The US is expected to face an “extremely active” Atlantic hurricane season this year, with potentially lengthy and intense storms driven by record ocean warmth and atmospheric patterns that boost tropical cyclones, the Washington Post reports. This information comes from a “key preseason forecast” produced by hurricane researchers from Colorado State University, the newspaper adds. The article describes the news as the “latest indication that a surge in global heat over the past year, far beyond the gradual warming observed across recent decades, could translate to greater extreme weather risks”. The New York Times says these unusual temperatures, combined with the “rapidly subsiding” El Niño weather pattern, are leading to mounting confidence that there will be an “exceptionally high number of storms this hurricane season”. Experts predict that there will be 23 named tropical storms, including 11 hurricanes with five “potentially reaching major status, meaning Category 3 or higher”, during the official season, the newspaper continues. It compares this to a “typical season”, which would include 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three that are major. The Independent reports that there is a 62% likelihood of hurricanes making landfall in the US this year and a 66% chance in the Caribbean. It adds that “scientists say that the climate crisis has played a role in making hurricanes stronger”. NBC News cites other hurricane researchers who, it says, “share concerns” about “unnatural ocean heat”. The article notes that some of the “largest temperature anomalies” have been taking place in waters off the west coast of Africa, which is often the source of Atlantic hurricanes that subsequently strike the east coast of the US.

Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared a national disaster amid a prolonged drought that has destroyed about half the country’s maize crop, BBC News reports. He joins neighbouring nations in southern Africa, Zambia and Malawi, both of which have recently declared similar states of emergency, the article adds. Food prices have soared and an extra 2.7 million people are expected to face hunger in Zimbabwe, with 13.6 million people currently experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity across the region, according to World Food Programme figures cited in the article. The piece states that Zimbabwe was “once the breadbasket of southern Africa, but in recent years has suffered bouts of severe drought affecting crop and cattle”. It adds that “not all droughts are due to climate change, but excess heat in the atmosphere is drawing more moisture out of the earth and making droughts worse”. Mnangagwa has called for $2bn in aid to help the millions of starving people across the country, Agence France-Presse reports. The article notes that the drought in southern Africa is linked to the naturally occurring El Niño climate pattern. Zimbabwean newspaper the Herald says 80% of the country has received “below-normal rainfall”. It explains that the president’s announcement “makes way for relief agencies to put in place measures for people who are in need of food aid”. Reuters reports that Botswana, Angola, Mozambique and Madagascar are also facing widespread hunger linked to the drought.

Sky News reports that the drought risks depleting the Zambezi River and this could threaten electricity supplies in Zimbabwe and Zambia, which depend on hydropower dams.

“Unprecedented” temperatures are being reached across south-east Asia, including in parts of Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar, according to the Guardian. It points to lengthy spells of dry weather in Indonesia driving up rice prices and fears that coral is under threat in Thailand due to high water temperatures. The newspaper says the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has “attributed the scorching weather to human-induced climate change, as well as the El Niño event, which brings hotter, drier conditions to the region”. The article notes that governments are “grappling with how to respond”, with local authorities in the Philippines shutting down almost 4,000 schools as the heat index passes 42C in some areas. It describes this as a “dangerous level” of heat. 

Philippines newspaper the Manila Times carries a warning from a health official about the risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat cramps, exhaustion and heat stroke. The Philippine Daily Inquirer is running a live blog to document measures being taken to “protect teachers and students from the extreme heat”. Meanwhile, the Philippine Star reports that the country’s supreme court has announced that judges and other court personnel can adopt a “flexible working arrangement” due to “dangerous heat indices” around the country. It also lists other professions that are being told to take precautionary measures during the heat, including traffic enforcers and street sweepers.

