Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Africa energy summit
CLOSING THE GAP: More than 1,000 people, including heads of state, gathered at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to agree on a road map for providing electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030, Nigeria’s Guardian reported. The Mission 300 initiative was launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank last year, the newspaper said. About 600 million people in Africa “still lack access to reliable and affordable energy”, the Conversation noted.
SETTLING FINANCE: Reuters reported that the initiative aimed to “unlock” at least $90bn from multilateral development banks, development agencies, finance institutions, private businesses and philanthropies. According to Climate Home News, development banks have committed to collectively deliver $40bn under the initiative – a target that was raised this week to more than $50bn by contributions from other financial institutions.
Trump’s climate rollbacks
CONFUSION: Donald Trump’s administration introduced a widespread spending freeze this week, sparking “widespread confusion and frustration”, Politico reported. On Monday, the White House budget office ordered a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, with climate mitigation and adaptation programmes likely affected, the outlet said. It added that a federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze on Tuesday, but this has done little to assuage concerns.
ENDANGERMENT: Trump is also making moves to call into question the “legality and applicability” of the “endangerment finding”, a rule that instructs the federal Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions because they pose a danger to human life, the New York Times reported. The New York Times also reported that Trump wants to deploy a rarely used “god-squad” panel to carve out exemptions in the Endangered Species Act.
ALIGNMENT: Meanwhile, La Nación reported that Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei is still “mulling over” emulating Trump by removing his country from the Paris Agreement. Rumours that Argentina could be the first country to follow the US in leaving the Paris Agreement first began at COP29 in Azerbaijan after Milei withdrew his delegation from the talks. However, the newspaper noted, Argentina is still subject to agreements, such as the EU-Mercosur deal, that mandate it to meet environmental clauses.
UK’s climate plans
CLIMATE PLEDGE: The UK government has formally submitted its international climate pledge, known as a “nationally determined contribution” (NDC), to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), BusinessGreen reported. The UK is one of a handful of countries to have submitted ahead of the 10 February deadline and is pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% compared to 1990 levels by 2035, the publication said.
ROSEBANK RULING: The decision by the UK’s previous Conservative government to greenlight two new oilfields in the North Sea has been ruled unlawful by a court in Edinburgh, the Guardian reported, as it does not take into account emissions caused by burning the oil and gas produced. BusinessGreen reported that burning all the oil from the larger project, Rosebank, would emit as much CO2 as running 56 coal-fired power stations for a year.
LAY OF THE LAND: The Guardian reported that UK environment secretary Steve Reed is to announce a consultation for a long-awaited land-use framework for England. As part of the framework, the government hopes to map the areas of England with the best quality farmland and most potential for nature recovery, with ministers “discouraged from planning developments on the areas marked as best for farming and nature”, the Guardian said.
Around the world
- LA ATTRIBUTION: Human-caused climate change increased the likelihood of the wildfires in Los Angeles by 35% and the intensity by 6%, according to a rapid attribution study from World Weather Attribution.
- HACKING RING RULING: ExxonMobil has been linked to a legal case involving hacking attempts aimed at climate activists, after the man charged alleged that the oil giant was involved, E&E News reported. ExxonMobil denied involvement.
- AI DEMANDS LESS: The surprise breakthrough of Chinese start-up DeepSeek suggests that artificial intelligence may require less energy than previously thought, exposing the “guesswork” on AI power demand, the Financial Times reported.
- CHINA’S RECORD: Record amounts of wind and solar were added in China in 2024, the Associated Press reported. It cited new Carbon Brief analysis showing the clean energy surge halted the rise of China’s emissions in the last 10 months of the year.
46%
The share of Australia’s power supply derived from renewables in the final quarter of 2024 – a new record, according to the Guardian.
Latest climate research
- A Science study, covered by Carbon Brief, showed that climate change played a key role in the “catastrophic” 2023 floods in Sikkim in India, when a “glacial lake outburst flood” led to cascading floods that killed 55 people.
- A study in Nature Medicine found that there could be an extra 2.3 million deaths from extreme temperatures in Europe’s main cities by 2099, in a scenario with little action to curb climate change and adapt to its effects.
