Welcome to Carbon Brief’s Cropped. 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
Migratory species in peril
EXTINCTION THREAT: A new UN-backed report, the “State of the World’s Migratory Species” found that one in five of the species listed under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is “threatened with extinction”, with nearly half experiencing population declines. The report examined the status of nearly 1,200 species protected under the CMS, concluding: “The impacts of climate change are already being felt by many migratory species, and these impacts are expected to increase considerably over the coming decades, not just as a direct threat to species but also as an amplifier of other threats.” Conserving these species “is extremely difficult because they cross nations, continents, even hemispheres”, Dr Amanda Rodwald, the director of the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, told Grist.
A RAY OF HOPE: Several news outlets covered the report. Yale Environment 360 noted that the report “is the first comprehensive assessment” of migratory species. It added that “marine life is particularly at risk” due to overfishing, with 97% of marine migratory species “facing extinction”, including sharks, rays and sturgeons. According to Inside Climate News, “the numbers could be even more dire because the CMS treaty…covers only about a quarter of the world’s known migratory species”. But, it added, “the authors emphasise that further species declines and habitat destruction are not inevitable”, highlighting success stories, such as that of the humpback whale. Yale E360 quoted Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme, who said: “The global community has an opportunity to translate this latest science of the pressures facing migratory species into concrete conservation action.”
CARNIVORE CONSERVATION: The report was released on 12 February at the 14th Conference of the Parties to the CMS, being held this week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The next day, the CMS signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that “formalise[d] a commitment for IUCN and CMS to work together to protect threatened African carnivores”, according to the IUCN. The organisation said that its partnership would “raise funds and facilitate frontline conservation action targeted at protecting and recovering” lions, cheetahs, leopards and African wild dogs. Dr Grethel Aguilar, director-general of the IUCN, highlighted that those four are “species that are vital to healthy ecosystems and on which many other species depend”.
Farmers’ protests across the EU
WAVE OF PROTESTS: Carbon Brief reported that farmers across the EU, including in Belgium, France, Germany and Greece, have taken to the streets in protest over the past weeks due to a “series of concerns, including competition from cheaper imports, rising costs of energy and fertiliser and environmental rules”. Carbon Brief analysed the main demands from farmer groups in seven EU countries and found that many – but not all – were related to climate change and biodiversity conservation. Several points of contention were related to policies that have not yet been implemented, such as the EU’s upcoming nature restoration law and a pending trade agreement with several South American countries. The EU is working on other climate and biodiversity regulations ahead of parliamentary elections in June this year.
COORDINATED CONCERNS: Truckers, beekeepers and foresters joined the farmers in protest in Poland, Euractiv reported. According to a Polish apple grower, these groups are opposed to impositions that would result from the European Green Deal as well as “the influx of low-quality Ukrainian food to Poland under the liberalised EU trade rules”. In an interview with the outlet, Jacek Zarzecki of the Federation of Agricultural Producers Union said that regulations aimed at reducing agricultural emissions and enhancing animal welfare were not sufficiently supporting farmers. Meanwhile, there have also been protests in India, with Al Jazeera reporting that Indian security forces fired tear gas and authorities suspended internet services in a bid to stop thousands of farmers marching on New Delhi. Their demands “include higher support, guaranteed prices for their produce, and forgiveness for loans, as well as a clutch of other concessions”, the outlet said.
REGULATION ROLLBACK: Earlier this month, protests were “brought to the doorstep of the European parliament” in Brussels as farmers pushed the body “to abandon its most demanding emissions targets”, the Times wrote. It reported that “Brussels has struggled to contain the fightback” against agricultural regulation and that, in response, the European Commission has decided to “scrap” a plan to reduce emissions of methane, nitrogen and other gases from agriculture by 30%. Bloomberg added that the EU has also abandoned its plan to reduce the use of pesticides by half by 2030 under farmers’ pressure. It quoted European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who said the regulation had become a “symbol of polarisation”. She added that a new proposal drafted with the input of more stakeholders “may be put forward”, Bloomberg wrote.
