2024年3月，中国的二氧化碳（CO2）排放量下降了3%。这标志着自2022年12月放宽防疫措施、重启经济活动以来，中国碳排放量连续14个月的增长告一段落。
Carbon Brief基于官方数字和商业数据进行的新分析显示，中国CO2排放量在2023年或已达峰。
2024年3月CO2排放量下降的驱动因素包括光电和风电的快速增长，这满足了电力需求增长的90%，以及建筑活动的减少。
石油需求增长也陷入停滞，表明疫情后的经济反弹可能已临近尾声。
如果中国能维持去年创纪录的清洁能源建设水平，该国有望在2023年实现碳达峰。
然而，整个行业和政府对清洁能源的增长前景看法不一。如果中国尚未实现碳达峰，如何弥合分歧将是决定碳达峰何时到来的关键因素。
该分析的其他关键发现包括：
- 尽管电力需求强劲增长，但光电和风电的增长推动化石燃料发电量份额从前一年的67.4%下降至2024年3月的63.6%。
- 由于中国房地产建设活动的持续萎缩，2024年3月钢铁产量下降了8%，水泥产量下降了22%。
- 电动汽车现在约占中国道路上汽车总量的十分之一，将汽油需求增长拉低了约3.5个百分点。
- 去年创纪录的太阳能新增发电装机中，约45%是规模较小的分布式光伏，导致看似出现了“数据缺失”问题。
为什么三月排放量出现下降？
根据中国国家统计局发布的初步能源消费数据，2024年第一季度中国的碳排放量总体显著增加。
今年1月和2月的碳排放量仍较2023年的低基数大幅增长，彼时中国经济仍因刚结束不久的清零防疫措施而受到抑制。
因此，与2023年同期相比，2024年第一季度的CO2排放量同比增长了3.8%，煤炭消费量增长了3%，石油消费量增长了4%，天然气消费量增长了11%。
转折点出现在今年3月份。由于该月份的煤炭消费量降低了1%，石油消费保持平稳，而水泥产量则下降了22%，导致3月CO2排放量同比下降了3%。尽管天然气消费量增长了14%，但由于其在中国能源结构中占比较小，从而影响有限。
如下图所示，自2022年12月放宽疫情限制措施后，中国的碳排放量从2023年2月开始回升。
因此，2023年1月至2月的同比比较仍然受到去年疫情导致的低基数影响，这使得3月的数据成为能够清楚地反映碳排放趋势的首个月度数据。
近年来，中国碳排放量增长的主要推动力来自电力部门（见下文）。
反之，3月碳排放趋势转为下降，主要原因也是电力部门的排放量增长的大幅放缓。由于光电和风电的强劲增长，电力部门3月的碳排放量仅同比增长了1%。
如下图所示，尽管电力部门的排放量企稳，但建筑业对钢铁和水泥的需求持续下降，这才是3月份碳排放量减少的最主要原因。
钢铁产量下降了8%，因此炼钢厂的主要燃料炼焦煤的产量也随之降低。水泥产量同比骤降了22%。
由于政府对房地产行业高杠杆的打击和对金融风险的管控，以及建筑行业过去的繁荣导致了产能过剩，房地产行业投资已连续第三年收缩，这使得上述排放趋势可能会继续维持。
尽管建筑业需求出现收缩，但中国对钢铁和其他能源密集型金属的需求并未出现预期的大幅下降。
这背后的原因是制造业的快速增长和对该行业的投资，而在设施建设和工业机械生产中都需使用金属制品。
但是，随着全球各种商品和大宗货物的市场逐渐饱和，这种制造业的增长不太可能持续下去。当局的经济政策现在强调“新质生产力”，这是推动经济增长摆脱对传统重工业的依赖的最新尝试。“新质生产力”指高端的制造和研发，这些领域的能源密集程度大多比中国的传统工业部门更低。
从2024年3月其他行业的情况来看，运输用油的需求在经历了几个月的强劲增长之后，变得与去年同期相比近乎持平。这表明疫情后的需求反弹可能正在逐渐消失。
航空燃料（+35%）和汽油（+7%）产量仍在增长，说明客运需求出现增长。但柴油产量增长停滞（+1%），原油加工量也仅增加了1%。
电动汽车的增长正显著削减石油需求量。根据过去十年的累计销售数据估计，电动汽车在道路上所有车辆中的占比从去年的7.0%增加到10.5%。这表明，电动汽车的普及使汽油需求增长降低了3.5个百分点。
天然气需求出现大幅反弹，同比增长14%。此前天然气价格高企导致需求下降。天然气消费的增长主要来自工业和家庭部门。