- The survival rates of certain bird species dropped during “increasingly severe” dry seasons seen in the Amazon rainforest over the past three decades, according to a new study in Science Advances, “challenging the notion that pristine rainforests can fully protect their biodiversity under increasingly severe climate conditions”.
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
Analysis by Carbon Brief has found that a forest twice the size of Greater London would need to be planted to offset the additional CO2 emissions from the planned expansion of Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports announced by UK chancellor Rachel Reeves this week. Reeves confirmed the government’s support for a third runway at Heathrow airport in order to “unlock further growth” in a speech on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, UK energy security and net-zero secretary Ed Miliband said that any expansion “must be justified within carbon budgets and, if it can’t be justified, it won’t go ahead”. The analysis was twice cited in parliament by MPs and covered by a range of media outlets.
Spotlight
East Africa’s climate refugees
This week, Carbon Brief speaks to a young female journalist from Kenya’s Dadaab refugee complex who is documenting how more people are arriving in her community because of climate change-fuelled drought and famine.
Hosting more than 300,000 people and stretching over 50 square kilometres, Dadaab in eastern Kenya is one of the largest refugee camps in the world.
More than 96% of its residents arrived or are descended from neighbouring Somalia. It has make-shift shops, hospitals and schools, but permanent structures are banned by the Kenyan government.
Fardowsa Sirat Gele is a young female journalist who was born and raised in Dadaab. Her mother – like most of the first wave of residents to arrive in Dadaab – fled to the camp in 1991 due to Somalia’s civil war.
Like many in the camp, Fardowsa is stateless and unable to leave the complex. She explained:
“I can say I’m Somali because of my appearance, my language. But I don’t have the courage to say I have a country, because I’ve never lived there. And I can’t say I’m Kenyan, because Kenya will not allow me a birth certificate. So, that hurts me.”
With an interest in sharing the stories of her fellow refugees, Fardowsa works as a journalist at Radio Gargaar, the camp’s radio station.
“Radio Dadaab”, a new film produced by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), followed Fardowsa as she put together a radio programme exploring a new force driving growing numbers of people to arrive at the camp: climate change.
Drought injustice
In recent years, countries in the Horn of Africa have faced their driest conditions in four decades, with several consecutive rainy seasons failing. Then, when rain finally fell, it brought deadly floods that swept away homes and croplands.
In Radio Dadaab, Fardowsa travels to the outskirts of the Dadaab refugee camp to interview new arrivals, who tell her stories of their entire livestock being wiped out, their crops failing and ensuing starvation due to the drought.
A rapid “attribution” analysis found that this deadly drought was made at least 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change.
Despite facing steep climate impacts, East Africa is responsible for just 1.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Fardowsa found that, despite fleeing starvation and the impacts of climate change, when people arrived at Dadaab they continued to suffer, with no access to toilets, medical care or houses.
Political tensions have caused issues with new arrivals being able to register at the camp, which, in turn, has caused difficulty accessing resources and help, according to Fardowsa’s reporting.
This has resulted in “refugees that were already in the camps and the new arrivals [having to share] the little aid [available],” she told Carbon Brief.
The future
Fardowsa expressed concern about how global politics will affect Dadaab.
When asked about her hopes for her future, Fardowsa said “there is no hope because Trump has come back and the US was the main country helping with aid”.
The US provides more foreign aid globally than any other country and, last week, following several climate policy rollbacks, the Trump administration ordered a “sweeping freeze” on new funding for almost all US foreign assistance.
Yet, Fardowsa is committed to uplifting the voices of refugees for whom climate change is a threat multiplier.
“The main aim [of the film] was to show the world that there are human beings suffering because of environmental problems, like drought and displacement. To show empathy for refugees was the main focus.”
Radio Dadaab is available to watch on YouTube.
Watch, read, listen
RENEWABLE REVEAL: The Financial Times looked at how, despite abundant fossil-fuel reserves, several Middle East countries have huge plans for renewable energy, making the area the fastest growing renewables market outside China.
STORY TIME: Three climate change “storytellers” featured in this week’s BBC Sounds’ Start the Week podcast, discussing writing the new climate talks-themed play Kyoto, Shetland’s windfarms and the art of agreeing.
NET-ZERO DADS: The Economist published a tongue-in-cheek look at how middle-aged men in the UK are becoming the unlikely early adopters of net-zero solutions.