GENE-EDITED AFFAIRS: Meanwhile, Politico reported that the European parliament passed “a tight plenary vote” that would put gene-edited seeds – marketed as a way to reduce climate impacts on agriculture – on the market. The outlet said the patentable so-called “supercrops” could pave the way for half a dozen big suppliers to strengthen their market domination. Member states are currently “deadlocked” in negotiating the proposal, Politico added. Science explained that part of the controversy arises from whether gene-edited seeds will be protected intellectual property as “conventionally bred plants in Europe cannot be patented”.
Spotlight
New nature fund takes its first steps
On 9 February, the governing body of a “game-changing” new fund for biodiversity met for the first time in Washington DC. Carbon Brief unpacks the highlights and major decisions made at that meeting. (For more, see Carbon Brief’s detailed Q&A on progress since COP15.)
Conceived at the 2022 UN COP15 biodiversity summit in a last-minute compromise amid calls by many developing countries for a distinct fund, a landmark new nature fund is now on the verge of becoming real.
Meant to finance a tall order of conservation targets for this decade, the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Fund is housed under the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a multilateral fund with 186 member governments. The GEF is entrusted with supporting a wide range of global environmental action. At the GEF council’s 66th meeting this week, countries agreed to invest a cumulative $1.1bn in biodiversity, climate change, restoration and pollution control.
Dr Dawda Badgie, the elected chairperson of the GBF Fund council, who hails from the Gambia, said:
“These decisions can change peoples’ lives for years to come…We have to act collectively about the challenges we are facing. They do not spare anybody.”
Members from different countries met for the first time as the GBF Fund council to approve policies framing how multilateral finance for nature in this decade will flow. The GBF Fund’s initial work programme to lay out its funding agenda is expected in June this year and financing is to follow before the end of 2024.
Funding flows
Of the decisions approved in Washington DC, the most crucial was one on how the fund’s resources will be allocated. It empowers the GEF chief executive to approve projects up to $5m and calls for a mid-term review of all projects over $2m.
The council committed to prioritising 20% of its funds to support Indigenous and local community-led conservation projects, and at least 36% to small island states and least-developed countries.
According to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB), calls for a written policy on the participation of Indigenous peoples in deciding what these projects should look like were also taken on board by the GEF, which agreed to develop a draft methodology by June. “Projects should engage with Indigenous peoples and local communities as partners and co-designers rather than just beneficiaries,” said the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB).
Youth groups advocated for a similar, but additional, direct funding line for women and youth, ENB added. Council members pointed to sparse funding available to many countries and suggested that organising projects in regional clusters, such as the Amazon, would ensure funding would be meaningful and impactful.
The council also decided how projects under the fund will be designed and approved, with funding priorities guided by the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Conference of the Parties, or COP.
The council also approved the fund’s budget and administrative costs, including World Bank levies – even though they are still being negotiated – and staffing decisions. The IIFB urged the council to recruit staff who have experience working with Indigenous communities.
Seed capital shortage
At the meeting, Spain’s secretary of state for the environment, Hugo Morán Fernández, announced a contribution of €10m to the GBF Fund, joining Canada, Germany, the UK and Japan in pledging seed capital to kickstart the fund.
However, the World Bank’s representative at the meeting said that of these countries’ total $219.2m in pledges, only $54.6m has actually been paid into the fund so far (by Germany and Spain). This, observers warned, brings the fund’s actual capital into question and sits in sharp contrast to the yawning $700bn biodiversity finance gap.
Dr David Cooper, acting CBD chief, said in a statement:
“If we’re honest, we need an order of magnitude more in the coming few years, if we are going to meet that COP request of…scaling up finance commensurate with the targets of the GBF.
“We need this frontloading. We need this support for actions on the ground right away if we are going to have any chance of achieving those ambitious targets by 2030.”
News and views
INDONESIAN ELECTION: “More than 100 million people” were expected to cast their votes in the Indonesian election today, according to the New York Times. It continued: “As one of the world’s biggest exporters of coal, nickel and palm oil, Indonesia has a large role to play in the climate change crisis.” The vote “is widely seen as a referendum on the legacy” of two-term president Joko Widodo, the newspaper added. Early results, or “quick counts”, after the polls closed showed a “commanding lead” for current defence minister Prabowo Subianto, who has “presented himself as an heir to [the] immensely popular sitting president”, the Associated Press reported.
