The Swiss parliament has voted to reject the European Court of Human Right (ECHR) historic ruling of climate change, reports BBC News. The ruling was won earlier this year by a group of Swiss women, known as “climate seniors”, who argued that the Swiss government’s inadequate response to climate change was damaging their right to health and life, it explains. The ECHR agreed in April and ordered Switzerland, which has failed to meet its targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to do so, it adds. At the time, activists “hailed the judgement as a breakthrough”, reports the Guardian, because it leaves all members of the ECHR exposed to legal challenges for “sluggish efforts to clean up carbon-intensive economies”. On Wednesday, the Swiss parliament’s lower house voted to disregard the ruling, arguing that the judges had overstepped their bounds and that the country had “done enough”, it adds. The declaration, adopted by the upper house, but not binding for the federal government, accused the court of “inadmissible and disproportionate judicial activism”, it adds. On Wednesday, the motion was adopted by 111 votes to 72, with 10 abstentions, reports Politico. Lawmakers accused the ECHR of “violating the separation of powers”, it adds, quoting lawmaker Barbara Steinemann who wrote on Twitter: “Parliamentarians will not allow themselves to be reduced to extras by international judges.” Switzerland must tell the ECHR by October how it will implement the decision, reports Reuters. No member state has ever refused to implement a judgement, Council of Europe spokesperson Andrew Cutting told the newswires, adding that the case is still at a very early stage of implementation. Switzerland’s Federal Council is free to break with parliament and comply with the judgement, although the country’s environment ministers – one of the council’s seven members – has also appeared to question the impact of the ruling, the article adds.

The EU has announced it will “slap additional tariffs of as much as 38.1%” on “new energy” vehicles (NEVs) shipped from China starting around 4 July, Bloomberg reports. Reuters also covers the story, saying that Brussels will set extra duties of “17.4% for BYD, 20% for Geely and 38.1% for SAIC on top of the existing 10%. The Financial Times says that, combined with the existing 10% tariff rate, the EU’s levies of “up to almost 50%” on Chinese NEVs will “brush aside German government warnings that the move risks starting a costly trade war with Beijing”. A Financial Times analysis says that the tariffs from the EU “are quite carefully calibrated to provide some additional protection to EU producers, while not antagonising China too much”. Bloomberg carries a comment article by industry writer Chris Bryant, saying that Europe “navigates a very precarious route between protecting domestic industry and provoking a full-blown trade war”, but “the biggest losers” are “European consumers” and “the green transition”.

In response, China’s Ministry of Commerce said yesterday that “China is strongly dissatisfied” and that the move “has ignored facts and WTO rules”, state news agency Xinhua reports. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it will “take all necessary measures to ‘firmly safeguard’ its lawful rights and interests”, Reuters reports. Another Reuters report says that “shares in some of Europe’s biggest automakers dropped on Wednesday on fears of Chinese retaliation”. Chinese NEV maker Nio says in a statement that it will “continue to serve our users and explore new opportunities within Europe despite protectionism”, Reuters reports. Reuters also carries an article collating “global reaction” on the EU’s extra duties on imported Chinese NEVs.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that “China has warned of the risk of ‘extreme drought’ that could affect crop production as high temperatures persist” in central China. Reuters also says parts of northern and central China would be hit by “scorching heat” this week, with other Asian countries bracing themselves for “another summer of extreme weather”.

In other China news, China Energy Net carries a report from state-owned enterprise China Southern Power Grid. The report says that the trade of “green electricity certificates” – each certificate represents a megawatt-hour of renewable electricity consumption – in five provinces in southern China has exceeded 13,800 gigawatt-hours, “significantly exceeding” last year’s scale. According to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), solar exports in Jan-April reached 83.8 gigawatts, a 20% year-on-year increase, energy news outlet BJX News reports. State-run newspaper China News reports that China has 67% of the world’s NEVs and the selling rate is higher than the world’s average, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The world is facing a “staggering” surplus of oil, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), reports the Times. Global demand is expected to peak by 2029 – a year earlier than previously forecast by the IEC – and begin to contract the following year, it states. But the US and other non-Opec countries will continue to add to oil supply, resulting in a major surplus this decade, the article notes. The IEA’s view contrasts with the outlook of oil producer group Opec, which sees demand rising long after 2029, in part due to a slower shift to cleaner fuels, and has not yet predicted a peak, reports Reuters. The growth of demand for oil is being slowed by the rollout of clean technologies and energy efficiency efforts that are increasingly offsetting the rising demand for the fossil fuel from Asian markets and the global aviation and petrochemical sectors, reports BusinessGreen. Carbon emissions from oil could also peak as early as 2026, the article notes. By 2030, total supply capacity is forecast to rise to nearly 114m barrels a day, 8m barrels per day above projected global demand, reports the Independent. The Financial Times also covers the story, putting it on the frontpage.

