US climate envoy John Kerry has warned that global warming is making the world a more dangerous place and poses risks to peace and security, the New York Times reports. He told a a session of the UN security council that failing to act on climate change is “marching forward to what is almost tantamount to a mutual suicide pact”, the newspaper reports. The piece adds that prior to this, under the presidency of Donald Trump, the US had “sought to block even general mentions of climate science in UN proceedings” and Kerry noted the “inexcusable absence” of his nation’s leadership on climate in the previous four years. The newspaper notes that the remarks come amid a dispute over whether climate should be discussed by the UN body designed to address war and peace, with major emitters Russia, India and China arguing that climate change could be addressed in other ways.

The 15-member council on climate-related risks to international peace and security, which was chaired by UK prime minister Boris Johnson, was also addressed by David Attenborough, Reuters reports. According to the newswire, the naturalist and broadcaster said: “If we continue on our current path, we will face the collapse of everything that gives us our security: food production, access to fresh water, habitable ambient temperature and ocean food chains”. The Independent, which also leads on Attenborough’s appearance, notes Johnson also added his voice of support to this message, stating it was “absolutely clear that climate change is a threat to our collective security”. It adds that “how climate change could be contributing to human conflict is still an active area of research among scientists”, noting the most recent evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Press Association notes this was the security council’s “first leader-level discussion…on climate”. The i newspaper reports that Johnson stated developing countries would need more support to cope with the “effects of climate change already baked in to the system”. BusinessGreen quotes the UK prime minister noting there are people who will say “this is all kind of green stuff from a bunch of tree-hugging tofu-munchers and not suited to international diplomacy and international politics…I couldn’t disagree more profoundly”. Meanwhile, Politico has a piece headlined, “UN security council hears of climate threat, does nothing”, in which it says Russia’s stance, as a permanent member with the power of veto, “left the security council’s UK presidency stabbing at a broken panic button”. While other council leaders “conjured up a future of regional collapse and millions of climate refugees looking for safe harbour”, Politico says that, unless Russia yields, the security council can do nothing.

Separately, the Guardian has a piece concerning more remarks by Kerry, this time about the relationship between the US and Australia on climate change. It says that in an event last weekend marking his country’s return to the Paris Agreement, the US climate envoy said “Australia has had some differences with us, we’ve not been able to get on the same page completely”, referencing the last COP25 climate summit in Madrid where Australia was accused by some countries of blocking progress.

Finally, in another Guardian article, former prime minister David Cameron tells the newspaper Johnson must be “muscular” in reshaping the economy to bring about a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Cameron notes that that even Conservative leaders could overrule the free market when they wanted to, according to the Guardian.

Deb Haaland, the first Native American ever picked for a US cabinet post, has pledged to oversee the country’s vast public lands and waters in line with president Joe Biden’s climate priorities, according to Reuters. At a “contentious confirmation hearing that reflected deep divisions over some of Biden’s climate-focused executive orders”, Haaland was “grilled by Republican senators who want an interior secretary more welcoming of oil and gas drilling on federal lands”, the newswire reports. According to Bloomberg, the interior nominee “downplayed her past opposition to fracking” during the confirmation hearing as she “sought to reassure senators worried she would clamp down on fossil fuel development”. She told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee vetting her nomination that the switch to clean energy in the US would not take place overnight and fossil fuels would continue to be important for years to come. She also said the federal government should continue permitting oil wells, pipelines and coal mines, it notes. According to Bloomberg, Republicans also took issue with her support for Dakota Access oil pipeline protesters and endorsement of the green new deal. The Hill notes another contentious moment came when Haaland was challenged about a past tweet in which she said Republicans “don’t believe in science”. The New York Times notes that Haaland emphasised it is “president Biden’s agenda, not my own agenda, that I would be moving forward”. The newspaper states she “could win the votes of some Republicans”, noting positive comments from Alaskan Republican Lisa Murkowski.

Separately, Bloomberg has an interview with the first-ever White House national climate advisor, Gina McCarthy, who led the Environmental Protection Agency under president Barack Obama. McCarthy discusses the development of a new US nationally determined contribution for 2030 under the Paris Agreement and emphasises the importance of “sending strong signals to our economy”.

Meanwhile, Biden and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau have had their first-ever bilateral meeting, in which they discussed plans for addressing climate change, according to Reuters. Referencing former president Donald Trump’s inaction on climate change, Trudeau told Biden “Thank you, again, for stepping up in such a big way on tackling climate change. US leadership has been sorely missed over the past years”, the newswire reports.

