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Carbon Brief handpicks and explains the most important climate and energy stories from China over the past fortnight. Subscribe for free here.
Key developments
No new EU support for local solar manufacturers
AFFORDABILITY VS SECURITY: Despite calls from the EU solar industry to instigate “emergency measures to combat a surge in cheap imports from China”, the European Commission said that the use of trade measures must be “weighed against” the bloc’s need for affordable solar panels to achieve its low-carbon transition, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP). EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness “offered no new support”, Reuters reported, instead pointing to existing EU measures and the newly-agreed Net Zero Industry Act, which “aims to fast-track permits for local manufacturing and to give products made in the EU, such as panels, an advantage in future clean tech tenders”.
CONFLICTING VIEWS: Reuters also underscored that that industry voices were “divided over the solution” – while solar manufacturers “crushed by cheaper imports and oversupply” were calling for more protection, other “green energy” industry representatives “noted that solar panel prices have climbed in the US” in response to duties on solar panels from south-east Asian nations, creating an “inflationary impact”. In its reporting, Politico added that “at a December meeting of EU ministers on solar manufacturing, five out of seven countries appeared resistant to any trade defence measures”, adding that the opinion was not universal, according to an anonymous source.
CHINA’S CRITICISM: Articles and commentaries criticising western reactions to China’s solar exports and extolling the benefits of China’s clean-energy exports have recently appeared in Chinese media. One China Daily article said that Chinese EVs are “popular in overseas markets”, while an editorial in the state-run newspaper argued that “emergency support measures” for Europe’s solar panel manufacturing industry would “create a ‘lose-lose situation’ and…leave the realisation of the bloc’s climate goals in question”. China Energy News reported that “European manufacturers do not have a clear technological advantage [over China]”, making Chinese manufacturing important to maintaining supply.
Renewables energy capacity could surpass coal in 2024
SET TO OVERTAKE: According to a forecast by the China Electricity Council, China’s installed wind and solar capacity will “overtake” coal for the first time this year, making up around 40% of installed power generation capacity against 37% of coal, Reuters reported. By 2024, China will build about 1,300 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar capacity, exceeding its official target of 1,200GW by 2030, it added. The body “did not give a forecasted breakdown for actual power generation, which is still dominated by coal [at] nearly 60% of electricity consumed last year”, the outlet noted.
SOLAR STAR: China installed 217GW of new solar capacity in 2023, the country’s national energy administration (NEA) announced, “blowing away” the previous record of 88GW in 2022 and exceeding – in one year – the total amount of solar capacity built in any other nation, Bloomberg reported. According to the NEA, China also “almost quadrupled” its new energy storage capacity such as batteries to 31GW, SCMP reported. The paper – citing an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air’s Lauri Myllyvirta for Carbon Brief – said the “boom” in storage came as China made a “major pivot” in its macroeconomic strategy, with the country’s previous key economic drivers, such as the real estate sector, losing steam.
FOSSIL FALL: Profits fell 25% year-on-year in China’s coal mining sector, driven by falling coal prices, but climbed 72% for power firms, reported China Energy Net. Meanwhile, China discovered 107m tonnes of crude oil in Henan province, “equivalent” to more than half of the nation’s production in 2023, which comes at a time when authorities are making efforts to “enhance energy security and rely less on oil imports”, SCMP reported. China Electricity News published a comment by Li Chuangjun, director of the new energy and renewable energy department of the NEA. Li wrote that, in the year ahead, renewable energy will “continue to develop at a high speed”, although this would be in accordance with “promoting stability alongside progress and establishing before breaking”.
Xi urges greater ‘green’ growth
GREEN UNDERTONES: In a meeting of China’s central committee – consisting of the country’s most senior officials – at the end of January, President Xi Jinping called for continued emphasis on “green” development, saying that “green” is the “underlying colour of high-quality development”, BJX News reported. China must “unswervingly take the road of prioritising the environment”, the energy news outlet quoted him as saying. Shanghai-based newspaper the Paper added that Xi also called for China to “accelerate green science and technology innovation…strengthen the green manufacturing industry, develop the green services industry, grow the [new] energy industry [and] develop green and low-carbon industries”.
