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在巴库举行的COP29会议上,Carbon Brief采访了清华大学环境规划与管理系主任王灿教授,讨论了其领导的研究团队发布的《2024全球碳中和年度进展报告》。

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该报告由清华大学大学碳中和研究院和环境学院联合发布,评估了不同国家在减缓气候变化的“目标、技术、资金和国际合作”方面的进展,指出了“碳中和目标与减排成果之间的实施差距”。

在这次内容广泛的采访中,王灿教授介绍了该研究所的研究结果并指出了世界实现净零排放的主要障碍。他还分享了对欧盟碳边境调整机制(CBAM)、中国即将提交的2035气候承诺(NDC)、碳市场、“碳双控” 政策、“十四五” 规划、碳达峰时间表、电气化、储能和氢能等的思考。

以下是采访的全文记录,记录已编辑以保证篇幅和清晰度:

  • 关于碳中和执行进展:“我们从执行的角度来跟踪(各国碳中和的进展),更注重实际行动和用科学的方法去评估。”
  • 关于发展中国家对气候行动的承诺:“发展中国家应对气候变化的决心和紧迫感非常强烈。因为他们更容易受到气候变化的影响,因此他们更加积极。”
  • 关于中国2035年国家自主贡献:“我觉得下一轮NDC还是会跟我们的 “双碳” 政策保持一致的,主要更新是把我们的目标跟公约的时间表对标,比如把目标延长到2035年。”
  • 关于全球可再生能源:“(全球可再生能源)已经增长得非常快了,但如果我们要实现2030年(可再生能源发电量实现三倍增长的目标),它必须增长得更快。”
  • 关于可再生能源三倍增长的障碍:“我们认为(可再生能源)技术已经发展到可以更快部署的阶段……这本是可以实现的,但未能实现的一个重要因素是最近的贸易壁垒问题……我们发现包括美国在内的国家都有这样的政策。”
  • 关于欧盟的碳边境调整机制(CBAM):“我们认为欧盟的CBAM对欧盟来说是积极的,因为它增加了其碳排放法规,它被认为改善了欧盟的内部政策。但是,它对国际合作来说是负面的,因为它是一项单边政策。”
  • 关于实现净零排放的不同途径:“有一些国家已经实现了脱钩,看到经济增长不需要增加碳排放后,就宣布了碳达峰和碳中和。中国还没有实现,所以我觉得这也是一个显著特点,对发展中国家来说很有代表性。”
  • 关于中国的碳市场:“我认为这方面的进展会更快……先确定一个(减排)总量,再通过碳市场,可以低成本地实现总量目标。”
  • 关于无法实现能源强度目标:“各个目标最终都是为中国更广泛的气候行动服务的,所以我们并不执着于这个(能源强度)目标是否实现。 ”
  • 关于更早实现碳达峰:“我个人不排除在某个时点,比如2024年、2025年,出现反弹或者增加。总体来看,从近几年的发展趋势……我们处在一个接近峰值的阶段,或者说是一个平台期。我觉得我比较认同这个判断。
  • 关于中国的电气化:在我的文章中,电气化与可再生能源不是竞争关系,而是互补,相互支持……在构建这种新能源、可再生能源为主导的电力系统的过程中,终端电气化是非常有帮助的。
  • 关于需要储能系统:“储能是新能源系统建设中不可或缺的组成部分,而新能源的主要组成部分是可再生能源。”
  • 关于氢气:现在有很多问题,比如成本高,储存和运输困难,从长远来看,这些问题都需要解决。我们必须努力去解决,因为没有它,未来的体系和碳中和的道路可能会失败。所以它是一项关键的、不可或缺的技术。”

Carbon Brief:您研究中最重要的发现是什么?

王灿:我们从执行的角度来跟踪(各国碳中和的进展),更注重实际行动和用科学的方法去评估。碳排放目标是定在未来几十年之后的,如果单纯看目标,很难评估我们现在的行动是否充分,所以需要科学、系统的方法来评估。我们认为实际行动很重要,评估行动的方法也很重要。

Carbon Brief:您的报告发现发展中国家的“雄心指数”较高,而发达国家的“雄心指数”较低。这里的“雄心指数”是什么意思?

王灿:当我们谈论“雄心指数”或用指数来表达我之前所说的内容时,我们遵循的理念是看行动而不是看宣言。因此,我们会修改各国的雄心指数。例如,一个国家可能宣称它希望尽快实现碳中和,但却采取设置各种障碍,来阻碍技术流动和阻碍全球合作的行动。[这种情况下,]它的目标可能非常雄心勃勃,但它的行动却有负面影响。我们的指数会考虑到这些因素,并在考虑这些因素后给出分数。截至去年,一些发展中国家的得分较高,而一些发达国家的雄心指数相对较低。

Carbon Brief:所以您的意思是,您会检查各国在其国家自主贡献中宣布的目标,并为他们的气候行动打出正分或负分,然后计算出他们的“雄心指数”的分数?

王灿:是的。

Carbon Brief:您对结果感到惊讶吗?

王灿:我并不感到意外,因为我参与联合国气候公约谈判已有十多年。从谈判过程中,我们可以感受到发展中国家应对气候变化的决心和紧迫感非常强烈。因为他们更容易受到气候变化的影响,因此他们更加积极。发达国家虽然有能力和技术,他们的科学家在这方面有更系统、更科学的知识,但他们不像中国这样的发展中国家那样坚持不懈。中国一旦宣布气候目标,就会系统地、持续地推进。而发达国家出于经济和国际贸易竞争的考虑,并没有这样做。

Carbon Brief:西方对中国2035年国家自主贡献(NDC)尤其感兴趣。您认为中国会提出什么新的气候目标,或者下一轮国家自主贡献应该写些什么?