随着燃气电厂利用率有所恢复，电力部门的天然气消费量增长了8%，但这仅占总体增长很小的一部分。
天然气在中国能源结构中的占比曾连续增长了二十多年，在2021至2023年间有所下降，现在开始恢复增长。
近期推动碳排放量增长的一个因素仍在继续：化工行业的煤炭消费量增长了14%，延续了2022和2023年两位数的增长趋势。
尽管目前还没有足够的数据来估算4月份的CO2排放量，但当月的工业数据表明，3月排放下降的趋势仍在继续。
由于光伏发电满足了大部分的电力需求增长，火力发电量——主要来自煤电——缓慢增长了1.3%。钢铁、水泥和焦炭产量分别下降了8%、9%和7%，反映出建筑需求的持续减少。炼油量下降了3%。
国内煤炭开采量下降了3%，而进口量增加了11%，这意味着总供应量减少了5%。
天然气需求进一步强劲增长，进口量增长了15%，国内产量增加了3%。在能源密集型行业中，化工和有色金属行业的产量继续保持较快增长。
光电和风电满足需求增长
企稳的电力部门排放量值得关注，因为电力需求继续以7.4%高速增长，而受长期干旱的影响，水电利用率低于长期平均水平。
过去几年，工业用电推动电力需求迅速增长。3月，工业需求增长放缓，但服务业的反弹维持了整体需求的增长。
近一半的用电需求增长来自工业，其中有色金属、化工、机械和电子等行业是最主要的需求增长的领域。服务业贡献了需求增长的三分之一，主要源自批发和零售贸易，另有六分之一来自家庭用电。
在2022年历史性的热浪引发一波空调购买潮的推动下，家庭用电需求在过去几年也出现了激增，尤其是在以前没有空调的低收入家庭。
尽管电力需求快速增长，但由于分布式光伏电站的大规模部署，规模以上工业发电量增速放缓至3%。
（与大型集中式太阳能发电场相比，分布式光伏电站指的是装机规模较小的发电系统，通常安装在家庭和企业的屋顶上。）
总体而言，由于2023年光电和风电装机的创纪录增长，光电和风电发电量占比已达到22%，并在3月实现了近90%的同比增长。非化石燃料发电量占比从去年的32.6%上升至36.2%。
分布式光伏对发电的贡献越来越大，但这在一定程度上被中国月度电力数据的报告方式所掩盖。国家统计局只发布大型光伏和风力发电站的月度发电量。它还系统性地上修了前几年的数据，这表明其没有实时捕捉新进入市场的企业的发电量。
由于去年创纪录的光伏新增装机容量中有45%是分布式发电，对小型光伏装机的排除对这些数字的影响比以往大得多。
这在中国和海外引起很多困惑，特别是报告的用电量数据远大于发电量数据，这显然是不可能的，彭博社甚至称其为“数据缺失问题”。
然而，用电量和规模以上工业发电量之间不断扩大的差距表明，分布式光伏在满足用电需求方面的贡献越来越大。
与月报数据不同，中国的年度统计公报中没有“缺失”的数据，因为年度统计包括所有电厂，无论其规模。例如，2023年的年度统计公报显示，光伏发电量是月度统计的两倍，风电发电量则多出了10%。
事实上，如果按照月度数据中的装机容量和利用小时数来计算发电量，得到的数据与年度报告数据非常接近。这清楚地表明，尽管统计局的月度数据中没有纳入分布式光伏的发电量，但其的确为满足电力需求做出重大贡献。
清洁能源热潮继续
去年光电和风电新增发电装机容量约300吉瓦（GW），这推动了3月份碳排放量的下降。这种热潮在2024年前三个月加速，与去年相比增长了40%。
太阳能发电新增装机容量46吉瓦，同比增长36%；风电新增装机容量16吉瓦，同比增长50%。
通常来说，第一季度的新增装机容量增速一般较低，而且由于报告滞后，相当多的新增装机在年底才被报告。
强劲的同比增长表明，对新项目能否成功并网的担忧并未影响新增装机容量增加的步伐。即便今年剩下时间里增速会有所放缓，但迄今为止的数据表明，去年创纪录的增速可能会在2024年持续。
今年1月至3月，太阳能电池板产量在去年的高基数上又增长了20%，表明中国和海外的需求强劲。
电动汽车产量增长了29%，汽车总产量恢复了下降趋势，这使得电动汽车占比持续快速攀升，在第一季度达到了31%，而去年同期为26%。
由于光电和风电项目的经济效益显著，对新增装机的主要限制来自并网。因担心无法消纳新增发电量，去年多个省级电网运营商已开始限制新增光电和风电项目。
