Category 3 Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida on Wednesday morning, bringing a “catastrophic storm surge” reports the Independent. It slammed into the Big Bend area, near Keaton Beach, with winds of 125mph and warnings of up to 15ft (4.6 metres) of storm surge, the outlet continues. As the storm pushed inland it submerged the small coastal community of Steinhatchee and set record high water levels across an area stretching 200 miles south of Tampa, reports the Guardian. The afternoon high tide was heightened by a rare blue “supermoon”, the article notes. The storm killed a 40-year-old motorist in Pasco county, north of Tampa, as well as a 59-year-old man in Gainesville, who was also driving, the Guardian says. By Wednesday night, more than 225,000 people were without power in Florida, and a further 230,000 in Georgia, reports BBC News. Idalia was downgraded to a tropical storm as it passed through Georgia, but still brought powerful winds and potentially life-threatening weather, the article continues. As the storm makes its way along the south-eastern US coast today, coastal and inland flooding is expected in parts of Georgia as well as South Carolina and North Carolina, it adds. Idalia forged a path through the Gulf toward Florida over a “maximum of oceanic heat content”, according to the National Hurricane Center, reports Inside Climate News. “The water temperatures combined with low wind shear meant conditions favoured rapid intensification, a phenomenon that is becoming more common because of climate change,” the article continues. Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s property was damaged by the storm, as a 100-year-old oak tree split, falling into the entrance to the property in Tallahassee, reports the Daily Telegraph. US president Joe Biden has said that “I don’t think anybody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore”, as he spoke to reporters about Hurricane Idalia, reports Reuters. He added: “Just look around. Historic floods. I mean, historic floods. More intense droughts, extreme heat, significant wildfires have caused significant damage.” 

Elsewhere in the US, one of the largest wildfires in Louisiana history is continuing to burn through land and threaten rural communities, reports the Independent. The area is used to flooding and hurricanes rather tha drought and blazes at this time of year, but has had an “unprecedented wildfire season” as dry conditions and extreme heat persists, the article adds. It quotes Mike Strain, the commissioner for Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry, who said: “This is not done. We expect a dry September. So we got to be prepared for this and all work together until the rain comes…and then we can get back to life.”. The Tiger Island wildfire spread rapidly throughout Saturday, doubling in size to more than 13,000 hectares, reports the Guardian. By Tuesday, 12,000 hectares were still burning with only 50% containment, it continues. In recent weeks there have been about 400 fires in the state, causing at least two fatalities, it notes, adding: “It is part of a global wave of extreme weather that scientists warn will become the norm without drastic action to address the climate crisis.”

The Australian government has agreed to settle a “world-first court case”, which accused it of misleading investors by failing to disclose the financial risk caused by the climate crisis, reports the Guardian. The class action was launched in 2020 by Melbourne University student Katta O’Donnell, accusing the then Morrison government of breaching a legal duty and deceiving investors in sovereign bonds by not informing them of the climate risk they faced, it continues. The class action represented current and future investors in government bonds, which are generally considered one of the safest forms of investment, it adds. If approved by the federal court, the terms of the settlement will require the Australian government to make a statement acknowledging that climate change is a systemic risk that may affect the value of its government bonds, reports Reuters. It quotes O’Donnell, saying: “As an investor, I am pleased with the proposed settlement. This is the first time a country with a AAA credit rating has acknowledged climate change is a systemic risk when talking about risks to government bonds.” Elsewhere, the Australian Energy Market Operator has said eastern Australia needs “imminent and urgent investment” to bolster the reliability of the electricity grid, a separate article in the Guardian reports. The operator has warned of risks of outages in Victoria and South Australia, with the company’s CEO Daniel Westerman quoted in the article saying: “We’re expecting an elevated level of risk this summer compared with recent years, mostly due to hotter and drier conditions, and lower levels of reliability from our coal-fired generators.”

