The northern hemisphere’s summer of 2023 has been the hottest on record, reports the Guardian. The “climate crisis and emerging El Nino” pushed up temperatures and drove extreme weather across the world, it continues. June, July and August saw global average temperatures reach 16.77C – 0.66C above the 1991 to 2020 average. August was found to be 1.5C hotter than pre-industrial times, scientists from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and European climate service announced, reports the Independent. The hottest August ever is the second hottest month ever, after this July, according to the WMO, the article adds. It quotes UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, who states: “The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting. Climate breakdown has begun.” The average temperature this summer beats the previous record high set in 2019 by 0.3C, when there was an average of 16.48C, reports the Financial Times. “Every fraction of a degree of warming of the planet has an exponential effect. Extreme weather patterns have concerned experts who fear it indicates an acceleration of global warming”, the article adds. Human emissions of greenhouse gases have warmed the planet by about 1.1C since pre-industrial times, notes Bloomberg. It quotes Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service: “The scientific evidence is overwhelming. We will continue to see more climate records and more intense and frequent extreme weather events impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop emitting greenhouse gases.” August was wetter than normal in Europe and Scandinavia, leading to flooding, while droughts led to wildfires across France, Greece, Italy and Portugal, reports Reuters. Australia, several South American countries and much of Antarctica also saw above average temperatures, while the “global ocean” saw the warmest daily surface temperature on record as well as the warmest month, it continues. So far, 2023 is the second-hottest year on record with just four months left, only marginally behind 2016, adds Reuters. The story is also covered by the Washington Post, Politico, Daily Mail and others.

African leaders have proposed a global carbon tax regime in a joint declaration as the three-day Africa Climmit Summit came to a close, reports BBC News. The Nairobi Declaration demands that major polluters commit to more resources to help poorer nations and will be used as the basis of the negotiating position by the African leaders at the COP28 summit in November, it adds. The declaration calls for the world’s richest nations to keep their promises, especially the unfulfilled pledge of $100bn annually to developing nations in climate finance, made 14 years ago, reports the Associated Press. “No country should ever have to choose between development aspirations and climate action,” the declaration says, the newswire notes. Africa only receives about 12% of the nearly $300bn in annual financing it needs to cope with climate change, despite suffering the worst impacts of this, explains Reuters. Summit organisers emphasised a market-based solutions approach in the lead-up to the event, such as carbon credits, but the final declaration was heaviest on demands that major polluters and global financial institutions commit more resources to help poorer nations and make it easier for them to borrow at affordable rates, it adds. The eight-page declaration skirts over fossil-fuels, mentioning them only in calling on the global community to “uphold commitments to a fair and accelerated process of phasing down coal and abolishment of all fossil fuel subsidies”, reports Climate Home News. That is a reference to the key pledge the governments agreed at COP26 in 2021, although since then campaigners and a number of nations have been pushing for the extension of that commitment to all fossil fuels, it adds. Kenyan president William Ruto has been “spearheading a new narrative” at the summit, which focuses on Africa’s switch to clean energy as the continent reels from climate-related disasters, reports Al Jazeera. It quotes Ruto at the summit, saying: “In Africa, we can be a green industrial hub that helps other regions achieve their net-zero strategies by 2050. Unlocking the renewable energy resources that we have in our continent is not only good for Africa, it is good for the rest of the world.” Energy investment in Africa needs to more than double by the end of the decade if the continent is to meet its energy and climate goals according to a new report from the International Energy Agency, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, high costs are putting off much-needed investment in the region’s clean-energy resources and reserves of critical minerals, it notes. Following the close of the Africa Climate Summit, a podcast from the Guardian asks whether development and climate action can coexist?

Western countries must not impose “restrictive” climate change policies on the developing world, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has warned as he prepares to host a critical G20 summit in Delhi, reports the Times. He appears to criticise the failure of western nations to meet their $100bn-a-year funding pledge to support developing countries to decarbonise, which is almost three years overdue, it continues. Modi also insists that any action to tackle climate change must be complementary to development, rather than holding back economic progress, it adds. After division over Russia’s war in Ukraine, differences about climate change goals have emerged as another stumbling block for G20 leaders to iron out at their two-day meeting in New Delhi”, reports Reuters. Indian sources said the bloc is divided on commitments to phasing down fossil-fuel use, increasing renewable energy targets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the newswire continues. These disagreements have emerged during the last two days of sherpa level meetings ahead of the 9-10 September summit, it adds. The G20 meeting will see nations call for a target to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, reports Bloomberg. Members will make a commitment to “pursue and encourage” efforts to meet the target to increase clean energy generation, it adds. Additionally, the bloc will also call for a similar impetus on the deployment of abatement technologies, like carbon capture, Bloomberg states.

Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey have been pounded by storms, with extreme amounts of rain causing floods that have killed at least 14 people, reports the New York Times. Floodwaters “ravaged bridges, stranded tourists and swept away cars and buildings”, the article notes, as well as leaving thousands of households cut off from power. In Greece, record rainfall has swamped the country’s central region, bringing the death toll to three on Wednesday, it continues. Storm Daniel has triggering landslides, destroying a bridge, causing the collapse of power lines and carrying away dozens of cars on muddy waters, reports Reuters. The storm comes days after a two-week deadly wildfire died out in the north, it adds. The Guardian quotes Greece’s climate crisis and civil protection minister, Vassilis Kikilias, who said after an emergency cabinet meeting: “This is the most extreme phenomenon in terms of the maximum amount of rain in a 24-hour period since records began in the country.” In Bulgaria, the fast-moving flood waters are deep enough to submerge cars, reports BBC News. It quotes environment minister Julian Popov, who says Bulgaria will have to expect more serious and more frequent rainfall in the future because of climate change. A separate Reuters article reports that a state of emergency was declared in the Tsarevo municipality in Bulgaria on Tuesday. Four people in the Tsarevo municipality have been killed due to river water overflowing a bridge, including three people found in a car that had been washed from the bridge into the sea, the article notes. In northwest Turkey, flash floods have swept through a campsite, carrying away bungalow homes, whilst in Istanbul hundreds of homes and workplaces have been inundated, reports the Independent. At least five people have died, three at the campsite and two in Istanbul, according to authorities, with rescuers still searching for three people, adds the article.

A cyclone has left at least 27 people dead in southern Brazil, with further flooding still expected, reports BBC News. The governor of Rio Grande do Sul has said this is the state’s worst-ever weather disaster, with thousands forced from their homes. In the town of Mucum, which has around 5,000 inhabitants, hundreds had to be rescued from their rooftops as 85% of the town was flooded, adds BBC News. This is the latest in a string of weather disasters to hit Brazil, reports Le Monde. The article quotes Rio Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite, who stated: “We were deeply saddened to get the news that as the water recedes…15 more bodies were found in the town of Mucum, bringing the death toll to 21.” While rain stopped on Tuesday, weather forecaster Cliatempo has forecast more rain across the week, with showers dissipating by Sunday, reports Reuters. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has offered the federal government’s full support, including sending two ministers to oversee search-and-rescue efforts, it adds. Vice president Geraldo Alckmin is also “on standby” to travel to the hard-hit Rio Grande do Sul state, home to about 11 million people, states Reuters.

The Biden administration in the US has banned oil-and-gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, “a place of intense natural beauty and deep cultural significance to Alaska Natives”, reports the Independent. He is set to cancel all remaining oil-and-gas leases in the area that were issued under Trump, noting that “we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages”, it continues. The climate crisis, which is driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is warming the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, the outlet adds. The move follows the administration’s controversial decision to approve ConocoPhillips’s 600m-barrel Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, reports Bloomberg. Climate activists were angered by Biden’s decision to approve the Willow project, calling it a “carbon bomb”, adds the New York Times. Many called the move “a betrayal of Mr Biden’s campaign promise of ‘no new drilling, period’ on federal lands and waters”, the article adds. More than 13m acres in the Western Arctic will now be protected through Biden’s ban, reports Axios. It quotes Biden, who stated the protections “will help preserve our Arctic lands and wildlife, while honouring the culture, history, and enduring wisdom of Alaska Natives who have lived on these lands since time immemorial”. However, the ban comes at a “risky time” for the president, reports Politico, with a surge in crude oil prices this week threatening to drive up the cost of gasoline. It is expected to meet resistance from the oil industry and powerful Alaska Republican senator Lisa Murkowski and senator Dan Sullivan, who “blasted the move” as denying economic opportunities to Indigenous people, it continues. The article quotes Sullivan, who told reporters: “[Biden administration officials] love to talk about racial equity, racial justice, environmental justice, taking care of people of colour, but one big exception — the Indigenous people of Alaska. They screw ’em every time”. The story is also covered by the Financial Times, Washington Post, CNN, S&P Global and others.