这凸显了中国电网运营上的短板，因为风电和光电占中国总发电量的份额仍然有限，仅为15%。相比之下，两者在欧盟电力系统中的占比为27%，德国、西班牙和希腊达到40%。
中国已开始采取行动解决该问题。国家发改委已开始放宽光电和风电并网的要求。这将增加风光项目投资者的不确定性，但提高了电网运营商的消纳能力，从而支持发电装机和发电量的增长。
国家发改委还发布了一项推动储能发展的政策，承诺到2027年，电力系统将能够支撑新增风光装机容量，同时将因电网问题而浪费的发电量比例保持在较低水平。
虽然光电和风电已开始满足大部分或全部用电需求的增长，但煤电投资仍在继续。第一季度，火电装机的新增速度同比略有放缓，但各省2024年的“重点项目清单”中包括超过200吉瓦的火电项目，其主要是燃煤电厂。
未来仍充满变数
中国3月份碳排放量的下降可能标志着自2020年以来碳排放的强劲增长出现了转折点。正如 Carbon Brief 去年秋天发布的一篇分析所述，目前清洁能源的增长率有可能使该国提前实现碳达峰。
因此，清洁能源增长是否会持续，是影响中国未来排放路径的关键问题。但是，外界对于未来风电和光电的发展速度仍存在很大分歧。
中国光伏行业协会在其“保守”情景中预测，2024年至2030年间年均新增装机容量为225吉瓦，比2023年的217吉瓦略有增加。在“乐观”情景下，这一数字将加速至每年280吉瓦。根据该协会预测，中国的太阳能总装机容量将从目前的660吉瓦，到2030年增加到2200至2600吉瓦。
据风电行业数据，要实现2060年碳中和目标，中国需要在2021年至2025年间每年新增超过50吉瓦的风电装机。从2026年起，每年新增装机超过60吉瓦。这是一个相对适中的轨迹，因为2023年风电新增装机容量已经达到76吉瓦。
另一方面，国家能源局局长章建华在最近一篇文章中写道，清洁能源的新增装机容量应保持在每年100吉瓦以上，但这不到2023年实际水平的一半。这意味着他认为最近的加速增长是反常的，可能难以持续。
与之类似，在国家能源局2024年的工作计划中，从总发电装机容量和非化石能源发电容量占比，可以推算出非化石能源新增装机的目标在170吉瓦左右。（尽管2023年工作计划的目标是160吉瓦，但实际新增接近300吉瓦。）
下图展现了对于光电和风电发展的不同愿景。深蓝色线代表了章建华的预期，即年新增装机容量将回落到2020年至2022年水平；浅蓝色和红色线是可再生能源行业预测的增长趋势，其大致保持在2023年的水平，或稳步增长。
到2030年，光伏行业协会和国家能源局就光电和风电的装机目标差距为1400至1800吉瓦。如果新增的清洁能源发电量在2030年能够取代煤电，那么碳排放量将比当前水平下降10至15%。到2035年，随着风电和光电进一步发展，碳排放量将比当前水平下降20至25%。
章建华在文章中指出了一些挑战，以解释为何他认为清洁能源新增发电容量水平较低，包括储能价格机制尚未健全，能源转型政策合力亟待加强，以及集中连片新能源发展用地、用海空间不足等。
尽管如此，减缓光电、风电和相关储能的新增装机速度将给中国经济泼上一盆冷水，因为这些清洁能源行业已成为经济增长的一个关键来源。
此外，最近对这些行业生产能力的大量投资，只有在清洁能源设备需求持续增长的情况下才能得到利用和回报。
政府雄心的减弱也反映在今年设定的较为保守的官方目标上。根据环保部最近设定的目标，2024年碳强度（每单位GDP的排放量）的目标降幅为3.9%。
尽管这一目标超过过去三年碳强度年均仅下降1.5%的水平，但考虑到GDP增速目标是“约5%”，该碳强度目标实际将允许碳排放量增长逾1%。
在2021年至2023年碳排放量快速增加之后，中国已经严重偏离了2025年和2030年的碳强度目标，而2024年的年度目标未能缩小这一差距。
3.9%正是实现“十四五”规划中碳排放强度下降18%的目标所需的年均下降幅度。因此，该目标避免了落后幅度进一步扩大，但对弥补迄今为止的进展滞后毫无作用。
国家发改委还设定了一个相对保守的目标，即到2024年将“化石能源强度”降低2.5%，这将允许碳排放量增加2%以上。
章建华还认为，在2026至2030年期间，清洁能源应满足70%的能源消费增长，这一目标也与清洁能源新增装机容量放缓的趋势一致。
