Hurricane Helene has made landfall in north-western Florida, striking in the Big Bend area of the state’s Gulf coast, Sky News reports. It arrived as a category 4 hurricane, and weather forecasters have warned of a “catastrophic” storm surge, winds possibly exceeding 140mph and flash flooding, the article notes. More than 1m homes and businesses were left without power in Florida, as well as more than 50,000 in Georgia, Associated Press reports. It adds that the governors of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas and Virginia all declared emergencies in their states. A Reuters article says that around 25% of oil production and 20% of gas output in the US Gulf of Mexico was shut due to the hurricane. The Washington Post reports that Helene is “one of the biggest storms on record to strike the Gulf coast” – with winds of “at least tropical storm force” covering an area of around 420 miles. Bloomberg explains that “the hurricane’s massive size means it’s expected to bring torrential rain and flooding to cities hundreds of miles away, including Atlanta and Asheville, North Carolina”. An article in ABC News explains how the region of Florida that has been struck by Helene is becoming more vulnerable to hurricanes due to climate change. It notes that “it is not yet known to what degree that climate change may have influenced Hurricane Helene’s development”, but points to how climate change is warming ocean waters, which “provide the energy hurricanes need to form and intensify”. The Gulf of Mexico is currently experiencing “exceptionally warm waters”, with a sea surface about 2C above normal for the time of year, according to BBC News. Such ocean heat was made “at least 300 times more likely by climate change”, according to research cited in Grist. “As it continued its march north to the Gulf coast, it gathered strength from water that’s both unusually warm and deep – a great big pool of high-octane fuel,” the article says.

Colombia will soon announce a $40bn investment plan aimed at replacing lost fossil-fuel export revenues as the nation winds down its oil and gas exploration, according to Bloomberg. The story is based on comments made by the nation’s environment minister, Susana Muhamad, in an interview during New York climate week. Muhamed said the plan will be released early next month, adding that she hopes as much as $10bn towards the strategy will come from international financial institutions and developed countries, the article explains. Colombia’s deal will be “marshalled” by the Inter-American Development Bank and it will be based on the just energy transition partnerships (JETPs) that have already been signed between rich countries and a handful of developing countries, Bloomberg adds. So far, JETPs have “struggled amid political divisions” and “heavy bureaucracy”, the article explains, but the “JETP-like” approach described by Muhamed could involve a “new approach where multilateral development banks play a bigger role”. Meanwhile, another Bloomberg article reports that Colombia’s energy system is “in crisis” as drought strikes its hydropower dams – which normally provide two-thirds of its power – and the nation’s capacity to import natural gas has reached its limit.

Meanwhile, at the UN, the so-called “troika” of current and next two presidents of UN climate conferences – the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Azerbaijan and Brazil – has urged other nations to step up action to cut emissions and pushed their “roadmap to mission 1.5C”, according to the Associated Press. They emphasise that new climate plans released by governments in the coming months should align with the Paris Agreement’s stretch goal of limiting warming to 1.5C, the article explains. However, it notes that observers pointed out that all three of the troika members are major fossil fuel producers and have not announced plans to cut down on oil and gas production. Politico has a piece quoting Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCCC) chair Jim Skea emphasising the need for new climate goals. 

Separately, Politico reports that UK prime minister Keir Starmer has delivered his maiden UN general assembly speech, in which he called for a “global shipping levy” with the proceeds “going to tackle climate change and cut emissions”. According to the news outlet, Starmer also announced a new “facility for British international investment”, which will mobilise pension and insurance funds into climate action.

In more climate diplomacy news, China Daily reports that African leaders are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, to draft a common position ahead of the COP29 climate summit, “calling for increased pressure on high-polluting countries to allocate funds to support the least-developed nations”.

In a new investigation, the Guardian has obtained records showing that lobbyists working for major North American oil and gas companies were “key architects of anti-protest laws that increase penalties and could lead to non-violent environmental and climate activists being imprisoned up to 10 years”. The newspaper says emails between fossil fuel lobbyists and lawmakers in Utah, West Virginia, Idaho and Ohio – obtained via freedom of information requests –  “suggest a nationwide strategy”. The investigation focuses on “critical infrastructure laws”, which target protesters “tampering with or trespassing on” facilities such as gas pipelines. It says 22 critical infrastructure bills enacted in different states, amid a push by “right-wing fossil fuel-funded group” the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec). It quotes Alec, which says it supports “free speech and peaceful protests” but not “criminal activity”.