STRIKE FOR SAFETY: A partial strike within Brazil’s environmental agencies is “threatening” the country’s climate goals, according to a news article in Nature. Since early January, staffers at several agencies have stopped their field visits, “where they conduct deforestation surveillance and help to shut down illegal mining operations”. Nature added that “if their demands aren’t met, they could soon turn up the heat on the government and stop working altogether”. The workers contend that they are overworked and underpaid and that their safety is at risk when they are out in the field. The country is already feeling the impacts of the strike, Nature reported: “Inspectors issued 93% fewer environmental fines in the Amazon during the first two weeks of January than in the same period last year.”
AVOCADO CONFLICT: The organisation Climate Rights International said in a press release that “the Biden administration should act on a call by US senators to work with the Mexican government to prevent avocados grown on illegally deforested lands from reaching US markets”. A 2023 Climate Rights International investigation pointed out that avocado exports to major markets such as the US and EU contribute to illegal deforestation, water theft, and “dire consequences for the rights of local residents” in Mexico. Indigenous leaders and residents in two central Mexican states defending their territories from avocados’ expansion have been victims of violence, attacks and murders over the past decade, the report added.
AGRARIAN COURTS: In December, Colombian president Gustavo Petro announced a new court system that would help resolve land ownership conflicts between peasant farmers, or campesinos, and large companies, Mongabay reported. The system will eventually encompass 70 agrarian courts, with the first five set to begin operating by 2 May. According to Mongabay, “peasant farmers have long struggled for recognition by the state”. It added that while some advocates of farmers’ rights welcomed the announcement, others have voiced concerns about the lack of specialisation of judges and the risk of not having Indigenous participation in implementing the court system.
MULTITUDE OF MANGROVES: Pakistan expanded its mangroves nearly threefold over the past 30 years, according to an analysis of satellite data, Mongabay reported. Mangroves covered 48,331 hectares in 1986 and grew to 143,930 hectares in 2020. The analysis attributed the expansion to government and NGO efforts to boost the conservation of mangroves through restoration, research and awareness-raising campaigns, Mongabay explained. The study also acknowledged the role of fisher communities in planting and protecting such ecosystems, as well as “massive tree-planting projects” carried out bynational and provincial governments since 2008.
Watch, read, listen
SALT SHOCKS: A long-read in Scroll.in examined how changes in the Indian monsoon are disrupting salt production, threatening the livelihoods of traditional saltmakers.
DELTA DECIMATED: Shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta – touted as a step towards climate and economic resilience – is “ultimately unsustainable”, the Diplomat wrote.
ANTARCTIC OBSERVATIONS: National Public Radio interviewed a team of scientists testing a drone that will help map the terrain in Antarctica.
CONSERVING CORALS: PBS News Hour explored how scientists are trying to conserve and preserve the remaining coral reefs in Florida.
New science
Arctic marine heatwaves forced by greenhouse gases and triggered by abrupt sea-ice melt
Communications Earth and Environment
A new attribution study revealed that marine heatwaves in the Arctic are being triggered by a combination of greenhouse-gas-induced warming and “abrupt” melting of sea ice. The research found that the most intense Arctic marine heatwave on record, which occurred in 2020, had temperatures up to 4C higher than normal and lasted for 103 days, “would be exceptionally unlikely in the absence of greenhouse gas forcing in terms of both intensity and duration”. According to the paper, marine heatwaves in the Arctic can impact fish stocks and marine food chains, thus affecting Indigenous communities and fisheries. The study concluded that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, “moderate marine heatwaves in the Arctic will very likely persistently reoccur”.
Widespread temporal and spatial variability in net ecosystem productivity under climate change
One Earth
A new study found that future net ecosystem productivity – the difference between the amount of carbon taken out of the air through photosynthesis and the amount respired by plants – is more variable than previously thought. Using a combination of data and models, researchers explored how ecosystem productivity might vary in space and time under different emissions scenarios. They found that under a “very low” emissions scenario, carbon storage in the Amazon is “projected to decline considerably” by 2100. Under higher emissions scenarios, carbon storage “will likely increase” due to the CO2 fertilisation effect, the study said – although it did not take into account disturbances such as drought and fire. The result, the researchers wrote, “highlight[s] the need for effective actions to maintain [the Amazon’s] carbon storage capacity under climate change”.
