There is widespread coverage of a new report showing that last year China approved the largest expansion of coal-fired power plants since 2015. This shows, reports the Washington Post, how the “world’s largest emitter still relies on a fossil fuel that scientists say must be quickly phased out to avoid the worst consequences of a warming atmosphere”. The newspaper adds: “It also underscores the way China is at odds with the global shift away from greenhouse gas-emitting forms of energy – and from its own pledges to reduce its emissions. The rush to build new coal-fired projects across the country meant that authorities granted permits for 106 gigawatts of capacity across 82 locations in 2022, the highest number in seven years and four times higher than in 2021. This is according to new report from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Finland-based nongovernmental organisation, and the Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a nonprofit that tracks fossil fuel infrastructure.” Reuters quotes GEM analyst Flora Champenois: “The speed at which projects progressed through permitting to construction in 2022 was extraordinary, with many projects sprouting up, gaining permits, obtaining financing and breaking ground apparently in a matter of months.” However, the authors stress that many projects were being built in regions that already had a clear capacity surplus and power supply problems would be better addressed by improving grid reliability and efficiency. Bloomberg and the South China Morning Post are among other outlets covering the story. Bloomberg also reports on “informal signs” that China has eased its ban on coal imports from Australia.

Meanwhile, Reuters says that “a deadly coal mining collapse in China [last] week is one of a growing number of industry accidents over the last year, government statistics show, coinciding with Beijing’s recent push for higher production to improve energy security”. The newswire notes that “at least six people were killed and 47 others are still missing two days after the dramatic collapse of an open pit coal mine in China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia, its No 2 coal producing province”. 

Elsewhere, the Shanghai-based financial outlet Yicai reports that China’s gross domestic product is “likely to expand by 5.6% this year and inflation will slow resulting in lower interest rates”, citing the chief China economist at US financial services giant JP Morgan. Finally, the state-controlled newswire Xinhua quotes vice minister Zhang Guangjun saying that, in 2022, China “signed or renewed 25 international sci-tech cooperation documents and carried out fruitful cooperation with many countries in multiple fields including Covid-19 control, biodiversity, climate change and clean energy”.

India is unlikely to sign on to a “just energy transition” with rich countries this year, “as international funding rests on India committing to a timeline to phase out coal”, energy analysts familiar with the government’s stance have told Reuters. They say that the conversation around a just energy transition partnership (JETP), similar to those signed with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam, is “currently stuck on the financial terms of funding” and India’s resistance to being “bullied into a partnership”. Deals with these countries so far are “all about coal”, but “that won’t work here”, says Vaibhav Chaturvedi of the Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), adding that “India won’t talk about coal, but [instead about] more renewable energy, which has more achievable and demonstrable targets”. Chaturvedi adds that India “may be able to use its position as G20 leader this year” to secure a bigger deal than Indonesia and “steer discussions on a deal toward scaling renewable capacity”, which it wants “in the form of grants, not loans”. However, coal worker representatives point out that India’s just transition conversations are dominated by “engineers and finance experts”, while “ignoring the social aspect of transition, which is the most important”.

Separately, the Washington Post reports that the Indian government is “urging mining companies to excavate coal as quickly as possible because electricity demand is projected to soar”. According to government and coal officials the outlet spoke to, authorities have “reopened old mines, carved out new ones and extended contracts to private mining companies for longer periods, suggesting that the country’s leaders won’t be ready to give up coal for at least 25 years”. Energy expert Rohit Chandra tells the newspaper that “‘keep it in the ground’ is a very Western concept” and that renewables “can only supply part of this growth for now…[W]e are decades away from coal playing an insignificant role in India’s power system.”

Meanwhile, climate experts warn that “heavy construction required for hydropower” in climate-vulnerable Himalayan regions “is exacerbating [land] subsidence” and could do irreparable damage, the Associated Press reports.