EYES ON SHENZHEN: China’s state news agency Xinhua News recently published a special feature naming Xi as a “leader in cultural heritage and innovation”, adding that “under his leadership, China’s ecological environmental protection has undergone historic, transformative and comprehensive changes, with bluer skies, greener mountains and clearer water”. Examples of Xi’s leadership mentioned in the article included innovations in the city of Shenzhen – “from electric cars to new drones, from low-carbon pilots to smart cities”. Shenzhen, for its part, has recently announced that it will “double down on efforts to shore up” its advanced manufacturing industry, planning to see industrial output exceed 1.5tn yuan ($209bn) in new [low-carbon] energy and other strategic emerging industries in 2024, according to SCMP.
Carbon emissions trading regulations published
FULL TEXT: China has released the full text of new regulations to govern its mandatory national carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS), China Daily announced. The regulations “focus on the allocation of responsibilities, designating the state council’s ecological and environmental department to oversee and manage carbon emissions trading” and “specify details including the products eligible for trading, trading methods and the distribution of carbon emissions quotas”, the state-run newspaper explained.
INSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEE: Securities Times said that the new regulations grant the ministry of ecology and environment (MEE) “greater authority to regulate non-compliance in activities such as carbon market compliance, data reporting and verification”. An article by Zhu Xue, professor at Renmin University, and posted on the official MEE website, argued that the law “ensures that carbon emission trading activities have a legal basis” and “also provides an important institutional guarantee [from the Chinese government]…to actively and steadily progress towards carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”.
GREEN CERTIFICATES: China also issued a directive to strengthen the integration of “green electricity certificates (GECs) and energy-saving and carbon reduction policies” to “vigorously promote” the consumption of non-fossil energy, reported BJX News. The policy proposes “incorporating…traded volumes of GECs into evaluation of provincial governments’ energy-saving targets”, it said. Securities Times said that China will define “functional boundaries and articulation between the GECs, the ETS and the voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction mechanism [CCERs]”. In a LinkedIn article, Shanghai-based David Fishman, senior manager at consultancy the Lantau Group, said that the directive could lead to China “making renewable energy consumption [or purchase of equivalent GECs] mandatory” for energy-intensive companies for the first time. To date, only grid firms and power retailers have had mandatory quotas – effectively renewable portfolio standards – he said.
Spotlight
China’s environment minister outlines goals for 2024
On 23 January, China’s ecology and environment minister Huang Runqiu outlined his department’s achievements in 2023 and priorities for 2024, in a 20,000 character-long (or approximately 14,000 word-long) speech. In this issue, Carbon Brief translates some of his key talking points.
The speech was delivered at the ministry of ecology and environment (MEE) annual “work conference” – a meeting that looks at progress to date and priorities for the year ahead.
Huang’s speech reflects on remarks made by President Xi Jinping at a major conference in July 2023, where he underscored the importance of “building a beautiful China”. It also outlines eight priorities that Huang’s department will pursue this year.
China’s approach to environmental protection in 2024
On building an ‘ecological civilisation’: “2023 was…a milestone year in the field of ecological environment…[President Xi Jinping] delivered an important speech…which provides an action plan and scientific guidance for us to continue to promote the construction of ecological civilisation in a new era.”
On challenges to China’s emissions-cutting efforts: “China’s industrial structure is still characterised by high energy consumption and high carbon emissions, coal consumption remains high, freight remains mainly powered by heavy goods vehicles [and] this year the economy will continue to rebound. Therefore, the pressure on emissions reduction efforts is not insignificant.”
On loss of ecosystems and pollution incidents: “The overall quality of the ecosystem remains low and important ecological spaces continue to be crowded out. Prolonged periods of heavily-polluted weather occur occasionally, and ecological and environmental incidents are still frequent and high-risk. There are nearly 10,000 tailing ponds across the country, and historical stockpiles of solid waste total tens of billions of tonnes.”
On the need for more regulation: “There are shortcomings in ecological and environmental science and technology support, insufficient use of market-oriented methods of environmental management [and] lags in construction of ecological and environmental infrastructure…In some places, ecological and environmental supervision is either superficial or has not been established.”