Coming up
- 3-8 February: 78th meeting of the CITES standing committee, Geneva, Switzerland
- 7 February:Turks and Caicos Islands general election
Pick of the jobs
- Green Climate Fund, project officer, private sector facility | Salary: $87,000-$96,200. Location: Incheon, South Korea
- Nattergal, rewilding ecologist | Salary: £30,000-£35,000. Location: Remote with UK travel
- Greenpeace Africa, pan-African political strategist and responsive campaigner | Salary: Unknown. Location: South Africa, Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya or remote in Africa
- City, University of London, research fellow, centre for food policy | Salary: £42,632-£60,321. Location: London
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
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The post DeBriefed 31 January 2025: Closing Africa’s power gap; UK needs forest ‘twice size of London’ to offset airport plans; Kenya’s climate refugees appeared first on Carbon Brief.
The Endangered Species Committee, known as the God Squad, issued a rare exemption from compliance with the Endangered Species Act for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmental groups are suing the Trump administration over its decision to exempt oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from complying with the Endangered Species Act, a move they say threatens both the coastline region and the law designed to protect threatened plants and animals.
Environmental Groups Take Trump Administration’s ‘God Squad’ to Court
The ocean’s fastest and most formidable predators might also be the most physiologically vulnerable to warming waters, researchers warn.
The evolutionary edge that fueled great white shark dominance for millions of years could soon become its greatest downfall.
Climate Change
China Briefing 16 April 2026: Billions for grid | Petrochemical plan | China’s high-seas bid
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s China Briefing.
China Briefing handpicks and explains the most important climate and energy stories from China over the past fortnight. Subscribe for free here.
Key developments
Surge in grid investment
TRILLION-YUAN ERA: China’s two largest power grid operators invested a total of 167.5bn yuan ($24.5bn) in the first quarter of 2026, reported state broadcaster CCTV. State Grid said that during this period it spent more than 10bn yuan on connecting “new energy” projects to the grid, up 50% from last year, reported Shanghai-based news outlet the Paper. The two state-owned enterprises (SOEs) plan to invest 1tn yuan ($146bn) annually over the 15th five-year plan period (2026-2030), said finance news outlet Yicai.
POWER CURBED: However, in what Bloomberg called a “clear signal that the grid is struggling to absorb all the extra power from the rapid growth in renewables”, solar and wind utilisation rates – the percentage of total power generated by a source that is used by the grid – fell again at the start of the year. They stood at 90.8% and 91.5%, respectively, in January and February 2026, according to a post by an SOE-linked research institute republished by energy news outlet International Energy Net. The rates are now “approaching [minimum] limits that the government had relaxed only two years ago”, added Bloomberg.
SIX PROVINCES SUPERVISED: A recent meeting of the National Energy Administration (NEA) concluded that China’s renewable installations had seen “steady growth” in 2026, adding that the body must make “sustained efforts” to “expand” investment in renewable power, reported International Energy Net. Separately, International Energy Net also said that the NEA will increase “supervision” of the power sectors in six provinces – Hebei, Jilin, Xinjiang, Fujian, Hunan and Guangdong. The outlet said this would entail scrutinising how they implement “energy conservation and carbon reduction” tasks, with a “focus” on coal plants, how they construct large clean-energy bases and their consumption of new energy, as well as their power infrastructure and markets.
Conflict spurred cooperation with China
CHINA ‘WINNING’: In Vienna, Chinese climate envoy Liu Zhenmin told state news agency Xinhua that the Middle East conflict has created an urgent need for countries to rethink energy security strategies and accelerate the energy transition. Xinhua also cited Liu as warning against over-reliance on a single source of energy imports. Meanwhile, state broadcaster CCTV published a segment arguing that a “greener” system will “provide a strong guarantee” for energy security, although it did not mention the conflict. Several outlets have continued to highlight how low-carbon energy has helped China weather the conflict and boosted sales of Chinese technologies, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Indian Express, Washington Post and Bloomberg. Semafor said China was “winning the global energy war”.