German newspaper Bild reports that, according to estimates by the importing association VDKI, Germany bought 8% more coal from abroad in 2022 than in 2021, a total of 44.4m tonnes. It also notes that, despite a 37% decline from the previous year, Russia remained the largest coal supplier to Germany, accounting for 13m tonnes. Deutsche Welle adds that the US was the second largest importer, with 9.4m tonnes, a 32% increase from the year before. Shipments arriving from South Africa and Colombia saw significant increases, standing at 3.9m tonnes (278% increase) and 7.2m tonnes (210%), respectively, says DW. The outlet notes that Germany wants to be “carbon neutral” by 2045, gradually phasing out its coal-fired plants by 2038. However, sanctions imposed on Russia last year due to its invasion of Ukraine “shook Germany’s energy supply, causing a return to an increase in the use of coal”. Tagesschau also reports that Deutsche Bahn doubled its transportation last year with coal trains transporting 30,000 tonnes daily to around 15 large power plants throughout Germany.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Germany has “set aside” more than €260bn to deal with the immediate risks of an energy crisis. In addition, “the pending price tag for future-proofing the country’s energy system is projected to amount to over $1tn by 2030”, according to BloombergNEF. The outlet adds that around 250 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity will have to be installed by 2030 – when power demand is expected to be about a third higher than now – according to estimates from Germany’s network regulator and thinktank Agora Energiewende. The government has announced it will prepare tenders this year for gas plants that account for about a tenth of the intended 2030 capacity, notes the outlet. However, the expansion of wind energy is “progressing slowly” in Germany, reports Die Zeit. It says 51 wind turbines have been approved across Germany since January – but none in several federal states. In addition, the Guardian reports that the German chemicals company BASF has said it will cut 2,600 jobs “as Europe’s largest economy braces for recession triggered by the energy crisis”.

Elsewhere, Der Spiegel reports that a district court has dismissed a climate lawsuit supported by Greenpeace against the car company Volkswagen. The case centres around an organic farmer Ulf Allhoff-Cramer who sees his business being threatened by climate change and blames VW for it. He is calling for VW to produce fewer combustion engines with immediate effect and to stop production entirely from 2030, adds the outlet. However, the court has declared the lawsuit “entirely unfounded”. ABC News also has a story noting that the automaker has objected to the farmer’s claim that it could be directly linked to any climate-related damages he has suffered. The outlet quotes the head of German Greenpeace saying that the court’s decision is “disappointing”. 

Finally, the Indian Express reports that during the meeting of prime minister Narendra Modi with visiting German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday, both discussed progress on the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP), under which Germany will place €10bn in new and additional commitments.

Large wind farm developers, such as Sweden’s Vattenfall and Denmark’s Orsted, are seeking tax breaks or more subsidies from the UK government to counter a rise in costs, the Financial Times reports. It explains: “Several companies that won contracts in a large UK government auction last year to build new renewable power generating capacity from 2024 have warned ministers the projects will be difficult to deliver at the prices agreed, according to people involved in the talks. Supply-chain inflation over the past year has led to a big increase in wind turbine prices, while rising interest rates have pushed up financing costs.” The FT also reports on a message from the oil and gas industry’s trade body that the government’s windfall tax is convincing oil and gas companies to “scale back North Sea operations and prioritise investments outside the UK”.

Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph reports that a 210-acre solar farm sited near to Roman ruins in Hampshire has been given the green light following an appeal. The farm had been opposed by some residents over its proximity to the ruins in a two-year battle. The Daily Telegraph also reports on how problems with the electricity grid are preventing the construction of a waste-to-power plant in the north-east of England.

Meanwhile, BBC News reports that Australian firm Recharge Industries has bought the battery maker Britishvolt out of administration. And the Daily Telegraph reports that Rolls Royce has frozen hiring on its mini-nuclear team “as it demands a contract from the government”.

In addition, the Daily Telegraph also carries the results of a poll finding that 53% of people in the UK believe that climate change is “catastrophic for mankind”, with 54% thinking that the UK government is not on track to achieving net-zero by 2050.

UK drivers could miss out on £9bn of savings if the government does not do more to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, according to a report from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) covered by the Press Association. It comes as the Times reports that a senior figure at the Japanese carmaker Honda has warned that the UK government risks creating a “chaotic fiasco” with delays to its policy for boosting electric car use this decade. In addition, the i newspaper reports that electric car drivers could face lengthy delays in getting their cars repaired due to a lack of mechanics with specialist skills in EVs. 

It comes as the Daily Express carries a poll commissioned by the pro-fossil fuel motoring lobby group known as the Alliance of British Drivers finding 54% of people in the UK think the country’s 2030 ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars should be “pushed back” or scrapped.