China’s meteorological administration has announced that average temperatures during the summer of 2023 were “0.8C higher than the historical average” and the second-highest since 1961, reports China News. An official adds that the highest temperatures recorded at 352 meteorological stations across China reached levels usually considered “extreme events”. Separately, Bloomberg reports that China’s weather authorities issued a “yellow rain alert” on Tuesday, warning that Typhoon Haikui will bring “torrential rains” to its coastal regions.

Meanwhile, the state-run industry newspaper China Energy News quotes Zhang Jianhua, director of China’s energy regulator the national energy administration, saying that China will “comprehensively strengthen international energy cooperation”. State broadcaster CGTN carries foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning’s statement that China hopes the US will work to “create favourable conditions” for China-US climate cooperation. Elsewhere, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak has announced that Russia is “finalising the route of the China-bound Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline”, reports Reuters, although the two countries have not yet confirmed that the pipeline will go ahead due to low demand for gas in China in the near term. 

Finally, Chinese energy industry website BJX News covers comments by premier Li Qiang calling for strengthening cooperation between China and ASEAN in areas such as new energy vehicles and solar power. Another article in the same outlet reports that, according to the Chinese ministry of industry and information technology, from January to July, China’s solar cell production reached “nearly 277 gigawatts, a year-on-year increase of more than 56%”. Bloomberg finds that the rapid growth of China’s solar market is outpacing the capacity of its power system, potentially hindering the country’s “world-leading pace of clean energy installations”.

The contracts-for-difference auction has “failed” to secure any bids for offshore wind farms, reports the Times. With ministers scheduled to announce the results of the latest renewable energy support scheme auction tomorrow, numerous sources have told the Times that no offshore wind farms have bid, after the government “ignored repeated industry warnings” that support on offer was too low given soaring inflation, it adds. This marks a “significant blow to the government’s clean energy ambitions” and could jeopardise the government’s ambitious target of more than tripling offshore wind capacity to 50 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from less than 14GW today, it continues. The offshore wind industry has been hit by inflation, with prices of steel rising by 40%, as well as supply chain pressures and increases in the cost of financing, reports Sky News. Several companies have already ruled themselves out of the auction, with one source saying the number of potential bidders was “between two and zero, with expectations at the lower end of that range”, the broadcaster adds.

Elsewhere in UK news, the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK “continues to wane”, as drivers “increasingly believe that the cost and limitations outweigh the benefits”, reports the Times. [UK EV sales surged 72% in August, accounting for one in five of all cars sold, according to the SMMT.] Auto Trader surveyed 4,000 motorists, and found “just 47% think an EV fits in their lifestyle”, the newspaper continues. While 56% considered EVs too expensive and 47% were worried about lack of charging points, it adds. [As of August there were 48,450 EV charging points in the UK across 29,062 locations, representing a 43% increase in the number of charging devices since August 2022, according to Zap-Map.] AutoTrader’s finding “lay bare a shift in consumer attitudes”, continues the Times, as 75% considered an EV as their next car in 2019. Older drivers, women and low-income motorists face being “left behind in the rush to go electric”, reports the Daily Mail, which is running an anti-EV campaign. These groups risk being “frozen out of the transition amid the soaring cost of EVs, piling pressure on ministers to provide support for making the switch”, it adds.

The editor-in-chief of the journal Nature has rebuked a scientist who claimed that research about climate change is rejected from leading journals if it does not “support certain narratives”, reports MailOnline. Dr Magdalena Skipper accused Dr Patrick T Brown of “poor research practices” that are “highly irresponsible”, the outlet reports. Brown recently published an article in the Free Press – subsequently reposted as a comment piece by the New York Post – in which he claims he “left out the full truth” of his wildfire research paper, published in Nature last week, in order to get it accepted by the journal. He said he “focused narrowly on the influence of climate change on extreme wildfire behaviour” and “didn’t bother” to study the influence of “other obviously relevant factors”. He said the editors of top journals have “made it abundantly clear, both by what they publish and what they reject, that they want climate papers that support certain pre-approved narratives – even when those narratives come at the expense of broader knowledge for society”. He also wrote a tweet thread of his claims, which were widely criticised by other climate scientists. The story was picked up by right-wing outlets in the US, including Fox News and the Daily Caller, and makes the frontpage of the UK’s Daily Telegraph. In response, Skipper said: ”When it comes to science, Nature does not have a preferred narrative”, MailOnline reports. She continued that Nature has an “expectation” that researchers use the most appropriate data, methods and results, adding: “When researchers do not do so, it goes against the interests of both fellow researchers and the research field as a whole. To deliberately not do so is, at best, highly irresponsible. Researchers have a responsibility for their research which they must take seriously”. The journal is “now carefully considering the implications of his stated actions; certainly, they reflect poor research practices and are not in line with the standards we set”, Skipper noted. Skipper also pointed to the peer-review comments for Brown’s paper, which highlighted the “lack of inclusion of variables other than climate change” and said “the authors themselves argued against including it”, MailOnline reports. The comments – available on Nature’s website – show that Brown and his co-authors said that “we agree that climatic variables other than temperature are important for projecting changes in wildfire risk”, but added: “Accounting for changes in all of these variables and their potential interactions simultaneously is very difficult. This is precisely why we chose to use a methodology that addresses the much cleaner but more narrow question of what the influence of warming alone is on the risk of extreme daily wildfire growth.”