The UK Green party’s manifesto has set out plans to overhaul the tax system to raise revenues for public services, renewable power and home insulation, reports BusinessGreen. Launching the manifesto in Brighton and Hove, the party promised to push the next government to accelerate the transition to net-zero and reach decarbonisation goals at least a decade earlier than the UK’s 2050 target, it continues. (See Carbon Brief’s UK election manifesto trackers for all the parties’ energy and climate policies.) The Greens unveiled a “major reform package for the UK economy, backed by ambitious targets for clean energy, proposals for a new wealth tax, and a pledge to bring the UK’s water industry, railways, and energy retail companies into public ownership”, the article adds. The manifesto includes plans to raise up to £80bn from a carbon tax, which would be set initially at £120 per tonne of carbon emitted, reports the Financial Times. The Green party has “sought to expand beyond its core policy focus of the environment and climate to become a foil to Labour, stealing away leftwing voters who feel uninspired or unsatisfied with Sir Keir Starmer’s position on issues ranging from the conflict in Gaza to taxation and public investment,” the article continues. Speaking after the launch, co-leader Carla Denyer told the Guardian that while she supported some Labour plans – such as the idea for publicly run power generation firm Great British Energy – it “doesn’t touch the sides of what’s needed for decarbonising our energy system or in our society as a whole”, the publication reports. This story is also covered by the Independent, the Daily Mail, and others.  

In other general election news, DeSmog has – using an interactive network diagram – catalogued oil and gas ties with government, the media and right-wing thinktanks. The Conservative government has made a series of u-turns on its own net-zero policies, attacked Labour’s green spending plans and “doubled down” on its support for new fossil fuel projects, the article notes. “This retreat from climate action did not happen in a vacuum, but was fuelled by a steady campaign by a network of climate science deniers and fossil fuel interests,” it continues. Following an investigation, DeSmog highlights the scale of this network, including “connections between oil, gas and coal companies, wealthy political donors, right-wing think tanks, anti-climate media outlets and senior figures in the ruling Conservative Party”, the article states.

Elsewhere in UK news, British Gas owner Centrica has backed a “pioneering plan” to build the country’s first commercial liquid air energy storage project, reports the Daily Telegraph. Centrica is among a consortium of investors to support Highview Power’s storage project along with the UK Infrastructure Bank, mining giant Rio Tinto and Goldman Sachs, it adds. The project raised £300m, £70m of which came from Centrica, the article notes. The money will help finance a 50 megawatt energy storage facility in Carrington near Manchester, which will be capable of running for six hours by 2026, it adds.

The “most comprehensive analysis ever of conflict-driven climate impacts” shows emissions from the first two years of Russia’s war on Ukraine are greater than those generated by 175 countries in a year, reports the Guardian. This “exacerbated the global climate emergency in addition to the mounting death toll and widespread destruction of the war itself”, according to a new report by the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War, a research collective partly funded by the German and Swedish governments, and the European Climate Foundation [which funds Carbon Brief], it adds. Russia’s invasion has generated at least 175m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), including those from direct warfare, landscape fires, rerouted flights, forced migration and leaks caused by military attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure, as well as future carbon cost of reconstruction, it continues. The 175mtCO2 includes carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), which collectively would be “on a par with running 90m petrol cars for an entire year – and more than the total emissions generated individually by countries including the Netherlands, Venezuela and Kuwait in 2022”, the Guardian notes. For the first 24 months of the war, the Russian Federation faced a $32bn (£25bn) climate reparations bill, the report suggests, the article adds.

The surface area of Mexico affected by drought is expected to increase from “85.58% to 89.58% due to the lack of rain”, Excélsior reports. The report by the National Meteorological Service attributes this to the “prolonged third heatwave” that struck Mexico from 20 May to 4 June. In Chile, severe drought events could increase due to climate change, particularly from Coquimbo, in the centre of the country, to Araucanía, to the south, according to the latest “risk atlas” of the nation cited by Francisco Fernandoy, a geology academic at the Andrés Bello University, in an interview with BioBioChile.

In other Latin American news, the Financial Times has a new feature headlined: “Floods leave Brazilians with a grim choice – rebuild or leave?” It says that many places are “weigh[ing] up their future after climate-fuelled disaster” recently struck the “agricultural powerhouse” of Rio Grande do Sul. Meanwhile, El Espectador reports that Colombia’s congress has until 20 June to pass a bill to create a livestock traceability system in the country. The newspaper notes that the Liberal Party initiative seeks to have companies and the government monitor livestock breeding, transport and slaughter “to ensure that their origin does not fuel deforestation”.

Finally, Peru’s minister of transport has authorised that more than 3,600 vehicles, including “combis and old buses”, can continue operating on the streets of Lima, El Comercio reports. The move could result in nearly 95,000 tonnes of CO2, which is “equivalent to the deforestation of 475 hectares of tropical forests”, according to an analysis by the newspaper.