MANY MEETINGS: United Arab Emirates crown prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Chinese president Xi Jinping discussed how to “prevent further impacts” from the conflict on energy security, said Xinhua. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said he addressed “regional energy security” with Chinese premier Li Qiang, reported Reuters. A post by China-Russia Information Net on nationalist media outlet Guancha quoted a Chinese diplomat in Russia telling reporters that “current dramatic changes in the international situation” are causing the two countries to discuss “further energy cooperation”. The Philippines is continuing to consider “oil and gas cooperation” with China, despite territorial disputes, Reuters also reported.
‘PROFOUND’ IMPACTS: Energy administration head Wang Hongzhi wrote a chapter in a “study guide” to the 15th five-year plan, published by industry outlet China Power News Net, in which he noted that “geopolitical conflicts are profoundly reshaping the global energy landscape”. He added that “traditional fossil fuels must continue to serve as a safety net while [China] simultaneously accelerates efforts to transition [to clean energy sources]”. Environment minister Huang Runqiu wrote in the CPPCC Daily, the official newspaper for the advisory body Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), that China will “earnestly” carry out “carbon peaking actions” in the next five years. Huang also said that, with “concerted efforts”, China’s 15th five-year plan targets are “achievable”.
Petrochemical plan published
UPGRADE DEADLINE: China issued a plan for either upgrading or phasing out “outdated” petrochemical plants by 2029, reported Reuters. It added that the plan did not confirm explicitly “how many plants may be upgraded or phased out”. The news outlet Economic Daily said that, according to the document, China would focus on upgrading or phasing out outdated capacity “as determined in 2025”, while also developing a “long-term working system” for assessing the industry. According to the full document, published on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) website, carbon-emission assessments were part of the selection criteria, with policymakers planning on “developing or revising” further standards for carbon emissions under the plan.
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CHEMICAL OVERCAPACITY: The Paper quoted MIIT official Chang Guowu telling reporters that the plan will address the “low standards of design and construction” and “outdated processes” in older plants that lead to “significant” environmental risks. Xinhua said that, of China’s more than 27,000 petrochemical plants, “more than 1,600…outdated facilities” were reported in 2025, 600 of which required upgrading. Chemical news WeChat account WeLink Chemicals noted the policy was released against a backdrop of “overcapacity and declining demand for road transport fuels”, with the government having “stepped up efforts to curb overcapacity” in 2025.
More China news
- TARGET PLEDGED: China will cut the carbon intensity of its international shipping vessels by at least 15% by 2030 compared to 2025 levels, said climate outlet IdeaCarbon. It said China will also “significantly enhance” its influence in emission reduction talks at the International Maritime Organization.
- SANCHEZ VISITED: China and Spain “can contribute to finding solutions” for environmental issues, Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez told Xi Jinping, according to the Associated Press. Ahead of the meeting, Sanchez also argued China should play a more substantial role on climate change, said the Singapore-based Straits Times.
- CHINA COMMITTED: Huang Runqiu reaffirmed China’s support, “as always”, for global climate governance in a meeting with UN advisor Selwin Hart, said the Paper.
- FUNDING HALTED: The EU “quietly” approved a plan to prevent EU funds being provided to “clean technology projects containing Chinese inverters”, said the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
- AI UNVEILED: Chinese researchers developed a “first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence model designed to track carbon emissions”, reported Xinhua, adding that it “could shift the balance of power” in global climate negotiations, such as by quantifying the “embedded carbon” of products that developed countries import from China.
- CONTROLS CONSIDERED: China is deliberating “limiting exports” to the US of the equipment needed to make solar panels, according to Reuters.
Spotlight
The debate over China’s bid to host the “high seas” treaty
The final preparatory commission for the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement has closed, laying the groundwork for the treaty’s first conference of the parties (COP1).
One key agenda item was China’s presentation of a bid to host the secretariat. In this issue, Carbon Brief examines the debate surrounding the bid.
The BBNJ agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty, governs the sustainable use and conservation of the “high seas” – marine areas outside national jurisdictions – with a new United Nations (UN) body established to oversee enforcement.
As well as facing significant impacts from climate change, the ocean plays an important role as a carbon sink, absorbing around 29% of man-made emissions.
The treaty “recognis[es]” the need to address oceanic biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, according to previous Carbon Brief analysis, identifying key impacts from climate change, acidification, pollution and “unsustainable” use.