Western democracies are wrong to overlook India’s descent into electoral autocracy, argues the Guardian in an editorial looking at the G20 summit. Modi’s “dangerous majoritarianism is too easily overlooked by the west, as the G20 glad-handing will show”, it states. Climate change – along with debt crises, social protection programs, food security and internet freedom – is expected to be a key point of discussion at the upcoming G20 summit, it notes. “If Mr Modi desires successful outcomes then he, like all autocratic leaders, should understand why his actions at home undermine the arguments he wants to promote abroad”, the article concludes.

The offshore wind industry says projects are less viable because construction costs have rocketed while the price paid for electricity has not, writes investment columnist Natalie Thomas in the Financial Times. It has been a “bruising summer for Britain’s net-zero emissions target”, she writes, given prime minister Rishi Sunak’s commitment to oil-and-gas licenses, the “long-hoped-for changes” to onshore wind falling below expectations and Vattenfall putting “brakes on a huge project in UK waters”. Offshore wind costs have risen by 40% this year, with the industry “partly to blame” given its previous push to develop wind farms at ever lower prices, but also the prices offered by the UK government have not kept up with rising costs, notes Thomas. She points to the contracts-for-difference subsidy scheme – the results for the fifth round are expected tomorrow – and highlights a number of ways it could be updated to help offshore wind developers, such as aligning prices more closely with steel prices and providing them with details as to how the maximum bid will be set further in advance. “Ministers will have to meet the industry halfway if they want more turbines spinning in the North Sea.”

Elsewhere in the UK, the right-wing political scientist and author Matt Goodwin argues polling suggests scepticism of “expensive net-zero commitments unites the 2019 Tory coalition” in an article for Conservative Home. Finally, an editorial in the Sun argues the Conservatives need to be “radical” going into the next elections, as “poll after poll shows the overwhelming unpopularity of fleecing the public in the zeal to end our carbon emissions”. [Polling repeatedly shows widespread support for the UK’s net-zero goals.]

Officials in US states such as Texas continue to “fight a rearguard action against reality”, states an editorial in the Washington Post. There is a “debate currently raging” at the state’s board of education about teaching climate change in schools, despite July marking the hottest month on Earth and numerous other recent records and extreme weather events, it notes. Texas is not alone in its attempts to “weaken climate education”, it notes, with Florida, Utah and North Carolina all seeing debates on its inclusion. “Schools can prepare a rising generation of students with facts about how their environment is changing. Or they can continue engaging in a desultory argument about reality that should have ended decades ago”, concludes the editorial.

Elsewhere in the Washington Post, graphics reporter Amanda Shendruk offers a look at how climate change data is presented, including a range of hopeful charts. “Bending this red line in a more positive direction will take much more work. Stubborn optimism must be translated into further action,” she writes. In the New York Times, David Wallace-Wells writes that forests are “no longer our climate friends” following the Canadian wildfires this year. “What was once the embodiment of environmental values now seems increasingly to be fighting for the other side. In some places, fighting harder each year”, he writes. And the Financial Times has a news feature under the headline: “The $100tn path to net-zero: In the absence of a global carbon tax, the green transition could prove politically expensive.”

New research finds that wildfire activity in British Columbia, Canada increased from 2005, following a century-long decline. An analysis of wildfire perimeters and annual climate data for 1919-2021 suggests the increase coincides with an abrupt reversal of the long-term wetting trend during the 20th century. Alongside moisture deficits driven by rapid warming and higher evaporation, the paper explains how other factors such as past wildfires, insect outbreaks and land-use practices also influence fire activity. The combination of climate-induced moisture changes and “altered fuels” are making citizens “confront the harsh reality of more frequent years of intense and prolonged wildfire activity”, the researchers note.