The Biden administration in the US has finalised a plan to cut emissions from the nation’s power plants – one of its most significant climate policies, according to the New York Times. The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation requires US coal power plants to cut 90% of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2032 if they are going to continue operating beyond 2039, the newspaper says. It explains that coal plants which are set to close by 2039 would only have to cut their emissions 16% by 2030, and those that retire before 2032 would not have to follow the new rules. The newspaper notes that, along with three other measures being introduced to curb toxic air pollutants from coal plants, the new regulation will be a “death blow” for coal power in the US. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which the administration’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act provides support for, is recommended as a method of compliance for power plants, according to the Financial Times. The newspaper reports that, “if implemented, the new rules will mark the first time the US government will enforce a federal emissions standard on the power sector”. It notes that the new rules are “carefully tailored” to avoid legal challenges, following a supreme court ruling in 2022 that made it harder for the EPA to regulate emissions. Nevertheless, the Associated Press reports that the plan is “likely to be challenged” by Republican-leaning states and industry groups, who have accused the federal government of “overreach” and said the nations will face problems with the reliability of its grid in the coming years. 

Inside Climate News says newly built gas power plants will also face restrictions on emissions, but says the EPA “decided to go back to the drawing board before finalising rules to address existing natural gas plants”. According to Politico, the agency decided instead to “pursue a second rulemaking” for gas power that will be underway until at least 2025. “That timing would allow Trump to reverse course on the gas regulations if he wins the White House,” it adds, referring to the climate-sceptic Republican who is challenging Democrat Joe Biden for the presidency later this year. However, Heatmap reports that the new rules, which also require newly built gas power plants to slash their emissions by 90% by 2032, “could change the calculus for gas” in the US. It explains that such cuts could only be achieved with CCS, which will remain “cost-prohibitive” in many cases, especially for new gas power developments in the south-eastern US, where many of planned plants are located. Bloomberg reports that the new rules have sparked concerns from some in the power sector about the closure of coal plants they say are essential for demand – at a time when “artificial intelligence, data centres and vehicle electrification are driving up demand”.

In related news, the New York Times reports that the Biden administration has also finalised a rule “meant to speed up federal permits for major transmission lines”, as part of a broader effort to expand the US grid so it can accommodate more renewable power. The new rule would make the energy department the lead agency in charge of federal environmental reviews for some interstate power lines, with the aim of handing out the necessary permits within two years, the newspaper explains. Finally, Reuters reports that four Republican-led states – Texas, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming – are suing the federal government in an effort to block a rule that cracks down on methane leaks during oil and gas drilling on public lands.

Scientists say the recent storms that left Dubai underwater and killed more than 20 people in Oman and another four across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were “likely” made worse by climate change, BBC News reports. The rapid analysis – by researchers at the World Weather Attribution (WWA) – concludes that the warmer climate made the record rainfall 10-40% heavier, but that the natural weather pattern known as El Niño also contributed to the intense storms, the news website continues. The scientists also find that, despite some media reports, artificial “cloud seeding” to create more rain did not have “significant influence” on the flooding, it adds. Al Jazeera quotes the researchers saying that: “Warming, caused by burning fossil fuels, is the most likely explanation for the increasing rainfall…There are no other known explanations.” The news source says that the storm dumped two years’ worth of rain on the UAE within days, leading to “severe disruption” with major roads blocked by floods, power outages and some people trapped in their homes. According to Bloomberg, infrastructure in the UAE and Oman is “poorly suited to deal with increasingly intense flash floods”, with more than 80% of people living on “low-lying, flood-prone ground”. The Guardian included the caveat that “a dearth of historical rainfall statistics meant the researchers could not precisely determine how much of the increase was due to human-caused climate change”, but adds that “they found that global heating, caused by burning fossil fuels, was the most likely explanation for the record downpour”.

Authorities in the Thai capital of Bangkok have issued an extreme heat warning as the city hit 40.1C on Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse. It explains that the “heat index” – a “measure of what the temperature feels like taking into account humidity, wind speed and other factors” – was expected to rise above 52C. The city’s environment department described this as an “extremely dangerous” level, the news outlet adds, adding that authorities in the Udon Thani province in north-east Thailand also warned of “blazing” temperatures. According to the national health ministry, 30 people have already died from heatstroke as of 17 April this year, compared with 37 in the whole of 2023, the article continues. The Bangkok Post reports on comments from the country’s meteorological department that high temperatures during the current heatwave could break records of 44.6C set in 2016 and 2023. Bloomberg says that “south-east Asia’s second-largest economy has been bracing for hotter-than-normal days due to the El Niño weather pattern that’s forecast to last until June”.

