|
Coco Liu, Bloomberg
Investment in the energy transition grew by 8% to a record $2.3bn in 2025, reports Bloomberg. It says the new figures from BloombergNEF show growth has “def[ied] fears that the shifting political landscape and economic uncertainty would halt the world’s clean-energy progress”. However, it adds: “Yet there are signs that while investments are increasing, they’re not doing so fast enough to accelerate the energy transition at the speed needed.” BusinessGreen reports that the largest driver was the electrified transport sector, with investment hitting $893bn, while $690bn was invested in renewable energy and $419bn in electricity grids, according to BloombergNEF. It adds that total renewable investment fell by 9.5% year-on-year in 2025, on the back of changing power-market regulations in China – but that this was more than offset by increases in other clean-technology areas. Separately, analysis by the Financial Times finds that Michael Bloomberg’s spending on the “global climate fight” has topped $3bn over the past decade.
Jonathan Watts, The Guardian
The number of people living with extreme heat will more than double by 2050 if the world reaches 2C of warming, according to a new study covered by the Guardian. It says the tropics and the southern hemisphere will be worst affected by the heat, but “no region will escape the impact”. Agence France-Presse adds that demand for cooling will “drastically” increase in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria, where hundreds of millions of people lack access to air conditioning. BusinessGreen reports that some 3.79 billion people – or half the world's population – will be living with extreme heat if 2C of warming occurs. It notes that in 2010, 23% of the global population lived with extreme heat, with this share set to rise to 41% in the coming decade.
Alessandro Parodi, Reuters
Sales of battery electric vehicles (EVs) overtook petrol cars for the first time in the EU in December, reports Reuters, citing figures from industry group ACEA. The article says: “The EU unveiled in December a plan to abandon an effective 2035 ban on combustion engine cars, bowing to calls from struggling carmakers.” It adds that analysts expect EVs to gain popularity despite the policy change. Bloomberg reports that EV sales grew by 30% year-on-year in 2025, accounting for roughly a fifth of the overall market. It adds that companies, including Volkswagen and Porsche, have “walked back their electrification strategies to account for the slower growth trajectory”. Separately, the Sun covers a public consultation on the island of Jersey to ban the import and registration of petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030.
Renju Jose, Reuters
A heatwave across Australia’s south-east region has “stoked bushfires, forced hundreds of residents in rural towns to evacuate and brought record-breaking temperatures”, reports Reuters. It adds that temperatures in parts of Melbourne have exceeded 45C, the hottest temperature in the city for 17 years. The newswire says that according to preliminary data from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, towns in Victoria’s north-west Mallee region reached a high of 48.9C, breaking the state record. The Guardian has an explainer on what happens to the human body at 49C. The Daily Mail reports that more than a thousand homes have been evacuated due to a wildfire in Victoria. The Guardian reports that forests have continued to burn across the state. It says that “the climate crisis has increased the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves and bushfires”.
Wang Hongzhi, China Energy Observation
Wang Hongzhi, head of China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), writes in an article for the state-run China Energy Observation that China will achieve its carbon peaking goals on schedule during the 15th “five-year plan” period. Wang says that China will promote clean energy projects and ensure “fair grid access for distributed renewable energy”. He says that the NEA will “closely track” implementation of policies for “direct green electricity”, virtual power plants, vehicle-to-grid interaction and other areas. He adds that China will increase oversight of “clean heating” programmes in northern China and of the buildout of EV charging infrastructure. Wang also says that the administration plans to investigate several provinces to find “deep-rooted, systemic and institutional problems” in the electricity sector. Meanwhile, climate envoy Liu Zhenmin tells the Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily that the next five years will mark a “new stage in China's energy transition”, due to the implementation of a “dual control of carbon” system.