Projected changes in mean and extreme precipitation over northern Mexico
Journal of Climate
The frequency of extreme rainfall events in northern Mexico would likely double by the end of the century under a scenario of very high emissions, “exacerbating the flood risk for vulnerable communities”, according to new research. The study found that by the end of the century, average and extreme rainfall would decrease west of the Sierra Madre highlands and increase to the east, with “implications for the agricultural sector, economy and infrastructure”. The region is home to 32 million people, yet, the study says, few studies have analysed future trends in mean or extreme rainfall there.
In the diary
- 11-17 February: 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals | Samarkand, Uzbekistan
- 26-29 February: World Trade Organization ministerial conference | Abu Dhabi
- 26 February-1 March: Sixth session of the UN environment assembly | Nairobi
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 14 February 2024: Nature fund gets real; Migratory species in peril; EU rolls back regulations appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Climate Change
China Briefing 25 June 2026: Five-year plans passed | Critical-mineral tensions | Industrial decarbonisation plan
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
New five-year plans
GENERATION TARGET: China today released its 15th five-year plan for building a “new-type energy system”, according to finance news outlet Cailianshe. It said the plan covered topics including energy sources, power-market reform and China’s role in clean-energy supply chains and climate governance. The plan, published by the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that China will aim for clean energy to constitute 30% of power generation by 2030 – up from approximately 22% today. It also stated that wind and solar will become the “mainstay” of China’s power mix. The government will work to increase clean-energy consumption, such as by upgrading the grid to “accommodate” 900 gigawatts of distributed energy and promoting emerging solutions such as virtual power plants and hydrogen. The plan also urged the “strengthening” of coal’s role as a “bottom-line guarantee”.
IN THE WORKS: At a meeting on 11 June, China’s State Council approved the “15th five-year plan for building a beautiful China”, reported industry news outlet BJX News. The meeting readout noted the importance of “actively address[ing] climate change” and developing “green production and lifestyles”, it added. The next day, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) approved a series of environment-related five-year plans, including the “15th five-year plan for a national response to climate change”, said business news outlet 21st Century Business Herald article. The full text of the plans is not yet available.
JOBS AND GOVERNANCE: A separate five-year plan on employment included calls to “unlock employment potential” by developing “new energy system” projects, according to current affairs outlet China News. The government also published a white paper on global governance that said the “general public truly feels that nations are taking action and that unity can overcome any obstacle” to address climate change, reported state news agency Xinhua. It added that the paper called on developed countries to “honor their commitments” on climate finance. Foreign minister Wang Yi said in a press conference that China aims to “innovate governance mechanisms” to address issues such as how countries can “achieve” a global low-carbon transition, Xinhua also reported.
Critical mineral barbs
REDUCE DEPENDENCIES: The Group of Seven (G7) major economies have stated that “no single country should supply more than 60% of their imports of rare earths”, reported Bloomberg, in “an effort to reduce their reliance on China”. The full communique, which does not mention China by name, said that diversifying supply chains was “urgen[t]”, due to “market concentration”, the “growing use of arbitrary trade restrictions” and the need to “reduce vulnerabilities”. In response, China’s foreign ministry urged the G7 to “stop disrupting the international trade order” with “self-made rules”.
EXPORTS BLOCKED: The Indonesian government’s new nickel production quotas and pricing rules could put $50bn of Chinese investment at risk, Chinese diplomats argued in a letter covered by the Financial Times. Lithium miners in Zimbabwe, including Chinese firms, are asking for more time to build local processing facilities ahead of a 2027 lithium concentrate export ban, said Reuters. Meanwhile, China restricted trade with two US rare-earth companies, in response to the US adding companies including CATL and BYD to a “blacklist”, said the Financial Times. China’s exports to Japan of rare earths used to make permanent magnets remain “negligible”, reported Reuters.
DIALOGUE URGED: EU member states have asked the European Commission to develop new trade instruments to deal with the “economic threat” posed by China, reported the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Despite “combative rhetoric” ahead of the summit, the Financial Times reported that the 27 leaders opted for dialogue rather than immediate action to address “global macroeconomic imbalances”. Separately, the European Commission plans to impose tariffs on Chinese plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, reported German business newspaper Handelsblatt.