It aims to encourage conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas, such as by managing “marine genetic resources”, creating protected areas in the ocean, developing environmental impact assessments and facilitating capacity-building and transfer of marine technology.
China’s bid
China’s bid to host the secretariat focused on its “sustainability efforts” and “commitment to multilateralism”, reported the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
The country’s bid document drew attention to several of its emission-reduction efforts, including “green shipping corridors” and strengthening carbon sinks through protecting mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs.
In a speech, Chinese ambassador to the UN Fu Cong said that the bid “reflects China’s unwavering support” for multilateralism, adding that a successful Chinese bid would lead to the first UN-related body headquartered in the Asia Pacific region. He said:
“That means it will not only be welcomed, but also be prioritised. It will have the full backing from all levels of government in China and its people.”
Li Shuo, director at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s China climate hub, attended the meetings. He said in a note that China’s decision to bid “reportedly came from [President] Xi Jinping”, galvanising a coordinated cross-ministry effort to secure host the secretariat.
Creating debate
China entering the race has caused a stir.
As host, it could inhibit “robust environmental safeguards” by “embedding elements of its domestic governance model” into how the treaty operates, wrote Dr Chime Youdon, research fellow at India’s National Maritime Foundation, on the organisation’s platform.
But such concerns are weakened by the fact that China would “want the treaty to function” if it were host, argued Prof Philippe Le Billon and Zelda Ladefoged, professor and master’s student at the University of British Columbia, in an article for the Conversation.
Nevertheless, they noted “sustained” worries around China’s influence, given the extensive involvement of its companies in distant-water fishing and deep-sea mining, which are not covered in the treaty.
Li told Carbon Brief that, as far as he saw, no-one was “actively pushing back against” the bid on any of the above grounds. Instead, he observed “anxieties” around “accreditation, information security and visa and conference participation issues”.
Daniel Kachelriess, cross-cutting coordinator at the High Seas Alliance, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations focused on ocean governance, echoed this in comments to Carbon Brief. He said “values like neutrality and impartiality, transparency and accountability” are important for the decision, as well as practical issues such as “reliable” internet access.
The Financial Times reported that Chinese delegates have offered immunity to attendees and flexibility around visas, citing unnamed sources.
But a successful Chinese bid could be a “significant escalation” of China’s involvement in global environmental governance, wrote Le Billon and Ladefoged.
As such, the BBNJ could prove a “case study” of sustaining environmental progress without the US and of China “learning to translate its ambitions into leadership”, said Li.
Watch, read, listen
PROFIT PRESSURE: The Economic Observer investigated how higher profit remittance requirements for state-owned enterprises is placing pressure on the balance sheets of power, coal and other energy companies.
CARNEY’S CALCULUS: The Wire China Podcast discussed how a deteriorating relationship with the US affected Canada’s approach to importing Chinese electric vehicles.
AFRICAN SOLAR: Climate Home News interviewed a renewables company working in Africa about what the end of Chinese solar export rebates could mean for the continent.
FUEL PRICE WOES: The New York Times published a video about how rising diesel prices are hitting China’s long-haul truck drivers hard.
140%
The year-on-year rise in March in exports of Chinese new-energy vehicles (NEVs, including both plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles), reported Bloomberg, citing renewed interest caused by the “global energy shock stemming from the Iran war”.
-14%
The year-on-year fall in March in domestic sales of Chinese NEVs, reported Yicai, citing “changes to the NEV purchase tax exemption and the overlapping effects of the Chinese New Year holiday”.
New science
- Between 1978 and 2023, emissions of “gaseous reactive nitrogen” – including ammonia and nitrous oxide – from croplands in China more than doubled | PNAS
- There are “disparities in [the] energy transition” between households in rural China, with small, low-income households and areas in the Loess plateau facing a “disproportionate energy burden and energy poverty” | Communications Earth and Environment
Recently published on WeChat
China Briefing is written by Anika Patel, with contributions from Lekai Liu, and edited by Simon Evans. Please send tips and feedback to china@carbonbrief.org
The post China Briefing 16 April 2026: Billions for grid | Petrochemical plan | China’s high-seas bid appeared first on Carbon Brief.
China Briefing 16 April 2026: Billions for grid | Petrochemical plan | China’s high-seas bid
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