Elsewhere, there is also reporting on a heatwave in Bangladesh, with local newspaper the Daily Star running a headline stating: “High temperature days: Barring miracle, record of 76 years breaks today.” It says that, already, “at least 23 days of this month were heatwave days, which equals the record set in 2019 for the entire year”. The Independent reports that the “punishing heatwave” has forced the government in Bangladesh to shut schools for 33 million children “as the country battles the hottest April in three decades”.

Finally, the Guardian has an article with the headline, “Wave of exceptionally hot weather scorches south and south-east Asia”. It says millions of people across the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and India are facing dangerous temperatures as the hottest months of the year are made worse by El Niño. The article adds that “human-caused climate breakdown is supercharging extreme weather across the world, driving more frequent and more deadly disasters from heatwaves to floods to wildfires”.

State broadcaster CCTV covers comments by China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) that China’s carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP are expected to fall by 3.9% in 2024. Reuters reports that the combination of “rapid growth in solar with a post-drought recovery in hydro[power] generation” should limit demand for coal between April and September 2024, adding that recent record-breaking spring rainfall will boost hydropower in south China. Economic newswire Jiemian reports that, according to a forecast by the China Electricity Council (CEC), some areas will see increasing pressure on consumption of new energy and a decrease in its utilisation rates. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that the state-owned PetroChina believes China’s transport sector will see oil consumption peak next year “at the latest” amid the rapidity of new energy vehicle (NEV) adoption. Bloomberg says that “China has effectively established a veto over new oil developments” that lie within the “10-dash line” in the South China Sea. (The line sets out China’s “vast claims” across the South China Sea, based on “a vague 1947 map”, the outlet explains.)

Meanwhile, following extreme flooding in Guangdong province, the state-run China Daily reports that southern China saw double the usual monthly rainfall in April, due to a combination of global warming and El Niño, according to meteorological experts. Reuters, citing local media, says that a town in northern Guangdong had to be evacuated following “relentless rains, hail and winds of near hurricane intensity” in the area. State news agency Xinhua reports that, since the beginning of April, 59 rivers in the Pearl River basin have experienced flooding exceeding warning levels, with floods occurring more than one month earlier than usual. An editorial in SCMP says that the deadly flooding in Guangdong has coincided with extreme drought in Yunnan province, showing “how critical the issue of climate change has become”.

SCMP reports that Shanghai party chief Chen Jining met with US secretary of state Antony Blinken, telling him that “whether China and the US choose cooperation or confrontation” will affect “the future of humanity”. Xinhua carries a commentary arguing that claims of overcapacity in Chinese new energy industries “starkly contradict the prevailing reality of significant undercapacity in the industry”, given “consistent global demand for Chinese new energy products”. China Daily reprints an opinion piece by Hong Kong newspaper IFeng arguing that says “just as the US sells various financial products to the world, China also sells mechanical and electrical products, textiles and clothing… There is no such thing as overcapacity”.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has ended its power sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party, in a “shock move” following a “controversial decision” last week to scrap the Scottish government’s 2030 climate target, BusinessGreen reports. The news website says Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf did not give a specific reason for ending the so-called Bute House Agreement between the two parties. However, the article adds that he was “thought to have been under growing pressure inside his party for a change in tack, amid deepening divisions with the Scottish Greens on key issues surrounding climate action, housing, council tax rates and gender policy reforms”. According to the Financial Times, Green co-leader Lorna Slater said the SNP had repeatedly let down her party’s attempts to introduce a “fairer, greener Scotland”, including in policies targeting the oil and gas industry. Politico has a piece titled “how a climate U-turn broke the Scottish government”. It says Yousaf’s move “days of recriminations” from the Greens over the decision to scrap the target of cutting emissions by 75% by 2030. Now, the first minister faces a vote of confidence in the Scottish parliament next week, it adds. The Press Association reports on calls from campaigners for clarity on Scotland’s climate commitments, following the collapse of the power sharing agreement. The story makes the frontpages of both the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, Sky News reports on an interview with the outgoing chief executive of UK government advisers the Climate Change Committee (CCC), Chris Stark, in which he issues a warning about the politicisation of “net-zero”. Speaking about prime minister Rishi Sunak’s rollback of climate policies, Stark told the news outlet: “He framed net-zero as a cost, I see it as an opportunity…If it is just about managing costs, then net-zero is going to be very difficult to achieve.” A Times story focuses on Stark’s praise for former prime minister Boris Johnson, regarding his approach to climate action. The CCC head told the newspaper that Johnson “definitely understood the science” and was good at talking about the economic benefits of low-carbon technologies. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports – in a story trailed on its frontpage – that Carlos Tavares, chief executive of car manufacturer Stellantis, has said the UK’s requirement for carmakers to sell a growing share of electric cars is “terrible for the UK”. The newspaper says that when asked whether his company would stop selling models in the UK, Tavares said: “I’m not going to sell cars at a loss.”

