EU member states have approved a “landmark law” requiring all new cars sold in the bloc to be zero-emissions from 2035, BBC News reports. It says the deal was “delayed for weeks after Germany called for an exemption for cars running on e-fuels”. It adds: “The new law had been expected to make it impossible to sell internal combustion engine cars in the EU from 2035. However, the exemption won by Germany will now help those with traditional vehicles – even though e-fuels are not yet produced at scale.” Reuters reports that the approval of the law, which will now enter into force, means all new cars will have to be zero-emissions from 2035 and 55% lower carbon dioxide emissions from 2030, relative to 2021 levels. EurActiv says the deal finalises “one of the most controversial elements of the EU’s Green Deal”. It adds: “The vote ensures that currently dominant combustion engine technology will be replaced mainly with electric vehicles in the coming decades, slashing the carbon footprint of Europe’s roads.” Politico also has the story, noting that the exemption for e-fuels “will still have to be approved by the EU institutions”. It adds: “In addition to setting the 2035 clean car target, the legislation raises the interim 2030 emissions reduction target, which will force automakers to ramp up the sale of electric vehicles over the coming few years.”

Politico calls the e-fuels carve-out a “pyrrhic victory in the war to save the car engine”. It says there are doubts over the separate legislation needed to deliver the exemption. Reuters says the deal “throws ignition cars a thin lifeline”. It reports: “Cost and energy scarcity suggest e-fuels may be best used in sectors that are harder to convert to electric engines, like trucks, shipping or planes. They may also have a small role in passenger cars.” Pointing to luxury brands Ferrari and Porsche, it says “affluent clients will be able to afford the higher cost”, adding: “For mass-market brands, electric cars will likely remain the cheapest option.”

In the UK, however, a frontpage splash for the Daily Telegraph runs with the print headline: “Petrol car ban in chaos after EU climbdown.” The article says: “A looming British ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars was thrown into chaos on Tuesday after Brussels watered down its own restrictions amid opposition from the German auto industry. Experts and politicians warned that British rules due to take effect in 2030 are untenable following the European climbdown, which will allow internal combustion engines as long as they burn carbon-neutral petrol alternatives.” The paper adds: “Sources suggested that Whitehall was considering following the [European] Commission’s lead by also allowing an e-fuel exemption.” The article, saying “critics of the government’s net-zero plans seized on the European Union’s decision as evidence that a total policy rethink is needed”, quotes a number of Eurosceptic and climate sceptic Conservative MPs, who say the UK should follow the EU’s lead, including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, Philip Davies of the niche Tory “net-zero scrutiny group” and former cabinet minister John Redwood.