On timelines for near-term progress: “By 2027, green and low-carbon development will be promoted in depth, total emissions of major pollutants will be continuously reduced, the quality of the ecological environment will be increased…and China’s ecological security will be effectively guaranteed.” [The 2027 deadline is also a key target in recent opinions issued by China’s leadership to meet environmental protection goals under the ‘beautiful China initiative’.]
On developing ‘green’ steel: “[In 2023] a total of 420m tonnes of crude steel production capacity saw a whole-process ultra-low emission transformation.”
On China’s national carbon market: “The MEE promoted the successful conclusion of the second compliance cycle of the national carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS), which included 2,257 key emissions units in the power industry, covering more than 5bn tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.”
On ‘politicisation’ of climate cooperation: “Global ecological and environmental issues are increasingly politicised, with some western countries playing the climate card to introduce carbon tariffs and other policies.”
Key tasks for 2024
On promoting pilot zones for a ‘beautiful China’: “China will implement the opinions on comprehensively promoting the construction of a beautiful China…and construct beautiful China pioneer [pilot] zones.”
On maintaining the fight against pollution: “The MEE will implement the action plan for continuous improvement of air quality…and promote the ultra-low emission transformation of the iron and steel, cement and coking industries.”
On promoting ‘green, low-carbon and high-quality’ development: “The MEE will…support high-quality development policies and measures for economic recovery and strengthen the environmental assessment services for major investment projects…prepare guidance on strengthening construction of the ETS, gradually expanding the coverage of industries…finalise a national greenhouse gas emissions factor database…study the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism…[and] promote implementation of the methane emission control action plan.”
On increasing supervision of ecological protection and restoration: “China will fully implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework [and] further promote China’s biodiversity conservation strategy and action plan (2023-30).”
On ensuring nuclear and radiation safety: “The MEE will continue to improve nuclear safety supervision systems and…strengthen capacity for forward-looking research and judgement.”
On strengthening ecological environment inspection, law enforcement and risk prevention: “The MEE will implement the third round of central ecological environmental protection inspections.”
On promoting ecological environment innovation: “The MEE will issue guidance on strengthening scientific and technological innovation in the field of ecology and environment to promote the construction of a beautiful China.”
On environmental governance and COP29: “The MEE will continue deepening reform of vertical [policy] management systems…and accelerate construction of a credit system to supervise environmental protection…[The MEE will] cooperate on environment and climate change with key countries…to promote positive outcomes at COP29.”
Watch, read, listen
GREEN INDUSTRY: The Institute for Global Decarbonisation Progress published an analysis of recently published “steady growth action plans” that outline China’s aims for developing 10 key sectors, identifying the “green and low-carbon initiatives” in each of them.
SOLAR HISTORY: BJX News summarised the history of China’s supportive subsidies for the solar industry, tracking government policy from 2008 to the present day.
COLLATERAL: In an article for the Conversation, Oxford University’s Prof Nikita Sud said China’s investment in clean-energy in Indonesia is “reinforcing entrenched inequalities and hierarchies”, as development of a new solar panel factory could displace the location’s 7,500 residents.
GRASSROOTS ADAPTATION: China Dialogue covered a study which found that “climate change risks are being…adapted to at the grassroots level in southern China” and urges policymakers to “identify vulnerable populations” and understand their needs.
New science
Increasing occurrence of sudden turns from drought to flood over China
Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
The number of “sudden turn from drought to flood” (STDF) events in China increased by 2.8 events per decade over 1961-2020, according to new research. The authors investigated the long-term trends and variability of STDFs in China over 1961-2020. They found that STDFs are prevalent in north and north-east China and the Yangtze River delta. “The probability of a drought being followed by a severe flood is approaching 35% in northern and north-eastern China,” they added. The increase has mainly occurred in late spring and early summer, and is mainly due to “increasing flood frequency and volatility of precipitation”, the paper found.
Faking for fortune: Emissions trading schemes and corporate greenwashing in China
Energy Economics
A new study has found that China’s national carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) currently acts as a “catalyst for corporate greenwashing” because it intensifies financial pressures on said companies. The study also found that “greenwashing behaviour” induced by the ETS is more apparent where “market competition is higher, firms are smaller, R&D investment is lower or intensity of environmental regulation is lower”.
