The second round of COP16 UN biodiversity talks are resuming today in Rome, the Associated Press reports. The newswire says that “significant outcomes” were reached at the initial COP16 summit in November, held in Colombia, but says that delegates ran out of time. The outlet says that “money is top of the agenda” for the Rome talks. The Guardian reports on “concerns that countries will not turn up for the meeting”. It says: “Only a few ministers are expected to attend, including representatives from Canada, Madagascar, France and Germany. The UK is not sending a minister, and is considering not sending its nature envoy, but a government official claimed it would ‘be there with a real kind of leadership hat on, as always’…A lack of confirmed attenders in the months leading up to the conference has raised concerns about whether the meeting would reach the necessary quorum – of about two-thirds of countries attending – to make any of its decisions valid…Sources suggest that more than 150 countries out of 196 have now registered their intention to attend.” The newspaper adds that “several commentators say the lack of progress on finance is damaging overall trust in the negotiations”. Politico reports that delegates at the three-day meeting “will first have to restore trust in multilateralism at a moment when global diplomatic tensions are at fever pitch”. Devex reports that there will be less “pomp and circumstance” than in Colombia, but says “the discussions will be far more concentrated and experts say they are feeling hopeful about the outcomes”. The Post Courier and Down to Earth also cover the meeting. 

The 62nd session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened on Monday in Hangzhou, China, Science and Technology Daily reports. It quotes Chen Zhenlin, director of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) and chief representative of China to the IPCC, saying at the meeting that China plays an “active role” in promoting “green and low-carbon transformation”. The science news outlet also quotes Chinese climate envoy Liu Zhenmin saying that the IPCC plays an “important role in the global climate governance process” as an essential “scientific foundation”. Shanghai-based news outlet the Paper also covers the meeting, quoting an unnamed expert who has contributed to multiple IPCC reports saying that the Trump administration’s “obstacles to American scientists attending the conference will inevitably…affect scientific policy development”. The Paper also reposts an article by the CMA’s official news outlet saying China’s involvement with the IPCC displays the country’s “deep involvement in global climate governance”.

Meanwhile, industry news outlet BJX News reports China has called for installed capacity of “marine energy” in China to reach 400 megawatts (MW) by 2030, including 100MW of tidal energy. State news agency Xinhua reports that China saw “significant growth” in “marine development projects”, such as offshore wind, oil and gas and projects. BJX News says “capacity clearing” has become a “major obstacle” for China’s solar sector, with “key” solutions including “cost reduction, efficiency improvement and technological innovation”. Business news outlet Caixin says that, following “significant changes” to China’s charity rules, more than 30 public welfare projects in areas including environmental protection have had to suspend public fundraising.

Elsewhere, Xinhua quotes Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian saying the US pledge to restrict Chinese inbound investment in areas such as energy will “end up hurting its own economic interests and international credibility”. Separately, Spain called on the EU to “craft its own China policy and not ape the Trump administration’s confrontational stance”, according to the Financial Times, which adds that Madrid was “delighted” by two Chinese investments in lithium battery production. Bloomberg reports that Vietnam, the biggest single buyer of Chinese steel outside China, has also imposed anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese steel imports, adding “pressure on Beijing to rein in its billion-ton steel industry”. Nigeria-based outlet the Nation reports that Nigeria and China have signed a €7.6bn (£6.3bn) “green hydrogen energy deal”.

Europe’s electric vehicle sales rose by 37% last month, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Bloomberg reports. The outlet reports that “EV deliveries surged in markets including Germany, the UK and Italy”. However, it notes that total vehicle sales declined by 2.1% due to falling demand for plug-in hybrid, petrol and diesel vehicles. Reuters says that registrations of battery electric and hybrid electric cars grew by 34% and 18.4% respectively. It continues: “EU carmakers, which are struggling to compete with Chinese rivals and bracing for US tariffs, are urging the Commission to grant relief from potential fines resulting from CO2 car emission targets that came into effect in January. Some automakers have increased the prices of petrol engine models to encourage EV adoption, but the industry fears that customers will simply buy fewer cars.” Bloomberg reports that France wants the EU to allow its carmakers more flexibility with emissions targets this year, “amid concerns that they could face fines for missing the goal”. 

In other European news, Politico reports that the European Commission is set to publish its “long-awaited revision of the bloc’s climate legislation to set a new emissions-reduction goal for 2040” on Wednesday. Separately, E&E News reports that one of the first major pieces of legislation from the new European Commission will “propose deep cuts to the European Union’s [corporate] environmental reporting rule book in its bid to slash red tape and boost the bloc’s struggling economy”. Under the proposed changes, it says that “a large cohort of businesses could be exempt from complying with corporate sustainability reporting rules, bringing only the largest companies under the regulations, the leaked document shows”. BusinessGreen and Forbes also cover the news. Elsewhere, EuroNews covers new data from Eurostat, showing that greenhouse gas emissions in the EU decreased by 0.6% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024. It says: “Emissions went down in 16 out of 27 member states, most notably in Austria (-7.8%), Hungary (-3.3%) and Denmark (-2.8%).”

