The president of France’s far-right National Rally party and chair of the far-right Patriots for Europe grouping in the European Parliament, Jordan Bardella, is leading an effort to “tear down the European green deal”, reports Politico. He will send a letter to the president of the European People’s Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, asking to “join forces” to bring an end to the EU’s package of climate policies, the outlet explains. As well as the centre-right EPP, which is the party of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Bardella plans to contact leaders of the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations and right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists groupings asking them to collaborate on this mission, the article continues. The news website notes that Bardella’s move comes after various senior EPP representatives expressed their displeasure with aspects of the green deal in recent months. Euractiv says the French politician wants the EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 to be dropped altogether, while calling for other green deal “constraints” to be “reexamined”. It quotes Bardella, speaking to the press, citing the “incredibly attractive measures Donald Trump is putting in place for the [US] economy and firms” as a reason for the EU to drop its climate policies. The article notes that “lawmakers from centrist Renew to the far right” have expressed concerns that climate policies will “hamper growth”. According to Le Figaro, Bardella told journalists that European climate regulations were “excessive” and “punitive”, and that the ban on petrol and diesel cars was a “crazy decision”.

In other EU news, Bloomberg reports that the European Commission is “likely to postpone” the publication of a roadmap to phase out the last remaining fuels from Russia, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear fuels. An explainer in the Indian Express addresses the geopolitics of LNG, including the impact of Trump’s presidency in the US. Meanwhile, the EU and Moldova have worked out an emergency plan to help the pro-Russian Moldovan breakaway region of Transnistria, which has been “mired in an energy crisis” since a Russian gas transit agreement via Ukraine expired, another Bloomberg article explains. Yet another Bloomberg article covers analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which concludes that Italy’s push to build LNG terminals may leave it with stranded assets as domestic demand for gas drops.

Finally, the Financial Times reports that UK prime minister Keir Starmer is seeking to relink the UK and EU emission trading schemes as part of his “reset” of relations with Brussels, ahead of an important meeting next week. It cites consultancy Frontier Economics, which says the move “would deepen the liquidity of both markets and help both sides with the transition to net-zero”.

A new study finds that there will be an extra 2.3m temperature-related deaths in Europe’s main cities by 2099, without more action to curb climate change and adapt to its effects, according to New Scientist. It notes that across the whole of Europe, the increase in heat-related deaths will outweigh the decline in deaths from cold weather. However, in colder countries, such as the UK, the study concludes that temperature-related deaths are set to decline overall. The Financial Times points out that the 2.3m figure is from “the most extreme scenario” in the study, adding that those deaths could be reduced by at least two-thirds if preventive measures were taken. The newspaper notes that the projection covers 854 urban centres across 30 countries on the continent, and finds that temperature-related deaths occur mostly in southern European cities such as Athens, Madrid and Rome. It explains that city dwellers are more at risk because of the “urban heat island” effect, which means cities are typically hotter than rural areas. (See Carbon Brief coverage for more on heat islands.) Even in the most optimistic climate change scenarios there would be a net increase in temperature-related deaths in Europe as the world warms, according to the Associated Press. As it stands, “cold-related deaths in Europe outnumber heat-related ones by almost 10 to one”, the Times says. It notes that the new study contrasts with those who have “argued that the continent will benefit from global warming” due to the decline in cold-related deaths.

Meanwhile, BBC News reports that thousands of homes are still without power across Scotland, days after Storm Éowyn hit the region. The Independent says there is a similar situation in Ireland, which was also hit by the storm. The Scotsman reports that Scottish first minister John Swinney has described the task of reconnecting power in Scotland as a “colossal” task and stated that the impact is a “warning that climate change is with us”.

Elsewhere, CNN reports that “violent weather exacerbated by climate change” contributed to hunger and food insecurity across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023, according to a new report from several UN agencies, including the World Food Programme. The article notes that extreme weather drove up food prices in many regions, pointing to hot weather and drought raising the price of corn from Argentina to Mexico.

More than 1,000 participants are gathering at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this week to assess an African target to provide electricity to 300 million people by 2030, the Guardian Nigeria reports. The World Bank and the African Development Bank launched the initiative last year to tackle the electricity access gap across the continent, the article explains. It says African heads of state are expected to endorse the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration, which will outline “a unified roadmap for Africa’s progress towards the Mission 300 objectives”. African Business says those behind the initiative emphasise its focus on “concessional” finance, including “low cost loans and grants”,  rather than mobilised private finance. Andrew Herscowitz, chief executive of the Mission 300 technical assistance body, tells the news outlet that around half of the new connections delivered through the project will come from grid connections, while the remainder will be mini-grids or solar home systems. The New York Times explains that the World Bank, African Development Bank and others are pledging at least $35bn to the mission, with around half of this for solar systems for individual communities. “Loans will come at below-market interest rates, a crucial stipulation as global lenders usually charge much higher rates in Africa,” it adds. The newspaper points to “unusually strong statements of political will”, while noting that “many people, particularly in Africa’s beleaguered power sector, expressed deep scepticism”. Reuters cites the Rockefeller Foundation, which says  the initiative aims to “unlock” at least $90bn from multilateral development banks, development agencies, finance institutions, private businesses and philanthropies. An article in the Conversation notes that, about 600 million African people “still lack access to reliable and affordable energy”.