The UK government has “angered car manufacturers and environmentalists by warning it may delay an announcement to boost electric vehicle (EV) sales on its ‘green day’ this week”, the Times reports. It continues: “The Times understands that there will be about 60 government energy and net-zero measures on ‘green day’, but the Department for Business and Trade told car manufacturers that the electric car policy was not likely to be one of them. Officials said it did not fit with the messaging of what some in government are now calling ‘energy security day’.” (A comment for BusinessGreen by Lynsey Jones of the Conservative Environment Network says “[s]upport for sustainable aviation fuels, planning reform, and more detail about the UK’s ZEV [zero-emissions vehicle] mandate are key to propelling the UK closer to net-zero”.) A second article in the Times says the UK will consult on introducing “carbon border taxes”, as part of a “package of proposals” due to be announced tomorrow. The paper says this would “mirror a similar plan being implemented by the European Union”. It adds that tomorrow’s package on what is to be called “energy security day”, will include plans for “middle-income families [to] be given grants to make their homes more energy efficient under updated government plans to hit net-zero by 2050”. Other measures expected to be announced tomorrow, according to the Times, include: “Plans to rebalance government levies on energy bills to bring down the cost of electricity and raise the price of gas” and “plans to accelerate the upgrade of the UK’s electricity grid so it can keep pace with higher demand and supply as more renewable power comes on stream.” It adds: “The government is also expected to pick about half a dozen projects that will be awarded funding to capture carbon emissions from factories or power plants as part of a £20bn package announced in the budget.” The Daily Mail reports: “Ministers will this week announce a push to speed up the building of nuclear power stations in a bid to drive down household energy bills. Energy secretary Grant Shapps is set to launch an international contest to build the world’s first ‘mini-nukes’ in the UK as part of his ‘Powering Up Britain’ plan – to be launched on Thursday.” The Financial Times says tomorrow’s package will include “a report recommending state subsidies for the production of low-carbon aeroplane fuel made from household waste”. It says: “The Department for Transport will release the report as part of a wider package of proposed policies but ministers are still haggling with the Treasury over the scale of the subsidies, according to people close to the matter.” The paper says: “Ministers have drawn up plans to fund a new nuclear body called Great British Nuclear; ease onshore wind development; and tweak the windfall tax on oil and gas companies, according to officials.” It adds: “Ed Miliband, shadow energy secretary, said in a speech on Tuesday that the government was not doing enough to compete with the US’s recent ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ which will channel hundreds of billions of dollars into America’s green industries.” City AM says Miliband “criticised the prospect of a new mega gas and oil field being approved in the North Sea, and reaffirmed Labour’s position of no new fossil fuel projects if the party wins the next election as he launched the party’s £28bn ‘Green Prosperity’ plan in London”. Reuters says Labour “would bring in its own version of Washington’s $369bn Inflation Reduction Act of green subsidies to spur jobs and make the future ‘made in Britain’ if it came to power, its environment policy chief said on Tuesday”.

Meanwhile, the Guardian says “more than 700 scientists” have signed a letter that “urged the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to halt the licensing of new oil and gas developments in the UK, ahead of his anticipated launch of a revised net-zero and energy security strategy on Thursday”. The Press Association says approving new oil and gas development “would undermine the UK’s position as a global climate leader”, according to the letter. BusinessGreen reports: “A new report from Offshore Energies UK argues new oil and gas projects can bolster energy security and be made compatible with net-zero goals – but green groups remain utterly unconvinced.” City AM says: “The record earnings of BP and Shell do not reflect the challenges most North Sea oil and gas producers face from the windfall tax, argued the UK’s leading offshore industry body.” BBC News also has the story. The Times reports that Shell “made net tax payments of $8m for its UK North Sea operations last year – less than it paid its outgoing chief executive”. Separately, City AM reports on why “energy experts support [energy secretary Grant] Shapps’ slashing of the green levies”, in an article that says: “Shapps’ plan has received a warmer response from the industry, amid expectations green projects will not be defunded through scrapping the levy, with the question instead over whether they should be shifted onto gas as he suggested, or moved onto general taxation.” 

The Daily Telegraph reports that minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties will be brought in from 2028 as part of tomorrow’s package. This is three years later than planned, with the article noting: “Ministers had previously proposed a deadline of 2025 for newly-let rentals to achieve an energy performance rating of at least a C, and a deadline of 2028 for all other rented properties.” BusinessGreen says a delay to the standards “could cost private renters £1bn”. Another Daily Telegraph article says that gas network company Cadent is planning to build a parallel hydrogen distribution grid for a trial of heating using the gas in Whitby. It reports: “The climbdown follows an outcry after it emerged gas networks would be given the power to enter the homes of people that refused to take part in the trial so they could switch off their gas supply for safety.” The paper continues: “Cadent is one of two gas networks bidding to conduct the trial, which will inform the government’s final decision on the use of hydrogen for home heating. It is in competition with NGN, which is proposing to run a similar trial in Redcar. The two companies must submit final bids to the government and Ofgem on Friday, before a final decision is expected in September.” BusinessGreen reports: “The government should set out ‘explicit and simple’ environmental ambitions, targets, and requirements for the UK food and farming sector if it is to help unlock urgently-needed private investment in tackling emissions and nature-loss,” according to the Green Finance Institute.

