Many publications cover UN analysis finding countries’ current climate plans would increase emissions by 10.6% by 2030, putting the world on track for 2.5C of global warming. The Independent explains: “The review is based on the combined climate pledges of 193 countries, but the UN said that ahead of the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh next month, just 24 countries have submitted new or revised targets – known as ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs).” According to the Independent, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Climate Change, said: “We are still nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions required to put us on track toward a 1.5C world. To keep this goal alive, national governments need to strengthen their climate action plans now and implement them in the next eight years.” The Guardian adds that current NDCs would lead to a temperature rise of between 2.1C and 2.9C, with the best estimate about 2.5C, according to the review. It add: “This represents a ‘marginal’ improvement, said Stiell, on the 2.7C temperature rise that would have followed from the commitments made at Glasgow [at COP26 in 2021].” In its coverage of the review, the New York Times says: “Countries around the world are failing to live up to their commitments to fight climate change, pointing Earth toward a future marked by more intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves and species extinction.” Reuters, New Scientist and the Press Association are among others covering the story.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest annual World Energy Outlook report is also widely covered. The Financial Times says that, according to the IEA, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will accelerate a peak in the world’s consumption of fossil fuels, with gas demand now expected to join oil and coal in topping out near the end of this decade.” IEA head Fatih Birol tells the FT: “After rapid growth in gas consumption in the last 10 years, we think the golden age of gas is coming to an end. Together with the decline in coal and oil that we were already expecting, we now see a peak around 2030 for all fossil fuels.” The FT adds: “Birol said government energy policies were rapidly evolving in part to counter the fallout from Russia’s decision to weaponise its gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for western support for Ukraine. The IEA head described the policy shift as a change that would resonate for ‘decades to come’.” Several publications focus their coverage of the IEA’s report on how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could shape global energy policy, including Reuters, Press Association and the New York Times. Meanwhile, the Times focuses on what the IEA says about record profits for oil and gas companies: “High fossil fuel prices are generating an ‘extraordinary’ bonanza for the sector, with net income for the world’s oil and gas producers ‘set to double in 2022 to an unprecedented $4trn’, the IEA said.” Bloomberg notes that the report also says that investment in renewable energy will need to hit $1.3trn a year by 2030 for the world to be on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph says that, according to the report, “net-zero restrictions on oil drilling are tightening Saudi Arabia’s grip over the global market for crude”.

There is also widespread coverage of an annual report form the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) finding the world saw a record increase in methane in the atmosphere last year as concentrations of all three major greenhouse gases hit new highs. The Press Association reports that, according to the WMO, “the reason for the leap in methane was not clear but it seems to be the result of both biological and human-induced processes”. It adds: “Increases in levels of carbon dioxide – the main greenhouse gas – from 2020 to 2021 was larger than the average annual growth rate over the last decade, with concentrations reaching 415.7 parts per million (ppm) last year, mostly due to fossil fuels and cement production.” The Washington Post adds that the WMO said its results show that “global emissions have rebounded since the Covid-related lockdowns”. The Guardian and New Scientist also have the story.

In an interview with BBC News, UN secretary general António Guterres has said the world must prioritise tackling climate change or “face catastrophe”. He tells the news broadcaster: “There has been a tendency to put climate change on the back burner. If we are not able to reverse the present trend, we will be doomed.” Guterres said that global issues, such as inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the high prices of energy and food, were distracting governments from their climate commitments, according to BBC News. It adds: “He said he would like to see both King Charles III and new UK prime minister Rishi Sunak attending COP27, saying King Charles has been a ‘constant voice’ calling attention to the problem of climate change.” It comes as UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths tells the Guardian that climate finance is not reaching countries in need and questions why aid has not reach suffering famine in Somalia. (See Carbon Brief’s newly published analysis of African extreme events in 2022.) The Independent reports that US special presidential envoy John Kerry has called on countries to strengthen their climate commitments ahead of COP27.

Separately, BBC News has published an explainer on what COP27 is and “why it is important”.

Rich countries must move on from “empty slogans” when it comes to climate change and “make progress in meeting funding commitments”, Reuters writes, citing the views of a Chinese official ahead of COP27. Li Gao, head of the climate change office at China’s ministry of ecology and environment (MEE), is quoted saying: “It is important to put forward targets, but it is equally important, even more important, to turn targets into actions.” He added: “We urge developed countries to fulfil their annual funding commitments of $100bn as soon as possible, instead of merely submitting a report to COP27 making excuses for the delay.” The newswire adds that experts say Beijing is “unlikely to make fresh pledges” ahead of this year’s round of talks, “especially amid diplomatic tensions with the US over Taiwan and other issues”. Additionally, Bloomberg says that, “despite a formal suspension of bilateral negotiations, the top climate envoys from China and the US have “quietly traded some messages” in hopes of resuming talks on curbing methane, combating deforestation and accelerating the green transition. John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate change, is quoted saying “there’s been communication about what would help the process”.

Meanwhile, China Energy News reports that six government bodies, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), jointly issued a document on Tuesday about “a number of policy measures to promote the increase of foreign investment with a focus on the manufacturing sector”, which called for “guiding” foreign investors to “actively participate” for achieving the China’s dual carbon goals. The state-run industry news also reports that the National Energy Administration (NEA), the country’s top energy regulator, on Tuesday announced that the country will establish a pool of “science and technology innovation projects in the energy field”.

