Reuters reports that since Thursday last week, Guangdong, the most populous province in southern China, has been “battered by unusually heavy, sustained and widespread rainfall, with powerful storms ushering in an earlier-than-normal start to the province’s annual flooding season in May and June”. The outlet cites the state newswire Xinhua saying that the downpours have killed four people, with 10 others remaining missing in the province as of Monday. It adds: “Weather events in China have become more intense and unpredictable because of global warming, scientists say, with record-breaking rainfall and drought assailing the world’s second-largest economy, often at the same time.” The New York Times also covers the flooding in China, saying that the disaster has forced tens of thousands of evacuations in the province, adding that the heavy rain also affected the neighbouring places such as Hong Kong, Macau and Guangxi. BBC News, the Guardian, the Washington Post and the South China Morning Post have also covered the flooding.

Meanwhile, energy news outlet BJX News reports that China’s total installed generating capacity reached approximately 2,990 gigawatts (GW) at the end of March this year, 14.5% more than a year earlier, with the installed capacity of solar power and wind power reaching 660GW and 460GW, respectively, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). Bloomberg reports that China added 46GW of solar capacity in the first quarter of 2024, marking an increase of more than a third on the same period in 2023 but slower growth than between 2022 and 2023. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that after 18 years, China’s draft energy law, “stalled by vested interests”, has finally been handed to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, China’s top legislature, for review. Elsewhere, economic news outlet Caixin reports that Chinese wind power companies are looking for opportunities overseas, with the export of wind turbines from China increasing by 60% compared to the previous year, according to the China wind energy association. 

In other China-related stories, the state-run news agency Xinhua reports that Chinese ambassador to the US Xie Feng “refutes the ‘China overcapacity theory’” during a recent visit to Harvard University, arguing that the issue is not overcapacity but rather an “overabundance of anxiety”. Reuters reports that China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has warned that the price war among new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturers in China will intensify partly due to “overhanging supply”. The newswire continues that although the NDRC estimates the market demand for NEVs to grow by 2.1m units this year, three top NEV brands had already “planned [to] increase deliveries by 2.3m units for 2024, signalling oversupply”.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its annual outlook report that sales of electric vehicles will “grow strongly” this year, the Financial Times reports. The IEA says that sales of battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars could rise from 14m in 2023 to 17m this year, and sales could grow to account for up to two-thirds of global car sales by 2035, according to the FT. The paper says the forecast “stands in stark contrast to comments from carmakers, who warn that interest in battery cars among mainstream consumers is falling as they are put off by the vehicles’ higher prices as well as the lack of recharging points”. UAE-based newspaper the National quotes IEA executive director Fatih Birol saying: “The continued momentum behind electric cars is clear in our data, although it is stronger in some markets than others…Rather than tapering off, the global EV revolution appears to be gearing up for a new phase of growth. The wave of investment in battery manufacturing suggests the EV supply chain is advancing to meet automakers’ ambitious plans for expansion.” The Guardian adds: “Carmakers have complained that growth in demand for electric cars is slowing, forcing them to offer discounts to compete. While this could damage some carmakers, lower prices are also likely to accelerate the transition, the IEA said.” The newspaper reports that the UK was Europe’s biggest electric car market over the first three months of 2024, for the first time. Reuters reports that 10m of this year’s 17m EV sales are expected to be in China. CNN adds that the report “comes just days after the world’s biggest EV maker Tesla slashed its prices in major markets to counter declining sales and growing competition from Chinese upstarts and established carmakers”. The Guardian adds that “shares in Tesla came under pressure on Monday after the electric carmaker announced a round of price cuts”. 

In related comment, Clyde Russell – Asia commodities and energy columnist at Reuters – writes that “China’s EV strategy of going small and cheap to pay big dividends in Asia”. Russell notes that “China accounted for 60% of all EV sales in 2023, and its rapid uptake will continue, with one in three cars on China’s roads in 2030 expected to be electric”. Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph’s associate editor, Ben Marlow, writes that the EV industry “risks self-destruction amid a global glut of unwanted EVs”. He writes: “It is a classic case of supply greatly exceeding demand…It is further evidence, if any was needed, of the wrong-headed pursuit of net-zero at all costs. Almost eight in 10 new electric cars are now being sold at a discount as demand stalls – a sharp increase on just over half a year ago.” (Marlow fails to mention that his own newspaper reported yesterday that “a similar proportion of petrol cars were discounted”.) Separately, omnipresent climate-sceptic columnist Ross Clark writes for the Daily Telegraph under a headline calling EVs “a Trojan horse for the destruction of driving”. And technology journalist Andrew Orlowski writes in the Daily Telegraph that “the EU’s war on cars is destroying its economic foundations”, arguing that “attacks on the internal combustion engine are motivated by spiteful ideology”. 