In other UK news, the Guardian says several Conservative MPs are calling for the government to “rethink its subsidies for burning wood for fuel”. Bloomberg reports: “A major shareholder in Drax Group is pushing the UK utility to drop some licences to harvest trees for biomass in Canada.”  BusinessGreen reports: “Major investors target Tesco, British Airways and Drax Group in fresh net-zero engagement initiative.” Finally, the Daily Telegraph says housing secretary Michael Gove “has approved a solar farm the size of 75 football pitches in Shropshire”.

EU member states have given final approval to “tougher national targets to cut emissions in some sectors, and expand CO2-absorbing natural ecosystems like forests”, Reuters reports. In other EU news, Reuters reports: “Two rival alliances of EU countries held final-hour talks in Brussels on Tuesday, ahead of negotiations on whether to recognise nuclear power under the EU’s renewable energy goals. The stand-off comes a day before EU countries and lawmakers are supposed to agree tougher EU targets to expand renewable energy by 2030 – a key part of the bloc’s plans to reduce CO2 emissions and wean itself off Russian gas.” Separately, the Financial Times reports: “Italy’s drive to wean itself off Russian gas and replace it with north-African imports has put the government of Giorgia Meloni on a collision course with its international climate agreements. The government last week published its policy for phasing out public financial support for coal, oil and gas projects overseas, but climate change experts say the new rules are filled with loopholes.”

The UN is to vote on a request that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) be asked to issue an opinion on “country’s obligations to fight rising temperatures”, BBC News reports. It says the vote is “likely to succeed as it’s being backed by about 120 countries”, adding: “The legal opinion of the ICJ, although non binding, could then be cited in climate court cases around the world.” Reuters reports: “The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday will vote whether to ask the world’s top court to define the obligations of states to combat climate change, a legal opinion that could drive countries to take stronger measures and clarify international law.” Energy Monitor says of the vote: “If approved – by simple majority – it would effectively give the ICJ a mandate to hold states accountable for their (lack of) climate action under international environmental law and human rights law for the first time in history. The ICJ opinion would not be legally binding but it would be highly influential.” Separately, BBC News reports: “More than 2,000 women are taking the Swiss government to court claiming its policy on climate change is violating their right to life and health. The case is the first time the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will hear a case on the impact of climate change on human rights.” In a comment article for Climate Home News, Laurence Tubiana, chief executive of the European Climate Foundation (which funds Carbon Brief), says the ECHR will hear three climate cases this year. She writes: “Behind the cases are brave plaintiffs from all ages and backgrounds: Portuguese children and young people, Swiss senior women, and French MEP Damien Carême.” Tubiana says: “This is a watershed year for climate litigation:​​​​​​ three cases in Strasbourg stand to transform the climate policies of 32 European countries. Their effect could reverberate across the globe.”

The UK government is “strikingly unprepared” for dealing with the effects of climate change, the Financial Times reports, based on a progress report from the official Climate Change Committee (CCC). The paper says the lack of preparedness “leav[es] vital sectors including agriculture vulnerable even if emissions are cut”. It adds: “The CCC’s biennial adaptation progress report is the latest in a series of critical assessments of the government’s performance in tackling climate change. These included a warning earlier this month by the National Audit Office that the UK was at risk of missing its goal to decarbonise the power sector by 2035.” BBC News says: “It has found the government is failing to achieve any of its targets and said without a ‘step change’ in policy there is an increased risk to life.” The Guardian reports on its frontpage: “The CCC, the government’s official climate adviser, said climate damages will inevitably intensify for decades to come. It has warned repeatedly of poor preparation in the past and said government action was now urgently needed to protect people and their homes and livelihoods.” New Scientist says the UK “has almost no credible plans to adapt to climate change”. The Press Association reports: “Of the 45 adaptation outcomes the government wants to achieve, the CCC said only five have fully credible plans, while there is no evidence of effective measures being implemented in any of them.” The i newspaper also has the story. Carbon Brief also covers the CCC report, which focuses on adaptation in England.

