In a continuing slew of stories being generated by the Trump administration’s attempts to destroy US climate-focused policies, Bloomberg reports that “top officials at the US Department of Homeland Security received a memo on Friday ordering an immediate stop to work connected to climate change and the elimination of climate-related terms across the agency”. The outlet adds: “The memo instructs senior office heads to ‘eliminate all climate change activities and the use of climate change terminology in DHS policies and programs, to the maximum extent permitted by the law’, according to the document seen by Bloomberg News. The changes are meant to bring ‘alignment’ with Trump’s executive orders that reverse multiple climate-related orders by former president Joe Biden, it said. The directive from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem marks the latest move by president Donald Trump and his appointees to roll back federal efforts to address global warming and could affect disaster response capabilities which are overseen by DHS.”

In other news, the Associated Press is among many outlets, including Bloomberg and E&E News, reporting that “Trump on Friday signed an executive order formally creating a National Energy Dominance Council and directed it to move quickly to drive up already record-setting domestic oil and gas production”. The newswire continues: “Trump’s administration also announced it has granted conditional export authorisation for a huge liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, the first approval of new LNG exports since former president Joe Biden paused consideration of them a year ago. And Trump said he has directed Interior secretary Doug Burgum to undo Biden’s ban on future offshore oil drilling on the east and west coasts. Biden’s last-minute action last month ‘viciously took out’ more than 625m acres offshore that could contribute to the nation’s ‘net worth’, Trump said. Trump also vowed to revive a canceled pipeline that would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York, saying it could slash energy prices in the Northeast by as much as 70%. Taken together, the actions underscored Trump’s commitment to increase US energy production, particularly fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and remove regulatory barriers that may slow that down.”

Relatedly, Reuters reports that the “US Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said it has terminated 388 employees hired over the last two years, saying this will align its workforce with president Donald Trump’s ‘energy dominance’ policy agenda. The agency said it did a ‘thorough review’ of its probationary staff, employees who have worked in their roles for less than two years.” The New York Times also covers the news. Inside Climate News says “former EPA officials are condemning the agency’s new leadership for trying to claw back billions from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, calling waste claims the current administrator, Lee Zeldin, lobbed a ‘smokescreen’ to justify dismantling climate programs the Trump administration opposes”. The Financial Times says US scientists have warned that “critical work” is now at risk from further Trump cuts.

Finally, the Washington Post says: “Even before he took office, president Donald Trump’s promise to halt all offshore wind projects upended an industry just as it was getting off the ground. Now, a freeze on wind project approvals threatens so many plans that it could undercut the country’s climate goals.”

The Sunday Times reports that UK ministers are “to consider a rescue package for steelmakers including discounted electricity prices to help them compete with rivals overseas”. The newspaper continues: “Just days after Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminium, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has launched an examination of steelmakers’ huge electricity costs. The review is part of Reynolds’s ‘Plan for Steel’, designed to turn around the industry’s fortunes following more than half a century of decline. UK industrial electricity prices are more than 150% higher than the EU median and are regularly cited as the industry’s biggest bugbear.” The newspaper also explains: “The country now has only one site producing blast furnace ‘virgin’ products – British Steel’s site in Scunthorpe – after Tata’s works in Port Talbot, South Wales, were shuttered last year. Tata is building an electric arc furnace (EAF) in Port Talbot instead. British Steel also plans to turn off blast furnace production and switch to EAF, or ‘green steel’, production if it can agree a rescue package with ministers. It is estimated that carbon emissions are 75% lower with EAF production…EAFs are huge users of electricity, however, meaning that the price of power in the UK will only become more critical in future years as the new furnaces come on stream. Businesses in the UK face higher electricity prices than their counterparts on the continent because of Britain’s high reliance on gas for power generation, stronger carbon prices and higher network costs.” BBC News and the Financial Times also cover the story.