王灿:我觉得下一轮NDC还是会跟我们的 “双碳” 政策保持一致的,主要更新是把我们的目标跟公约的时间表对标,比如把目标延长到2035年。我们已经有2030年要实现的目标了,下一轮NDC又会开启新一轮的2035年要实现的目标。不同阶段有不同的任务,但都是在一个总体框架下。中国已经公布了 “双碳” 目标,设定了两个时间点,建立了 “1+N” 的政策体系,我觉得无非就是在这样一个体系下把2030年到2035年的任务都具体化,这是我个人的理解和期待。

Carbon Brief:您的报告称,目前全球可再生能源发展速度不足以实现COP28提出的“2030年实现三倍增长”的目标,距离实现气候目标所需的部署规模存在“巨大差距”。阻碍更快增长的主要因素是什么?

王灿:我不确定你的问题和我们在报告中想要表达的观点是否完全一致。我对我们在报告中所说的内容的理解是,虽然我们看到可再生能源发展迅速,而且近年来形势十分乐观,但与2030年全球可再生能源发电量增加三倍的要求和2050年全球净零排放目标相比,仍然存在差距。

(全球可再生能源)已经增长得非常快了,但如果我们要实现2030年(可再生能源发电量实现三倍增长的目标),它必须增长得更快,特别是从全球角度来看。现在有一些国家,比如中国和东南亚的印度尼西亚,在过去一两年里部署(可再生能源)非常快,但在全球范围内,我们还没有看到所预期的速度。这是我们想要传达的核心信息,或者说是我们特别想传达的信息。

背后的原因是,我们认为(可再生能源)技术已经发展到可以更快部署的阶段,从我们的研究来看,部署得更快、更广泛之后,这项技术的进步速度就会加快,进入良性循环。这本是可以实现的,但未能实现的一个重要因素是最近的贸易壁垒问题,贸易壁垒已经从原来的高科技和通讯产品扩展到应对气候变化的可再生能源。

这种贸易壁垒是典型的基于传统、非常狭隘的经济利益的做法。它忽视了一个原本来自西方国际贸易理论的事实,即自由的国际贸易可以促进经济发展、技术进步,从而带来新一轮的共赢。忽略这一事实是短视的行为。在可再生能源领域,中长期的经济利益和对气候变化的坚定承诺都被放弃了。所以,我们认为这是可再生能源发展面临的一个需要解决的问题。

Carbon Brief:您能举一个您所提到的贸易壁垒的例子吗?

王灿:例如提高关税——对进口可再生能源设备征收(高额)关税,以及故意征收此类关税。这是我们在(报告中)国家分析里引用的例子。我们发现包括美国在内的国家都有这样的政策。我们的报告设定了一个框架,在这个框架中,我们检查是否有贸易壁垒政策,以及(这些政策)是否得到执行;然后,如果是,我们会查看它们是否针对减少排放所需的绿色和低碳技术;如果是,我们就会给出不同的权重和负分。

Carbon Brief:目前带来影响最严重的贸易壁垒是什么?

王灿:对风能和太阳能进行进口管制,增加关税,或者此类商业管制清单。

Carbon Brief:主要在美国?

王灿:主要在美国。

Carbon Brief:您如何看待欧盟的碳边境调整机制(CBAM)?

王灿:在我们的评估中,我们认为欧盟的CBAM对欧盟来说是积极的,因为它增加了其碳排放法规,它被认为改善了欧盟的内部政策。但是,它对国际合作来说是负面的,因为它是一项单边政策,其影响可能会阻碍前面提到的技术流动、技术的快速传播以及先进技术在全球的快速部署。

当然,我们还要看得更远、更详细,因为未来几年CBAM涵盖的行业范围会发生变化。目前从国际合作的角度来看,它的负面权重并不高。从执行的角度来看,虽然它主要涵盖电力和氢能(以及其他行业),但目前它的范围并不是很大。

Carbon Brief:您的报告说,没有一条 “单一的零碳路径” 可以适用于所有国家,相反,“不同类型的国家需要采取不同的措施” 。中国实现碳中和的最佳路径是什么?与其他国家有何不同?

王灿:是的,我们想说的是,没有一种模式适合所有国家实现净零排放。不同的国家处于不同的发展阶段,经济结构不同,资源条件不同,甚至政治制度和文化特征也不同,所以实现净零排放的路径肯定会有所不同。各国在政策、目标、技术、资金、国际合作方式等方面确实存在差异——我们刚才谈到了——(所以)我们认为不同的国家应该有不同的模式。

对于中国来说,“双碳”是一个中国特色的政策目标,我们要在2030年前达到碳峰值,在2060年前实现碳中和。2030年前碳达峰,意味着我们还需要时间把经济发展和碳排放脱钩。达不到峰值,就说明我们还没有把这些事情脱钩,经济增长(仍会)导致碳排放的增加。为什么呢?因为我们还是一个发展中国家,而且是世界上最大的发展中国家——世界上工业最多的发展中国家。我们的制造业比较大,人口比较多,我们还处于城镇化、工业化的过程中,碳排放和经济发展还没有完全脱钩。即使在这样的情况下,我们也提出了实现碳中和的目标,更加体现了我们的雄心和决心。