India’s national weather service has forecast an “abnormally hot April through June”, which coincides with the country’s six-week general election, the South China Morning Post reports. According to the newspaper, public health officials are concerned about whether or not election rallies should go ahead. It adds that polling stations are being urged to provide shade, fans and drinking water. The Times of India reports on “glaciers melting at unprecedented rates in Indian Himalayan region”. Elsewhere, the Economist has published a special report with the title: “Going green could bring huge benefits for India’s economy.” And in comment, Bloomberg columnist David Fickling asks: “How can India hold elections when it’s too hot to vote?” He notes that the first round of seven-phase general elections, which took place on Friday, had a lower turnout than in the 2019 election. He argues that India “will have to overhaul its hulking electoral machinery”, adding that an earlier ballot, kicking off in January, would avoid the worst of the heat and monsoons. He concludes: “We should normally worry when populist leaders start messing around with the mechanics of elections. If it would mean more voters getting to India’s polls without withering in the summer heat, that might be a risk worth taking.”

Elsewhere, the New York Times says: “Hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia were suffering on Monday from a punishing heatwave that has forced schools to close, disrupted agriculture, and raised the risk of heat strokes and other health complications.” According to the newspaper, schools and universities have closed in Bangladesh this week and in India, the temperatures have “trained power grids, forced school closures, and threatened the production of wheat and other crops”. The newspaper adds: “Extreme heat also has a political dimension in Myanmar, where the ruling military junta cited soaring temperatures last week as justification for moving Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s ousted civilian leader, from prison to an undisclosed location. Many people in Myanmar believe that generals are moving her for other reasons but using the heat – the capital recently hit 114.8F [46C] – as a pretext.”

The UN labour organisation has released a new report warning that more than 70% of the world’s workforce are “likely to be exposed to excessive heat during their careers”, the Associated Press reports. The outlet continues: “The ILO estimates that over 2.4 billion workers – more than 70% of the global workforce – are likely to face excessive heat as part of their jobs at some point, according to the most recent figures available, from 2020. That’s up from over 65% in 2000.” The outlet quotes Manal Azzi, the organisation’s team lead on occupational safety and health: “It’s clear that climate change is already creating significant additional health hazards for workers”. The report also “suggested ways that governments can improve their legislation and help cope with the rising effects of climate change on workers”, AP reports. According to Axios, the report estimates that there are 18,970 work-related deaths due to excessive heat every year. The Hill, CBS News, EuroNews and Africa News also cover the report.  

An Iraqi man is taking legal action against UK oil company BP over the death of his 21-year-old son, claiming that the company’s flaring caused his son’s leukaemia, BBC News reports. The outlet continues: “A BBC investigation in 2022 found Ali’s village, which lies within the field, had high levels of cancer-causing pollutants known to come from flaring…The case is believed to be the first time an individual has started legal action against a major oil firm over its flaring practices. The claim letter – which has been seen by BBC News – alleges that Ali’s leukaemia and subsequent death was caused by ‘toxic emissions from the Rumaila oilfield’, and that BP is partly responsible as the lead contractor…Mr Julood is seeking compensation for the cost of his son’s medical treatment – including overseas chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants – loss of earnings, funeral costs, as well as the ‘moral loss’ of his son.”

In other legal news, the Guardian reports that students at Columbia University, Tulane University and the University of Virginia have each written to the attorney generals of their states, “arguing that their schools’ investments in planet-heating fossil fuels are illegal”. The paper continues: “They accuse their universities of breaching the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, a law adopted by 49 states that requires non-profit institutions to consider their ‘charitable purposes’ when investing, and exercise ‘prudence’ and ‘loyalty’…Investments in coal, oil and gas violate each of the three schools’ stated missions and pledges to prioritise climate action and research, the complaints say. From a purely financial standpoint, investments in fossil fuel stocks are also volatile, the students argue.” This comes as the Guardian reports that Louisiana State University has “allowed” oil and gas company Shell to “influence” its research. The paper says: “For $5m, Louisiana’s flagship university will let an oil company weigh in on faculty research activities. Or, for $100,000, a corporation can participate in a research study, with ‘robust’ reviewing powers and access to all resulting intellectual property.” It continues: “Records show that after Shell donated $25m in 2022 to LSU to create the Institute for Energy Innovation, the university gave the fossil fuel corporation licence to influence research and coursework for the university’s new concentration in carbon capture, use and storage…For $2m, Exxon became the institute’s first ‘strategic partner-level donor’, a position that came with robust review of academic study output and with the ability to focus research activities. Another eight companies have discussed similar deals with LSU, according to a partnership update that LSU sent to Shell last summer.” Separately, the Associated Press reports that “​​a youth organisation and a pair of environmental groups are suing the state of Maine to try to force the state to reduce carbon emissions in the era of climate change”. 

Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that the first part of a “historic hearing on climate change by the inter-American court of human rights” will take place this week. The paper says: “The inquiry was instigated by Colombia and Chile, which together asked the court to set out what legal responsibilities states have to tackle climate change and to stop it breaching people’s human rights.” As part of the inquiry, fishermen from northern Colombia’s Gulf of Morrosquillo will explain that “industrial activity is affecting our entire ecosystem”. In other legal news, BBC News reports that “the British Medical Association has said it is ‘very concerned’ by a tribunal’s finding that a doctor’s participation in Just Stop Oil protests amounted to professional misconduct”. The Times adds that 57-year-old GP Sarah Benn was jailed for 31 days after taking part in three climate protests at an oil terminal in 2022. And the Guardian reports that “a high court judge has thrown out an attempt by the government’s most senior law officer to prosecute a woman for holding a placard on jury rights outside a climate trial”. 

US president Joe Biden marked Earth Day yesterday by announcing $7bn of investment into solar energy projects through the Environmental Protection Agency’s “solar for all” programme, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the Guardian reports. The paper quotes Biden saying: “Solar for all program means 900,000 households will have solar on the rooftops for the first time and soon, millions of families will save over $400 a year on utility bills.” It adds that according to Biden, projects funded by the solar for all program will create 200,000 jobs. The paper continues: “Biden also announced a new website to encourage citizens to join the American Climate Corps, a volunteer government organisation modelled on former president Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s much-vaunted Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s.” Reuters reports that “the announcement kicks off a week of activities aimed at touting his administration’s record on climate change”. The Hill adds: “The president pushed back on the notion of a binary choice between combating climate change and jobs, noting not only the jobs available through the Climate Corps but also touting a partnership between the program and North America’s Building Trades Unions.” The Associated Press reports that Biden also “criticis[ed] Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change”. Fox News adds that Biden said “anyone who denies the impacts of climate change is ‘condemning the American people to a very dangerous future’”. The New York Times says: “Biden’s Earth Day event comes as he tries to energise younger voters, many of whom are disillusioned with the 2024 candidates and infuriated over the administration’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza.”

In other US news, Politico reports that conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr is running for president as an independent candidate “on a climate platform designed to appeal to supporters of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump”. The outlet continues: “The independent candidate is staking out some positions well to Biden’s left – such as calling for a permanent ban on natural gas exports. But he criticises the size of Biden’s mammoth subsidies for green energy, has not committed to keeping the administration rules aimed at cutting greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles and power plants, and hired a communications director who criticised ‘hysteria’ around global warming.” Elsewhere, Reuters reports that “the Biden administration is expected to drop green hydrogen from its landmark plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, to reduce the risk of lawsuits if the nascent technology doesn’t reach commercial scale, according to three sources familiar with the matter”. The Associated Press reports that yesterday, the National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “p​​resented a new online heat risk system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors with a seven-day forecast that’s simplified and colour-coded for a warming world of worsening heat waves”. This comes as the Washington Post reports that “this summer may be especially hot in the US”. The Hill reports that on Monday, California “released a first-of-its-kind plan to harness more than half of the state’s land to decrease carbon emissions”. According to the outlet, the outlet aims to complete 81 nature-based goals to help the state reach “carbon neutrality” by 2045. And the Financial Times explains how US shale “keeps sheltering America from the next oil price surge”. 

Elsewhere, Bloomberg reports that “legislation pushing Joe Biden to ratchet up sanctions on Iranian crude oil is on track to become law as soon as this week”. According to the outlet, the measures “promise to broaden the scope of restrictions on Iran’s exports of crude by extending coverage to foreign ports, vessels, and refineries that knowingly engage in the trade”. However, it adds: “But oil market analysts say Biden will be loathe to make any moves that could increase the price of crude or the gasoline that US motorists buy at the pump. The president is likely to take advantage of the waiver authority built into the sanctions and avoid stringent enforcement, according to policy experts.” In related comment, Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas argues that “the US doesn’t need new sanctions on Iranian oil – it needs to enforce the ones it already has”. Blas continues: “As much as the current system has loopholes, the new legislation has many, too. First, it won’t start applying for 180 days after Biden signs it into law. If it’s rubber-stamped by the beginning of next month, the earliest the first sanctions can apply is a week before the US presidential election. Second, it calls for sanctions for those ports and refiners who ‘knowingly’ deal in Iranian oil. But it allows anyone to claim innocence if they can produce paperwork that says the barrels originated somewhere else…The legislation is a step in the right direction. But it comes too late, with too many caveats, and leaves way too much discretion to the White House. Until the November elections, Tehran still has a green light to export as much oil as it can. After that, we shall see.”