Finally, following the winter storm and resulting blackouts that struck Texas last week, the Financial Times reports that the directors of Texas grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas have resigned. A piece in the Guardian says that last week’s events have been “used to stoke what is becoming a growing front in America’s culture wars – renewable energy”. It notes that conservatives inaccurately “blamed the state’s power fiasco on solar and wind even though they account for a fraction of supply”. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has published the latest in a string of editorials seeking to blame “unreliable renewable energy” for grid vulnerability. For more on this topic, see Carbon Brief’s media reaction summary.

UK publications have reported on comments by Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency (EA), who, according to the Guardian, says climate change is already hitting “worst case scenario” levels that if left unchecked will lead to the collapse of ecosystems. The newspaper quotes Bevan stating more extreme weather and flooding indicated that politicians must take action to cut emissions and adapt to the “inevitable” impacts of climate change: ““If [this] sounds like science fiction let me tell you something you need to know. This is that over the last few years the reasonable worst case for several of the flood incidents the EA has responded to has actually happened, and it’s getting larger”. The Scotsman notes that the EA head compared climate change to an “unseen pandemic”, noting that if left unchecked it would kill more people, and do much more harm, than Covid-19.

The Daily Express also has the story and uses it to promote its recently launched “Green Britain” campaign. Separately, DeSmog UK reports that the Daily Express has removed an online article quoting a prominent climate science sceptic, after an energy company said it was reviewing whether to remove its advertising from the website. The article quoted “climate science denier” Naomi Seibt criticising the BBC’s decision to show campaigner Greta Thunberg’s new documentary and, in response Gary Jones, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, told DeSmog UK the story “fail[ed] to reflect our direction of travel in pursuing a greener, environmentally friendly agenda”.

Leading power companies in the UK have warned that the energy market faces “instability” unless the government provides clarity on the nation’s post-Brexit carbon-trading scheme, the Financial Times reports. The scheme officially came into force from 1 January (see Carbon Brief’s Q&A) and is designed to replace the EU version and cut emissions by setting a cap on the levels heavy polluters can produce forcing them to buy carbon credits to cover their output, the newspaper notes. However, it says industry and government are still in discussions about key aspects of the scheme, which has not yet started trading, leaving companies unclear about the cost of the emissions they are producing. While an auction is planned for the second quarter there is no date yet and it is still unclear whether the scheme will be linked to the EU’s, the newspaper adds, quoting Energy UK CEO Emma Pinchbeck, who says “I’m worried about the complete lack of a carbon price in the UK”.

Elsewhere, the Guardian reports on polling of 2,000 people carried out by Opinium for the Zero Carbon Campaign, which found two-thirds of people supported a carbon tax as a “fair way to raise money” and said the proceeds should be spent to benefit the country.

Caroline Lucas, the UK Green Party MP, writes for BusinessGreen stating that next week’s budget must provide clarity over the future of the green homes grant scheme, which, according to news reports, is set to be abandoned by the government. “In its inimitable style, this government has managed to make a complete mess of delivering the scheme. First it awarded the contract to an American company that seems to be thoroughly incompetent; then it strangled it in paperwork with conflicting and confusing information, and so many delays that householders simply give up; and now it’s dithering over whether the 95 per cent of the unspent funding will be withdrawn rather than rolled over to next year,” Lucas writes. She adds that “if this is how a flagship policy to tackle UK carbon emissions is managed, then we really are in trouble”, referring to the grant’s announcement as part of the UK’s “green recovery” from Covid-19 and then as part of the prime minister’s 10-point plan for tackling climate change. Lucas says the government’s claim there has been a lack of demand for the scheme is not true, quoting “Dan”, who set up his business to deliver eco-friendly insulation for households in Brighton. She concludes: “The indecision and mixed messaging about the green homes grant is a deeply worrying sign of the government’s lack of commitment to the scale of what’s required to tackle the climate emergency. There needs to be clarity and long-term commitment, and we need to hear it in next week’s budget”.

Ice loss in the Getz region of West Antarctica has accelerated by 24% between 1994 and 2018, according to new research. The study uses satellite observations and an ice sheet model to measure “the change in ice speed and mass balance” over the 25-year period. Since 1994, 315bn tonnes of ice has been lost in the region, contributing 0.9mm to global sea level rise, according to the study, and ice loss in three of the 14 glaciers tested has accelerated by more than 44%.

Climate change is causing an east-west divide in the seed production of North American trees, a new study finds. The researchers use a new statistical software to determine “fecundity” – the ability of the trees to regenerate after a dieback by dispersing seeds – in nearly 100,000 trees across North America. They find that the younger, smaller trees that make up much of North America’s eastern forests have increased their seed production due to climate change, but older, larger trees that dominate forests in much of the west have been less responsive.