有一些国家已经实现了脱钩,看到经济增长不需要增加碳排放后,就宣布了碳达峰和碳中和。中国还没有实现,所以我觉得这也是一个显著特点,对发展中国家来说很有代表性。很多发展中国家跟我们类似,没有实现脱钩,但要明确应对气候变化的措施,实现(碳达峰和碳中和)两个目标。为了到本世纪中叶实现全球净零排放,发展中国家已经提出了一些目标和路径。

那么路径是什么呢?(就是)达到峰值之后再实现中和。首先有一个快速达到峰值的阶段,峰值要尽可能低。这个阶段需要技术支持、资金支持,以及一些能力建设。比如中国正在建设的碳市场,目前还处于能力建设的阶段——收集碳排放数据、(提升)市场的专业交易能力等等。这个阶段对中国来说非常重要。如果这个阶段基础打得不牢,那么达到峰值之后,碳减排、实现碳中和的阶段可能还需要比较长的时间,我们实现碳中和的难度就会加大。

Carbon Brief:说到中国的碳市场,在我们之前的《Carbon Brief》报告中,一些分析师表示,中国的碳市场还没有完全活跃起来,交易可能还没有发挥出最大的潜力。我们如何才能最大限度地发挥碳市场的潜力?

王灿:我认为这方面的进展会更快。因为今年国务院出台了从“能源消费双控”向“碳排放双控”转变的工作方案,明确了时间表。从现在到2030年,以控制碳强度为主,总量控制为辅。但同时也要探索一些总量控制机制。2030年中国碳排放达到峰值后,将以总量控制为主要机制,以控制碳强度为辅。

只要有总量控制目标,碳交易和碳市场体系就能发挥减排作用。因为碳交易这样的政策工具,本质上就是要以低成本实现一定的总量目标。总量控制目标只是给出一个数量,但这个目标是否能有效分配给排放单位,政府并没有足够的信息去判断。通过碳交易和碳市场,可以以最低的成本实现减排。所以直接回答这个问题的话,(就是)先确定一个(减排)总量,再通过碳市场,可以低成本地实现总量目标。

Carbon Brief:您提到从“能源双控”转向“碳排放双控”。有观点认为,由于今年GDP增速低于排放增速,中国可能无法实现排放强度总量目标。您认为这会产生很大影响吗?

王灿:您指的是什么影响?

Carbon Brief:“十四五” 规划。“十四五” 规划制定了总体能源强度降低目标,但由于经济增长速度低于能源消耗速度,这一目标可能无法实现。

王灿:是的,能源强度目标。

Carbon Brief:您认为这会减缓整个减排进程吗(十四五规划)?

王灿:我认为这个(能源强度)目标是为了实现更广泛的减排目标,因此能否实现可能是最初设定目标时考虑的一个因素。例如,当目标设定在2020年左右时,它没有考虑到近年来的经济形式和技术变化。事实上,与这个目标相对应的还有一个目标,那就是可再生能源总量(到2030年,风能和太阳能发电量达到1200GW)……[这个目标]实现得非常快。所以我们设定的目标中,一些容易实现,也有一些可能比预期更难实现。我想我应该回到我之前的观点,即各个目标最终都是为中国更广泛的气候行动服务的,所以我们并不执着于这个(能源强度)目标是否实现。

从近年来中国推动“双碳”工作来看,中国在(气候)政策建设、降低可再生能源技术开发成本、加快应用速度等方面取得了很大进展。从中央到省级再到市级政府,都在自上而下地围绕公众意识提升、数据收集等推动生态工作的能力建设和推进,比如基线数据的构建,包括探索将碳(排放影响)评价纳入环境影响评价。这些也是我们在《全球碳中和进展报告》中表达的观点。从这个角度看,我们认为习近平总书记提出“双碳”目标以来,中国近三年来的工作是走在正确的轨道上的,有助于我们在2030年前实现碳达峰、在2060年前实现碳中和。

我们正在做扎实的基础工作。这不是口号或“运动式”的工作,(“运动式”的工作)可能带来(短期的)减排,然后反弹。如果我们想可持续地减排,就需要经济和社会的系统性变革。这种系统性变革必须从刚才提到的角度出发,我们必须做一些基础工作。一些工作(带来的变化)在短期内可能不会很快见效,因为(排放)仍然处于攀升阶段,总量还没有完全减少。但这是我们在短期内为长期做准备,而短期是我们无法避免的一个阶段。

Carbon Brief:我们之前发表过一篇分析文章,根据数据,中国可能在2023年就达到碳排放峰值。您如何看待这个研究结果?

王灿:我认为预测峰值不是一种科学方法。到目前为止,我还没有看到任何指标或研究能够预测一个国家已经达到峰值。这是必须用时间来判断的事情,而且可能需要几年时间(峰值出现后),因为排放量可能会反弹。当然,分析和研究需要考虑很多因素,比如人口增长、经济增长、产业结构、能源需求及其背后的能源技术。

有很多指标可以帮助我们做这样的分析。从现有的指标分析来看,我觉得2023年达到峰值没有错,肯定是可信的。但我个人不排除在某个时点,比如2024年、2025年,出现反弹或者增加。总体来看,从近几年的发展趋势,包括我们做的系统性准备,中央对“双碳”目标的决心,我们处在一个接近峰值的阶段,或者说是一个平台期。我觉得我比较认同这个判断。

[本次采访后发布的Carbon Brief分析显示,中国的二氧化碳排放量在 2024 年最后 10 个月停止上升,但总体上仍略有增长。]

Carbon Brief:您之前的研究指出,电气化是减少排放的一种方法,具有经济效益。国际能源署(IEA)最近也强调了中国在这方面的快速进步。您能谈谈中国的战略、电气化的现状以及中国可以采取哪些措施来推进电气化吗?

