The US has withdrawn from talks in London at the UN shipping agency’s headquarters aiming to advance decarbonising in the sector, reports Reuters. “Washington will consider ‘reciprocal measures’ to offset any fees charged to US ships”, according to a diplomatic note seen by the newswire. The Trump administration has called the International Maritime Organization’s plans to set a carbon tax on international shipping “blatantly unfair”, reports Politico. A US letter aimed at blocking the process, seen by the publication, reads: “President Trump has made it clear that the US will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the US or the interest of the American people.” Bloomberg notes: “It’s unclear where this will leave attempts to decarbonize shipping. Speaking before this week’s meeting, there was optimism among several people following the talks that the US couldn’t unilaterally upend the process. There’s a wider question now about whether other countries will follow Washington’s lead.” The letter is “likely to anger environmentalists and countries that have been pushing for strong measures to decarbonise shipping”, reports the Financial Times. By Friday, countries at the IMO meeting are expected to agree to the first global price for an industry’s carbon emissions, it adds.

US president Donald Trump has “taken aim” at city and state-led fossil fuel accountability efforts, reports the Guardian. In a new executive order, Trump instructed the Department of Justice to “stop the enforcement” of state climate laws. The article quotes the executive order, which says: “These state laws and policies are fundamentally irreconcilable with my administration’s objective to unleash American energy. They should not stand.” As part of the executive order, Trump has directed “US attorney Pam Bondi to identify state laws or regulations that could impede the use of domestic oil and gas”, reports Bloomberg. According to people “familiar with the matter”, it follows oil executives pointing to state climate laws in a recent meeting with the president, the article notes. “It’s an example of how the industry is getting much of what it wants from the administration, even as Trump’s global tariffs have triggered a sharp drop in crude prices over the past week,” the article states. The order calls out several states specifically, including New York and Vermont which Trump says are “extorting” fossil-fuel companies for their contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, reports the Los Angeles Times. 

 In related news, US shale oil products are “facing their gravest threat in years, as a sudden crude price sell-off triggered by Donald Trump’s trade war has pushed parts of the sector to the brink of failure, executives have warned”, reports the Financial Times. Oil prices “retreated” as Trump “ramped up a trade war with China” on Thursday, even as he announced a 90-day pause on tariffs aimed at other countries, reports Reuters. Oil prices bounced back to $62, having “swung wildly” over the past week following Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs on “liberation day”, trading as high as $72 a barrel and as low as $55, reports the New York Times. “Rapidly falling oil prices signal pessimism about economic growth and can be a harbinger of a recession as manufacturers cut production, businesses cut travel costs and families rethink vacation plans”, notes the Washington Post. As well as their impact on oil, Trump’s “trade war will pile costs onto the fast-growing US energy storage industry – and slow it down”, reports Bloomberg.

In other US news, the White House is ending funding for the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which produces the federal government’s “pre-eminent climate report”, reports the Guardian. Every four years, USGCRP is required by Congress to release an assessment that summarises the impacts of rising global temperatures on the US, to ensure leaders understand the drivers of and threats posed by global warming, it adds. USGCRP was created in 1990 by Congress to coordinate research and investment on climate change and has now overseen the last five national climate assessments, reports Reuters. Officials have said that NASA has now cancelled the contract with consulting firm ICF International, which coordinates the research programme and the 13 federal agencies that write the climate assessment, reports Politico. “Killing that contract has “forever severed” climate change work occurring across agencies, said one federal official heavily involved in USGCRP efforts, who was granted anonymity to discuss the politically sensitive issue to avoid retribution”, the article continues. The New York Times says: “The Trump administration announced it is cutting nearly $4m in federal funding for climate change research at Princeton University, saying that the work promoted ‘exaggerated and implausible climate threats’ and increased ‘climate anxiety’ among young Americans.”

The parties forming Germany’s next government have presented their coalition treaty in Berlin, including reasserting the country’s commitment to climate targets and eyeing foreign carbon credits, reports Argus Media. Four party leaders – Friedrich Merz of the CDU, Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken of the SPD, and Markus Soeder of the CDU’s Bavarian sister party CSU – highlighted their plan for reaching climate neutrality in Germany by 2045 “by combining climate action, economic competitiveness and social balance, and by focusing on innovation”, the article adds. The treaty calls for further development of the European Green Deal and Clean Industrial Act to “bring competitiveness and climate action together”, stressing the importance of carbon-pricing instruments, the article notes. The parties announced plans to “provide purchase incentives for electric cars, including plug-in hybrids and cars fitted with range extenders to boost an EV’s battery, and promised tax discounts for company cars including an exemption from vehicle tax for electric cars to last until 2035”, reports Reuters. Euractiv reports that the coalition has delayed plans for nuclear power and instead “double[d] down on gas”. It quotes the coalition agreement, which states: “The schedule for taking coal-fired power plants off the grid or into reserve must depend on how quickly controllable gas-fired power plants can actually be built”. Merz’s new administration’s plan also promises energy price reductions through reform, reports Politico.