In other news, research by South African NGO SouthSouthNorth finds that wealthier parts of South Africa, such as Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, have “more advanced” plans in place to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts than less affluent regions, Context reports.

China’s “mostly coal-based thermal power generation is set to fall in 2025 for the first time in a decade…[though] extreme weather or stronger than expected industrial growth could upend that forecast”, Reuters cites analysts as saying. The newswire adds that “although [three] analysts from LSEG, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and a US bank forecast a plateau or decline in thermal power output this year, Rystad Energy expects 1-2% growth. The China Coal Industry Association also forecast a 4.5% increase, the article says, “highlighting the uncertainty in forecasting”. 

Meanwhile, economic news outlet Jiemian covers a new National Energy Administration announcement confirming that China’s total installed renewable energy capacity reached 1,889 gigawatts (GW), adding that renewable capacity now accounts for around 56% of total capacity. BJX News republishes a WeChat blog post analysing the China Electricity Council’s outlook for the power sector (see yesterday’s Daily Briefing), which argues that a “more aggressive wave of coal power infrastructure construction is on its way”, although it adds that coal’s share of total capacity is expected to drop to one-third by 2026. The Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily reports that “new energy”-related metal industries, such as silicon and lithium, grew at significantly higher rates than other non-ferrous metals in 2024. State-run newspaper China Daily says that China has made “consistent progress” on environmental protection in 2024 with “roughly 2m rural households in northern China [saying] farewell to coal as a heating source”, and around 80% of “crude steel production capacity [undergoing]…ultra-low emission transformations or targeted upgrades”.

In other news, the number of contracts China signed on overseas projects in 2024 that focused on “eco-protection and clean energy initiatives” rose in value by 12.7% year-on-year, marking a “notable increase in international green infrastructure collaboration”, the Global Times reports. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) covers new research by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, which finds Chinese power companies installed 24 gigawatts (GW) worth of projects in more than 150 other countries in 2024, with 48% of the projects being “fired by coal, natural gas and oil”. Business news outlet Caixin reports the US is still the “largest overseas market for China’s lithium-ion batteries”, accounting for 25% of exports. The Guardian says foreign minister Wang Yi will visit the UK next month, with a visit to Beijing being planned for UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds. (It does not mention the status of Ed Miliband’s visit.) Tesla has joined BMW and Chinese automakers in suing the EU over Chinese electric vehicle (EV) tariffs, the Financial Times reports. 

Finally, the latest New York Times column by Thomas Friedman cites Carbon Brief analysis from last year that shows “China made a huge surge in clean-energy investment in 2023”.

UK energy security and net-zero secretary Ed Miliband has told MPs that any expansion of airport capacity must take place within the UK’s carbon budgets, Sky News reports. Appearing in front of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), Miliband said that any expansion “must be justified within carbon budgets, and if it can’t be justified, it won’t go ahead”. The article states that this “put him at odds” with chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is expected to announce government support for the expansion of Heathrow and other airports this week, and who has “been emphasising that growth is the UK’s number one priority”. (As Carbon Brief’s Josh Gabbatiss notes on Bluesky, Miliband also said “we have a range of mechanisms to make sure any aviation expansion is consistent with our carbon budgets”. He listed technologies such as “sustainable aviation fuels” that he said could curb aviation emissions, mirroring language from the chancellor.) Barry Gardiner, who sits on the EAC, told BBC News that there was a limit to what technology could achieve in decarbonising aviation, and that climate experts “had concluded there was no way to reach net-zero without limiting the aviation sector”. MailOnline reports that Miliband downplayed any tensions with Reeves, describing her as “one of the biggest supporters of the clean energy mission and net-zero”. The Daily Express also stressed a perceived “rift” in the Labour cabinet, particularly between Miliband and Reeves, over the issue. Reeves has told the parliamentary Labour Party that it is time to stop rejecting big housing and infrastructure projects, the Daily Telegraph reports. In related news, BusinessGreen reports that the government has “unveiled its latest wave of planning reforms”, including guidance to “accelerate approvals for housing and clean energy infrastructure” – and potentially “high carbon infrastructure”, such as airports, as well.