In other UK news, the Daily Mail says: “Energy boss and government adviser Greg Jackson has become the latest leading business figure to urge Labour to move faster to unleash growth. The chief executive of Octopus Energy this weekend told ministers to get on with reforms to deliver cheaper energy for all, saying: ‘We need to see action.’” The Times reports that “hundreds of proposed battery energy storage sites may never be built, according to new analysis [by Cornwall Insight] that shows the capacity of projects queuing to connect to the grid is already four times greater than required by 2035”. BusinessGreen notes that “National Grid has launched a major new funding programme to help UK households struggling with energy costs install home insulation and efficiency measures”, adding: “The £13.8m Grid for Good Energy Affordability Fund will run for three years, with £3.5m a year donated to charities and organisations providing immediate financial support to vulnerable households in the UK. The remaining £3.3m will be targeted at similar organisations in the US.” BBC News says: “A renewable energy firm has said the political climate is right for a large-scale wind farm off the Devon and Dorset coast. Source Galileo is planning a 2GW [gigawatt] project involving at least 100 turbines, which it said could power more than three million homes.” The Times reports under the headline: “Nissan lobbied ministers to relax electric car sales targets.” The Times also says nuclear developer X-Energy has “threaten[ed] to pull out” of plans for the UK unless the government gives more clarity on “financial and regulatory support”. Finally, the Financial Times says that MI5, the UK’s secret service, is investigating the “use of Chinese green technology in the UK”. 

The Times “reveals” that “almost all of the greener jet fuel that [UK chancellor] Rachel Reeves used to justify expanding airport capacity comes from Chinese used cooking oil”. The newspaper adds: “A fortnight ago the chancellor described sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as a ‘game changer’ that would allow for the expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick airports, despite Britain’s climate change commitments. The fuel can cut carbon emissions by as much as four fifths. However, the first official figures released since her speech show that 90% of the SAF used by planes in Britain last year came from used cooking oil imported from China. Just 2% was sourced from the UK, mostly from used cooking oil and a sliver from food waste. The rest of the fuel was imported from other countries.”

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times carries an interview with who it describes as “Mr Hydrogen”, adding: “Jo Bamford, who has struck out from digger dynasty JCB into green energy and transport, says an opportunity [for hydrogen] is there for the taking.” The Times has an article headlined: “Is Britain’s biggest power station [Drax] really a green subsidy ‘scam’? We look at the arguments for and against.” The Daily Mail examines the same topic under the headline: “Massacre of the oak, maple, pine, cypress and hickory trees – all in the name of [energy secretary Ed] Miliband’s great green energy hoax – the inconvenient truth of where Drax’s energy pellets come from.”

Elsewhere, the Financial Times carries a rare interview with Paul Marshall, the evangelical Christian behind a range of political activity and media outlets in the UK which, in part, is railing against action on climate change. The article sits under the headline: “UK risks ‘going bust’ chasing net-zero, says GB News backer Sir Paul Marshall. Hedge fund boss speaks ahead of right-leaning Arc conference in London next week.” It adds: “Marshall Wace, the hedge fund run by Marshall, lists investments in Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Equinor and other fossil fuel companies among its portfolio.” Separately, Sky News has interviewed Richard Tice, Reform UK’s leader, who is challenged on his false claim that there is no evidence that humans are causing climate change. 

Finally, the Sun carries a frontpage attacking a range of UK foreign-aid spending. The climate-sceptic newspaper singles out “green” spending: “Brits are…paying through the nose for climate initiatives in foreign countries, including £114m for ‘inclusive green enterprises’ in India.” The Sun carries an accompanying editorial which says: “Britain simply cannot afford to sacrifice security at home on the altar of diversity and inclusion and net-zero delusion abroad.” Similarly, the Daily Telegraph continues its relentless anti-net-zero campaigning via its news pages with, for example, articles headlined “Miliband vows to ban fracking permanently after huge UK gas field discovered” and “Heat pumps will never be cheaper than gas boilers, expert warns”.

A week before the German federal election, “thousands of people” have joined Fridays for Future protests in Berlin, Hamburg and other cities, demanding “stronger climate action” from political parties, with police estimating around 8,000 participants while organizers reported 10,000, reports Tagesschau. It says participants gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin before marching through the government district, where demonstrators posed with large letters spelling out the call: “Go vote.” The outlet also quotes the climate activist Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future saying in her speech: “When the Munich Security Conference and the Federal Intelligence Service say that a major security risk for Europe is also linked to climate, then it is irresponsible to talk about security without addressing the climate crisis.” Euronews adds that protesters held banners reading: “Right on a future, instead of a right (wing) future.” It explains that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) appears to be heading for its strongest-ever national election result this month, with polls placing the party in second place and projecting around 20% of the vote, as it continues “to attack green policies”. Der Spiegel also covers the news. 