The US generated more electricity from renewables than from coal last year, for the first time on record, says the Hill, reporting data from the Energy Information Administration. Growth in renewables was “largely driven by increased proliferation of wind and solar energy, which collectively made up 14% of US electricity in 2022, up from 12% in 2021”, the outlet says. It adds that gas power remained the largest source, at 39% of generation last year. The Associated Press also has the story, noting that renewables “also surpassed nuclear generation in 2022 after first doing so last year”.

China will “accelerate” the construction of large scale solar energy plants and standardise the planning and development of land for solar projects, the natural resources ministry has said, reports Reuters. The newswire adds: “New or expanded solar developments should not be built on farmland, grasslands or protected forest lands, the ministry said in a statement.

The rapid growth of China’s solar sector has brought it into competition with other industries, particularly agriculture, for land use.” Bloomberg has an article titled: “China takes its climate fight to the rooftops.” The article includes a chart showing that “China’s rooftops added more clean energy than any other country” in 2022. Separately, Reuters reports that “China’s outstanding green loans currently exceed 22 trillion yuan ($3.2tn), accounting for about 10% of the country’s total loan balance, People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang said on Wednesday”.

In other China news, global miner BHP Group and Chinese steel company HBIS Group have “agreed to trial carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies at the Chinese firm’s steel mills”, reports Hellenic Shipping News. The project will “develop and test” technologies that can be “integrated into steel production processes to reduce CO2 emissions”, according to a company statement. HBIS will also “pilot test options to use captured CO2 to produce saleable products and to store CO2 in waste slag”, it added.

Meanwhile, China Daily writes that a “moderate increase in coal demand and a slower production growth are expected this year, striking a balance between supply and demand”, citing the China National Coal Association. The association also said, the state-run newspaper adds, that “further efforts” are expected to “accelerate the construction of a modern coal industry”, with a “focus on strengthening the clean and efficient utilisation of coals, coordinating the development of coals and new energies, and promoting the integration of the two energy sources”. Reuters carries a column which says that China’s “imports of thermal coal in the opening quarter of 2023 have soared to new highs” as utilities and businesses “restocked in anticipation of greater energy use following the easing of strict zero-Covid policies that curbed coal demand in 2022”. It adds that total thermal coal imports “through March soared 81% from the same period a year ago to 65.7m tonnes”, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler. The newswire adds that coal ports along China’s south and east coasts accounted for more than “45m tonnes of the total imports, revealing sharp rises in demand along the country’s main manufacturing corridors”.

Separately, Fortune reports that Japan and the US have “reached an agreement on trade in critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries, part of an effort to diversify supply chains and reduce reliance on China for strategically important resources”. The deal, “due to be signed later Tuesday”, is expected to “help electric vehicles using metals processed in Japan qualify for tax incentives” under president Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the outlet adds. The state-controlled newswire Xinhua carries an article quoting the CEO of Maersk, who says the company has noted China’s “increased efforts on sustainable development and its move to a low-carbon economy”. He adds: “We are very glad that we are working with strong Chinese partners to make the transition to green energy, and we believe in China’s great potential in producing green methanol.” China Daily reports that the World Hydrogen Technologies Convention 2023 will be held in Foshan, Guangdong province, from 22-26 May, to “increase collaboration, cross-sector dialogue and knowledge-sharing among the industry”.

Finally, there is continuing coverage of Saudi Aramco by China Daily. The newspaper quotes Amin H Nasser, president and CEO of the huge oil company, who says that “Saudi Aramco aims to play a key role at the heart of China’s long-term energy security and high-quality development”.