CLIMATE MINISTERIAL: The EU, China and Canada held a climate ministerial, in which Chinese environment minister Huang Runqiu said countries “must strengthen cooperation rather than retreat from it”, said Euronews. Climate outlet Tanpaifang reported that Huang also said COP31 should address “insufficient emission reduction efforts and financial support from developed countries”. According to a European Commission transcript, EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said: “We need to act for climate, but also for competitiveness and independence. We cannot afford to depend on third countries.”
Mandatory targets for energy users
NEW TARGETS: From August, the Chinese government will “set binding targets” for companies on how much low-carbon power and non-electric energy they must consume, said Bloomberg. It added that targets will be set for how much low-carbon power provinces must absorb into their grids. Provinces and “key energy-consuming industries” will see their uptake of clean energy monitored on a quarterly basis and be subject to annual assessments by the State Council, said industry news outlet International Energy Net.
END-USER PRESSURE: The announcement marks the first time that China has established targets for non-fossil energy consumption at the “end-user level”, reported economic news outlet Jiemian. It added that the previous system, which only covered power, placed the responsibility for absorbing renewable energy into the grid “primarily” onto local governments and power grid companies.
SUPPORTING THE MARKET: The new measures will “help address grid integration challenges and promote better utilisation of renewable energy”, an official at the National Energy Administration told reporters, according to Xinhua. The official said it would also help boost demand for other low-carbon industries, such as “green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol”. Liu Guobin, vice-president of the China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute said in an “explanation” posted on International Energy Net that the measures would also “convey clear…expectations to the market” for the long-term outlook for renewable energy, “guiding the rational allocation of investment”.
More China news
- BECALMED: China’s thermal power generation rose 2.1% year-on-year in May, as “lower wind speeds curbed renewable energy growth”, reported Reuters.
- TRUCK TARGET: The government issued a new plan for developing “new-energy heavy duty trucks (HDTs)” that aims to have sales of electric, hydrogen and other low-carbon HDTs account for 40% of new truck sales by 2030, said Xinhua.
- SUPERMASSIVE SYSTEM: China’s total power capacity reached 4,000 gigawatts in May, reported BJX News, larger than that of the US, EU, India, Russia and Japan combined. Coal’s share of the capacity mix fell to 32%, while the non-fossil share rose to 62%.
- EXPORT DRIVER: China’s exports of electric vehicles (EVs) rose 54% year-on-year in May to $10bn by value and lithium-battery exports “rose 37% to $8bn”, but solar cell exports fell 7% by value to $2bn, said Caixin. The thinktank Ember found that Chinese EV exports to south-east Asia, particularly Thailand and the Philippines, reached an “all-time high” of $1.2bn.
- ONGOING RISK: The heavy rainfall seen throughout June, as well as drought, is likely to continue during China’s flood season, said the Ministry of Emergency Management in comments covered by Jiemian.
- PROJECTION PUSHBACK: The China Energy Research Society’s Wang Weiquan described projections by BloombergNEF of China’s emissions reduction and share of coal in the power mix as “overly optimistic” and “even radical”, according to the state-run newspaper China Daily.
Spotlight
What is in China’s new three-year action plan for industry?
China has issued a new action plan for energy conservation and reducing carbon emissions across nine heavy industries.
In this issue, Carbon Brief examines how the plan will impact China’s industrial development and decarbonisation.
China will conduct an “intensive campaign for energy conservation and carbon reduction upgrades” across heavy industry between 2026 and 2028.
The plan targets nine key industries: steel; electrolytic aluminum; cement; flat glass; oil refining; ethylene; synthetic ammonia; methanol; and coal-fired power.
After 2028, it said that production capacity that does not meet efficiency standards will be phased out and that efforts will be broadened to other industries.
Combined, power and industry make up the vast majority of China’s emissions profile.
Emissions in some of these sectors – notably, steel and cement – have been falling. However, chemical-industry emissions have experienced double-digit growth.
China’s power sector, which generates the majority of its electricity through coal, is responsible for around 40% of the country’s total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Focused on efficiency
The plan outlined several measures for companies to take to reduce their energy use and emissions profile.
According to a Carbon Brief count, the majority are focused on energy efficiency, such as promoting high-efficiency industrial processes and upgrading energy-consuming equipment.