A new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that climate change is likely to worsen conflicts in fragile and war-torn states, leading to higher death rates and reduced GDP, reports Reuters. The report says that “climate shocks do not cause conflicts, but they worsen existing unrest and exacerbate other underlying fragilities, such as hunger and poverty”, the newswire notes. The World Bank produces a list of countries classified as fragile and conflict-afflicted states (FCS) annually, with 39 countries currently on the list, of which 21 are in Africa, says Reuters. All 61 states that have been on the list since 2006 are covered in the IMF’s report, it adds. The IMF estimates that if the world continues on its current high-emissions trajectory, conflict deaths could increase by between 8.5% and 14% in FCS by 2060, reports Deutsche Welle. Additionally, FCS tend to be heavily reliant on rain-fed agriculture, and increasing drought is expected to lower food production, increase inflation and push an extra 50 million people into hunger by 2060, the article continues.

More electric cars are coming onto the market in the UK than there is demand for, the motor dealer Vertu Motors has warned, reports the Times. In a trading statement, the company warned: “Recent increased supply of new electric vehicles appears to be exceeding retail demand, creating an imbalance in pipeline inventory coming into the key plate-change month of September,” the article notes. The company notes that fleet sector demand for EVs is robust, and is “currently critical to the electrification [of the UK’s total number of vehicles],” the Times reports. The Daily Telegraph also has the story. Nearly two in every five cars produced in Britain in July were in some way electrified, notes a separate article in the Times. It quotes Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, who welcomed recent investment in a “gigafactory” to build batteries for EVs, but says global competition “remains tough”. He added: “If we are to attract further investment and produce the next generation of zero-emission models and technologies, we need a coherent strategy that builds on our strengths and supports all aspects of advanced automotive manufacturing.” In Europe, new car sales jumped 15.2% in July, including a jump of 60.6% for EVs, which have been buoyed by subsidies in a number of countries, reports Reuters. Full EVs accounted for 13.6% of all new car sales, up from under 10% in July 2022, the article notes.

New documents shared by journalism network OCCRP reveal potentially controversial investors in the Adani Group, the Financial Times reports. Adani is India’s “biggest private thermal power company, biggest private port operator, biggest private airport operator and biggest private coal importer”. According to the story, two of the group’s biggest public investors were associates of an Adani family member who maintained “parallel sets of books…and a Russian doll of companies and [offshore] funds to…secretly control at least 13% of the free float”, potentially “breach[ing] rules designed to prevent artificial inflation of share prices”. The story also shows how power equipment deals were struck, invoiced and profits transferred. Documents seen by the Guardian suggest that “the government regulator now in charge of investigating the group was made aware of stock market activity using Adani offshore funds as far back as early 2014”. The Adani Group responded to the Guardian, saying there is “neither any truth to nor any basis for…any of the said allegations” and that it “reject[ed] all of them”.

In other climate and energy news, Bloomberg reports that “India is preparing to start the auction process for some 100 critical mineral blocks in the next four months”. Separately, geologists, architects and environmentalists have told the Statesman that “recent havoc” from rains in Himachal Pradesh should be called “a policy-induced disaster”, because of change in land use, urbanisation and highway building. In Moneycontrol, climate scientist Roxy Koll writes that “based on the current rates of sea level rise, Mumbai may not submerge by 2050”, but “compound floods” could submerge large parts of the city “at least for several days in the near future” and Mumbaikars “can expect frequent and intense storm surges”. He adds that the “city’s future, prosperity, and even survival depend on its ability to adapt and rise above the rising seas”.

Grant Shapps, currently the UK’s minister for energy security and net-zero, is tipped to be named as defence secretary, reports the Financial Times. With Ben Wallace stepping down, Shapps is a “surprise frontrunner”, the newspaper says, but government insiders noted that it was not yet certain that he would be appointed. Other potential candidates include Rishi Sunak ally John Glen, the chief secretary to the Treasury who represents a military seat, and Jeremy Quin, the Cabinet Office minister who previously served as defence procurement minister, James Heappey, the armed forces minister, Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a Foreign Office minister, states the FT. Shapps was seen entering Number 10 just before 9am this morning, reports Sky News, “giving a wave to the gathered journalists as he entered”. If appointed, it would mark a “big promotion” for the long-time ally of Rishi Sunak, the article adds.