The New York Times “climate forward” newsletter focuses on its annual event that saw its journalists talk to key figures, including Vicki Hollub, the chief executive of Occidental Petroleum, whose interview was interrupted by protesters. The newsletter emphasises the importance of allowing alternative views and says Hollub is concerned about climate change. However, it also quotes her as saying that the world should continue using oil and gas until “the day when we run out of oil and gas”. Hollub argues that the world will develop technologies to remove all the emissions from fossil fuels from the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, in a frontpage story, the Financial Times reports that Saudi Arabia is planning to increase its oil output and abandon its unofficial price target of $100 for a barrel of crude oil. The newspaper says this is a sign that the nation is resigning itself to a period of low oil prices. The Times explains that the Opec+ group of oil producers have limited their supplies since 2022 in a bid to maintain the oil price, but this has been counteracted by “subdued demand from China” and the US increasing its production. Lower “prices at the pump” could impact global politics, with fuel prices playing a key role in the US election, according to the Daily Telegraph. However, given the US’s status as a net energy exporter, lower prices also “risk harming some parts of the American oil and gas industry”, the article adds.  Meanwhile, Reuters quotes Russia’s deputy energy minister stating that the country expects “serious” growth potential in global oil demand through to 2050 and is ready to supply this demand.

Separately, the Daily Telegraph reports that Europe is facing a “massive shortfall” of gas this winter due to disruption in maintenance schedules on Norway’s gas platforms and pipelines. If shortages persist, this “could eventually mean higher prices for consumers”, it adds.

China has launched an “anti-discrimination investigation” – “the country’s first” – into Canada’s tariff hikes on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), steel and aluminium products, state supporting newspaper Global Times reports. China’s Ministry of Commerce, which made the announcement, noted that the investigation typically takes three months, but “can be extended under special circumstances”, the outlet adds. Reuters and Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post also cover the story. An editorial on Global Times warns Canada that its economy will be the “biggest victim if [it becomes] a pawn in Washington’s containment campaign against China’s EV industry”.

Meanwhile, the EU has delayed a planned vote “on a set of varying tariffs on Chinese EVs announced by the European Commission in June” to next week, financial newspaper Nikkei Asia reports. In a separate article, Reuters quotes a commerce ministry spokesperson saying that technical teams from China and the commission are “actively negotiating a flexible price commitment solution” and “working towards reaching a consensus” ahead of the vote. Bloomberg turned the spotlight on energy storage being “the only technology with any chance of keeping up with the size and speed of China’s renewables roll-out”. Chinese companies accounted for over 80% of key lithium-ion battery components’ shipments worldwide last year due to “strong EV demand at home”, Nikkei Asia reports. 

Elsewhere, the nearly 11b yuan ($1.56b) in subsidies the government approved to help households swap old consumer goods for new ones has driven a “surge in sales of cars and household goods”, financial news outlet Caixin reports. State-owned China Daily quotes vice-premier He Lifeng proposing at a transport forum in Beijing a “plan to enhance the sustainable development in the transportation sector”, which has been under threat from “geopolitical tensions, extreme weather and ageing infrastructure”.

In other news, state broadcaster CCTV notes that “China’s forest coverage has reached 24% of the country’s total land area”. The national carbon market will expand the coverage, says news outlet China Energy Net. As of August, the trading volume has reached 476m tonnes, Shanghai-based financial news portal Yicai reports. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued guidelines to “improve the synergy between industry standards and science innovation in the solar industry… and ensure key standards are fully covered” by 2026, says China Energy Net. China has installed 33.61 gigawatts (GW) of wind power in the first eight months of this year, up 4.68GW year-on-year, according to International Energy Net. 

Finally, the finance ministry has earmarked 719m yuan ($102m) for disaster relief and farming recovery in areas affected by Super Typhoon Yagi, Xinhua reports. And Dialogue Earth delves into China’s newest biodiversity targets in an analysis titled: “Is China ready for biodiversity COP16?”.