More than 70% of China’s steel, aluminium, cement and flat glass capacity does not meet energy efficiency benchmarks, said a government official in a Q&A published by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Yang Zhou, senior advisor China at Agora Energiewende, told Carbon Brief that the policy will “pick the last lowest hanging fruit” in terms of eliminating low-efficiency capacity. After this, she said, the focus will turn to entering a “deep-water” phase of decarbonising industrial capacity, as well as making it more efficient.
Some of the measures that companies are encouraged to take in the plan do directly link to decarbonisation. These include developing “hydrogen metallurgy” and sourcing low-carbon materials and fuels, as well as increasing electrification and renewable power usage.
The coal-power industry should improve flexibility, decouple combined heat and power operations and integrate biomass and renewable energy into their operations, it said.
Coal plants are expected to reduce coal consumption per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity by “at least five grams of standard coal” and carbon emissions per kWh by 10%-20%, if not more.
The document said that the share of coal-fired power capacity that meets energy efficiency benchmarks should improve by 15 percentage points by 2028. This rises to 20 percentage points for the other eight industries.
By 2028, according to the NDRC, the plan aims to cut energy use by more than 100m tonnes of standard coal per year and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 200m tonnes.
Supporting business
Companies will receive support from the central government, which will subsidise 20% of the total investment that “approved” projects require.
Provinces should “fully leverage” pricing mechanisms to encourage retrofitting, said the policy.
Local policymakers can now add a surcharge of up to 0.1 yuan ($0.15) per kWh to market-traded electricity prices for non-compliant producers – which finance outlet Caixin said was a “central” tool for enforcement.
The South China Morning Post quoted an unnamed analyst, however, saying the policy may not “deliver its intended effects”, as some industries still receive subsidised electricity from local governments.
Companies will also be able to use verified CO2 emission reductions from approved projects to “offset” emissions from “new, renovated or expanded” dual-high projects. For industries covered by China’s carbon market, this may be formalised in their emissions allowances.
The NDRC official said that support should be provided to “ensure they receive reasonable returns on their carbon emission allowances”.
The policy “seeks to strike a balance” between energy security and climate goals, rejecting the “radical thinking of ‘one-size-fits-all shutdowns and phase-outs’”, according to a widely-read commentary by Sprinting Power Worker, a “self-media” WeChat account.
“For industries such as coal power, steel and cement, a gradual capacity reduction is expected due to market forces,” said Yang. She added:
“For growing sectors like chemicals and non-ferrous metals, China’s strategy is to expand capacity, [albeit] increasingly concentrated, scaled-up and efficient. Continued decarbonisation will require large-scale deployment of solutions like electrification, green power-green hydrogen coupling and circular economy.”
Watch, read, listen
SULPHURIC SLOWDOWN: Rhodium Group published an analysis of how China’s efforts to restrict exports of sulphuric acid could impact global electrification efforts.
ARCTIC ACTIVITY: The Circumpolar podcast explored the variety of interests, including energy and the environment, driving China’s actions in the Arctic.
TRANSITION IN NUMBERS: Thinktank Agora Energiewende hosted a webinar on its new report, which outlined key trends in China’s energy transition.
CARBON TAX: The Center for Strategic and International Studies looked into how China is responding to the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism.
4.9%
The amount by which China’s oil consumption is expected to fall in 2026 compared to the year before, according to a report by a thinktank under oil giant PetroChina, covered by Reuters. It said the decline is due to the “pivot to new energy and high oil prices due to the Iran war”, according to the report.
New science
- Economically developed Chinese cities “transferred” 42% of their greenhouse gas emissions related to plug-in electric vehicles to less developed cities in 2020, “substantially increasing” the recipients’ climate mitigation costs | Nature Cities
- Renewable energy development “significantly reduces” urban-rural income inequality in Chinese cities | World Development
- Grain trading between Chinese provinces increased more than fivefold between 1980 and 2020 and production shifted northward, driving a more than 217% increase in “embodied nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions” | Nature Food
Recently published on WeChat
China Briefing is written by Anika Patel, with contributions from Lekai Liu. It is edited by Simon Evans. Please send tips and feedback to china@carbonbrief.org
The post China Briefing 25 June 2026: Five-year plans passed | Critical-mineral tensions | Industrial decarbonisation plan appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Twice as many animals died due to heat stress en route to slaughterhouses during the UK’s record-hot summer in 2025 compared to 2024, according to new Carbon Brief analysis.
