Summer was the hottest since records began, breaking global heat records for the second year in a row and “putting 2024 firmly on track to be the hottest year in recorded history”, CNN reports. The news outlet explains that the period between June and August, which defines northern hemisphere summer, was the warmest since at least 1940, according to new data published by European climate service Copernicus. “It is the latest in a slew of global heat records to fall but will not be the last, scientists warn, as humans continue to pump out planet-heating fossil fuels and drive up global temperatures,” the article states. The Associated Press says the summer averaged an absolute temperature of 16.8C, pushing it up 0.03C warmer than the old record, which was set in 2023. With a La Niña weather pattern on the horizon, which will bring temperatures down, the last four months of the year are less likely to set records, but temperatures will most likely not cool enough to stop 2024 breaking the overall annual record, the article continues. Reuters notes that rising global temperatures “continued to fuel disasters this summer”. It lists deadly flooding in Sudan, severe drought in Sicily and Sardinia, and an intensified Typhoon Gaemi, which hit the Philippines, Taiwan and China, as phenomena exacerbated by climate change. The New York Times quotes Dr Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who says: “We have extreme heat and record-breaking precipitation events in too many places to list.” The Washington Post describes “a summer of unrelenting humidity and heat too extreme for the human body to withstand” – pointing to deadly heat in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and in Mexico. Parts of the southern hemisphere have also experienced a very mild winter, with Australia facing its hottest August since records began in 1910, according to Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s weather agency has reported that the nation experienced its highest average summer temperature since observations began in 1973, according to the Korea Times. The average temperature reached 25.6C and the number of “tropical nights” increased to more than three times the normal level, it adds. On the other side of the planet, on Wednesday the city of Phoenix, Arizona, experienced its 101st day in a row with temperatures exceeding 100F (37.8C), the Los Angeles Times reports.

The UK government is planning to pull back its target of building 55 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030, according to Bloomberg. The article says the move is based on analysis that shows the nation may not need as much offshore wind as the Labour government was expecting when it made the pledge. It notes that, while in the longer term a steep increase in electricity demand is expected, the rise by 2030 – when Labour says the country will have achieved a completely clean electricity supply – will be “more modest”. Moreover, the article points to potential issues with supply chains and network preparation that could make it difficult to bring that much offshore wind online. “Showing that the country can still meet its goals with less offshore wind could be a helpful way for the government to back out of a target it’s going to miss anyway,” the Bloomberg article states. [This aligns with Carbon Brief analysis published earlier this week, which shows – based on estimates by the trade body Energy UK – that next year’s renewable energy auction would require an unprecedented fourfold increase in the amount of offshore wind capacity secured in a single auction in order to still achieve the 55GW target. Energy UK had previously dubbed such an increase “unrealistic”.] Meanwhile, discourse around the impact of renewable energy auctions on UK energy bills continues with a new article in the Times. It cites forecasts from Cornwall Insights, which suggests that new wind farms set to be built towards the end of this decade will add only £5 to household energy bills and will also reduce volatility in prices.

Another Times story addresses the response to the second reading of the bill to establish Great British Energy, Labour’s flagship policy to set up a publicly owned energy company to drive the construction of clean power. Energy security and net-zero secretary Ed Miliband said the company could save consumers £300 a year on their energy bills by the end of the decade, but opponents criticised the lack of detail in the plan. Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho called these cost savings a “false promise” and compared them to the money that the government plans to cut from many pensioners’ winter fuel allowance. The Independent says Miliband pointed to the cost-of-living crisis, which he says happened “because of our exposure to fossil fuels”. Meanwhile, the Times reports that Amjad Bseisu, chief executive of North Sea oil and gas producer Enquest, has taken aim at the government’s windfall tax on fossil fuels causing “irreversible damage” to the sector.

Meanwhile, many news outlets focus on the government’s move to cut winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners, with Sky News reporting that MPs will be given a vote on the subject. According to the news outlet, the proposed cut would mean that “only those claiming pension credits will get the payment that helps pensioners pay their winter heating bills” – meaning only the poorest will be able to access the money. It explains that, until this point, the government had been resisting holding a vote on the policy. The Guardian says there are signs of “unrest” in the parliamentary Labour party, with a number of Labour MPs signing “an early day motion asking for the change to be reconsidered and given more time to be communicated”. A frontpage story in the Daily Express focuses on polling of members of Silver Voices – a membership group for elderly people. It finds that nine out of 10 of the nearly 3,000 people polled oppose the changes, but they suggest a compromise where a higher cut-off point is set for the winter fuel payments, meaning the wealthiest pensioners do not receive them. Another frontpage story in the Daily Telegraph draws from an op-ed written by Labour MP Rachael Maskell (see below), who says she is worried about pensioners dying as a result of the policy change. “More than a dozen Labour MPs have voiced concerns, with Sir Keir Starmer potentially facing a rebellion at a crunch vote scheduled to take place on Tuesday,” the article says.