这意味着，能源消费增长的30%仍将通过增加化石燃料的使用来满足，因此CO2排放量也将继续增加。
持续增长的碳排放量意味着中国将面临无法实现2030年的碳强度承诺的风险，而这是中国在《巴黎协定》下提交的国际气候承诺的一部分。因为假设GDP年均增长5%或更低，根据这一承诺，从2023年到2030年，能源部门的CO2排放量没有增加的空间。
因此，中国能否实现其气候承诺，取决于清洁能源增长是否会继续显著超过中央政府制定的目标，亦或是这些目标在未来是否会提高。
数据来源
本分析数据来源于中国国家统计局、国家能源局、中国电力企业联合会、中国海关官方发布的数据以及行业数据提供商WIND资讯。
电力行业煤炭消费量是根据煤炭发电量和燃煤电厂每月平均发热量来估算的，以避免官方煤炭消费量影响近期数据的问题。煤炭发电量根据火力发电总量和燃煤、燃气、生物质电厂报告容量和利用小时数计算，以得到综合火力发电数据。
当数据来自多个来源时，本文交叉引用不同来源并尽可能使用官方来源，调整总消费数控，以匹配国家统计局报告的消费增长和能源结构变化。
2024年第一季度的数据进行了调整，以匹配国家统计局初步官方数据中报告的整个季度的同比增长率。但无论有没有这种调整，三月份排放量下降的结论都成立。
二氧化碳排放量估算基于国家统计局默认的 2018 年燃料热值和中国最新国家温室气体排放清单中的排放因素。水泥二氧化碳排放基于截至 2023 年的年度估算。
对于石油消耗量，表观消耗量是根据炼油厂吞吐量计算，减去石油产品的净出口量。
The post 分析：月度碳排放量下降或表明中国已在2023年碳达峰 appeared first on Carbon Brief.
The UK’s new prime minister Andy Burnham remained tight-lipped on his views on climate change during his leadership campaign.
When asked his views on allowing new North Sea drilling in June – a move that the oil-and-gas industry and right-wing media have pushed for in recent months – he said he had “something of an open mind” on the issue.
But a trawl of Burnham’s past comments about climate change, net-zero and fossil fuels reveals a different picture.
Just a year ago in June 2025, Burnham, while mayor of Greater Manchester, gave his support to the fossil fuel treaty – a proposed international pact on phasing out coal, oil and gas – calling it a “lifeline” that “all governments” should join.
In a video message endorsing the treaty, he also said that “there should be no turning away from net-zero”.
During his last bid to be Labour leader in 2015, he used similar language, saying:
“Labour under my leadership will never turn our back on either our duty to tackle climate change or the prospects offered by the green economy.”