Government figures showed that nearly 6,600 animals – mostly chickens – died in transport as a result of the sweltering summer heat in England and Wales from June to August 2025.
This compared to 3,100 in summer 2024 and no official cases in summer 2023.
These figures were still below the more than 18,500 deaths recorded in the summer of 2022 when UK temperatures hit 40C for the first time, as previously reported by Carbon Brief.
The deaths are a “horrifying reminder of what happens when animals are treated as cargo”, said an animal-rights group spokesperson.
Detailed descriptions included in the data on the deaths highlighted thousands of animals dying amid heat stress, high humidity levels and long journeys.
Thousands of animals also died due to cold, wintry conditions, with more than 13,000 deaths recorded between December 2024 and February 2025 – almost double the previous winter.
Heat deaths
Carbon Brief has analysed recent years of “dead on arrival” data focused on livestock that died due to heat or cold stress en route to slaughterhouses.
The data was obtained through the UK Freedom of Information (FOI) Act from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which is responsible for the compliance of slaughterhouses in England and Wales.
At least 1m chickens die in the UK each year while being transported to slaughterhouses due to suffocation, poor transport procedures and other issues, reported the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in 2018 .
Pigs, cows, sheep and other animals also die in this way in smaller numbers.
The new data showed that 6,595 animals died due to heat stress en route to abattoirs between June and August 2025, which was the warmest summer on record in the UK.
According to the Met Office, human-caused climate change made this summer heat 70 times more likely to occur.
Carbon Brief requested non-publicly accessible details of “dead on arrival cases” that were categorised as “suspected heat/cold stress”.
Each incident contained a detailed description written by a vet with supporting evidence about the condition of the animals, the transport conditions and the suspected cause of death. These are filed to the FSA.
The information showed that certain individual days had particularly high death tolls. Almost 1,000 chickens died in a number of incidents during a heatwave on 11 July 2025. Some chickens showed visible signs of heat stress, such as panting and immobility, the reports said.
On 12 August, amid more high temperatures, 2,154 chickens died in heat-stress incidents.
Body temperatures of some of the chickens that died on this day were as high as 46C.
A chicken will die if its body temperature exceeds 45C and it should ideally stay as close to 41C as possible, according to a 2005 document from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).
The table below shows the total number of heat- and cold-related deaths of livestock in recent years, based on the data obtained through FOI.
The “dead on arrival” information covered every summer and winter since 2023, alongside the summer of 2022.
The figures were likely an underestimate of the total number of livestock deaths due to high or low temperatures, as they only included deaths with “suspected cold/heat stress” as a listed category.
However, the incident descriptions in many other deaths mentioned high and low temperatures as contributing factors, despite the ultimate cause of death not being labelled as such. These were not included in Carbon Brief’s tally.
The figures covered deaths in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland do not record the cause of deaths en route to slaughterhouses, so it is not possible to single out the cases linked to high or low temperatures.
Preventing deaths
These livestock deaths are a “horrifying reminder of what happens when animals are treated as cargo”, says Alex Harman, campaigns manager at animal rights group Animal Aid. He tells Carbon Brief:
“These 6,600 individuals [in summer 2025] did not just die, they suffered prolonged, agonising heat exhaustion inside metal containers – anyone experiencing the UK’s heatwave this week will be able to empathise.”
Climate change is “simply amplifying the violence already built into animal farming”, he says, adding that the only “compassionate, logical” solution is to “stop viewing animals as products and urgently transition to a plant-based food system”.
Pigs and chickens cannot sweat and face difficulties cooling down on very hot days.
Cramped or long journeys can exacerbate this, combined with high humidity levels, sometimes upwards of 80%, the livestock data showed.
Abigail Penny, the executive director of Animal Equality UK, tells Carbon Brief that “these same scenes of extreme animal suffering play out every summer and, if nothing is done, it’s only going to get worse”.
Workers transporting animals during extreme weather conditions are expected to put in place measures to protect them, according to UK government guidance.
These measures can include ensuring water and ventilation systems function properly on vehicles, avoiding travel during the hottest or coldest parts of the day and recognising signs of heat and cold stress in animals.
The FSA said that the number of “dead on arrival” incidents caused by cold and heat stress increased by more than 50% between April 2024 and March 2025 compared to the same period the year prior.