Greece has shut the Acropolis, suspended schools and stationed medics across Athens as it faces its first heatwave of the summer, reports Reuters. Temperatures were expected to hit 43C on Wednesday and Thursday in parts of the country, driven by southerly winds bringing hot air and dust from North Africa, it continues. The Acropolis hill, one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites that includes the Parthenon temple, was closed from noon to 5pm due to the heat, the article adds. The heatwave – the first of the year in a country that is regularly hit by “searing summer temperatures” – is expected to peak over the two days, although the culture ministry has said the reduced hours at the Acropolis could be extended, reports the Guardian. This is the earliest heatwave – classed as temperatures exceeding 38C for at least three days – in recorded history in Greece, noted meteorologists, the article adds. “In the 20th century we never had a heatwave before 19 June. We have had several in the 21st century, but none before 15 June,” said the state TV meteorologist Panos Giannopoulos, the Guardian notes. Classes have been cancelled at schools in parts of southern and central Greece where the temperatures are hightest, reports the Associated Press. City authorities in Athens have also halted rubbish collection for several hours and opened seven air-conditioned spaces to the public, it adds. Drones with thermal cameras are being used to coordinate the city’s public health response, notes AP.

The US state of Florida has been hit with record-breaking rain, with the entire southern part of the state under a flood watch through to Thursday evening, reports the Guardian. Cities including Miami and Fort Lauderdale experienced the heaviest downpour so far in 2024, with almost 4in of rain falling in Sarasota in a single hour, it adds. A “disorganised storm system” has pushed across Florida from the Gulf of Mexico at the same time as the early June start of hurricane season, “which this year is forecast to be among the most active in recent memory amid concerns that climate change is increasing storm intensity”, reports the Associated Press. Roads were flooded and impassible for vehicles following the deluge of rain, including the major Interstate 95, the article adds. This story is also covered in the Washington Post, Daily Mail, the Independent and others.  

In other US news, lawmakers have approved two new members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and set up a vote on the third to take place today, reports the Associated Press. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer says confirmation of the three nominees will allow FERC to “keep its quorum and continue its mission of providing Americans with affordable, reliable, safe energy”, the article notes. Democrat David Rosner and Republican Lindsay See have been approved for three and four-year terms, respectively, on the commission, with a vote on Democrat Judy Chang’s nomination today, it explains. If approved, as expected, Democrats will have a working majority until at least June 2026, AP notes. “President Joe Biden’s grip on a key federal energy commission will last beyond his first term, giving a boost to the Democrat’s push for renewable energy regardless of the election results in November,” the article states.

The cost of the transition for economically insecure voters must be eased through more ambitious fiscal approaches by governments across Europe, argues an editorial in the Guardian. While commentary on last weekend’s European polls has focused on “the rise of the radical right”, it was also a difficult night for the green parties, with their share of votes plummeting, the article notes. “If the future of Europe’s green deal is to be safeguarded, a step-change is needed,” the article states, as opposition parties seek to create a false opposition between pro-green and pro-growth policies to capitalise on economic anxieties across the continent. The combined leverage of progressives in the new European parliament remains considerable and this must be used to “change the terms of engagement” with the radical right, the Guardian says. “A much bigger European budget, combined with joint borrowing to finance game-changing investment, would allow the green deal to become a visible catalyst for economic growth,” it concludes, ensuring the continent doesn’t slip into “paying lip service to net-zero targets, reneges on its global responsibilities”. (See Carbon Brief’s “Experts: What do the European elections mean for EU climate action?”)

In other comment, veteran climate campaigner and author Bill McKibben on his Crucial Years SubStack explores the “S curve”, arguing that we are hitting a “sweet spot” with clean-energy technology growth. Elsewhere, Sam Hall, director of the UK Conservative Environment Network, argues that “the Tories need to double down on the environment” in a piece for CapX. In the climate-sceptic comment pages of the Wall Street Journal, an editorial argues that the EU’s new tariffs on Chinese EVs will, ultimately, make vehicles more expensive for Europeans, concluding” “If Europe is worried about unfair competition from China, it can stop requiring Europeans to buy EVs whose production Beijing subsidises.”

A seasonal wind prediction model can forecast wind energy changes “multiple months in advance”, helping to “enhance” clean energy supplies, a study says. The researchers use forecasts from a climate model to produce “skillful seasonal wind energy prediction” to demonstrate the impact in the US Great Plains. Winds change between seasons and years “because of atmospheric variability” pose a “key challenge” to wind energy, the authors say. Thus, the model could help to optimise the “production, distribution and allocation of wind energy resources”, they write, “ultimately contributing to the enhancement of a sustainable and reliable energy supply”.

Exposure to high and low temperatures during pregnancy and the early years of a child’s life “may have lasting impacts” on brain development, according to new research. The risk “must be considered in the context of ongoing climate change”, the study adds. The researchers assess brain scans of more than 2,600 children involved in an observational study in the Netherlands. Exposure to heat and cold at different developmental stages “may have lasting impacts on children’s white matter microstructure” in the brain, the study says. The researchers also find that children living in “poorer neighbourhoods” were more vulnerable to cold and heat.