Burnham has spoken about the threat of climate change since at least 2008, noting in 2021 that accelerated action could “create thousands of good jobs”, but also warning that net-zero risked becoming the “next Brexit”.
Burnham is yet to appoint his cabinet, but there is much speculation that he will select current net-zero secretary Ed Miliband as his chancellor – with their ally Miatta Fahnbulleh having a “strong chance” of taking Miliband’s former position.
Below, Carbon Brief recounts 28 things that Burnham has said about climate change, net-zero, fossil fuels, energy and transport.
Climate change
“Tackling climate change isn’t just about protecting the planet – it’s a powerful opportunity to build a fairer, greener future for our communities and businesses.”
Calling for local councils to be given more power and money for climate action, 29 November 2025
“There is little doubt that Greater Manchester’s biodiversity has taken a hit over the years, with habitats being lost, destroyed and becoming less diverse due to the impact of development, climate change, pollution and invasive species…We are committed to delivering a city-region for all residents to enjoy – a fairer, greener and more prosperous place for everyone.”
Statement after Greater Manchester declared a “biodiversity emergency”, 25 March 2022
“Over the next decade, if we accelerate our response to the climate crisis, we can create thousands of good jobs, improve homes, overhaul our transport system and make [Manchester] an even better place to live.”
Greater Manchester Green Summit, 18 October 2021
“The environment has never been higher on the national and international agenda.”
Statement after visiting a peat bog restoration project in England, 9 January 2020
“I think climate change [action] will be driven more quickly from the bottom up, if I’m honest. It’s the will of evolution if you wait for the government to act…When governments aren’t listening you get out and get your voice heard…so I think [climate protesters] deserve our encouragement, not our criticism.”
Speaking to Manchester Evening News at a student climate protest in Manchester, 24 May 2019
“Labour under my leadership will never turn our back on either our duty to tackle climate change or the prospects offered by the green economy.”
Labour leadership candidate speech, 15 July 2015
“Climate change can seem a distant, impersonal threat – in fact the associated costs to health are a very real and present danger…We need well-designed climate change policies that drive health benefits.”
Speaking to the Guardian about a study on climate and health, 25 November 2009
“The Stern report on the economics of climate change has changed the debate, in this country and around the world. It made it clear that the people who could suffer most from a failure to tackle climate change, or from a lack of ambition in our approach to it, are those living in the developing countries. They are the most vulnerable…[and] Stern said that the cost of not acting would be large. That is why the government took various measures in the recent spending review to ensure that we are prepared to face the challenges posed by climate change.”
Speaking in the UK parliament on the economic impacts of climate change on his final day as chief secretary to the Treasury, 24 January 2008
Net-zero
“There should be no turning away from net-zero.”
Speaking after giving his support to the fossil fuel treaty – a proposed global pact to introduce laws to phase out coal, oil and gas – on behalf of Manchester, 6 June 2025
“An opportunity is opening up for Britain as other countries move away from net-zero. We should seize that…We can make Britain a green leader. This is not the time to tiptoe, it is the time to commit to this path.”
Speaking at Innovation Zero World Congress in London, 29 April 2025
“[We] need a government that fully buys into the 2038 vision because the UK will not get to 2050 unless places like Greater Manchester are freed up to go faster – and we’re ready to go faster.”
Speaking about Greater Manchester’s aim to reach net-zero by 2038, 19 October 2022
“In Greater Manchester we have plans to build 30,000 net-zero social rented homes because we recognise that a successful city region needs good quality, affordable accommodation for everyone.”
Speech on the future of cities, 24 June 2022
“By building a broad consensus behind the drive to net-zero, we can ensure that the transition is a fair one that delivers social justice as well as climate justice. This is an opportunity for all of us to show how cutting carbon emissions in our cities can make a real difference to our communities – away from the abstractions and rooted in the real world.”