王灿:在我的文章中,电气化与可再生能源不是竞争关系,而是互补,相互支持。可再生能源取代化石能源,构建新的电力系统,这是我们(为实现)净零排放所希望达成的目标。在构建这种新能源、可再生能源为主导的电力系统的过程中,终端电气化是非常有帮助的。为什么呢?因为终端电气化对节能有(积极)影响,也可以调节可再生能源的不稳定供应。同时,电气化可以更好地吸纳一些储能设施,加速储能的技术进步。另外,电气化减少了对化石能源的依赖。它与可再生能源并不是非此即彼的零和博弈。可再生能源发展得越多,我们就越有信心将其用于终端消费。

Carbon Brief:您能再解释一下吗?电气化如何 “吸纳储能”?

王灿:电气化是指在终端用户(如锅炉)直接消耗能源。所以当我们谈论电气化时,我们需要看看电气化的对象是什么。电气化是指(使用电锅炉)取代燃煤和天然气锅炉用于工业供热,或使用电动汽车(EV)取代汽油车,或使用电磁炉取代天然气用于烹饪。所有这些都直接减少了化石能源的消耗。

如果所有传统的化石能源都被电力取代,我们对储能的需求就不会增长。电动汽车是锂电池在汽车领域的应用。工业用的热泵也可以配备储能。这在终端使用方面开辟了新的储能需求。储能是新能源系统建设中不可或缺的组成部分,而新能源的主要组成部分是可再生能源。正如我们上面提到的,储能是这个系统中的一个环节。

Carbon Brief:南方普遍使用电热泵,北方则以燃煤集中供暖为主,有什么办法,比如政策支持等,可以帮助北方快速转向热泵?

王灿:这个问题我也不是特别清楚,但我认为还是集中在技术难点上。因为北方的供热需求比南方更根本、更迫切。比如说,在北方,低温时的供暖是民生问题。南方热泵的需求可能通过低温锅炉生产来满足,(低温锅炉)在今天、今晚、明天都可以生产,有一定的生产灵活性。所以为南方供应热泵没有那么迫切。北方(使用煤炭进行集中供暖)可以更安全。所以热泵的安全性、技术、适用性可能有所不同。我觉得不只是政策问题,还需要技术进一步发展。

Carbon Brief:您对氢有什么看法?

王灿:我认为,就像电气化一样,它可能是未来构建碳中和技术体系的一个非常重要的技术领域。可再生能源的特点之一是,一旦供应量增加,它就会具有间歇性,因此需要储能。储能意味着它可以在没有需求时储存能源,并在供应不能满足需求时提供一些能源。(氢)既是一种更好的储能方式,也是一种开发化学储备的方式,因为它的生产方法——电解,可以利用来自太阳能和风的多余的可再生能源。

这种储能方式不同于传统的制氢方式,(传统上)氢气是化工行业的副产品,甚至是石油和化石燃料直接转化而来的。(氢能源)是一种当前的能源转化趋势和形式,而不是储能的一种形式。但在碳中和技术体系中,氢气(被认为)是一种储能形式。

可再生能源发电系统(与化石能源系统)最核心的区别是,它的边际成本非常低,几乎是零边际运行成本。所以风电、太阳能用上之后,扣除基础设施和固定资产投资的成本,风电、太阳能发电的成本几乎是零。零边际运行成本可以用来电解,你可以理解为用零成本来制氢,到时候氢气的成本就非常低了。

Carbon Brief:但是我听说目前氢气生产的成本相当高?

王灿:是的,那是因为还没有取得足够的进展。当我们仍在使用水电解来制造氢气时,风能和太阳能的成本分摊在电解水所用的电力上。它没有使用剩余的(可再生)电力进行电解,因为没有那么多的剩余电力。当我们电力系统中的风能和太阳能比例达到一定水平时,就会有更多的剩余电力。为了储存多余的电力,我们目前使用锂电池和其他(技术)来储存这些电力,而不是使用电解来制造氢气。所以我认为氢是一种新的储能形式。

同时,氢能对于终端用户来说也是一种清洁的新能源形式,它可以替代天然气、汽油,它转化成氨之后,还可以替代重型卡车甚至邮轮使用的石油,它是可以预见的清洁能源形式,也是终端能源。所以我觉得它非常关键。现在有很多问题,比如成本高,储存和运输困难,从长远来看,这些问题都需要解决。我们必须努力去解决,因为没有它,未来的体系和碳中和的道路可能会失败。所以它是一项关键的、不可或缺的技术。

此次采访由Wanyuan Song于2024年11月16日在巴库举行的COP29会议上进行。

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Cropped 25 February 2026: Food inflation strikes | El Niño looms | Biodiversity talks stagnate

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We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food and nature over the past fortnight.

This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s fortnightly Cropped email newsletter.
Subscribe for free here.

Key developments

Food inflation on the rise

DELUGE STRIKES FOOD: Extreme rainfall and flooding across the Mediterranean and north Africa has “battered the winter growing regions that feed Europe…threatening food price rises”, reported the Financial Times. Western France has “endured more than 36 days of continuous rain”, while farmers’ associations in Spain’s Andalusia estimate that “20% of all production has been lost”, it added. Policy expert David Barmes told the paper that the “latest storms were part of a wider pattern of climate shocks feeding into food price inflation”.