US president Joe Biden is set to announce $7.3bn from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for more than a dozen clean energy projects run by rural electric cooperatives, during a trip to Wisconsin, according to Reuters. The White House says the 16 funded projects will cut energy costs and increase reliability for rural Americans, while also cutting 43m tonnes of emissions annually and supporting thousands of jobs, the article explains. The funding comes “as Democrats try to highlight efforts to combat inflation in a critical battleground state”, according to Bloomberg. The news outlet says Democrats hope that the pledge will “provide a boost” for their presidential nominee, vice president Kamala Harris, as she steps up her efforts to “court rural voters”. The article states that Harris’ Republican opponent, Donald Trump has “repeatedly assailed Democrats over energy prices that rose significantly after the coronavirus pandemic, pledging that he would implement policies cutting prices in half during his first year in office”.

Elsewhere, Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has told voters in the battleground state of North Carolina that they could lose jobs if Republicans weaken Biden’s signature IRA policies, according to Associated Press. She noted that Republican-dominated states such as North Carolina are significantly benefiting from tax incentives under the programme, it adds. Reuters explains that Trump has said he would end hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies from the IRA and redirect funds toward building roads and bridges. Yellen also told her audience at North Carolina’s Wake Tech Community College that such a rollback could “give a leg up to China”, which is investing extensively in low-carbon industries. The Hill notes that some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns in recent weeks about plans to axe sections of the IRA.

Speaking at a conference of African environment ministers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, UN climate chief Simon Stiell has told world leaders “to flip the script” on climate action in Africa and move from “an epidemic of underinvestment”, Climate Home News reports. The article explains that African countries “need an estimated $277bn a year to bankroll plans outlined in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – governments’ climate action blueprints –  but they can currently count on a fraction of that sum”. Reuters says African governments and climate negotiators are “considering various strategies” to drive climate investment into the continent at the pre-COP29 preparatory meeting in Abidjan. While it has been attracting more investment in recent years, African leaders say their nations do not get enough climate finance, as promised under the UN system, the newswire continues. 

Meanwhile, a Daily Telegraph article considers the role that climate change is already playing driving migration across Africa, and how this is expected to get worse. An article in the Economist is titled: “How Africans can stay cool as the climate warms.” (For more on climate-driven migration, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth Q&A and reporting from rural Thailand.)

The German car manufacturer BMW plans to produce hydrogen-powered cars on a larger scale, while the government “is withdrawing its support” for the technology, reports Der Spiegel. The Munich-based company BMW announced that such a vehicle will be available starting in 2028, explains the outlet. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse says it is a “milestone in automotive history.” In UK media, the Times says: “The German motoring group has been testing iX5 Hydrogen SUV prototypes for two years. Now it says it will risk its reputation that there will be consumer demand in this decade for cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells rather than electric batteries.” The Daily Telegraph adds: “BMW says hydrogen could appeal to drivers who require high-flexibility or travel frequently, for whom fast charging is too time-consuming. It could also appeal to buyers in cold climates, which are not conducive to long battery life. But the models will need access to new hydrogen fuelling stations for uptake to become widespread.”

Meanwhile, Merkur reports that Germany’s economy minister, Robert Habeck, has announced new tax incentives for electric vehicles: “We are currently preparing further tax relief for e-cars as part of the growth initiative,” he says. The outlet explains that “German car manufacturers must stay competitive in the global market” as Europe moves towards “only CO2-neutral vehicles” starting in 2035. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) also notes that another German car manufacturer, Volkswagen, is “at risk” due to the “weak automotive market in Europe and intensified competition.” 

At the same time, Frankfurter Rundschau reports that Habeck also wants to introduce legislation to enable large heat pumps for district heating to be built more quickly by granting legislative authorities greater enforcement powers, allowing them to overcome concerns related to nature conservation or mining laws more easily. Approval processes for geothermal systems, heat pumps and heat storage would thus be significantly accelerated, notes the article. For example, private individuals who operate a heat pump that uses a nearby body of water as a heat source will no longer need a permit, explains Table.Media.

Finally, Tagesspiegel reports on the development of a new sulphur-lithium “wonder battery” in Berlin, where eighteen scientists are researching this technology.

Chinese president Xi Jinping pledged financing worth $51bn to Africa over the next three years at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Reuters reports. He told delegates that “China is ready to launch 30 clean energy projects” across the continent, as well as “support [its] nuclear energy goals and tackle [the] power deficit”, the newswire adds. Bloomberg quotes Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project, saying the credit will likely “finance purchases of vast quantities of solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles (EVs)”, rather than “large-scale mega infrastructure projects in Africa”. The Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily publishes Xi’s speech in full. Reference News, the Washington Post and the New York Times also cover the story. BBC News covers a separate meeting between China and Pacific Island countries, saying that, against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), it was “harder [for PIF leaders] to get funding for climate change than security”. 