China’s car sales grew 14% in March year-on-year to 2m units, reports financial news outlet Jiemian, as the sector “continues to benefit from the government trade-in programme”. New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows that there has been a “less-intense price war compared to last year…[due to] the ‘two-new’ policy”. The outlet adds that March’s growth rose at the “fastest” pace since 2018. Car exports, however, “fell 8% from a year earlier”, Reuters reports, quoting CPCA secretary general Cui Dongshu saying the US tariffs “were expected to have a major indirect impact on export sales”. Bloomberg says China’s “electric vehicle (EV) boom” has put pressure on “manufacturing hubs that rely on foreign carmakers…[which are] falling behind cities home to hugely popular domestic brands”. The Financial Times reports that China’s “dominance” in making EV battery materials has “put pressure on western groups…which have to contend with low-priced Chinese material”. Another Financial Times article says the battery sector “is a clear example of China’s prowess in capturing industries and squeezing efficiencies until foreign rivals can no longer keep up”. Europe is also likely to “produce only a small portion of rare earths it needs for EVs and wind turbines by 2030”, due to “cheap competition” from China, Reuters notes.

Meanwhile, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez is due to visit China on Friday, Bloomberg reports, adding that his focus on the “green transition at a time when the Trump administration is undermining global efforts to tackle climate change…[is] another reason that the government is working on its relationship with China and keen for more investments”. Sanchez is expected to “meet lithium miner Tianqi, state-owned conglomerate China Three Gorges, automaker SAIC and other energy firms”, according to Reuters. 

Elsewhere, China has issued new guidance on developing “virtual power plants” that calls for them to have “completed electricity market participation” by 2027 and to account for “more than 50 gigawatts by 2030”, reports energy news outlet International Energy Net. China has also launched draft regulations for comment on “basic rules for electricity market accounting and settlement”, which covers medium- and long-term electricity markets, the spot market, ancillary service market and retail market, says industry news outlet BJX News. The country also issued a new document calling for desert and arid lands in the Yellow River Basin to be “transformed into clean-energy corridors”, says International Energy Net. The state-run Economic Daily publishes a story headlined: “Environmental protection inspectors to reduce burdens but not pressure.”

The amount of electricity needed to power data centres around the world is expected to double in the next five years, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency, reports Sky News. “It will come as racks of servers hosting the latest AI models and cloud computing services use three times more electricity than the UK each year,” the article adds. While renewable energy capacity is expected to meet some of this demand increase, gas generation will “often best match the demand patterns of data centers”, reports Bloomberg. However, “fears that the rapid adoption of AI will destroy hopes of tackling the climate crisis have been ‘overstated’, according to the report”, adds the Guardian. “That is because harnessing AI to make energy use and other activities more efficient could result in savings that reduce greenhouse gas emissions overall,” the article notes.

Habitat loss driven by climate change will affect more than 90% of Brazil’s biodiversity by 2100, according to a study covered by O Globo. The study, published by researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, points out that if climate change continues at the current rate, a quarter of the country’s species will be at risk of extinction, with the most affected regions being the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon.

In other news from Latin America, the layoff in the US of NOAA scientists is having consequences for Argentina’s science, reports La Nación. The country’s weather service relies on NOAA’s data and infrastructure to generate its own weather and climate forecasts. Carla Gulizia, a researcher of Argentina’s national scientific and technical research council, says Argentinian scientists use NOAA data collected via “satellites, weather balloons, in situ data and other technologies”. 

Elsewhere, El Financiero reports that Mexico will host its own climate action week for the first time this year. According to the newspaper, the event, inspired by the NY Climate Week and organised by the Climate Group and the UN, aims to “catalys[e] real change through concrete and measurable action for the planet”. It will take place 8-10 October in Mexico City. Also in Mexico, the fire control manager of the national forest commission tells La Jornada that the wildfire season in the country has prolonged due to drought and climate change. Last year, the country registered fires until July, when they usually decrease in May due to the start of the hurricane season.

Finally, Cipher carries an interview with André Corrêa do Lago, the president-designate for COP30 in Brazil. He says: “I think it’s very constructive to criticise how the COP works…We will obviously do what is possible to make the COP more inspiring to all those who go.”

Writing in the Guardian, William Ruto, the president of Kenya, and Patrick Verkooijen, the chief executive of the Global Center on Adaptation, argue that “Africa is proof that investing in climate resilience works – and that it makes good business sense”. While the US’s “new direction” on climate has sent “shock waves throughout the world”, much has changed since Trump’s first presidency meaning there is a “lot to be hopeful about”, they write. This includes investment for “renewable energy, green transport and smart agriculture”, with the “benefits of early action well understood”, they continue. “Climate denialism should not blind investors and governments to the very real opportunities on their doorstep,” conclude Ruto and Verkooijen. 

In other comment, an editorial in the Times calls on the UK government to “radically rework its policies on energy to bring down costs to competitive levels” in response to “the plight of British Steel”. In the Daily Express, climate-sceptic columnist Esther Krakue argues that “Starmer’s steel sticking plaster will only last until next crisis hits UK”. In the Sun, climate-sceptic columnist Rod Liddle argues that UK energy secretary Ed Miliband’s “net-zero schemes will cost us a fortune”. In the Daily Mail, climate-sceptic writer Ross Clark and journalist Guy Adams critique Drax’s “green claims” over two pages in the print edition of the newspaper. In Conservative Home, Jack Richardson, an associate fellow at the Council on Geostrategy and head of policy at Octopus Energy, questions the role of gas in energy security. And in the Times, lawyer Alessio Sbraga argues that the “push for greener shipping is welcome – but more clarity is needed”.

Trade risks to energy security decrease in 70% of countries examined under future net-zero scenarios due to a reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels, according to a new study. The researchers find that fossil-fuel rich countries may face higher trade risks, while risks for nations with critical mineral reserves could be lower. The study authors find that risks for electricity or transport systems increase in most countries that depend on imported materials, such as critical minerals for solar panels and electric vehicles.