The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to delay “highly anticipated” limits on emissions from existing gas power plants, the Hill reports. Instead, the agency has said it will tackle emissions from these plants at a later date, but when it does so it will introduce more comprehensive rules that cover the entire fleet – as opposed to the “fraction” that would have been covered under its initial proposal, the article continues. For now, the piece explains, the EPA still intends to finalise emissions limits for newly built gas plants and existing coal plants. The Washington Post says the rules for existing gas plants, which are a “crucial part” of President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, “probably won’t be finalised until after November, so its fate will rest on the outcome of the 2024 election”. The newspaper explains that the delay on this part of the regulations is a response to environmental justice groups’ concerns that the initial proposals were not “protective enough of disadvantaged communities that have breathed unhealthy air for decades”. It notes that the more comprehensive rules that the EPA plans further down the line would therefore cover harmful air pollutants in addition to greenhouse gases. Bloomberg says the cap on emissions from existing coal plants and new gas plants is expected to be set by April. The New York Times notes that the delay comes as the US administration is also set to relax elements of another major rule limiting emissions from cars, in a bid to appease automakers and labour unions. “The weakening of the Biden administration’s two most ambitious climate rules would call into question the ability of the US to meet the president’s goal of cutting US emissions roughly in half by the end of this decade,” the newspaper adds. The Associated Press captures the mixed opinions among environmental groups, with some saying that the delay will ultimately deliver better results, and others concerned about the risk of pushing decisions beyond the November presidential election.

Meanwhile, another Hill article reports that Biden has announced three nominations for new members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which, if confirmed, “would make the independent commission majority Biden appointees”. Reuters notes that “if the nominees are confirmed, they could play a role in approving liquified natural gas projects after the lifting of Biden’s pause on new applications for exports of the fuel to big markets in Asia and Europe”. (For more on Biden’s LNG “pause”, see Carbon Brief’s Q&A on the topic.)

In more US policy news, the Guardian reports on new analysis from the thinktank Transportation for America that concludes money from the $1.2tn bipartisan infrastructure law has “overwhelmingly poured into the maintenance and widening of roads rather than improving the threadbare network of bus, rail and cycling options available to Americans”. The group describes this spending as a “climate time bomb” that will lock in emissions for the future.

A rapidly spreading Texas wildfire has burned 1.1m acres – a larger area than the state of Rhode Island – now making it the second-largest fire in US history, BBC News reports. The fire has forced people to evacuate their homes, cut off power and briefly paused operations at a nuclear facility, the article continues. It adds that the Smokehouse Creek fire, as the blaze has been dubbed, has been driven by dry grass, high temperatures and strong winds. The fire is also the largest fire to have ever hit the state of Texas, as the Washington Post notes, amid “abnormal winter heat that set records across the Lone Star State”. Two people have been confirmed dead, according to NBC News. The “explosive growth” of the Smokehouse Creek fire slowed on Thursday as snow fell, but temperatures and winds are set to increase on Friday and into the weekend, the Associated Press reports. It notes that it is the largest of several major fires burning across the rural “panhandle” section in the north of the state, and it has also crossed into Oklahoma. 

In its coverage, the Texas Tribune notes that “wildfires have become more frequent and severe in the western US because of warmer and drier conditions, factors that are worsening because of climate change”. The New York Times has an article titled “climate change is raising Texas’ already high wildfire risks”. It cites experts who point out that “as the climate changes, the very concept of a fire season is becoming blurry”, with risk of fires striking the region now a year-round threat rather than being confined to certain months. The article also points to analysis that suggests Texas is the state with the second-highest number of properties that are vulnerable to wildfires, behind Florida. Meanwhile, Fox News reports that US president Joe Biden has made a clear link between the fire in Texas and climate change. He referenced the fire in a speech, before adding: “The idea there’s no such thing as climate change. I love that, man…I love some of my Neanderthal friends who still think there’s no climate change.”

Meanwhile, the Guardian reports on new analysis that concludes the El Niño event this year is “likely to supercharge global heating and deliver record-breaking temperatures” around the world, from “the Amazon to Alaska”. It adds that the record-breaking temperatures in the Amazon will increase the risk of wildfires in the region.

Governments meeting at the UN environment assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi, Kenya, this week have failed to agree on how solar radiation management – or solar geoengineering – should be regulated, Climate Home News. The article explains that the techniques aimed at reducing the effects of climate change by dimming the sunlight reaching the planet are “controversial”, but a group of nations led by Switzerland had wanted to set up an expert panel to research them. Meanwhile, nations led by the African Group had wanted to ban the practice outright, it adds. “As countries were unable to reach consensus at talks on Wednesday, the status quo will continue. Solar radiation management is currently legal in most nations,” the piece explains. Reuters reports that the resolution went through six revisions over two weeks before being withdrawn. It notes that critics are concerned about potential side effects on weather patterns and agriculture, especially in poorer countries, and that geoengineering “could serve as an excuse to delay cutbacks on greenhouse gas emissions”. It adds that, according to the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), the EU, Pacific Island states, Colombia and Mexico were also opposed to the resolution.