Chris Stark, the outgoing chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, has told the Guardian that “the concept of ‘net zero’ has become a political slogan used to start a ‘dangerous’ culture war over the climate, and may be better dropped”. In an interview with the newspaper before leaving his post this Friday, Stark said that “sensible improvements to the economy and people’s lives were being blocked by a populist response to the net-zero label, and he would be ‘intensely relaxed’ about losing the term”. Stark told the paper: “Net-zero has definitely become a slogan that I feel occasionally is now unhelpful, because it’s so associated with the campaigns against it…That wasn’t something I expected.” The paper adds: “But it was not just those who were against climate action who were causing the problem, according to Stark. Climate activists were also alarming people, he warned, and creating ‘quite a serious barrier to large parts of the political spectrum to support climate action’ by forceful protests, and presenting environmental policies as radical. ‘It would be more helpful if they were less divisive,’ he said. “I don’t think it is radical. It’s really important that we stop using words like that, as it is understandably frightening’.”

In other UK news, the Guardian reports that ministers are consulting on plans to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) from 2027. They are “under growing pressure to firm up plans for a green levy on imports to the UK before the general election campaign”, the paper says. Elsewhere, the Guardian reports that “farmers have been dealing with record-breaking rainfall over at least the past year, meaning food produced in Britain has fallen drastically”. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that “the world’s biggest floating offshore wind farm is to be built off the coast of Scotland to power North Sea oil and gas platforms pumping fossil fuels to the UK”. According to the newsaper, the windfarm will have a capacity of 560 megawatts and is intended to replace the fossil fuels currently used to power drilling operations. The Green Bolt wind farm will begin operation in 2029, the Scotsman reports. 

The Guardian has published an interview with Franz Tattenbach, Costa Rica’s minister of environment and energy. The paper says: “The 69-year-old economist is keenly aware of his role as guardian of the country’s reputation for forward-looking biodiversity initiatives and forest restoration. Since the 1970s, successive governments have sought to do justice to its wildlife, enacting a widely praised conservation policy that has boosted the country’s image as a model of environmental preservation…In 2019, Costa Rica received the UN’s highest environmental honour, the Champions of the Earth award, in recognition of its conservation efforts. Its forest cover then stood at more than 53% of the country, up from 40% in 1987, and it is home to a diverse range of species…But Tattenbach is under pressure. Recently, environmentalists and NGOs have expressed increasing concern about the country’s ecological future. Since the president, Rodrigo Chaves, took office in 2022, there are signs that he is shifting the country’s focus from sustainability to economic growth, including going back to producing fossil fuels. The same country that in 2021 considered a total ban on the exploitation of fossil fuels appears to have given up on phasing out oil and gas production and is now considering reintroducing drilling into its economy.” The paper continues: “Tattenbach says the government faces a wave of lies, jealousy and ideological criticism from opposition parties, the press and environmental organisations, and that environmental preservation remains a priority. The difference, the minister says, is that Chaves is more focused on generating wellbeing for the people. According to Tattenbach, Costa Rica’s new dilemma is maintaining its environmental reputation while generating wealth by ‘protecting more and obstructing less to private companies’.” Tattenbach “does not see a hydrocarbon ban as realistic in coming years”, and said “the focus now is to make ‘less spectacle’ and more nuanced decisions based on a small nation’s needs for funding, to adapt its approach to fuel production to the climate crisis”, the newspaper says. It adds: “Tattenbach says no project exists to build an oil refinery in the Caribbean region. However, on checking with an assistant he acknowledges that such a project exists but says it will be dedicated to local consumption rather than export and that its emissions will be the same as those of importing refined fuel.” 

In other comment, Peter Lewis – an executive director of Essential, a “progressive strategic communications and research company” – writes in the Guardian: “Here’s the truth: energy transition is hard.” He says that the Australian government promises “a cheaper, cleaner energy future” but argues that these messages “gloss over the hard truth that fundamentally changing the way Australia produces, shares and uses energy is hugely disruptive, particularly in the regions where new infrastructure is earmarked for land and sea”. He concludes: “Communities will be affected. This is the price of meeting the urgent and existential challenge of global warming. But it is also the prize for doing it well.” 

The record-breaking fire weather in North America in 2021, which saw 3.2m hectares burned in Canada and the US, was triggered by a heat dome made 59% longer, 34% larger and with 6% higher maximum amplitude by human-caused climate change, new research finds. According to the findings, the heat dome accounted for 21-34% of the total area burned in 2021. The authors say: “Climate change will continue to magnify heat dome events, increase fire danger and enable extreme synchronous wildfire in forested areas of North America.”