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NO BEEF: The UK’s beef farmers, meanwhile, “face a double blow” from climate change as “relentless rain forces them to keep cows indoors”, while last summer’s drought hit hay supplies, said another Financial Times article. At the same time, indoor growers in south England described a 60% increase in electricity standing charges as a “ticking timebomb” that could “force them to raise their prices or stop production, which will further fuel food price inflation”, wrote the Guardian.

TINDERBOX’ AND TARIFFS: A study, covered by the Guardian, warned that major extreme weather and other “shocks” could “spark social unrest and even food riots in the UK”. Experts cited “chronic” vulnerabilities, including climate change, low incomes, poor farming policy and “fragile” supply chains that have made the UK’s food system a “tinderbox”. A New York Times explainer noted that while trade could once guard against food supply shocks, barriers such as tariffs and export controls – which are being “increasingly” used by politicians – “can shut off that safety valve”.

El Niño looms

NEW ENSO INDEX: Researchers have developed a new index for calculating El Niño, the large-scale climate pattern that influences global weather and causes “billions in damages by bringing floods to some regions and drought to others”, reported CNN. It added that climate change is making it more difficult for scientists to observe El Niño patterns by warming up the entire ocean. The outlet said that with the new metric, “scientists can now see it earlier and our long-range weather forecasts will be improved for it.”

WARMING WARNING: Meanwhile, the US Climate Prediction Center announced that there is a 60% chance of the current La Niña conditions shifting towards a neutral state over the next few months, with an El Niño likely to follow in late spring, according to Reuters. The Vibes, a Malaysian news outlet, quoted a climate scientist saying: “If the El Niño does materialise, it could possibly push 2026 or 2027 as the warmest year on record, replacing 2024.”

CROP IMPACTS: Reuters noted that neutral conditions lead to “more stable weather and potentially better crop yields”. However, the newswire added, an El Niño state would mean “worsening drought conditions and issues for the next growing season” to Australia. El Niño also “typically brings a poor south-west monsoon to India, including droughts”, reported the Hindu’s Business Line. A 2024 guest post for Carbon Brief explained that El Niño is linked to crop failure in south-eastern Africa and south-east Asia.

News and views

  • DAM-AG-ES: Several South Korean farmers filed a lawsuit against the country’s state-owned utility company, “seek[ing] financial compensation for climate-related agricultural damages”, reported United Press International. Meanwhile, a national climate change assessment for the Philippines found that the country “lost up to $219bn in agricultural damages from typhoons, floods and droughts” over 2000-10, according to Eco-Business.
  • SCORCHED GRASS: South Africa’s Western Cape province is experiencing “one of the worst droughts in living memory”, which is “scorching grass and killing livestock”, said Reuters. The newswire wrote: “In 2015, a drought almost dried up the taps in the city; farmers say this one has been even more brutal than a decade ago.”
  • NOUVELLE VEG: New guidelines published under France’s national food, nutrition and climate strategy “urged” citizens to “limit” their meat consumption, reported Euronews. The delayed strategy comes a month after the US government “upended decades of recommendations by touting consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy”, it noted. 
  • COURTING DISASTER: India’s top green court accepted the findings of a committee that “found no flaws” in greenlighting the Great Nicobar project that “will lead to the felling of a million trees” and translocating corals, reported Mongabay. The court found “no good ground to interfere”, despite “threats to a globally unique biodiversity hotspot” and Indigenous tribes at risk of displacement by the project, wrote Frontline.
  • FISH FALLING: A new study found that fish biomass is “falling by 7.2% from as little as 0.1C of warming per decade”, noted the Guardian. While experts also pointed to the role of overfishing in marine life loss, marine ecologist and study lead author Dr Shahar Chaikin told the outlet: “Our research proves exactly what that biological cost [of warming] looks like underwater.” 
  • TOO HOT FOR COFFEE: According to new analysis by Climate Central, countries where coffee beans are grown “are becoming too hot to cultivate them”, reported the Guardian. The world’s top five coffee-growing countries faced “57 additional days of coffee-harming heat” annually because of climate change, it added.

Spotlight

Nature talks inch forward

This week, Carbon Brief covers the latest round of negotiations under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which occurred in Rome over 16-19 February.

The penultimate set of biodiversity negotiations before October’s Conference of the Parties ended in Rome last week, leaving plenty of unfinished business.

The CBD’s subsidiary body on implementation (SBI) met in the Italian capital for four days to discuss a range of issues, including biodiversity finance and reviewing progress towards the nature targets agreed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

However, many of the major sticking points – particularly around finance – will have to wait until later this summer, leaving some observers worried about the capacity for delegates to get through a packed agenda at COP17.

The SBI, along with the subsidiary body on scientific, technical and technological advice (SBSTTA) will both meet in Nairobi, Kenya, later this summer for a final round of talks before COP17 kicks off in Yerevan, Armenia, on 19 October.

Money talks

Finance for nature has long been a sticking point at negotiations under the CBD.

Discussions on a new fund for biodiversity derailed biodiversity talks in Cali, Colombia, in autumn 2024, requiring resumed talks a few months later.

Despite this, finance was barely on the agenda at the SBI meetings in Rome. Delegates discussed three studies on the relationship between debt sustainability and implementation of nature plans, but the more substantive talks are set to take place at the next SBI meeting in Nairobi.

Several parties “highlighted concerns with the imbalance of work” on finance between these SBI talks and the next ones, reported Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).

Lim Li Ching, senior researcher at Third World Network, noted that tensions around finance permeated every aspect of the talks. She told Carbon Brief:

“If you’re talking about the gender plan of action – if there’s little or no financial resources provided to actually put it into practice and implement it, then it’s [just] paper, right? Same with the reporting requirements and obligations.”