With UK foreign secretary James Cleverly currently on a visit to China, an editorial in the Independent says he “must play to win”, because “the stark truth is that the west cannot have both China and Russia as enemies simultaneously”. The article continues: “The chances that the UK will succeed in winning every argument with China are zero, but relations do need to be stabilised for the sake of world peace, and of maintaining Chinese adherence to climate-change targets.” In the Guardian, a similar editorial discusses how Britain is “muddling along” in its dealings with Beijing. “As the foreign secretary pointed out in a speech this spring, ‘no significant global problem – from climate change to pandemic prevention, from economic instability to nuclear proliferation – can be solved without China’. Yet he also clearly identified Beijing’s ‘ruthless authoritarian tradition’ and warned that ‘repression at home often translates into aggression abroad’,” the article says.

Ahead of the Africa climate summit in Nairobi next week, those in the global north should remember that “inaction will cost them more in the end than an immediate concerted effort”, writes deputy chair of global human rights organisation The Elders Graça Machel in the Guardian. The summit offers “a major opportunity to push links between clean energy and development across the continent, and to mobilise support for international investment in Africa”, she states. Adaptation investments are essential to keep the global economy afloat, and if rich nations fail to invest in poorer countries this will impact growth and supply chains, stability and security as “in a globalised economy, no one escapes when extreme weather hits”, Machel continues. Africa needs an estimated £460bn ($579.2bn) in adaptation finance over 2020-30, but currently adaptation flows to the continent are five-to-10 times below this, she writes, concluding: “[The Africa summit] must be a moment of profound solidarity, meaningful action and shared commitment to a cleaner, greener and more just and prosperous world for all.”

The “chasm between net-zero ambition and reality is growing larger”, writes Jeremy Warner, assistant editor of the Daily Telegraph, as he claims the cost of wind power proves that the “sums don’t add up”. He acknowledges that the price of offshore wind has fallen by around two-thirds, from £100 per megawatt hour to less than £40, but adds that technology prices have increased again since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Warner highlights concerns around grid connection, that the wind does not always blow, and argues that battery energy storage solutions being used to meet the demands of intermittent generation “stretches credulity”.

Elsewhere, journalist Leo McKinstry argues in the Sun that the Tories “cannot be complacent”, but must take advantage of the “outrage” created by the expansion of London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez). He states: “Eco warrior and virtue signaller Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, had decided to open up a new front in the war on the car.” [Ulez is a public health measure to curb air pollution, brought in under Boris Johnson.] In the Guardian, associate editor and columnist Martin Kettle writes that Ulez reveals a systemic problem with how the UK government works “or rather, doesn’t”. He says: “Most people want cleaner air and a better NHS, but partisan politics gets in the way. To bridge the gap, we need citizens’ assemblies.”

Human-caused warming has increased occurrences of “extreme daily wildfire growth” in California by an average of 25%, a new study finds. Looking at historical fires between 2003 and 2020, the researchers used machine learning to examine the link between environmental conditions and wildfires in which more than 10,000 acres burned in a single day. The results suggest the risk posed by warming varies across individual fires, primarily driven by fuel moisture. Even under a low emissions scenario (SSP1-2.6), the paper suggests instances of extreme daily wildfire growth could increase by 59% by the end of the century.

The negative indirect impacts of tropical cyclones, river floods and heat stress on global consumption are higher when a country’s economy is under stress, according to new research. Modelling climate impacts during Covid-19, when lockdowns caused local economic losses and the disruption of international supply chains, the researchers found that consumption losses due to climate extremes doubled in the US and tripled in China. The researchers say the results “emphasise the amplifying role of the interaction between climate change and its socioeconomic backdrop”.

A new study suggests that marine heatwaves have a negative effect on some fish populations, but not others. The researchers examined survey data during 248 marine heatwaves from the subtropics to the Arctic and although they found pronounced changes in some cases, such as off the US west coast during 2014-16, this was not a general effect. The authors note that their results indicate that the regional impacts of marine heatwaves on fish are “highly idiosyncratic” adding that “less predictable changes in species identity and underlying community structure could also emerge despite consistent biomass”.