The EU saw a record drop in emissions covered by the bloc’s carbon market, known as the Emissions Trading System (ETS), last year, according to Politico. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plans, industrial infrastructure and some European flights across the EU dropped by 15.5% – largely due to the expansion of renewable electricity, it explains. The article notes that emissions from the power sector alone dropped by 24%, driving a faster drop for ETS emissions than these sectors experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The European Commission says emissions from the ETS, which regulated around 45% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, are now roughly 47% lower than they were in 2005, Politico reports. While the commission attributed the change to renewables, carbon market analysts cited in the piece note that weak economic growth also played a role, the article adds. More broadly, Reuters reports on research by thinktank REN21, which concludes that the world “added less than half of the new renewable energy capacity needed to meet its climate goals last year”.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg has an article about what it describes as the need for EU officials to “rethink” some parts of the bloc’s green deal plan to reach net-zero by 2050, in order to “keep Europe’s industry going and avoid a backlash from voters”. It continues: “Reversing course isn’t an option, but it’s increasingly clear that Europe can’t afford to mess up. Getting the overhaul wrong would mean companies and consumers foot a huge multi-trillion-euro bill for the green transition while handing an edge to China and the US.” Meanwhile, European ports must “undergo significant makeovers to fulfil their growing role in the energy transition”, particularly for transporting wind turbine components, Cipher News reports.

The Financial Times reports that US treasury secretary Janet Yellen says “she would ‘not rule out’ raising trade barriers to protect manufacturers of green tech, including batteries and solar panels, from Chinese competition”. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post also covers Yellen’s return to Beijing and quotes consultancy firm Tidalwave Solutions saying that Yellen “is seen as an effective emissary” to manage tensions in trade, which is “a key driver in the US-China relationship and its ballast”.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that despite a consensus in the US and EU that “a surge of excess capacity” from China could “wipe out overseas industries”, the statements of overcapacity “aren’t all backed by data”. The outlet analyses the industrial data and says that although overcapacity is more concentrated in solar and batteries, new energy vehicle (NEV) makers are actually “more efficient rather than laden” with overcapacity. State-run media Xinhua also quotes Bloomberg’s analysis and carries an article, titled: “Concerns over China’s overcapacity not backed by data.”

Separately, a state-owned Chinese auto manufacturer, Chery, “is hoping to secure subsidies off the UK to build an assembly plant” in Europe, the Daily Mail reports. Bloomberg reports that Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, will discuss options with his German and Italian counterparts to “re-balance” trade with China amid the flooding of Chinese NEVs, solar and wind equipment and semiconductors into the EU market. The outlet quotes Le Maire, saying that “the era of happy globalisation is over” and that the bloc needs to “avoid being squeezed between US protectionism and Chinese interventionism”. The US-based Fortune publishes an article about the rise of China’s NEVs, with comments from industry analysts, saying that “Beijing is now starting to worry about overcapacity in the system”, which could lead to further consolidation in the NEV sector as the government rolls back its support. 

In other China news, South China Morning Post reports that according to “climate experts and green enterprises”, China’s action plan released by the State Council to “ditch old equipment and products for new ones” can help boost the country’s “green-transformation drive if done right”. The Communist Party-backed newspaper People’s Daily publishes an article, addressing the importance of energy transition, saying that “building a clean, low-carbon…energy system is a necessary path to promote high-quality economic development and improve people’s well-being”. Finally, China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has demanded that in 2024, all departments should continue to promote low-carbon energy transition, accelerate the construction of the energy market and improve the energy management system, China Energy News reports.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $20bn in grants to fund thousands of low-carbon projects in communities across the US through a system known as “green banks”, the New York Times reports. The grants will go to eight not-for-profit organisations, which will use the money to offer low-interest loans to businesses and homeowners to help them install clean-energy technologies – ranging from a single appliance for one family to aiding the construction of energy-efficient low-income housing, the newspaper explains. The piece quotes vice-president Kamala Harris, who calls the move “the largest investment in financing for community-based climate projects in our nation’s history”. According to the Washington Post, the finance is part of president Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, and is “potentially one of the most consequential – yet least understood – parts of the climate law”. It adds that “because of the size of the spending, it is sure to be closely watched by opponents and supporters of the nation’s energy transition”. The newspaper says the not-for-profit organisations behind the scheme are aiming for 70% of the funds to be channelled towards disadvantaged communities. According to Reuters, the projects supported by this scheme over the seven years are set to “reduce or avoid” up to 40m tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) annually.