US president Joe Biden took steps to “block internet-connected Chinese cars and trucks” from accessing the American auto market, “including electric vehicles (EVs)”, by “opening of a commerce department investigation into security threats, which could lead to new regulations or restrictions on Chinese vehicles”, the New York Times reports. It adds that Biden administration officials said that this was “the first step in what could be a wide range of policy responses meant to stop low-cost Chinese EVs” from “potentially driving domestic automakers out of business”. The Financial Times also covers the news, quoting a US treasury official as saying that this restriction is “motivated by the national security risk…though it fits into a broader strategy for making sure that we are supporting a strong US auto industry”. The Daily Telegraph trails the story on its frontpage. State news agency Xinhua publishes comments by China’s ministry of commerce (MOFCOM) spokesperson He Yadong that China urges the US to “create conditions for fair competition and long-term development in the automotive industry” and that China has “always opened its doors to global automotive companies, allowing American car companies to fully enjoy the dividends of the vast Chinese market”. 

Meanwhile, business outlet Caixin reports that almost 50% of power traded on China’s electricity market in 2023 was generated by wind and solar plants, “doubling from just two years ago”. Bloomberg covers the publication of data by the national bureau of statistics (NBS), which shows that China burned “record amounts of coal, oil and natural gas” in 2023, with coal consumption rising 5.6% year-on-year. It adds that carbon emissions per unit of GDP – the reduction of which is a key climate goal – “remained flat”. BJX News also covers the data release, reporting that electricity generated from clean energy sources such as hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and solar power totaled 3.2 terawatt-hours, a 7.8% increase from the previous year. 

Separately, the state-run industry newspaper China Electric Power News reports that President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting to discuss the government work report to be published at the Two Sessions – a major political meeting in March. The meeting called for policymakers to “strengthen ecological civilisation construction and promote green and low-carbon development”. Another article by the newspaper says that energy security is bound to be an “important topic” at the Two Sessions.

The industry newspaper China Energy News reports that China has issued a guideline to accelerate the green development of the manufacturing industry, which advocates implementing actions to “clean and efficiently utilise coal” and encourage “coal substitution in key energy-consuming industries”. Another article by China Energy News reports that the national development and reform commission (NDRC) has revised and finalised the 2024 guiding catalogue for green and low-carbon transition industries. Finally, BJX News reports that the NDRC and the national energy administration (NEA) have “formally issued specific requirements” for the development of distribution networks, which is the first time the topic has been addressed in official documents since the introduction of the “dual carbon” targets.

India’s solar and wind deployment is set to increase by more than 30% in 2024, rising by a record 16.7 gigawatts (GW), up from nearly 13GW last year, Bloomberg reports. The pace is driven by falling solar module prices and increasing clean energy procurement by industries, it adds. However, according to the article, this pace is “still not fast enough” to meet the official national clean energy goal of 500GW by the end of this decade. Some of the factors that are holding back further growth include “policy uncertainty, solar import restrictions and grid constraints”, it concludes. Meanwhile, another Bloomberg story reports that India’s cabinet has approved a 750bn-rupee (£7.2bn) plan to add solar panels to 10m homes across the nation.

Meanwhile, India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal tells the Financial Times that trade and the environment “are two separate issues” and attempts by rich nations to link sustainability with agreements were “biased”. In particular, the article says Goyal criticised unilateral EU trade measures such as the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and its deforestation law that would force importers of some commodities to prove they were not grown on land that has been deforested. Another Financial Times article reports that the CBAM is showing “teething problems”, with only a “small fraction” of European companies in areas such as aluminium, steel, iron and fertilisers complying with a reporting deadline on their carbon-intensive imports. The newspaper says the story “underlin[es] the challenge of EU efforts to tax CO2 heavy products entering the bloc from 2026”.