Monitoring and reporting

Closely linked to the issue of finance is the obligations of parties to report on their progress towards the goals and targets of the GBF.

Parties do so through the submission of national reports.

Several parties at the talks pointed to a lack of timely funding for driving delays in their reporting, according to ENB.

A note released by the CBD Secretariat in December said that no parties had submitted their national reports yet; by the time of the SBI meetings, only the EU had. It further noted that just 58 parties had submitted their national biodiversity plans, which were initially meant to be published by COP16, in October 2024.

Linda Krueger, director of biodiversity and infrastructure policy at the environmental not-for-profit Nature Conservancy, told Carbon Brief that despite the sparse submissions, parties are “very focused on the national report preparation”. She added:

“Everybody wants to be able to show that we’re on the path and that there still is a pathway to getting to 2030 that’s positive and largely in the right direction.”

Watch, read, listen

NET LOSS: Nigeria’s marine life is being “threatened” by “ghost gear” – nets and other fishing equipment discarded in the ocean – said Dialogue Earth.

COMEBACK CAUSALITY: A Vox long-read looked at whether Costa Rica’s “payments for ecosystem services” programme helped the country turn a corner on deforestation.

HOMEGROWN GOALS: A Straits Times podcast discussed whether import-dependent Singapore can afford to shelve its goal to produce 30% of its food locally by 2030.

‘RUSTING’ RIVERS: The Financial Times took a closer look at a “strange new force blighting the [Arctic] landscape”: rivers turning rust-orange due to global warming.

New science

  • Lakes in the Congo Basin’s peatlands are releasing carbon that is thousands of years old | Nature Geoscience
  • Natural non-forest ecosystems – such as grasslands and marshlands – were converted for agriculture at four times the rate of land with tree cover between 2005 and 2020 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Around one-quarter of global tree-cover loss over 2001-22 was driven by cropland expansion, pastures and forest plantations for commodity production | Nature Food

In the diary

Cropped is researched and written by Dr Giuliana Viglione, Aruna Chandrasekhar, Daisy Dunne, Orla Dwyer and Yanine Quiroz.
Please send tips and feedback to cropped@carbonbrief.org

The post Cropped 25 February 2026: Food inflation strikes | El Niño looms | Biodiversity talks stagnate appeared first on Carbon Brief.

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Dangerous heat for Tour de France riders only a ‘question of time’

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Rising temperatures across France since the mid-1970s is putting Tour de France competitors at “high risk”, according to new research.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, uses 50 years of climate data to calculate the potential heat stress that athletes have been exposed to across a dozen different locations during the world-famous cycling race.

The researchers find that both the severity and frequency of high-heat-stress events have increased across France over recent decades.

But, despite record-setting heatwaves in France, the heat-stress threshold for safe competition has rarely been breached in any particular city on the day the Tour passed through.

(This threshold was set out by cycling’s international governing body in 2024.)

However, the researchers add it is “only a question of time” until this occurs as average temperatures in France continue to rise.

The lead author of the study tells Carbon Brief that, while the race organisers have been fortunate to avoid major heat stress on race days so far, it will be “harder and harder to be lucky” as extreme heat becomes more common.

‘Iconic’

The Tour de France is one of the world’s most storied cycling races and the oldest of Europe’s three major multi-week cycling competitions, or Grand Tours.

Riders cover around 3,500 kilometres (km) of distance and gain up to nearly 55km of altitude over 21 stages, with only two or three rest days throughout the gruelling race.

The researchers selected the Tour de France because it is the “iconic bike race. It is the bike race of bike races,” says Dr Ivana Cvijanovic, a climate scientist at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, who led the new work.

Heat has become a growing problem for the competition in recent years.

In 2022, Alexis Vuillermoz, a French competitor, collapsed at the finish line of the Tour’s ninth stage, leaving in an ambulance and subsequently pulling out of the race entirely.

Two years later, British cyclist Sir Mark Cavendish vomited on his bike during the first stage of the race after struggling with the 36C heat.

The Tour also makes a good case study because it is almost entirely held during the month of July and, while the route itself changes, there are many cities and stages that are repeated from year to year, Cvijanovic adds.

‘Have to be lucky’

The study focuses on the 50-year span between 1974 and 2023.

The researchers select six locations across the country that have commonly hosted the Tour, from the mountain pass of Col du Tourmalet, in the French Pyrenees, to the city of Paris – where the race finishes, along the Champs-Élysées.

These sites represent a broad range of climatic zones: Alpe d’ Huez, Bourdeaux, Col du Tourmalet, Nîmes, Paris and Toulouse.

For each location, they use meteorological reanalysis data from ERA5 and radiant temperature data from ERA5-HEAT to calculate the “wet-bulb globe temperature” (WBGT) for multiple times of day across the month of July each year.

WBGT is a heat-stress index that takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed and direct sunlight.

Although there is “no exact scientific consensus” on the best heat-stress index to use, WBGT is “one of the rare indicators that has been originally developed based on the actual human response to heat”, Cvijanovic explains.

It is also the one that the International Cycling Union (UCI) – the world governing body for sport cycling – uses to assess risk. A WBGT of 28C or higher is classified as “high risk” by the group.

WBGT is the “gold standard” for assessing heat stress, says Dr Jessica Murfree, director of the ACCESS Research Laboratory and assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Murfree, who was not involved in the new study, adds that the researchers are “doing the right things by conducting their science in alignment with the business practices that are already happening”.