Separately, Bloomberg writes that “the water woes of China’s iconic mega-dam are part of a global hydropower crisis that is being made worse by global warming”. Dams are the world’s “largest source of clean energy, yet extreme weather is making them less effective in the battle against climate change”, the outlet adds. Euronews writes that China is “planning the world’s largest wind farm, a facility so huge it could power the whole of Norway”. It adds that Chaozhou, a city in China’s Guangdong province, has revealed ambitious plans for a 43.3GW (gigawatt) facility in the Taiwan Strait.

In other news, the South China Morning Post says that EarthLab, an exhibition in Beijing, “simulates the world’s climate, atmosphere, marine environment, polar sea ice and ecology over different periods” and visitors can see simulations of the planet’s climate and environment “through a giant glowing orb”. These simulations are “powered by a high-performance supercomputer and will help to improve predictions on climate”, the article adds, citing researchers. Bloomberg carries an article titled: “There’s no cheap way to sidestep China’s energy supply chains.“ Finally, the Global Times has published a comment piece by Wen Sheng, one of the editors of the state-run newspaper, titled: “China becomes global pioneer, leader in developing renewable clean energy.”

In the UK, there is widespread coverage of new prime minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to reinstate the fracking moratorium in England which had been temporarily lifted by his predecessor Liz Truss. During his first prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons, Sunak was asked by Green MP Caroline Lucas if he would restore the moratorium on fracking pledged in the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto, according to BBC News. Sunak replied: “I have already said I stand by the manifesto on that.” Campaigners tell the Press Association that the decision is a “victory for common sense” and the Independent that it “sets a good tone” for Sunak’s leadership. Elsewhere, a separate Independent story says that Sunak has performed a “U-turn” on onshore wind, reversing an easing of planning restrictions introduced by Truss.

Several newspapers report on a warning from the joint committee on the national security strategy that the UK’s security is being put at risk by the government’s failure to prepare for worse extreme weather. The Guardian reports that the committee warned that the UK’s critical national infrastructure (CNI) had been left exposed because of “extreme weakness” at the heart of government. The Guardian adds: “In what it described as a ‘severe dereliction of duty’, the committee said no minister was prepared to take responsibility for ensuring the resilience of vital power, transport and communications networks – even though climate change was a recognised national security risk.” The Independent reports that the committee, chaired by Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, said there was “overwhelming evidence” that climate change is already having an impact on UK infrastructure. The Daily Telegraph adds that the committee also warned that the country’s increased reliance on electricity to reach net-zero could also pose a security risk.

Separately, the Times reports that “Sunak is expected to use the downbeat economic outlook [next month] he has inherited to say it will not be possible to increase aid spending until 2027 or 2028”. As chancellor, Sunak introduced a temporary cut in foreign aid spending to 0.5% of GDP, saying it would return to 0.7% when “on a sustainable basis”.

Breaking news today that the energy firm Shell has reported its third-quarter profits this morning, which are not at the record levels seen in the first half of this year, CNBC reports. The publication says: “The oil giant said it planned to increase its dividend per share by around 15% for the fourth quarter 2022, to be paid out in March 2023. It also announced a new share buyback program, which is set to result in an additional $4bn of distributions and expected to be completed by its next earnings release.”

Several publications publish analysis pieces on what the UK’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak could mean for climate change. The Washington Post says: “Sunak, a former finance minister and hedge-fund manager, is by no means a climate champion. But environmentalists in the UK are cautiously optimistic that he will restore Britain’s credibility on climate policy, which they say was seriously eroded by Liz Truss during her tumultuous stint as prime minister.” Writing on the same topic, the Independent says: “Sunak’s record on climate action has been described as ‘mixed.’ As an MP he has ‘almost always’ voted against measures to prevent climate change in parliament, according to the website They Work For You. As chancellor under Boris Johnson, he rarely mentioned the climate crisis in speeches, and net zero didn’t come across as central to his mission.” Elsewhere, an editorial in the Daily Mail describes Sunak’s decision to reinstate the fracking ban (see above) as “absurd” and says he has “kowtow[ed]” to the “shrill eco-lobby”. Meanwhile the Guardian examines how the UK’s new environment secretary Thérèse Coffey is likely to be.

In the Times, Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett , who chairs the joint committee on the national security strategy, explains her recent findings that the UK is ill-prepared for how extreme weather events could affect UK infrastructure (see above). She says: “Our report recommends urgently bringing together infrastructure regulators to mitigate the effects of storms, floods and heatwaves. The government should appoint a minister for the resilience of critical national infrastructure. But we also need co-operation at the local level, where emergency responders will face the brunt of demands people will make during future emergencies.”

Increases in maximum temperatures around the world under a “moderate” warming scenario by 2100 could increase heat failure rates in cold-blooded animals (ectotherms) by 774% for those living on land and 180% for those in water, a new study says. The authors note that the biological processes underlying heat failure rates “within the stressful temperature range are extremely temperature sensitive”. For example, the research finds that “heat failure increases by more than 100% per degree Celsius” across 112 species. The findings suggest that “we are likely to underestimate the potential impact of even a modest global warming scenario”.