The FSA and Defra declined Carbon Brief’s request to comment on the new figures.
Cold deaths
Thousands of animals also die due to cold stress while travelling to slaughterhouses each year. Carbon Brief assessed data for these deaths in the winters of 2023-24 and 2024-25.
At least 13,057 livestock animals died due to cold weather conditions between December 2024 and February 2025. This is more than double the number – 6,981 – that died the previous winter.
On 6 February 2025 alone, 4,056 poultry deaths were reported due to cold weather impacts.
Some livestock also died due to cold conditions in the summer months.
For example, 326 animals died amid cold weather in the summer of 2023. No official heat-related deaths were recorded in that period, but a number of incidents referred to hot-weather conditions or heat stress as contributing factors.
Overall, 2023 was a very warm year in the UK, with soaring temperatures in June and September. At least 3,103 animals died from heat stress in September, the figures also showed.
Conditions were cooler and wetter in July and August, which may have contributed to the absence of heat-stress deaths.
Most cold deaths during warmer months occurred in the early hours of the morning or overnight when temperatures dropped, the FOI data shows.
On 28 August 2025, for example, 134 chickens died due to cold stress. The incident description outlined that the animals were “very wet”, dirty and had few feathers, which can reduce a chicken’s ability to hold warmth.
The animals were transported overnight to a slaughterhouse and “suffered distress and pain” because of the weather and other factors, the description noted.
The post Livestock heat deaths in transit doubled in UK record-hot summer of 2025 appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Livestock heat deaths in transit doubled in UK record-hot summer of 2025
For the first time in the UK, more new electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold over a 12-month period than petrol cars, according to Carbon Brief analysis.
The news comes amid a battle over the future of the UK’s “zero-emissions vehicle” (ZEV) mandate, which the car industry and some unions are pushing to water down.
The mandate sets a rising target for the share of new car sales that must be “zero-emissions vehicles” (ZEVs) each year – primarily “pure” or “battery” EVs that only run on electricity.
The car industry argues that demand for these cars is too low to meet the requirements of the ZEV mandate, despite the fact that the industry has “over-complied” to date.
Carbon Brief’s analysis of the latest data on new UK car sales, shown in the figure below, illustrates that demand for EVs has, in fact, grown consistently – and it has now overtaken demand for petrol cars for the first time.
In the 12 months to May 2026, UK consumers bought 516,490 new BEVs, against only 504,010 new petrol cars.
Note that the analysis is based on figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). Figures published by the UK Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) are based on a slightly different categorisation for hybrid cars.
All hybrids run entirely on petrol or diesel fuel, while also carrying a small battery and an electric motor. ACEA counts these cars separately to petrol and diesel models.
In contrast, the SMMT counts what it calls “mild” hybrids as petrol cars, while listing “full” hybrids – such as Toyota’s Prius – in a separate category.
The ACEA data shows that hybrids are the most popular type of car in the UK, as illustrated in the figure below, but also shows that their sales are relatively stagnant.
Some 56,321 hybrids were sold in May 2026, the most recent month with data from ACEA. This is an increase of 1,181 year-on-year, or just 2%.
In contrast, EV sales grew 34% to reach 43,931, while petrol cars were down 14% to 35,068.
Plug-in hybrids, which can be run on electricity from the grid or from a petrol engine, are also seeing relatively rapid sales growth, up 24% year-on-year in May 2026 to 22,167.
(In the UK, numberplates for “pure” EVs that only run on electricity are marked out by a distinctive green stripe on the left-hand side. These stripes are not used for any type of hybrid.)
The new analysis for the UK follows a similar milestone for the EU, with more BEVs having been sold in the month of December 2025 than petrol cars.
The UK first saw more sales of BEVs than petrol cars in a single month in December 2022, but this pattern has only been repeated on a consistent basis over the past year.
Globally, EV sales grew by 20% in 2025 and accounted for one in every four new cars sold, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The agency said that global EV sales were set to grow by another 15% in 2026.
The post Analysis: UK sales of electric vehicles just overtook petrol cars for the first time appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Analysis: UK sales of electric vehicles just overtook petrol cars for the first time
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Livestock heat deaths in transit doubled in UK record-hot summer of 2025
Analysis: UK sales of electric vehicles just overtook petrol cars for the first time
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