hub since 1949” – early this morning, reports Reuters. The Associated Press says that more than 400,000 people were evacuated. Agence France-Presse also covers the story, adding that “China is the world’s biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists say are driving climate change and making extreme weather more frequent and intense”. China Daily says that Hainan and Guangdong provinces in southern China, which were severely damaged by Typhoon Yagi last week, have “gradually resumed normal work and life”. 

The campaign group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Environmental Action Germany) has won a lawsuit requiring the German government to implement “immediate CO2 reduction measures” across the land-use sector, including reduced logging, peatland rewetting and phasing out wood burning in power plants, Die Tageszeitung reports. The environment ministry will not appeal the decision, adds the outlet. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) adds that a “key measure” to reduce land-use emissions is the “action plan on nature-based solutions for climate and biodiversity”, which has €3.5bn available until 2028 and aims to create “intact forests, floodplains and healthy peatlands”. Die Tageszeitung also details how the economy and climate protection ministry has appealed a separate ruling demanding enhanced climate protection across sectors such as energy and transport.

Meanwhile, Focus reports that ​​German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck has addressed concerns about potential floods in Germany, commenting on the floods in Austria and Eastern Europe. “The federal government will help wherever it can,” he has pledged. Habeck also emphasises that, given the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, “we also need measures for climate adaptation”.

Finally, FAZ reports that the German city Duisburg will today host the national steel summit, where Habeck will discuss strategies for achieving climate neutrality in steel production, which currently contributes 7% of Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions. Habeck will also tour the Ruhr area and open the Hy.Summit.Rhein.Ruhr hydrogen conference, notes the outlet. In addition, Reuters reports that power firm VPI will invest up to €450m over the next 3-5 years in battery projects across Germany. 

Writing in the Financial Times, David Begg – a visiting professor of transport economics at the University of Plymouth and a former chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport – says that while road pricing is the “answer in the long term”, UK chancellor Rachel Reeves should use the next budget to raise fuel duty. He writes: “If you allow for inflation, fuel duty has been cut by about 40% since 2010. This has cost the Treasury more than £100bn in tax receipts…[However], the political challenge [Labour] face[s] in even just increasing fuel duty in line with inflation is that motoring taxation has become politically toxic.” While it is “perceived as a popular measure, the reduction in fuel duty since 2010 comes at a price in terms of lost revenue, lower electric car sales, more pollution and carbon emissions and fewer trips by public transport”, says Begg, adding: “Without it, carbon from road transport would be 24% lower than it is, and rail and bus patronage would be almost 10% higher.” Road pricing “has the potential to cut congestion by more than 40% by incentivising road users to save money by changing the time that they travel”, says Begg, adding: “For ministers, there is no other transport policy that will stimulate economic growth more than national road pricing – if implemented properly.” He concludes: “Increasing fuel duty at least in line with inflation in the short to medium term, and road pricing in the longer term, are policies to be commended, regardless of how challenging the politics are.”

Elsewhere, an editorial in the Sunday Mirror says it “welcome[s] Keir Starmer’s commitment to reduce the voting age so 16- and 17-year-olds can play their full part in our democracy”. It says: “They deserve a voice on big issues such as climate change because they will be the ones most affected. The 2050 net-zero target seems a long way off for many of us, but a 16-year-old will only be 42 when it arrives.” An editorial in the Sunday Telegraph criticises the 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars, arguing that the “market” should decide. It says: “There is only one sensible way to manage the difficult process of decarbonisation, and that is to allow the market to determine which technologies work best for consumers. In the car market, as elsewhere in the economy, the customer – not the minister – should be king.” And, writing in today’s Daily Telegraph, Kwasi Kwarteng – chancellor under the premiership of Liz Truss for just 38 days – writes that “opposition to oil field licences will only make Britain more vulnerable to dirtier foreign imports”.

A species of fly has adapted faster in response to global warming over the past two decades in Europe, according to a new study. The researchers compared historical samples from a type of fruit fly to new data gathered from 12 areas in Europe between 2015-19. Their analysis shows that a “known evolutionary response to global warming has accelerated in the past 20 years, in step with regional warming”. This genetic response comes from a “pre-existing variation” in the fly that aids “tolerance to high temperature”, the authors add. This suggests that species with “broad geographic ranges, large population sizes and high genetic diversity may have the evolutionary potential to cope with climate change”, the researchers claim.