Meanwhile, Deutschlandfunk says that “climate change [is] play[ing] hardly any role” in the election campaign for the German federal parliament. The outlet explains that “a key reason” why climate “is being overshadowed” is that other topics are dominating the discourse, such as economic policy and migration. The article quotes Armin Nasseh, a professor of sociology at Ludwig Maximilian University saying: “At the moment, one has to acknowledge that an election is unlikely to be won with the climate issue.” Relatedly, Bloomberg has a news feature which explains why Germany is “set to scale down its climate ambitions”, adding that “billions in climate subsidies have been frozen for months”. (See Carbon Brief’s “Germany election 2025: What the manifestos say on energy and climate change”.)

Finally, Handelsblatt reports that the German government plans to extend its trusteeship over the Russian state-owned company Rosneft’s shares in the PCK refinery in Schwedt, which was set to expire on 10 March, citing supply security concerns amid sanctions against Russia. However, Rosneft Russia is actively pursuing a sale of its German subsidiary, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. And Euractiv has a feature headlined: “German industrial supremacy threatened by sunny south and windy north.”

Politico reports that “Emmanuel Macron’s new crusade against European green rules is causing outrage, even among his allies”. The outlet continues: “Heavyweights from the French president’s camp are speaking out against a push by Paris to water down upcoming European Union rules requiring companies to report on their environmental footprint and potential human rights violations in their supply chains. They complain that France has betrayed its reputation as one of Europe’s loudest green champions, and warn that yielding to anti-green pressure from business groups and from countries outside the EU – most notably the United States – will not serve the interests of France or the EU in the long run.”

Meanwhile, Enerdata reports that the “French government plans to introduce a bill allowing the 647MW [megawatt] Émile Huchet coal-fired power plant, located in eastern France, to be converted to natural gas or biogas”. It adds: “Émile Huchet is one of only two remaining coal-fired power plants in France. The other, located in Cordemais (1,260MW), was also slated to switch to biomass energy by 2027.”

The “world’s frozen oceans, which help to keep the planet cool, currently have less ice than ever previously recorded, satellite data shows”, reports BBC News. The outlet adds: “Sea-ice around the north and south poles acts like a giant mirror by reflecting much of the Sun’s energy back into space. But as rising temperatures cause this bright layer to shrink, the dark ocean below can absorb more heat, warming the planet further. This latest sea-ice low appears to have been driven by a combination of warm air, warm seas and winds breaking apart the ice. Over the five days to 13 February, the combined extent of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice was 15.76m sq km (6.08m sq miles), according to BBC analysis of data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). This breaks the previous five-day record low of 15.93m sq km (6.15m sq miles) from January-February 2023. Arctic sea-ice is currently at its smallest recorded extent for the time of year, while Antarctic sea-ice is close to a new low in satellite records going back to the late 1970s.”

The Guardian covers new analysis by InfluenceMap which shows that “aviation industry delegates outnumbered those from green groups by 10 to one at the previous conference of the UN’s committee on aviation environmental protection (CAEP)”. The newspaper adds: “Other recent meetings held by CAEP’s parent body, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), were sponsored by large fossil fuel companies and airlines, including Saudi Aramco and Etihad. Critics accuse the ICAO of having been captured by the industry, resulting in slow efforts to tackle the climate crisis by reducing the carbon emissions from aircraft. The next meeting of CAEP begins [today], but there is no public information on its agenda or the people who will be running the conference. The ICAO has been criticised for a lack of transparency that contrasts sharply with, for example, the UN’s climate body…The ICAO did not respond to a request for comment.”

During a visit to Belém, the city scheduled to host COP30 this November, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said that he will not “decorate” the city or “take the poor off the street”, reports Folha de São Paulo. Responding to growing concerns that the city does not have enough available space to host the UN climate conference, Lula is reported saying: “If you don’t have a five-star hotel, sleep in a four-star hotel. If you don’t have a four-star hotel, sleep in a three-star hotel. If you don’t have a three-star hotel, sleep [under the] star in the sky, in the world, looking at the sky, which will be wonderful…With all the defects, with all the deficiencies…We are going to have a COP30 that they will never forget…It’s okay for Belém to be whatever it is. For the people to be whatever they are. It’s here…They have to know how much a carapanã [a common mosquito in Amazon] bite hurts. They have to know why it is good. They have to know that Belém is an extraordinary [place with] happy people. We are poor, but we are proud.” The newspaper adds that some ministers accompanying Lula were “booed by part of the public present at the federal government event [and] protesters shouted slogans…against the holding of COP30”.