A third of UK government funding for insulation and installing heat pumps has not yet been spent, despite the cost-of-living crisis, according to analysis covered by the Guardian. It explains: “About £2.1bn remains unspent of the £6.6bn that was supposed to be used between 2020 and 2025 on making buildings more energy efficient and decarbonising heat. The funding is part of the £9.2bn that was promised for such spending in the Conservative general election manifesto of 2019. Insulating homes and switching from gas to heat pumps would save households money, and ease the cost of living crisis, but most people struggle to meet the upfront costs of such measures without government help.” 

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that new energy and net-zero minister Lord Callanan has said that “forcing” UK households to replace gas boilers with heat pumps would be “against the British character”.

An editorial in the Times is critical of the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s recent policy address, where he laid out five “missions” for governing, if elected. The second mission focuses on climate change, with Starmer pledging to get the UK’s electricity generation to net-zero by 2030, five years earlier than currently targeted. The Times argues that Starmer’s plan for achieving this lacked detail, saying: “​​This would involve a hugely expensive and rapid expansion of wind and nuclear power. But costings were absent.” In the Daily Mail, commentator and broadcaster Andrew Neil describes Labour’s aim to reach net-zero electricity by 2030 as “ludicrous”. He says: “Labour thinks it can do this with a multi-billion pound investment in more renewables – a doubling of existing onshore wind capacity, a trebling of solar power and a quadrupling of offshore wind. Good luck in getting all that through Britain’s sclerotic planning procedures in time for it to be up and running (assuming Labour takes power in late 2024) within six years of Starmer moving into 10 Downing Street. Even if green miracles do happen, the electricity grid still wouldn’t have zero-carbon emissions.”

It comes as an editorial in the Sunday Times reflects on one year of Russia’s war in Ukraine and what it means for energy security in the UK. It says: “The conflict has also exposed our reliance on foreign gas, which sent energy bills soaring last year. While wholesale prices are now falling again, we must strengthen our defences against future shocks. The development of offshore wind – a true British success story – should be pursued at scale. Ministers must stop flip-flopping about onshore wind farms. If nuclear power is judged to be part of the solution – as successive governments have told us – they must get on with it and build the reactors.” In the Sunday Telegraph, Petro Poroshenko, former president of Ukraine, writes: “We should accelerate the transition to green energy…What was once only about climate change is now also about democracy. Europe and the world need clean energy to escape Putin’s grasp.”

Elsewhere, a column in the Sunday Times by property writer Martina Lees argues that the UK’s boiler upgrade scheme is “seriously failing” in light of new analysis showing one-third of funding has been left unspent (see above). In addition, a column in the Daily Telegraph by Jon Butterworth, the chief executive of National Gas, argues that the UK shouldn’t “write off hydrogen” (amid research showing it is likely to play only a limited role in heating homes). In Business Green, Conservative MP Peter Aldous argues that ministers should “strengthen” the UK’s “net-zero policy programme”.

The Financial Times has published a special report on the road to net-zero. It is made up seven articles examining: why 2023 might be a turning point for climate action; why solar is set to overtake other energy sources by 2027; why there is a need for clearer communication to cultivate greener consumers; how Mark Carney’s green alliance has outlasted “stormy waters”; how green subsidies could lift the global wind industry’s longer term prospects; how the UK’s electoral system holds back green groups and how US-Europe trade tensions are heating up over green subsidies.

New research finds that “flood generation processes” are a stronger determinant of regional flood anomalies than changes in extreme rainfall. The authors analyse streamflow and climate observations over 1960-2010. They find that a shift from “rain on dry soil” to “rain on wet soil” events increased the frequency of flood-rich periods in the Atlantic region by 5% over the study period. Meanwhile the opposite trend was seen over the Mediterranean, increasing the frequency of flood-poor periods, but making singular extreme floods more likely, the paper says. The authors conclude that “flood anomalies driven by changing flood generation processes in Europe may further intensify in a warming climate”.

The thick clouds that form the inner part of tropical cyclones – where the most intense winds and rainfall are seen – saw a 10% per decade decrease in “cloud fraction” over 2002-21, according to new research. The authors “present the first satellite observations of tropical cyclone clouds near the tropical cyclone top”. They find that the decrease in thick clouds is consistent with the observed decreased rain there. However, the paper notes that the maximum intensity of tropical cyclones did not change over the study period. It concludes that “the strongest convection of a tropical cyclone has weakened, and become shallower”.