Finally, the Daily Mirror covers a new report that finds former coalfield communities across the UK are still facing high rates of unemployment, 40 years after the miners’ strike. There is an accompanying editorial (not yet online), noting that “the con­sequences of Mar­garet Thatcher’s bru­tal clos­ure of the coal mines is still being felt to this day”.

With the Petersberg Climate Dialogue – a meeting of the world’s top climate diplomats – underway in Berlin, Climate Home News reports that “divisions are sharpening” over who should provide money to help developing countries cut emissions and deal with the impacts of climate change. The article notes that a new international climate finance goal is “the most important decision” set to take place at this year’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan. It notes that a four-day session in Cartagena, Colombia, this week saw negotiators trying to “sketch the first outline of a deal”. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said at the opening of the climate conference in Berlin that the Gulf states and China should start contributing to climate finance, Reuters reports. “Rich developed countries, which agreed in past UN talks to provide support to help poor countries cope with climate change, are hoping to persuade countries that are so far exempt…to join them,” the article states.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that Azerbaijan, a major fossil-fuel producer as well as holder of the upcoming COP presidency, has stated it is “working on” submitting a national climate plan that is aligned with the 1.5C warming goal of the Paris Agreement.  Finally, Agence France-Presse reports that the Taliban government that rules Afghanistan has engaged in its first ever UN climate talks in recent days.

There is extensive commentary on the end to the power sharing agreement between the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Green Party, both in the UK and international media. A Guardian editorial says the rift is “no surprise” following the SNP’s decision to drop its 2030 climate target. It says that if first minister Humza Yousaf expected the Greens to compromise on the climate policy rollback, “he badly miscalculated”. However, it adds that “the causes and consequences of the coalition’s rupture go far beyond the response to the climate emergency, immensely important though this is. It had increasingly faced credibility problems in other areas of policy and government too, with a tendency to legislate ambitiously and to consider the implementation problems, and sometimes the public’s anxieties, only afterwards”. Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, writes in the Scotsman that the “real losers” are not the political figures involved: “It’s the planet and its inhabitants that lose out because of this rabble of an administration’s lack of focus, drive and competence.” By contrast, a Times editorial calls the decision to scrap Scotland’s “unachievable” 2030 emissions target “a rare outbreak of common sense” for the SNP. A Daily Telegraph editorial says “the collapse of the Scottish coalition government was inevitable from the moment the Greens threatened to withdraw in protest at a watering down of net-zero targets”. 

Many commentators in right-leaning newspapers celebrate the rift with the Green Party in Scotland. In an article titled, “good days are few and far between in politics – and this is a good day”, Daily Telegraph Scottish editor Alan Cochrane describes the Greens as “neo-Marxists”. According to a comment piece by Gordon Rayner, associate editor at the Daily Telegraph, “there were early warnings from some SNP supporters that the Greens were ‘extremists’ who had pushed the party too far to the fringes of policy on climate, in particular”. A piece in the Scottish Sun by associate editor Chris Musson takes aim at the Greens’ wider agenda, stating: “It’s one thing for the party of the environment to get upset with missed climate targets. But it’s quite another to go ballistic about the fact the NHS has paused prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to confused kids who question their gender.” The Wall Street Journal has an editorial titled, “net-zero crashes in Scotland”, which reflects on the political chaos unfolding and concludes: “It makes you wonder how much longer politicians elsewhere will keep pretending that their net-zero plans are at all credible.”

Meanwhile, in London, an Evening Standard editorial considers the upcoming mayoral election and says: “The focus will now be on the core issues of the environment and clean air – specifically [London mayor Sadiq] Khan’s radical Ulez [ultra-low emissions zone] and low traffic neighbourhoods.”

Finally, Labour’s shadow communities and local government secretary Steve Reed has a comment article in the Guardian titled, “Britain’s natural landscape is in ruins – thanks to the Tories. Here’s how Labour will restore it”. He writes: “Better public transport and speeding up the switch from petrol to electric vehicles will clean up our air. Building natural flood defences and planting more trees will reduce the damage caused by severe rainstorms. Nurturing nature-rich habitats, including wetlands, forests and peat bogs, will capture and store carbon.”

A new study finds that CO2 emissions from degraded peatlands are higher when those peatlands have been drained than when they have been subjected to drought. Researchers examine three field sites in Indonesia: a forest that was “almost undrained”, one that had been drained severely and one that had been subjected to repeated burning. By comparing more than a decade’s worth of data, they quantify the emissions associated with droughts, draining, deforestation and other disturbances. Projected decreases in rainfall in the future due to climate change could lead to an increase in CO2 emissions, while rewetting drained peatlands could significantly decrease emissions, the authors say.