MORE ON CHINA
China will “pilot” a new “imminent warning system” in 2026 to improve its “ability to predict and warn against extreme weather and climate events”, reports Xinhua. China’s exports of lithium batteries and wind-power equipment increased by 26% and 49%, respectively, in 2025, according to China News. China’s cancellation of tax rebates for solar exports, coupled with an “ongoing rise” in raw materials prices, is causing “panic” in south-east Asia, reports Eco-Business, although it adds that demand is expected to remain strong. China’s concept of “zero-carbon factories” is faced with challenges including “inconsistent evaluation criteria, unproven key technologies and weak foundations for carbon-emission statistics and accounting”, says Xinhua. International Energy Net estimates that China’s installed virtual power plant capacity will soon reach “the scale of tens of gigawatts”, equal to 10 coal-fired power plants. New research finds that China’s clean-energy lending to African countries in 2024 was “limited”, reports the South China Morning Post. Inside Climate News looks into the social and health impacts of the construction of a Chinese coal plant in Pakistan.
Kayla Epstein, BBC News
Several people have now died in the US as the country tackles a winter storm that brought 20 inches of snow in 24 hours to the north-west of the country, reports BBC News. It adds: “The storm, which caused chaos from Texas to the tip of Maine over the weekend, snarled roadways, knocked out power, and buried major cities under a thick blanket of snow.” The Associated Press reports that the storm has caused at least 30 deaths, with below-freezing temperatures and no electricity still impacting swathes of the country. The Guardian notes that the deaths have been “reported from Texas to New England as many parts of the country grappled with heavy snow, ice and dangerous cold”. Reuters reports that the storm has led to nearly 19% of flights being cancelled. A separate Associated Press article covers forecasts of a “new influx of arctic air” in parts of the south already covered in snow and ice.
Bloomberg reports that the US’s biggest electric grid is in “emergency status and bracing for record wintertime demand”, as a result of the storm. It adds that the PJM Interconnection, which serves 67 million people from New Jersey to Chicago, issued a grid emergency for Tuesday as demand is expected to exceed 147 gigawatts, “an all-time high for winter”. Reuters reports that the US energy sector is “reeling”, as the winter storm knocks out 2m barrels per day – or up to 15% – of the country’s oil production. The Financial Times reports that gas prices in the US have jumped to a three-year high amid the storm, due to production being hampered and demand for heating and power jumping.
MORE ON US
The New York Times explains how climate change affects winter storms. Inside Climate News looks at how the storm is testing the US’s disaster response, noting that “FEMA is less prepared than it was a year ago”. Reuters reports that the Trump administration has taken its first steps towards offering new offshore oil drilling leases in California. The New York Times covers a $1.6bn deal between the Trump administration and mining and manufacturing group USA Rare Earth, to help develop the US’s supply chain for rare-earth metals and magnets. Bloomberg has an explainer on how the US is abandoning joint climate action under the Trump administration.
Jillian Ambrose, The Guardian
A first-of-its-kind “high-density” hydropower system has begun generating electricity outside Plymouth in Devon, reports the Guardian. It says: “The pioneering technology means one of the oldest forms of energy storage, hydropower, can be used to store and release renewable energy using even gentle slopes rather than the steep dam walls and mountains that are usually required.” The article notes that the design of the hillside “battery” means that the principles of hydropower could be used as a form of “long duration energy storage” in many more locations across the UK and the world.
MORE ON UK
A frontpage story in the Daily Telegraph covers comments from the GMB Union’s Scotland secretary, Louise Gilmour, that net-zero is “killing [the] energy sector”. The Daily Express also has the story. The Daily Telegraph covers landowners winning the right to challenge an energy company building pylons in Wales. The Daily Telegraph speculates that the “White House is watching as the prime minister flies to China to make a deal on green energy”. The Times: “Ministers pressed to end gas contracts tied to Russia.” The Guardian covers figures from the British Retail Consortium that show energy bill increases are behind food price rises. The Guardian reports that Reform UK would cut spending on the environment to fund a £2bn cut to income tax in Scotland if it won in the May election.
|