Panel discussion in Glasgow during the COP26 climate summit, 12 November 2021
“To the extent that people have picked up anything from COP26, it’s a sense that the drive to net-zero will mean cost and inconvenience for ordinary people and offsetting for the wealthy and entitled. All of a sudden, you can feel how net-zero could become the new Brexit – a debate that gets very divided on class grounds…This has got to be a wake-up call. We cannot let this happen. We need to act now to build a broad social consensus behind the drive to net-zero. How to do that? It starts with taking control of the climate narrative from those steering it in the wrong direction and turning it around…We must show how, if done in the right way, the drive to net-zero is actually an opportunity to reduce the cost of living; to make people’s lives better and society fairer.”
Writing for the London Standard, 5 November 2021
“The drive to net-zero is a chance to re-industrialise the north of England, this time in a clean way. Create really good jobs, future-facing jobs for people, better public transport, improve people’s homes…If we go quickly towards net-zero, it’s the quickest way to level up the country.”
ITV interview at COP26, 1 November 2021
“If we really embrace the drive to net-zero, that is the route to level up the country…But it needs substantial investment, upfront, now, of the kind that Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor [and chancellor under Keir Starmer’s government], has been talking about. We need long-term predictable funding.”
Interview with GB News at COP26, 1 November 2021
“I would have preferred to hear slightly less about carbonated wine and much more about a decarbonised economy.”
Referencing a UK budget, which included tax cuts for sparkling wine and other drinks, 28 October 2021
“Decarbonising is not just about lowering costs on to people. It’s the route to get better, cheaper public transport. It’s the route to getting homes that are cheap to run. It’s actually the way we can create thousands of good jobs for the people who live in Greater Manchester. This is the route to levelling up the country by going further and faster on decarbonisation.”
Speaking to Manchester Confidential, 20 October 2021
“[I am] asking people to stop seeing the environmental agenda as a cost and a burden agenda. I think this is a barrier that we’ve got to get over. Already in the media interviews I’ve done today, people are saying ‘can you afford it?’, ‘can it be achievable when times are tough?’.
“My answer to that is, at some point in the 21st century, all homes will be zero-carbon. At some point in this century, all buildings of any kind will be zero-carbon…All cars will be zero-carbon, all public transport will be zero-carbon…The question is: when? And surely the places that embrace those things first are putting themselves in a position of economic strength when it comes to facing up to the future. Rather than seeing the whole agenda as a burden, we’ve got to see it for the benefits that it can bring.
“There may be a greater upfront cost in a zero-carbon home, but let’s stop thinking, as we tend to do in Britain, of the short-term, the short-termist approach to life. Surely let’s start talking to the public about the lifetime cost.”
Greater Manchester Green Summit, 21 March 2018
Fossil fuels
“I’ve got something of an open mind, you know. I don’t have a sort of fixed position.”
Speaking on the issue of new North Sea oil and gas in a New Statesman interview, 3 June 2026
“We would fight this in GM [Greater Manchester]…Communities across the north would face all the danger and disruption while big oil and gas walk away with all the profits.”
In response to Reform’s call for fracking, on X, 25 August 2025
“I am proud to endorse the fossil-fuel treaty proposal today on behalf of Greater Manchester. It’s not just a plan – it’s a lifeline. It’s a call to end coal, oil and gas, hold polluters accountable…I urge all governments, nationals and subnationals to join this fight.”
Statement upon endorsing the fossil-fuel treaty, 5 June 2025
“Fracking is the past, it is not the future.”
Speech at London climate protest, 20 September 2019
“I have called for a moratorium on fracking. Far too many potential risks and unanswered questions.”
On X, 22 June 2015
Energy and transport
“What I would do, if successful, is lay out a plan for more public control over water, energy, transport, so that over the period we can get those bills down, fares down, and give people and give businesses breathing space.”
LBC interview, 2 July 2026
“I am all in favour of tough decisions at a national level. I don’t believe there should be a third runway at Heathrow, for instance. But I think those are decisions for national government.”
Guardian interview, 13 June 2019
“There is a debate to be had about aviation, isn’t there? There are changing public attitudes about aviation. Rather than just saying no to people flying, don’t we need to accelerate research into low and zero-carbon forms of aviation?”
Guardian interview, 13 June 2019
“Today, I stand alongside the mayors of some of the greatest cities in the world. I’m committed to a cleaner, greener and healthier future for Greater Manchester. Around a third of greenhouse gas emissions in our city-region come from transport.”
