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Damian Carrington, The Guardian
There is widespread coverage of the news that the world’s oceans reached their hottest temperature on record on Saturday. The Guardian reports that the average sea surface temperature was 21.1C, according to data from the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service. It adds: “The new ocean heat record being set in August is especially remarkable as global sea temperatures are typically highest in March and April, after the austral summer.” The Associated Press says the record ocean heat is being driven “by a still growing, but already supersized natural El Niño and human-caused climate change”. BBC News reports that “warmer oceans can have wide-reaching consequences, including supercharging extreme weather, raising sea levels and harming marine life”. It quotes Dr Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, saying: “This record is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress. El Niño is adding heat to the system, but it is doing so on top of decades of human-driven warming.” Bloomberg, Scientific American and the San Francisco Chronicle are among those also covering the news.
MORE ON EXTREMES
The Guardian: “At least 35,000 excess deaths recorded in Europe’s back-to-back heatwaves.” Indonesia has upped its aerial firefighter response to worsening blazes, which are sending smoke into Malaysia, reports the Associated Press. Reuters: “India faces weakest monsoon in nearly two decades as El Niño strengthens.” Thousands have been evacuated from a wildfire in Reno, Nevada, says the Associated Press. Scientific American reports that the US has faced 51,000 wildfires this year so far. The Associated Press speaks to scientists about how the world is “inching towards more catastrophic climate events”. The Guardian: “No fridge, no fans, just blocks of ice: improvising to survive in Pakistan’s searing heat.”
Rong Wei Neo, Bloomberg
China’s state-owned oil and gas company Sinopec says the country’s oil demand “probably peaked last year” amid “clean energy development, electrification and low-carbon goals”, reports Bloomberg. Hou Qijun, head of the country’s top refiner, says that oil demand will not “hit last year’s level”, even if the US-Iran conflict “eases up” in 2027, adds the outlet. Sinopec also says that “road fuel demand plummeted in the first half [of 2026] as consumers shied away from higher prices and shifted to electric vehicles”, said Bloomberg. Reuters says that China’s purchases of Iranian oil are “in the spotlight” as the US “threatens heavy economic sanctions on Tehran”. State broadcaster CCTV also covers the story.
Meanwhile, the Communist party-affiliated People’s Daily publishes an article on the first page of its print edition citing an oil industry representative saying by developing multiple “cross-border oil and gas energy corridors”, China has “effectively” reduced supply risks. It also quotes a solar industry representative saying China’s climate policy “consistency” has “safeguarded [the cleantech industry’s] leapfrog development”. The People’s Daily carries a commentary under the byline “Zhong Caiwen” – indicating the party leaders’ views on economic affairs – saying China’s “green” technologies have supported many developing countries’ energy transition. Another People’s Daily commentary by Zhong Caiwen says China’s exports of low-carbon technologies are “reshaping” the global “trade landscape” amid rising trade protectionism through “cutting-edge technology and original innovation”. State-run newspaper Economic Daily publishes an article under the byline “Jin Guanping”, indicating an authoritative view on economic affairs, saying that coal remains an “immediate necessity” for China as the “reliability” of renewables remains in question.
MORE ON CHINA
China’s foreign ministry says that it is not currently “aware” of the information – first reported last Friday by Bloomberg – around a potential bid to host COP33 in 2028, reports Beijing Daily. Rising floodwaters brought by Typhoon Narra have prompted China to relocate about 54,000 people, reports Reuters. Forecasters have warned about disasters caused by “prolonged heavy rainfall” brought by three consecutive typhoons, says People’s Daily. The US has launched an investigation into Chinese battery maker EVE Energy over “alleged patent infringement claims”, reports Caixin. The South China Morning Post: “China boosts coal’s economic value 700% after turning it to liquids: report.” The EU’s tariffs on Chinese-made EVs will “trap Europe’s automotive industry in a vicious cycle of protectionism”, says an editorial by Global Times. The China Centre for International Economic Exchange’s Zhang Monan writes in China Daily that China’s advantages in cleantech are due to “industrial competitiveness”, not “market distortion”.
Damian Carrington, The Guardian
The Guardian reports on preliminary research finding that the “climate damage caused by developing the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields under consideration by the UK government would destroy their economic benefits many times over”. The newspaper continues: “It estimates the economic damage caused by the carbon pollution from the oil and gas produced would be between £119bn and £336bn in the coming decades, compared with the £28.7bn in value to the UK estimated by Adura, the fossil fuel company promoting the new fields…The figures are likely to be underestimates, as they do not include losses from amplified extreme weather, sea level rise or climate deaths. The analysis has been submitted to the Rosebank consultation and to an academic journal.” Elsewhere, BusinessGreen reports that a group of more than 100 scientists and academics have urged the government to impose a “carbon storage obligation” on any new North Sea drilling projects.
MORE ON UK
BusinessGreen reports on a new company scheme to allow homeowners to spread the cost of installing solar panels. CBC News: “London is famous for its great trees. More than 70% are at risk due to climate change, research finds.” The climate-sceptic Daily Telegraph speaks to an soon-to-retire oil company executive who says “we’ll never” invest in the UK again because of its “crazy politics”.
Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche, Reuters
Norway's government yesterday asked the nation’s supreme court to overturn a lower-court ruling that revoked permits for three oil projects, in a “closely watched case that could reshape how the country approves new petroleum projects”, says Reuters. The newswire continues: “The case pits environmental groups against Norway's oil industry, provider of half the country's export revenue, as well as the government whose policy is to prolong the extraction of crude and natural gas for decades to come. Two lower courts have ruled in favour of Greenpeace and Young Friends of the Earth since the two groups first brought the case to trial in 2023, finding that Norway failed to properly assess the environmental impact from the three fields.” It comes after a Norwegian minister said the country planned to expand new oil drilling in the Arctic despite the European Union seeking to ban activity in the region, says Al Jazeera. Reuters also reports that three oil companies are “teaming up to drill wells in less explored areas of Norway's continental shelf, aiming to make major new oil and gas discoveries after years of smaller finds”.
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