Four companies, including British firm Rolls-Royce, have been chosen to continue to the next stage of bidding to support the development of small modular nuclear reactors in the UK, reports the Financial Times in a story trailed on its frontpage. The competition was launched by the previous Conservative government in a bid to restock the UK’s “dwindling nuclear power fleet” and help to cut the nation’s emissions, the newspaper explains. Reuters says that the new Labour government has said these new reactors will “play an important role in helping the country meet its net-zero targets”. It comes as larger nuclear projects, with higher up-front costs, “have struggled to attract financing”, the news outlet adds.

In other UK news, the Daily Telegraph has an article – trailed on its frontpage – citing official government data that says British industrial businesses are “paying the highest electricity prices of anywhere in the developed world”. It says the figures “underline the challenge facing Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, who wants industrial businesses to switch away from gas to electricity-powered processes”. Meanwhile, the Sun publishes one of its regular editorials taking aim at Miliband and his climate policies, describing him as “a cackling madman driving us off a cliff – all while bigging himself up as a ‘global climate leader’”.

Germany has approved a winter aid package for Ukraineʼs energy sector worth €70m, reports Ukrainian media outlet Babel, citing Germany’s ministry of economic cooperation and development. It says this money will provide Ukrainian cities and villages with small thermal power plants, boiler houses, generators and solar systems, while community centres, hospitals, schools and other social institutions will receive a more “secure and independent energy supply”. The outlet quotes federal minister Svenja Schulze emphasising the importance of rebuilding the energy supply “in a decentralised way”. 

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Germany’s “rapidly growing” solar and wind generation “must be matched by more battery storage to capture weather-induced generation peaks and avoid more fossil fuel burning”, energy thinktank Ember said on Thursday. The outlet adds that Germany could have avoided up to €2.5m in “natural” gas imports in June alone if it had had 2 gigawatts (GW) additional battery storage, said Ember. In addition, T-Online reports about the delay in the German large-scale infrastructure project Suedlink aimed at transporting “green” electricity from northern to southern Germany, which is now scheduled for completion by 2028. The outlet notes that the 700km power line will supply up to 10m households with renewable energy. 

Finally, Montel reports that Austria, whose share of Russian gas imports stands at 83%, could cope with a loss of Russian gas deliveries in the future “owing to healthy storage levels and imports from Germany and Italy”, said an energy policy expert with the Austrian climate ministry. The outlet adds that further measures were underway to “strengthen the import capacity” from Germany from 2027, the ministry said.

The Economist has an article written by Ali Karimli, leader of Azerbaijan’s main opposition party – the Popular Front party – in which he criticises the hypocrisy of holding the COP29 climate summit in his nation under the “authoritarian” rule of president Ilham Aliyev. “Over 90% of Azerbaijan’s exports are oil and gas, and its economy remains undiversified. The country’s serious environmental issues have never been a priority for the regime,” Karimli writes. Given this, he says the only reason that Aliyev wants to host the summit is to “launder his reputation”, following decades of “corruption” and “disdain” for human rights. Karimli adds: “Mr Aliyev hopes that [capital city] Baku’s polished image and Azerbaijan’s participation in global climate negotiations will distract from his regime’s darker side: more than 300 political prisoners, a crushed media and civil society, and the absence of fundamental political freedoms like free speech, freedom of assembly and due process.” He says that his party believes COP29 should not be used to “gloss over” these issues, and calls for attendees to raise awareness of “the political prisoners unjustly detained and suffering in Azerbaijan’s prisons”.

New research warns that the intensity of marine heatwaves will increase in many different regions of the world as the climate warms, including “the north-west Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the tropical Pacific Ocean, mid-latitude oceans in the southern hemisphere, and the Arctic Ocean”. Researchers use climate models to project how marine heatwave intensity, frequency and duration will change across the world by the end of the century. Focusing on the Arctic specifically, they find that marine heatwaves are “anticipated to intensify in a warming climate, mainly due to Arctic sea ice decline”. They write that their research “underscores an impending and disproportionately elevated threat to the Arctic marine life, necessitating targeted conservation and adaptive strategies”.

An increase in “post-drought” rainfall in a warming climate will “exacerbate the frequency and intensity” of rapid dry-wet periods, a new study finds. Using climate models, scientists explore how patterns and intensity of rainfall after drought would change under different warming scenarios. They find that, on average across the warming scenarios, post-drought rainfall will increase at a significantly faster rate than general rainfall will. They warn that rainfall events following drought can “lea[d] to agricultural losses and natural hazards such as landslides”.