Researchers looked at 80 countries involved in China’s “belt and road initiative” (BRI) between 2006 and 2018 to evaluate their changing trends of energy poverty. The study found that although countries in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia and west Asia still face severe energy poverty, it has nevertheless steadily declined during this period. China’s foreign direct investment – and its wider effects – can “alleviate local energy poverty by enhancing energy accessibility, improving energy infrastructure and increasing energy supply levels”, the authors said.
China Briefing is compiled by Anika Patel and edited by Wanyuan Song and Simon Evans. Please send tips and feedback to china@carbonbrief.org
The post China Briefing 8 February: Xi’s ‘green’ call; Renewables to top coal; No new EU solar support appeared first on Carbon Brief.
China Briefing 8 February: Xi’s ‘green’ call; Renewables to top coal; No new EU solar support
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 Brazil-led TFFF was launched at COP30 as an innovative financial model to keep rainforests standing, but is still short on startup cash -
UK halves Green Climate Fund contribution, as it spends more on security
After promising £1.6 billion to the UN’s flagship climate fund in 2023, the UK government has now said it will only hand over half as much -
EU, UK lead push for electrification as “powerful weapon” against fossil fuels
A group of dozens of countries seeks to build momentum for a COP31 pledge to electrify 35% of global energy use by 2035 as an alternative to fossil fuels
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?
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, 22 July 2026 – Greenpeace Netherlands has launched legal proceedings against a multi-billion-dollar global expansion plan by the biggest meat producer in Australia, JBS, in an escalation of climate litigation against the livestock industry.
Greenpeace petitioned a Dutch court to compel the meat giant to disclose information in order to challenge its business policies in court, including a US$6 billion global expansion, for which almost half is earmarked for Nigeria.
Elizabeth Atieno, Food Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, said: “JBS’ meat empire expanded hand-in-glove with Amazon destruction, colossal emissions, human rights and corruption scandals, all with barely a semblance of transparency. This is the business model it wants to export to sub-Saharan Africa. JBS promises food security, but its expansion in Nigeria risks causing irreversible environmental damage and the displacement of smallholder farmers to line the pockets of wealthy global elites.
“Nigerians know well from the legacy of companies like Shell the destructive impact wrought by unchecked corporate power. As Greenpeace Africa has argued before the African Court of Human Rights, states with jurisdiction over multinationals must hold those corporate actors accountable – wherever they operate in the world. We welcome this bold legal action: the Netherlands and other European states must not be safe havens for corporations like JBS seeking to evade their responsibilities.”
In light of JBS’ longstanding failure to publish accurate and reliable information on its climate, nature and human rights impacts or its expansion plans, Greenpeace Netherlands views accessing this data as a necessary precursor to formal litigation in order to support its case. The case has the potential to be the first climate litigation of this scale against the livestock industry. This could set a major precedent for future legal challenges against the industrial agriculture sector, a major source of global emissions, particularly of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, responsible for 0.5°C of warming since the Industrial Revolution.[1]
JBS, via its subsidiary JBS Foods Australia, is the largest meat and food processing company in Australia. With a weekly processing capacity of over 50,000 cattle, it accounts for almost a quarter of all beef processing in the country, as well as a significant presence in the lamb, pork and farmed fish markets. [2] In 2022, ABC’s Four Corners accused the company of ‘repeatedly failing to protect its workers from horrific injuries.’ [3]
Marieke Vellekoop, Executive Director at Greenpeace Netherlands, said “In a month where JBS has thrown its flagship environmental commitments onto the scrap heap, JBS’ disdain for basic transparency only adds to the impression that this meat giant has something to hide and is desperate to prevent its expansion plans from going public. We were hoping we wouldn’t have to trouble a judge with this matter, but JBS has left us no choice but to seek our right to information through the Dutch courts.