The leaders of the devolved UK governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all refused to approve any of the six shortlisted candidates for chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) – the government’s official climate advisory body, according to the Guardian. The article says the government has been “accused of trying to blunt the teeth of the UK’s net-zero watchdog by appointing a Tory loyalist”. It notes that the dispute has delayed progress in appointing a successor to Lord Deben, himself a former Conservative environment minister who has “repeatedly challenged ministers for being insufficiently radical in their policies on combating global heating”. The newspaper says the shortlist includes Sir Ian Cheshire, the former chair of Barclays Bank, as “the government’s preferred candidate”, along with “several serving or former Tory MPs and peers” and a Conservative-supporting businessman. Sources tell the newspaper that there were concerns about the diversity of the shortlisted candidates, and that it was an attempt to place a Conservative as chair in anticipation of Labour winning the next general election. Meanwhile, the Conservative deputy leader in Scotland, Meghan Gallacher, has called on the Scottish National Party to end its power sharing agreement with the Greens and “kick [them] out of government” in Scotland due to their “extreme” views, according to the Press Association.

Ahead of next week’s budget announcement, Bloomberg reports that chancellor Jeremy Hunt is “weighing proposals” to extend the windfall tax on oil-and-gas company profits “as one of several revenue-raising options under consideration to help finance personal tax cuts”. However, the Guardian notes that such a move – which has also been proposed by the opposition Labour party – “is said to be low on [Hunt’s] list of preferred ways to raise money”.

In more UK news, the Times reports that Drax, which generates 4% of the UK’s power and runs a biomass power plant in North Yorkshire, has seen its profits rise by more than a third to £1bn. The article notes that the company’s future financial success will depend partly on subsidies that have been awarded to it by the UK government, which will support its “controversial” plans to capture and store carbon at its facilities. “Experts argue that the speed at which trees are grown means biomass is not green and may be making climate change worse,” the article notes. Meanwhile, BusinessGreen reports that Drax is exploring the possibility of storing carbon in the North Sea in the “same week as it faces fresh questions over the sustainability of wood chips sourced from North America”. 

A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds that energy-related CO2 emissions increased to a record level in 2023, Agence France-Presse reports. In its annual update on emissions, the IEA says CO2 emissions rose by 1.1% in 2023, increasing by 410m tonnes (MtCO2) to a record 37.4bn tonnes – but slowing down from a gain of 490MtCO2 in 2022, the outlet reports. It notes that “growth slowed from previous years thanks to continued expansion of clean technologies”. Bloomberg quotes the IEA stating that “without clean energy technologies, the global increase in CO2 emissions in the last five years would have been three times larger”.

BusinessGreen editor James Murray explains in a blog post the importance of the UK Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) advice to the government this week on not “carrying forward” its “surplus” emissions cuts in order to make its next climate target easier to meet. Murray even refers to this as “the most important domestic climate policy decision of the past decade”, noting that “it is a technical and somewhat arcane change to how emissions are recorded for the next carbon budget period that could yet determine the pace at which the UK decarbonises this decade”. Murray explains: “It should be obvious why such an accountancy trick would be unwise. If you decided to lose weight by going on a diet that cut your calories by 10% a day, and then found that for a couple of weeks you were particularly busy and actually managed to cut your calories by 20% a day, you would surely recognise how foolish it would be to spend the next week bingeing on doughnuts to get your calories up to 110% of your original intake for the next week.” He cites Carbon Brief analysis that found rolling over all the surplus emissions cuts from the third carbon budget into the fourth carbon budget could increase emissions by 15%. Among other issues, Murray says that “effectively weakening future emissions targets would also make it easier for the government to go into the next election promising to dilute more decarbonisation policies as part of its self-styled ‘pragmatic’ net-zero strategy”.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the Spectator takes aim at those suggesting that the transition to net-zero will boost the UK economy, pointing to examples such as job losses at the Port Talbot steel factory in Wales. It says: “Investment and jobs are welcome in clean energy, just as in any industry. However, there is little joy in celebrating the creation of ‘net-zero jobs’ if, overall, the target to achieve net-zero is costing you many more jobs while you lose your remaining industrial base due to high energy costs and excessive regulation imposed by net-zero targets.” The editorial dismisses the cases of the US and the EU, where leaders have been focusing on promoting green industry with investment and tax breaks. Meanwhile, an article by Daily Telegraph climate-sceptic columnist Matthew Lynn takes aim at the “reckless imposition of fanatical net-zero rules” for Welsh farmers in an article headlined, “The farmers’ net-zero revolt has come to Britain. About time.”

A new study finds that even a small amount of future warming, in line with the low end of current projections, “likely will cause severe drought” in the upper Colorado River basin (UCRB). By using tree rings to reconstruct historical streamflow, researchers identify 51 droughts that occurred in the region since the year 1 AD, influenced by both natural variability and human-caused warming. They then calculate potential future changes to streamflow under 14 warming scenarios. The researchers conclude: “The effects of warming combined with a shift to dry periods…likely will result in unprecedented UCRB drought conditions.”