The German Federal Environment Agency says the introduction of a maximum speed limit of 120km/h (75mph) on national highways would lead to an annual reduction of 6.7m tonnes of CO2, reports RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND). An alternative proposal by German Environmental Aid suggests reducing the highway speed limit to 100kph (62mph), which could result in more CO2 savings of 9.6MtCO2 annually, notes RND. However, Der Spiegel reports that German transport minister Volker Wissing has “once again” spoken out against a speed limit on highways. If there were a national speed limit of 120kph on highways, 80kph on rural roads and 30kph in urban areas, he says, “there would be no acceptance for it in Germany”, adding that “people don’t want that”. Politico notes that Wissing is a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), which rejects the implementation of a speed limit and has been accused of representing the interests of the automotive industry, along with the far-right Alternative for Germany and the conservative Christian Democratic Union. 

Meanwhile, Table.Media reports that Germany has been identified as “a central hub for clean technologies”, hosting the most production facilities overall across Europe, according to the Brussels-based thinktank Bruegel. Its new database examines economic activity of European countries and focuses on sectors such wind power, solar energy, heat pumps, batteries and electrolysers. Finally, Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that the “controversial” Rügen terminal for liquefied “natural” gas (LNG) is expected to receive approval for regular operation “soon”, although critics argue that “there is no need for excess capacity and cite risks to nature, the environment and tourism”.

In a frontpage story, the Times reports that electric car demand in the UK has “fallen sharply” and drivers are instead turning to new petrol and hybrid models, citing official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Specifically, it says that the market share of electric vehicles (EVs) “declined last month”. [However, the article also notes that EV purchases did in fact rise in March by 3.8%, compared to sales last year. The overall car market grew by 10% year-on-year, meaning the market share of EVs fell to 15.2% of sales in the UK in March, down from 16.2% the year before.] The newspaper quotes SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes, who calls for more government support for private customers, not just businesses, to help them transition to EVs. The Daily Telegraph notes that plug-in hybrids recorded a 37% increase over last year. 

Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror reports on a call from the climate charity Possible, alongside the Care Workers Charity and research organisation New Automotive, for a government-backed “social leasing scheme” to support care workers in their switch to EVs. Finally, strikes by tanker drivers could cause petrol shortages in some parts of the UK, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Gina McCarthy and billionaire climate philanthropist Michael Bloomberg have an article in the Boston Globe, reflecting on last week’s agreement to close the last coal plants in New England. The article authors, both of whom grew up in Massachusetts, note that this means the region will be free from coal pollution for the first time in more than a century. They note that the move brings the US closer to a wider goal, namely the closure of all its coal plants by 2030. “A decade ago, new coal plants were still opening. Opposing them was a political third rail. A cap-and-trade bill, which would have incentivised companies to reduce their emissions, had failed to get 60 votes in the Senate,” they write: “Many people thought that congressional inaction meant the end of US leadership on climate change. But we refused to believe that – and we refused to let politics get in the way of clean air and climate progress.” They explain the success of the Beyond Coal campaign in pushing for coal plant closures and emphasise the benefits of switching to low-carbon power. They conclude: “As states kick coal and keep their commitments to a clean energy transition, we urge the federal government to act as well. The EPA is nearing the end of a years-long process to set stronger national limits on coal pollution. Those rules will help ensure that more communities can breathe clean and healthy air, and given their pressing importance to public health, the Biden administration should make them official without delay.”

Elsewhere, an editorial in the Los Angeles Times considers the Californian city of Berkeley’s recent agreement to abandon a “first-in-the-nation” move to ban new buildings from connecting to gas, after losing a court challenge. The article says that while this may seem like a loss for climate action, it is in fact “little more than a bump in the road”. It continues: “The transition to all-electric buildings is so well underway that legal obstacles thrown up by the fossil fuel industry and its allies won’t be enough to stop it. The market is already moving away from gas appliances in favour of electric models.”

A new study finds that “confrontational” protests and civil disobedience may increase the public’s concerns about climate change. Using weekly survey data from Germany over 2016-20, researchers investigate how public attitudes toward climate change are altered in the days after climate protests held by each of three different climate action advocacy groups. They find that concern about climate change increases, on average, by slightly more than one percentage point following climate protests, while there is no “significant evidence” of concern decreasing among any subgroup of people. They write: “Our results suggest that the analysed protests have been an effective means to remind society of the consequences of climate change time and again.”