The researchers find that across the 50-year time period, WBGT has been increasing across the entire country – albeit, at different rates. In the north-west of the country, WBGT has increased at an average rate of 0.1C per decade, while in the southern and eastern parts of the country, it has increased by more than 0.5C per decade.

The maps below show the maximum July WBGT for each decade of the analysis (rows) and for hourly increments of the late afternoon (columns). Lower temperatures are shown in lighter greens and yellows, while higher temperatures are shown in darker reds and purples.

Six Tour de France locations analysed in the study are shown as triangles on the maps (clockwise from top): Paris, Alpe d’ Huez, Nîmes, Toulouse, Col du Tourmalet and Bordeaux.

The maps show that the maximum WBGT temperature in the afternoon has surpassed 28C over almost the entire country in the last decade. The notable exceptions to this are the mountainous regions of the Alps and the Pyrenees.

Maximum WBGT across France for the month of July from 1974-2023. Rows show the values for each decade and columns show the hourly values for 3:00pm, 4:00pm, 5:00pm and 6:00pm. Lower temperatures are shown in lighter greens and yellows, while higher temperatures are shown in darker reds and purples. Triangles indicate the six Tour de France locations analysed in the study. Source: Cvijanovic et al. (2026)

The researchers also find that most of the country has crossed the 28C WBGT threshold – which they describe as “dangerous heat levels” – on at least one July day over the past decade. However, by looking at the WBGT on the day the Tour passed through any of these six locations, they find that the threshold has rarely been breached during the race itself.

For example, the research notes that, since 1974, Paris has seen a WBGT of 28C five times at 3pm in July – but that these events have “so far” not coincided with the cycling race.

The study states that it is “fortunate” that the Tour has so far avoided the worst of the heat-stress.

Cvijanovic says the organisers and competitors have been “lucky” to date. She adds:

“It has worked really well for them so far. But as the frequency of these [extreme heat] events is increasing, it will be harder and harder to be lucky.”

Dr Madeleine Orr, an assistant professor of sport ecology at the University of Toronto who was not involved in the study, tells Carbon Brief that the paper was “really well done”, noting that its “methods are good [and its] approach was sound”. She adds:

“[The Tour has] had athletes complain about [the heat]. They’ve had athletes collapse – and still those aren’t the worst conditions. I think that that says a lot about what we consider safe. They’ve still been lucky to not see what unsafe looks like, despite [the heat] having already had impacts.”

Heat safety protocols

In 2024, the UCI set out its first-ever high temperature protocol – a set of guidelines for race organisers to assess athletes’ risk of heat stress.

The assessment places the potential risk into one of five categories based on the WBGT, ranging from very low to high risk.

The protocol then sets out suggested actions to take in the event of extreme heat, ranging from having athletes complete their warm-ups using ice vests and cold towels to increasing the number of support vehicles providing water and ice.

If the WBGT climbs above the 28C mark, the protocol suggests that organisers modify the start time of the stage, adapt the course to remove particularly hazardous sections – or even cancel the race entirely.

However, Orr notes that many other parts of the race, such as spectator comfort and equipment functioning, may have lower temperatures thresholds that are not accounted for in the protocol, but should also be considered.

Murfree points out that the study’s findings – and the heat protocol itself – are “really focused on adaptation, rather than mitigation”. While this is “to be expected”, she tells Carbon Brief:

“Moving to earlier start times or adjusting the route specifically to avoid these locations that score higher in heat stress doesn’t stop the heat stress. These aren’t climate preventative measures. That, I think, would be a much more difficult conversation to have in the research because of the Tour de France’s intimate relationship with fossil-fuel companies.”

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DeBriefed 20 February 2026: EU’s ‘3C’ warning | Endangerment repeal’s impact on US emissions | ‘Tree invasion’ fuelled South America’s fires

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Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. 
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.

This week

Preparing for 3C

NEW ALERT: The EU’s climate advisory board urged countries to prepare for 3C of global warming, reported the Guardian. The outlet quoted Maarten van Aalst, a member of the advisory board, saying that adapting to this future is a “daunting task, but, at the same time, quite a doable task”. The board recommended the creation of “climate risk assessments and investments in protective measures”.

‘INSUFFICIENT’ ACTION: EFE Verde added that the advisory board said that the EU’s adaptation efforts were so far “insufficient, fragmented and reactive” and “belated”. Climate impacts are expected to weaken the bloc’s productivity, put pressure on public budgets and increase security risks, it added.

UNDERWATER: Meanwhile, France faced “unprecedented” flooding this week, reported Le Monde. The flooding has inundated houses, streets and fields and forced the evacuation of around 2,000 people, according to the outlet. The Guardian quoted Monique Barbut, minister for the ecological transition, saying: “People who follow climate issues have been warning us for a long time that events like this will happen more often…In fact, tomorrow has arrived.”

IEA ‘erases’ climate

MISSING PRIORITY: The US has “succeeded” in removing climate change from the main priorities of the International Energy Agency (IEA) during a “tense ministerial meeting” in Paris, reported Politico. It noted that climate change is not listed among the agency’s priorities in the “chair’s summary” released at the end of the two-day summit.

US INTERVENTION: Bloomberg said the meeting marked the first time in nine years the IEA failed to release a communique setting out a unified position on issues – opting instead for the chair’s summary. This came after US energy secretary Chris Wright gave the organisation a one-year deadline to “scrap its support of goals to reduce energy emissions to net-zero” – or risk losing the US as a member, according to Reuters.