Brazil has asked the UN to “throw out plans for a new levy on global shipping that would raise funds to fight the climate crisis, despite playing host to the next UN climate summit”, reports the Guardian. The newspaper adds: “The proposed levy on carbon dioxide emissions from shipping will be discussed at a crunch meeting of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that begins [today]. Those supporting the deal, including the UK, the EU and Japan, are hoping the levy will raise billions of dollars a year, which could be used to help poor countries cope with the effects of climate breakdown. Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia and 12 other countries made a submission to the IMO on 31 January opposing the plans. They argued a levy could reduce exports from the developing world, raise food prices and increase inequalities.”

Extreme weather in the US has been making headlines, with the Associated Press reporting: “Harsh weather moved west on Monday as a polar vortex was expected to grip the Rockies and the northern Plains after winter storms pummeled the eastern US over the weekend, killing at least 10 people, including nine victims in Kentucky who died during flooding from heavy rains.” The Independent says: “At least 10 million people have been placed under flood warnings after torrential rain and winter storms battered the Southeast, resulting in at least nine deaths.” BBC News adds: “Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina were under some type of storm-related alert this weekend. Almost all of those states suffered catastrophic damage in September from Hurricane Helene.”

Meanwhile, Vox has a feature headlined: “Why the US is freezing as the planet reaches record warmth.” It continues: “Don’t let the bitter cold fool you – the world just had the hottest January on record.”

In the Independent, Chris Wright (not to be confused with the new US energy secretary) argues that the UN’s climate finance system under the Paris Agreement is under serious threat: “Under Biden, total US climate finance had already increased six-fold, from $1.5bn in 2021 to $9.5bn in fiscal year 2023. This was estimated to top out at $11bn last year…I would bet that this chunk of the global climate financing pie is well and truly off the table, for the next four years at least. This is a massive hole in the entire UN climate system, which was built on the premise that the biggest historical polluters should do the most, and pay the most, to support those most impacted. This was true under Biden, but this was also expected to grow, as negotiations around a new trillion-dollar climate finance target reached boiling point last year in Azerbaijan. Now, countries like Zimbabwe are left wondering where their energy transition support might come from. Others like Indonesia are beginning to baulk at their commitments, while European powers try to fill a critical void. For climate finance, there is still potential. Key donors like Japan, Canada, Korea and many Nordic states have traditionally set multi-year climate financing goals, and are up for renewal this year. However, the gap left by the US will be incredibly challenging to not only fill but to build on. But the global aid industry looks like it’s at an inflexion point. The UK, France, Germany and Greece all decreased their aid contributions in 2023, and the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have all announced significant cuts going forward. What we might imagine as the traditionally foreign aid relationships between the West and ‘the rest’ have shifted significantly. This leaves open a massive strategic opportunity for a country like China.”

The Times carries an interview with Tony Juniper, the veteran environmental campaigner who now chairs Natural England, England’s chief nature regulator. The interview ranges across issues such as the UK’s planning system and payments for nature conservation, but concludes: “The former WWF and Friends of the Earth campaigner said he thought the tactics used by Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil had ‘turned some people off’ efforts to protect the environment, even if their intent was sound. Juniper said: ‘In the end we’re trying to persuade society about the need to deal with some really big issues. And some of it requires changes in how we think and how we run our society. To meet the nature and climate emergencies we’re going to need people to be in agreement with the transition that’s under way. And if we turn people off it’s not going to help.’” The Guardian has a comment piece by Henry Dimbleby, who authored the previous government’s 2021 National Food Strategy. He writes: “The climate crisis, geopolitical instability, and the depletion of easily accessible fuel reserves mean we must once again turn to the land to meet our needs. Not only for food and housing, but also for cheap, secure, sustainable energy. We need to grow trees to soak up some of the carbon we have already released into the atmosphere. And we need to reverse the collapse in biodiversity, before it threatens our own survival.”

Meanwhile, there is the usual offering of climate-sceptic comment pieces spread across the UK’s right-leaning newspapers. Finally, the Times commentator Dominic O’Connell writes: “Net-zero is a tempting target for cash-strapped Rachel Reeves. If the chancellor’s needs trump the green agenda, government subsidies for carbon capture and storage schemes could be vulnerable.”

A new study suggests “rapidly transitioning” carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to exclusively compensate for “hard to abate emissions and overshoot”. The authors note that currently, CDR is used to compensate for emissions from “easier-to-decarbonise” sectors such as electricity. They say that this makes it more costly or “impossible” to achieve net-zero emissions. They analyse “least-cost” 1.5C overshoot pathways, finding that 78 of the 81 scenarios “would require all available sustainable CDR to compensate for hard to abate emissions and overshoot”.