A Guardian analysis of the result of the German federal election says it is “further evidence that [the] political conversation around the climate crisis has shifted”. The piece notes that centre-right and far-right politicians “accused the Greens of turning Germany into an ‘eco-dictatorship’ for policies that limit the burning of fossil fuels or require the public to change their behaviour”. Der Spiegel explains that the German Green Party would only have had a chance to join a new government if another party – BSW – had overcome the 5% threshold to secure seats in the Bundestag, instead of falling just short with 4.97%. This result “seemed almost deliberately cruel”, the article says. ZDF reports that Robert Habeck, Green candidate for chancellor, stated that the result of the election “is not good” as his party dropped to 11.6%, down from 14.7% in the previous election. Habeck also announced that “he will no longer claim or seek a leading role in the Green Party’s personnel line-ups”, adds the outlet. However, he was re-elected to the German federal parliament and left open the question of whether he would take up his mandate. The party plans to restructure its committees in the coming days, including electing the executive board of the parliamentary group on Wednesday, explains the outlet. Politico also covers a story. 

Meanwhile, the Associated Press covers the results under the headline: “Germany will likely continue its leadership on climate action. But expect a change in tone.” It says that both election winner Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats – “the only realistic pairing to form the new government coalition” – have previously committed to climate goals such as reducing emissions to 65% below 1990 levels by 2030 and reaching climate neutrality by 2045. According to the newspaper, experts say that the new leadership will “stay on course”, not “in the name of climate”, but “for prosperity, innovation and competitiveness”. Finally, Politico Merz “has vowed to ease the taboo on atomic power”, adding that this shift “can help ease the EU’s never-ending nuclear spat” between pro-nuclear France and previously anti-nuclear Germany.

BP’s chief executive will announce a “strategy shift” on Wednesday, involving scrapping the company’s target to increase renewable generation 20-fold by 2030, Reuters reports. The change in strategy aims to “tackle investor concerns over earnings”, according to two sources who declined to be named. It continues: “The sources said BP will also ditch a target to reach core earnings of $49bn this year and instead set an annual percentage growth target, the sources said.” The Guardian reports that BP will make the announcement at an investor day in London on Wednesday. It continues: “BP’s shares have fared worse than rivals in recent years and investors have become concerned about the 120-year-old company’s direction. The stock has lost almost a quarter of its market value in the past two years.” The Daily Telegraph reports that BP “is expected to refocus on its lucrative fossil fuels business as it turns away from green energy”. The outlet says that Murray Auchincloss, the BP chief executive, “has been slowly dismantling his predecessor’s plans under pressure from investors”. It continues: “He has halted all investment in renewable energy and has already said BP will sell off 10 of its US onshore wind farms and spin off its offshore wind farms into a separate joint venture. It had also scaled back a previous target to cut oil and gas output.” The Financial Times also covers the news. 

BBC News covers a lawsuit filed by Texas-based company Energy Transfer, alleging that protests by Greenpeace in 2016-17 delayed their Dakota Access Pipeline. The trial in the “conservative” state of North Dakota is expected to last five weeks, and began with jury selection yesterday, according to the broadcaster. It continues: “Protests against the pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation drew thousands, but Greenpeace says it did not lead them and the lawsuit threatens free speech…Greenpeace says it could be forced into bankruptcy if it is ordered to pay the approximate $300m (£237m) in claimed damages.” The broadcaster notes that at its peak, there were more than 10,000 protestors on site, “including more than 200 separate Native American tribes, hundreds of US military veterans, actors and political leaders – including the current health secretary, Robert F Kennedy, Jr”. The Associated Press reports that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe “has long argued that the pipeline threatens its water supply”. It adds that the pipeline was completed and has been transporting oil since June 2017. The New York Times reports that the activists “say the lawsuit is a thinly veiled tactic to suppress free speech and set a chilling precedent for protest groups, and that Greenpeace played only a supporting role in demonstrations that were led by Native Americans”. According to the newspaper, Energy Transfer filed a lawsuit in federal court in 2017, but it was dismissed by the judge. It continues: “The latest version of the lawsuit accuses the defendants of trespass, defamation, conspiracy and tortious interference with business. It says that Greenpeace spread misinformation that incited the protests and severely damaged its ability to run its business.” The Washington Post reports that “if Energy Transfer wins, experts said it could bankrupt Greenpeace and embolden other fossil fuel companies to file similar lawsuits”. NPR also covers the news. 