When signing the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration, which includes support for zero-emissions vehicles and walking and cycling, on behalf of Manchester, 14 September 2018
This article was updated on 20 July to reflect Burnham replacing Keir Starmer as UK prime minister.
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The post 28 quotes from new UK leader Andy Burnham on climate, net-zero and fossil fuels appeared first on Carbon Brief.
28 quotes from new UK leader Andy Burnham on climate, net-zero and fossil fuels
Climate Change
Greenpeace welcomes dismissal of Woodside’s anti-democratic “SLAPP suit” against climate campaigners
SYDNEY, Thursday 23 July 2026 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has welcomed news that a ‘fishing expedition’ brought by Woodside in connection with a 2023 climate protest has been dismissed in full, celebrating it as a win for the community in their ongoing fight to stop Woodside from drilling for oil and gas at Scott Reef.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia today threw out Woodside’s case, finding it had not succeeded in establishing it might have a cause of action against an unknown party involved in a three-year-old protest to bring attention to the harmful effects of Woodside’s gas expansion on climate and cultural heritage.
It comes as public opposition to Woodside’s plans to drill over 50 gas wells at Scott Reef continues to mount.
David Ritter, CEO at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Greenpeace welcomes the news that this case has been dismissed. Woodside’s use of a SLAPP* suit of this kind is a grotesque attempt to use legal tactics to silence people. There should be no place for SLAPP suits in Australian democracy.
“Community opposition to Woodside’s dangerous plans to drill over 50 gas wells at Scott Reef is large and growing.
“Woodside’s plan to drill for gas at Scott Reef is breaking hearts in the Australian community. Their plan to drill for gas at the pristine, magnificent Scott Reef, risking precious marine wildlife like turtles and whales, oceans and the climate, is a disaster waiting to happen, and one that over half a million Australians are calling on the WA and Federal governments to stop.”
-ENDS-
Notes for editor
A petition calling on the federal and WA governments to save Scott Reef has more than 552,000 signatures.
*SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation”. It is a legal tactic used by powerful corporations, particularly within the fossil fuel industry, to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the high costs of a legal defense until they abandon their environmental advocacy or protests.
Media contact
Lucy Keller on +61 491 135 308 or lucy.keller@greenpeace.org
Kimberley Bernard on +61 407 581 404 or kbenard@greenpeace.org
Greenpeace welcomes dismissal of Woodside’s anti-democratic “SLAPP suit” against climate campaigners
Britain’s new prime minister announced in his first week that he will cut the cost of public transport and electricity, making lower-emission technologies like bus travel, electric vehicles and heat pumps more affordable for voters. But some of the funding for those policies will come from the budget for international climate finance, the government has said, raising concerns about fairness.
Former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham took over from Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader and prime minister on Monday, appointing climate advocates Ed Miliband as foreign and development minister and Miatta Fahnbulleh as climate and energy minister.
On Tuesday, Burnham said his government would cut the value added tax (VAT) households and some small businesses pay on their electricity bills from 5% to zero from October 1, saving households £45 ($60) a year.
On Wednesday, he said the maximum fare bus companies in England can charge for a single journey will be reduced from £3 ($4) to £2 ($2.67) from January 1, 2027. The government said the subsidies to achieve this would be mostly funded by switching money set aside for overseas climate finance projects from grants to loans. It did not give further information in its announcement, while the UK’s transport minister told Sky News the plan is still being worked out.
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The floated changes to the climate finance budget were immediately criticised by groups working on climate justice for developing countries, including Bond, the UK network for NGOs, which described the decision as “disappointing”.
“Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not the answer and pitches marginalised communities in the UK against marginalised communities in lower-income and climate-vulnerable countries,” BOND CEO Romilly Greenhill said in a statement. “Climate finance must not worsen the debt burden of countries that are already suffering the worst – and most costly – impacts of a climate crisis they did not cause.”
Hunt for money
Burnham promoted both policies as measures to combat the rising cost of living and “give people breathing space”, with climate campaigners and industry groups noting they are also likely to reduce the UK’s climate-heating emissions by encouraging bus travel and the use of electric vehicles and heating.