In an article about the “sky high challenges” facing the proposed new runway at Heathrow, the Financial Times says “some experts believe the challenges…are so significant that the project will never get off the ground”, noting that the government has previously said it must align with the UK’s climate targets. In its coverage of the airport expansion debate, the Times reports on Carbon Brief’s new analysis showing that more than 300,000 hectares of trees would need to be planted to remove excess emissions from the expected additional flights. Neil Sorahan, Ryanair’s chief financial officer, has said that the UK government should scrap a planned increase in airline passenger tax rather than backing a new Heathrow runway, if it wants to promote economic growth, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports on new analysis by Cornwall Insight that concludes the UK government is on course to fall “far short” of its targets for developing new solar and wind power, and decarbonise Britain’s electricity system by 2030. Despite efforts to remove barriers to construction, the consultancy says it expected a shortfall of 32 gigawatt (GW) shortfall in wind and solar by 2030, the article notes. In response, the Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero told the newspaper that it did “not recognise” the forecasts, pointing to analysis by energy system operator NESO that showed “clean power by 2030 is achievable”. According to the Daily Telegraph, Cornwall Insight pointed to grid connection delays, supply chain constraints and “uncertainty surrounding electricity market reforms” as key challenges. Miliband told the EAC he did not recognise the analysis, but acknowledged that the 2030 target is “challenging”, according to the Press Association. In more reporting from Miliband’s EAC committee hearing, Politics.co.uk reports that the energy secretary said the UK should “speed up, not slow down” in the drive to net-zero, noting the “siren voices in the UK who are saying we should step back from this agenda”. The Times has a piece titled “is Britain finally on the road to zero emissions?”, which is based around anticipating the latest round of monthly car sales statistics, due out tomorrow. It says “never before have the monthly new car sales statistics been so closely watched by manufacturers, dealers, consumers, environmentalists and ministers”, as they look to see whether the transition to electric cars is taking place.

A man charged with conspiring to steal information from climate advocates has alleged that oil giant ExxonMobil and the lobbying firm DCI Group were involved with the hacking campaign, E&E News reports. “Neither company has been accused of wrongdoing by US authorities, and both have said they were not involved in the alleged hacking scheme,” the article notes. Hacking attempts aimed at climate activists “began soon after a pair of investigative news reports in 2015 revealed that Exxon privately knew about climate change in the 1970s but publicly denied the scientific consensus for decades”, according to the article. The article also notes that documents previously stolen by hackers “were cited by Exxon in court as the company battled an array of climate lawsuits that cities, counties and states filed against the oil and gas industry”. DeSmog reports that lawyers defending private eye Amit Forlit are arguing that he should not be extradited to the US “on the grounds that the charges against him are politically motivated”, in a wider “legal pursuit of ExxonMobil”.

Amid the on-going debate about new runways at Heathrow and other UK airports, the Guardian has an editorial focusing on the UK government’s rhetoric about infrastructure and growth, and what it means for climate plans. The article says prime minister Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves have adopted policies “few rightwingers would contest”, such as curbing the ability to legally challenge planning decisions. It also questions Reeves’ recent comments about growth “trumping” climate policies. The editorial says: “Yet globally, long-term growth is impossible without tackling the climate crisis, and for the UK, net-zero offers a powerful driver of growth in the short and medium term.” It adds that expanding aviation capacity “undermines the UK’s climate goals unless the sector’s emissions are curbed”. The article concludes by stating: “Leadership means setting a vision and bringing the public along, even when it challenges vested interests. Labour’s approach sacrifices bold action for short-term appeasement of business.”

A Daily Mail editorial criticises energy secretary Ed Miliband for “insist[ing] that any airport expansion would need to be “justified by reference to carbon budgets”, and says “we hope Keir Starmer will not allow one minister’s obsessions to get in the way of vital infrastructure projects”. [The UK’s carbon budgets are legally binding.] Meanwhile, an editorial in the Sun about the UK not providing enough money for defence says “it is a choice to spend £14bn on foreign aid instead, or hand Ed Miliband billions for net-zero follies”. A sketch by commentator Tim Stanley in the Daily Telegraph describes Miliband as going on a “Brazilian beach holiday”, in reference to this year’s COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil. [Miliband will likely lead the UK delegation at this international event, as part of his official duties.] The article attempts to make a link between Miliband’s supposed lack of support for new airport runways and his duty to visit other countries. Stanley suggests that new airport runaways will be “for the exclusive use of environmental delegations”.

Some 2.3 million Europeans could die from extreme heat by the end of the century if little is done to address or adapt to climate change, new research says. The study examines how climate change could affect future heat-related and cold-related deaths in 854 European urban areas, under several climate, demographic and adaptation scenarios. It finds that, under a worst case scenario of little climate action or adaptation, the number of heat-related deaths could reach 2.3 million by 2099. The study also shows that, with no adaptation to heat, the expected increase in heat-related deaths consistently exceeds any decrease in cold-related deaths across all considered scenarios in Europe.