A new study finds that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including “the fighting and its consequences”, have led to 55m tonnes of emissions in the past 12 months, the Guardian reports. According to the newspaper, the “unprecedented” burning of Ukraine’s forests “has helped push the total greenhouse emissions from the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion to almost 230m tonnes”. EuroNews reports that forest fires “have contributed to a 31% rise in emissions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the last 12 months”. It continues: “This unique methodology from the Initiative on GHG Accounting of War is endorsed by the Ukrainian government and aims to hold Russia liable for these emissions and the resulting climate-related damage. The study is co-authored by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) member Svitlana Krakovska, who is set to deliver the findings in a speech…at the 62nd session of the IPCC in Hangzhou, China.”

Farmers and environmental groups are suing the US agriculture department over its decision to remove references to climate change from its website, the New York Times reports. According to the newspaper, the agriculture department ordered staff to take down webpages on climate change on 30 January, including “data sets, interactive tools and funding information that farmers and researchers relied on for planning and adaptation projects”. Bloomberg reports that the lawsuit alleges that the move “violated the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Freedom of Information Act”. It adds that the lawsuit is being brought by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group. Elsewhere, the Guardian reports that environment justice advocates are “alarmed by the disappearance of federal environmental and climate data tools – some of which have been used to identify pollution concerns about Elon Musk’s companies”. Reuters reports: “President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the second-in-charge at the US Environmental Protection Agency earned at least $3.2m in legal fees over the last year representing clients including Chevron, Ford and the US Chamber of Commerce.” The Guardian says oil and gas interests in the US “have waged a coordinated campaign to kill pro-electrification policies that ban gas connections in new buildings”, according to a report. 

Energy regulator Ofgem is set to lift the household energy price cap by 6.4% from 1 April, the Financial Times reports, following “an increase in wholesale costs”. The newspaper continues: “The regulator on Tuesday set the price cap at a level for the period between April and June that would see a typical household pay £1,849 a year, up from £1,738 now. The rise marks the third straight quarterly increase in the cap, adding to the pressure on households grappling with the cost of living.” The Guardian reports that “the cost of the global energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will reach £3,000 for the average British household by the summer” after the April increase, according to new analysis. The newspaper says that the average annual energy bill under the latest energy price cap is expected to be £750 higher than in the winter of 2020-21. Reuters calls the move “a blow for the government, which has made reducing energy bills one of its aims”. The Daily Telegraph, BBC News and Bloomberg also cover the news. 

In other UK news, the Guardian reports that the Sellafield nuclear site, which was last week awarded £2.8bn for the next financial year to continue decommissioning, has said the funding is “not enough”. BBC News notes that more than 10,000 people work at Sellafield. Elsewhere, the Times reports that “more than 80% of all commercial properties in England will effectively be rendered unlettable from 2030 without substantial investment, with landlords warning that the government’s sustainability targets for the industry are ‘unrealistic’.”The Daily Telegraph says that “ministers have insisted that BMW is still committed to Britain” despite a decision to delay a £600m upgrade of its Mini factory in Oxford to restart production of electric minis from 2026. BBC News also covers the story. 

In a comment for the Times, chief business commentator Alistair Osborne asks “what exactly is the point” of Great British Energy?” He notes that GB Energy “is yet to publish a business plan” and says that “many of its aims seem to be in conflict”. He concludes: “Sure, despite the Trump-inspired green energy backlash, Britain must attract tens of billions of investment in clean power. And GB Energy reckons it will be more effective than a government department at levering it in. It’d also say that state-backed energy companies are nothing new: France’s EDF, say, or Norway’s Equinor. Yet, if we give the private sector what it wants – faster planning, stable politics, predictable regulation and returns – won’t it build anyway? When money is tight, a new corporate toy overseen by Miliband does look a bit of a luxury.”

In other UK comment, a Daily Telegraph editorial on Germany’s election claims that “Germans have voted for…an end to the break-neck drive towards net-zero”, despite the fact that chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz backs the country’s existing climate goals for a 65% cut in emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2045. Meanwhile, the newspaper continues to publish a slew of commentary opposing climate action, including associate editor Ben Marlow claiming that BMW’s decision to pause investment in its Mini plant in Oxford is due to “unachievable electric car quotas”, rather than a a 17% decline in sales last year even as electric Mini sales rose 24%. Further climate-sceptic commentary in the newspaper comes from economist Roger Bootle and Daily Telegraph financial columnist Matthew Lynn.

Climate change could lead to the creation of new carbon sinks in some ice-free areas of Antarctica, new research finds. The research combines soil field data, machine learning and projections of future climate change scenarios to examine how warming could affect soil carbon storage at the southern pole. It finds that “the effects of climate change, primarily changes in temperature and precipitation” could cause soil carbon in ice-free areas of Maritime and Peninsular Antarctica to increase, creating new carbon sinks.