But thorny questions remain over how the policies will be paid for. The government said Tuesday’s VAT cut for electricity would be funded by scrapping the previous government’s digital ID programme, but Darren Jones, a former minister involved with that policy, said it had been “unfunded” – a statement that dominated media coverage.
A day later, the government said the new bus fare cap would cost £454 million ($606m). Transport minister Heidi Alexander told Sky News that £54 million would be taken from an under-spend in the budget of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and £400 million would come from changing unspecified international climate finance from grants to loans. The details “still need to be worked through”, she said, adding that the government “had wanted to make an announcement today”.
Mohamed Adow, director of Nairobi-based think-tank Power Shift Africa, said “climate finance was never meant to be a pot of money that governments raid when they need to pay for domestic spending”.
DESNZ had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. “We’re not wanting to fleece anyone here, and we actually want to maximise the development potential of this money that is available,” minister Alexander said in her TV interview.
Aside from the controversy over their funding, the policies themselves were widely welcomed by climate campaigners. Jess Ralston, energy lead at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said the tax cut on electricity bills “could help households to switch to electric heat pumps, protecting UK homes from becoming ever more exposed to the whims of Putin and Trump when turning on their gas boiler”.
The last few months have seen global momentum build behind electrification, spurred by the US-Iran war disrupting oil and gas supplies and driving up prices. The Turkish and Australian COP31 presidencies have announced a global target to boost electrification, backed by the European Union, Canada, Philippines, UK and others.
Campaigners call for lower power prices
While reaction to the VAT cut was supportive, some questioned whether £45 a year of savings per household is enough and called for more measures to cut electricity bills.
Friends of the Earth’s energy lead Imogen Dow said those on the lowest incomes should be given cheaper electricity through a “social tariff” and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think-tank – which is close to the Labour Party – said levies on energy bills should be shifted to general taxation.
Matthew Paterson, a politics professor at Manchester University, told Climate Home News that the most effective way to reduce electricity bills is to take on the UK’s private electricity companies, while consumer-oriented measures like the VAT cut are “tinkering around the edges”.
Jarrod Birch, head of policy and public affairs for the EV charging industry association Charge UK, said that while the policy would make home-charging cheaper, people who charge their vehicles at public points will still have to pay 20% VAT. The UK’s tax authority is fighting a court ruling that ordered it to reduce the tax motorists pay on public chargers to the current household rate of 5%.
Further measures will be the responsibility of Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Miatta Fahnbulleh, who is relatively new to politics after a career at left-wing, pro-climate think tanks the IPPR and the New Economics Foundation.
Michael Jacobs, political economy professor at Sheffield University and former adviser to UK Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, said Fahnbulleh would be a “climate advocate” who would continue the “progressive climate agenda” of her predecessor Ed Miliband.
“She’s a very creative policy wonk so I expect there to be lots of policy innovation under her,” he said, “I think she will be looking at new ways to encourage take-up of heat pumps and domestic batteries.”
Aid budget in Miliband’s hands
Despite reports he could be made finance minister, Miliband has been appointed Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Miliband has attended many climate COP meetings over several decades, most recently representing the UK at COP29 and COP30, and has been targeted by the right-wing media for his support for climate action and opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the UK’s part of the North Sea.
In his new role, Miliband will be responsible for the UK’s overseas aid budget including its international climate finance, which the Starmer government had slashed to fund increases in defence spending.
UK cuts support for climate action abroad to fund military instead
Jacobs said he expected Miliband to prioritise climate and development in the UK’s foreign policy and to push Burnham and new finance minister John Healey to reverse Starmer’s aid cuts.
But there are fears Healey could try to cut the aid budget further to fund the military. Healey was a surprise pick for Chancellor of the Exchequer and grabbed headlines when he resigned as Starmer’s defence minister in June over what he saw as insufficient defence spending.
The post Will new UK PM’s green measures at home cause climate finance pain overseas? appeared first on Climate Home News.
Will new UK PM’s green measures at home cause climate finance pain overseas?
28 quotes from new UK leader Andy Burnham on climate, net-zero and fossil fuels
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