“JBS appears to believe that despite moving to the Netherlands, our rules do not apply to it. This legal action aims to prove it wrong – and lay the ground for a first major climate and nature lawsuit against the dangerous expansion of the global meat industry.“
At the centre of the dispute is JBS’ planned US$ 2.5 billion investment in industrial livestock production in Nigeria.[2] Civil society groups in Nigeria have raised urgent warnings that the aggressive expansion will threaten local food security, drive regional instability, and accelerate ecological degradation. There is no available evidence that JBS has conducted any impact assessments or community consultations in Nigeria, and local efforts to gather more information via Freedom of Information requests have reportedly been ignored.[3]
The escalation to the courts follows the refusal of JBS, the world’s largest meat company, to comply with a formal disclosure demand delivered by Greenpeace Netherlands in April. The environmental group is utilising new Dutch legislation, which grants parties with a legitimate interest the right to demand access to specific corporate data necessary to build litigation against Dutch companies.[4]
Greenpeace Netherlands’ lawyers allege that JBS’ historic business practices and future expansion plans are inconsistent with the company’s climate and biodiversity obligations and represent a breach of its Dutch duty of care, which requires companies to act in line with international human rights law.[5]
If the court rules in favor of Greenpeace Netherlands, it is entitled to seek the required information in the form of documents and from senior JBS figures under oath, raising the prospect of the Batista brothers being forced to testify in Dutch court. JBS reincorporated as a Dutch entity (JBS N.V.) last year to facilitate a dual listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
In April, JBS was forced to temporarily suspend its first annual general meeting since moving its headquarters to Amsterdam after it was disrupted by dozens of Greenpeace Netherlands activists.
Last week, JBS scrapped two flagship commitments to reach Net Zero emissions by 2040 and eradicate deforestation from its supply chain. It also removed any explicit reference to Indigenous lands from all of its current policies. Greenpeace Netherlands is concerned this indicates JBS is seeking to expand unconstrained by the climate, nature and human rights impacts of its business.
–ENDS–
Notes:
[1] The livestock sector is estimated to be responsible for 31% of global methane emissions (more than oil and gas operations). In comparison to CO2, methane is shorter lived (around 12 years) but has a much stronger ability to trap heat in the atmosphere over its lifetime: it has approximately 80 times more climate impact than CO2 when measured over 20 years. This means that changes in methane emissions have a more rapid effect on the climate than changes in CO2. See Greenpeace Netherlands letter to JBS dated 30 April 2026.
[2] JBS Foods Australia, Our Business
[3] ABC, Australia’s biggest meat company JBS is repeatedly failing to protect its workers from horrific injuries, 25 April 2022
[4] JBS announcement
[5] Experts raise concerns over the risks of industrial animal farming (The Sun Nigeria)
[6] Simplification and modernisation of Dutch evidence law (Fieldfisher)
[7] Greenpeace Netherlands petition to Dutch court available here. Media briefing with further details on JBS expansion plans, including in Nigeria, available here.
Greenpeace launches legal challenge against Australia’s biggest meat company
Climate Change
“Next year is too late for regulations”: Beetaloo Energy’s 2GW gas-powered AI data centre a “disaster proposal” destined to cause climate chaos
SYDNEY, Wednesday 22 July 2026 — Beetaloo Energy has secured land from the NT Government for a massive $40 billion “hyperscale” AI data centre near Darwin, which would be powered by 2 gigawatts (GW) of gas power fracked directly from the Beetaloo basin, prompting calls from Greenpeace for urgent federal legislation.
The proposal marks a dangerous escalation in the AI data centre industry’s expansion, which threatens to entrench fossil fuel infrastructure for decades and put immense pressure on the region’s fragile water resources — while continuing to be unregulated.
Joe Rafalowicz, Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “This disaster proposal for a 2GW gas-powered AI data centre in the NT is a shocking example of the unchecked expansion of hyperscale data centres in Australia. It is also, critically, more evidence for the urgent need for a moratorium on all new data centres until strong, binding regulations are put in place to protect our communities and climate.
“This proposal mirrors the frenzied, unchecked expansion currently wreaking havoc on communities in the US. We are seeing cowboy data centre operators treat Australia like a playground, steam-rolling ahead with projects that would lock down precious water resources and spike emissions, despite the overwhelming community opposition.
“Every day, more councils, communities and environmental groups are joining Greenpeace’s call for a moratorium on data centres, yet as of today there is still no system of safeguards or rules in place to regulate these companies.
“While Beetaloo Energy and the NT Government prepare to bulldoze ahead with this climate and water disaster, the Prime Minister is asleep at the wheel, promising to legislate a vague set of standards next year.
“Next year is too late, and anything less than mandating data centres cover their own energy demand, and then some, with new renewable energy is not enough.”
-ENDS-
Media contact
Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or lucy.keller@greenpeace.org
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