Meanwhile, financial news outlet Caixin Global reports that China plans to “launch an anti-discrimination probe” into Canadian rapeseed oil as a “countermeasure” against Canada’s tariff hike on Chinese EVs, steel and aluminium. China’s commerce ministry also urged the US to “immediately lift all additional tariffs imposed on Chinese goods”, state news agency Xinhua says. A Financial Times report finds Chinese corporations to be “shifting investment into…relatively insulated countries, which include Singapore, Vietnam, Ireland, Hungary and Mexico” to “circumvent” western tariffs. 

In other news, the National Energy Administration has introduced new rules for the “issuance and trading of renewable energy green electricity certificates (GECs)”, according to energy news outlet BJX News. The rules “for the first time set the validity period of the GECs to two years” and “clarified the specific requirements” on GEC issuance, financial news outlet Jiemian says. Meanwhile, China’s “first batch of cross-provincial emissions trading” was carried out in the Shanghai municipality and the provinces of Suzhou, Zhejiang and Anhui, Interchange News reports. China’s five major state-owned power companies held at least 27 top-level meetings with local governments between January and July, BJX News reports, leading to a number of agreements to develop clean energy bases.

UK Labour MP Rachael Maskell has penned an article for the Daily Telegraph – which is mentioned on the newspaper’s frontpage – in which she criticises the Labour government’s plans to scale back winter fuel payments for pensioners. “We know that being cold leads to stroke, heart attacks, pneumonia, hyperthermia and so much more as the body wrestles to keep warm, and viruses prey on the frail,” she writes. Maskell says that many MPs are hearing from pensioners in their constituencies who are struggling with the cost of living and notes that “there are around one million pensioners who will be in fuel poverty this winter without necessary mitigation to keep warm”. With this in mind, she says “the fear is that, if we withdraw winter fuel payments for those in fuel poverty, it will lead to excess deaths”. An editorial in the Daily Express also addresses this issue, pointing to polling published in the newspaper that suggests pensioners are happy to see a compromise where those paying the highest rates of tax would lose their payments – but not those who are less well off. Meanwhile, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson writes in the Daily Telegraph that the dispute over winter fuel payments is “a small taste of the welfare battles to come”. He writes: “The Tories are pretending to be appalled at the cut. They wish they’d been able to ditch the payments, especially given that a quarter of them went to millionaire households. By all means, help the needy. But why post winter fuel cheques to expats in their Sicilian villas? Rachel Reeves is making a difficult but fair decision that the Conservatives dodged for years.” He concludes his piece by stating that Labour leader Keir Starmer has the “political capital” to make this change. “But if he stumbles over the basics, there might not be much hope for his taking on the reforms that really matter,” he says.

Meanwhile, right-wing broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer writes in the Sun about the Labour government’s plans to scale up clean power. In particular, she takes aim at energy security and net-zero secretary Ed Miliband, who she accuses of having “fanatical, almost religious zealotry to deliver net-zero”. The article is full of standard climate-sceptic talking points, pointing out that the wind does not always blow and that clean technologies are shipped in “oil-powered cargo ships”. Hartley-Brewer says “you really couldn’t make this stuff up”. This is the first of Hartley-Brewer’s regular columns for the Sun, in which she says she will be “talking common sense”. The Times has a political sketch about Miliband and Labour energy policy, written by Tom Peck, in which he criticises the government’s mishandling of the winter fuel allowance. “It will be nice when British people take ownership of their own energy assets. But it would be nicer if Labour could take ownership of reality. In the meantime, they’ll keep spinning like a giant turbine in the wind,” he writes. The Daily Mail’s sketchwriter Quentin Letts also takes aim at Miliband. Frequently making fun of the way Miliband speaks, Letts writes: “Mr Miliband has always been animated in debate but now that he has a chance to impose his net-zero plans on the country, he has gone turbo. He hopped to and fro, bulged his eyes, cackled with laughter and formed a lasso with that too-big tongue.”

Finally, climate sceptic columnist Peter Hitchens has written a piece for the Daily Mail about the prospect of the final coal power plant in the UK closing down. It is headlined: “It would be madness to blow up our last coal-fired power station. We might need it one winter to keep the lights on.”

A new study finds that last year’s Atlantic hurricane season was “above normal” in both number of named storms and the total energy of its storms, despite the strong El Niño, which typically results in below-normal seasons. Using Earth system models, researchers test how sea surface temperatures may have affected the atmospheric circulation in 2023. They find that the “record warm” temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean “effectively counteracted some of the canonical impacts of El Niño”. The authors write that their study “re-emphasises the importance of considering atmospheric and oceanic conditions across the globe when making predictions” of tropical cyclone activity.