The US and Japan have reached a trade deal over minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, reports the Hill. It explains: “The deal comes after the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] limits consumer tax credits for electric vehicles to cars where the batteries are mined or processed in countries where the US has a free trade agreement.” The Financial Times says: “Washington has offered to make five minerals used in batteries eligible for subsidies under its green-tech promoting Inflation Reduction Act if they are mined or processed in the EU, according to people with knowledge of the talks.” It adds: “The five metals to be eligible under the IRA are cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel, which are used in battery production. The US is expected to join the EU’s ‘critical minerals club’, the brand Brussels wants to use for its global partnerships in this sector. But it seems like the EU is not the only friend with benefits. Japan signed an agreement with the US yesterday, dropping tariffs on the same five minerals.”

There is ongoing reaction to this week’s deal over Australia’s climate “safeguard mechanism”, with Kate Crowley of the University of Tasmania writing in the Conversation that the minority Green party “failed in their bid to force Labor to ban new coal and gas projects”, adding: “Labor did give ground in setting a hard cap on emissions which should – if it works – make many new fossil fuel projects unviable.” She continues: “This isn’t the end of the climate wars – but the politics are changing. Now we’re seeing a tussle between the urgency of the Greens, Teals who want to ban fossil fuels and the Labor government as it balances demands from industry, climate voters and the unions.” The Guardian reports that the government “could have to make decisions on whether to approve up to 28 coalmine developments that would make it harder to meet targets set under its newly approved climate policy, according to a new analysis”. The Sydney Morning Herald has analysis on how the parties were able to reach a deal on the safeguard mechanism. It says: “The federal government and the Greens have both declared victory after long negotiations about key climate policy.” The piece explains how the mechanism is set to work: “Each of the 215 polluting facilities covered by the policy would be given their own reduction target, known as a baseline. Those that can’t meet that target will be required to pay for each tonne of pollution by which they overshoot. Those that beat their target can sell their excess credits. The price will be capped at A$75 per tonne, increasing at the rate of inflation plus 2% each year.” It continues: “The Greens failed to extract from the government a commitment to ban the development of new oil and gas projects outright, but did succeed in having changes made that are likely to curtail some of the industry’s future plans. These include a formal ‘climate trigger’ compelling the environment minister to consider the climate impacts of all new gas projects at the approval stage.”

A comment in the Sydney Morning Herald from business columnist Elizabeth Knight is titled: “This climate policy doesn’t kill gas despite all the fist-pumping.” Another comment for the Sydney Morning Herald, by culture news editor and columnist Osman Faruqi, runs with the headline: “Greens’ capitulation represents Labor’s biggest victory over minor party.” Faruqi writes: “So, this is where we’ve ended up after the so-called “climate election”. The likely passage, thanks to the Greens, of a Tony Abbott-era policy that can’t actually guarantee real emissions reductions from the industries it covers.” Daily Mail Australia, meanwhile, is titled: “How a Labor-Greens deal to stop fossil fuels will hit YOUR pocket.” The Australian reports on warnings from “major coal companies” that the coal industry faces a “carbon tax by stealth”. The Australian also hands a comment slot to climate-sceptic climatologist Judith Curry, which runs with the headline: “UN’s climate panic is more politics than science.” Separately, the Guardian reports: “Surging SUV ownership means Australians are needlessly spending an extra A$13bn a year to fuel their cars, and the trend is sending transport emissions into overdrive at the same time similar nations are reducing them.”

The exposure of cropland to extreme compound drought and heatwave events (CDHEs) will increase through this century on all continents, especially in Asia and Africa, a new study suggests. The researchers analyse cropland exposure to extreme CDHEs at the global and continental scales under different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) scenarios for the mid-term (2041–2060) and long-term (2081–2100). The frequency of extreme CDHEs in the future will be much higher than the baseline period (1995–2014), the researchers say, and “the increased frequency will be more obvious with the emissions increase”. The study adds that “extreme CDHEs with high frequency are mainly located in tropical areas”.