Around the world

  • ISLAND OBJECTION: The US is pressuring Vanuatu to withdraw a draft resolution supporting an International Court of Justice ruling on climate change, according to Al Jazeera.
  • GREENLAND HEAT: The Associated Press reported that Greenland’s capital Nuuk had its hottest January since records began 109 years ago.
  • CHINA PRIORITIES: China’s Energy Administration set out its five energy priorities for 2026-2030, including developing a renewable energy plan, said International Energy Net.
  • AMAZON REPRIEVE: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has continued to fall into early 2026, extending a downward trend, according to the latest satellite data covered by Mongabay.
  • GEZANI DESTRUCTION: Reuters reported the aftermath of the Gezani cyclone, which ripped through Madagascar last week, leaving 59 dead and more than 16,000 displaced people.

20cm

The average rise in global sea levels since 1901, according to a Carbon Brief guest post on the challenges in projecting future rises.


Latest climate research

  • Wildfire smoke poses negative impacts on organisms and ecosystems, such as health impacts on air-breathing animals, changes in forests’ carbon storage and coral mortality | Global Ecology and Conservation
  • As climate change warms Antarctica throughout the century, the Weddell Sea could see the growth of species such as krill and fish and remain habitable for Emperor penguins | Nature Climate Change
  • About 97% of South American lakes have recorded “significant warming” over the past four decades and are expected to experience rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves | Climatic Change

(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)

Captured

US emissions, MtCO2e, under a “current policy” scenario in which the EPA removes key federal climate regulations

Repealing the US’s landmark “endangerment finding”, along with actions that rely on that finding, will slow the pace of US emissions cuts, according to Rhodium Group visualised by Carbon Brief. US president Donald Trump last week formally repealed the scientific finding that underpins federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, although the move is likely to face legal challenges. Data from the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm, shows that US emissions will drop more slowly without climate regulations. However, even with climate regulations, emissions are expected to drop much slower under Trump than under the previous Joe Biden administration, according to the analysis.

Spotlight

How a ‘tree invasion’ helped to fuel South America’s fires

This week, Carbon Brief explores how the “invasion” of non-native tree species helped to fan the flames of forest fires in Argentina and Chile earlier this year.

Since early January, Chile and Argentina have faced large-scale and deadly wildfires, including in Patagonia, which spans both countries.

These fires have been described as “some of the most significant and damaging in the region”, according to a World Weather Attribution (WWA) analysis covered by Carbon Brief.

In both countries, the fires destroyed vast areas of native forests and grasslands, displacing thousands of people. In Chile, the fires resulted in 23 deaths.

Firefighters spray water on homes in Vina del Mar, Chile.
Firefighters spray water on homes in Vina del Mar, Chile. Credit: Esteban Felix / Alamy Stock Photo

Multiple drivers contributed to the spread of the fires, including extended periods of high temperatures, low rainfall and abundant dry vegetation.

The WWA analysis concluded that human-caused climate change made these weather conditions at least three times more likely.

According to the researchers, another contributing factor was the invasion of non-native trees in the regions where the fires occurred.

The risk of non-native forests

In Argentina, the wildfires began on 6 January and persisted until the first week of February. They hit the city of Puerto Patriada and the Los Alerces and Lago Puelo national parks, in the Chubut province, as well as nearby regions.

In these areas, more than 45,000 hectares of native forests – such as Patagonian alerce tree, myrtle, coigüe and ñire – along with scrubland and grasslands, were consumed by the flames, according to the WWA study.

In Chile, forest fires occurred from 17 to 19 January in the Biobío, Ñuble and Araucanía regions.

The fires destroyed more than 40,000 hectares of forest and more than 20,000 hectares of non-native forest plantations, including eucalyptus and Monterey pine.

Dr Javier Grosfeld, a researcher at Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) in northern Patagonia, told Carbon Brief that these species, introduced to Patagonia for production purposes in the late 20th century, grow quickly and are highly flammable.

Because of this, their presence played a role in helping the fires to spread more quickly and grow larger.

However, that is no reason to “demonise” them, he stressed.

Forest management

For Grosfeld, the problem in northern Patagonia, Argentina, is a significant deficit in the management of forests and forest plantations.

This management should include pruning branches from their base and controlling the spread of non-native species, he added.

A similar situation is happening in Chile, where management of pine and eucalyptus plantations is not regulated. This means there are no “firebreaks” – gaps in vegetation – in place to prevent fire spread, Dr Gabriela Azócar, a researcher at the University of Chile’s Centre for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), told Carbon Brief.

She noted that, although Mapuche Indigenous communities in central-south Chile are knowledgeable about native species and manage their forests, their insight and participation are not recognised in the country’s fire management and prevention policies.

Grosfeld stated:

“We are seeing the transformation of the Patagonian landscape from forest to scrubland in recent years. There is a lack of preventive forestry measures, as well as prevention and evacuation plans.”

Watch, read, listen

FUTURE FURNACE: A Guardian video explored the “unbearable experience of walking in a heatwave in the future”.

THE FUN SIDE: A Channel 4 News video covered a new wave of climate comedians who are using digital platforms such as TikTok to entertain and raise awareness.

ICE SECRETS: The BBC’s Climate Question podcast explored how scientists study ice cores to understand what the climate was like in ancient times and how to use them to inform climate projections.

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The post DeBriefed 20 February 2026: EU’s ‘3C’ warning | Endangerment repeal’s impact on US emissions | ‘Tree invasion’ fuelled South America’s fires appeared first on Carbon Brief.

DeBriefed 20 February 2026: EU’s ‘3C’ warning | Endangerment repeal’s impact on US emissions | ‘Tree invasion’ fuelled South America’s fires

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