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
Trump takes office
ENVIRONMENTAL ORDERS: In his first week in office, US president Donald Trump signed “a flurry of executive orders with implications for Earth’s climate and environment”, the Associated Press reported. Among the orders were one directing the US to withdraw once again from the Paris Agreement and another stating “that the Endangered Species Act cannot be an obstacle to energy development”. He also signed one “halting new federal leases for offshore wind projects”, citing the impacts of offshore wind projects on marine life, according to WBUR. The outlet carried an article refuting the president’s claims.
CORN CAUTION: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s nominee for head of the Department of Health and Human Services, is raising alarm in the country’s cornbelt, the Guardian reported. The outlet explained that “Kennedy has vowed to ban high fructose corn syrup and seed oils, a move that would significantly reduce demand for a host of crops”. Vox covered the shift in political alignment for Kennedy, who was once an environmental lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Vox wrote that “his migration to the far right…[is] part of a much broader shift in the environmental movement”.
FUNDING FREEZE: On Monday, the National Science Foundation abruptly cancelled grant-review panels, a move that “sparked confusion among panellists” and researchers alike, according to NPR. The outlet added that “delays in grant approval inevitably mean delays in funding research”. Later that day, a leaked memo from the Office of Management and Budget ordered a pause in all federal grant funding. It “specifically targeted many large federal energy and climate programmes in its sweeping freeze and review of grant funding”, Heatmap reported. The targeted programmes include conservation payments from the US Department of Agriculture and climate and atmospheric research under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A federal judge temporarily blocked the order before it could go into effect on Tuesday, the Washington Post said.
UK’s nature decline
OFF-TARGET: A new report from the UK’s Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found that the government “is falling short” on meeting its legally binding environmental targets, the Guardian said. The report also highlighted that “the window to stop the decline of England’s nature is swiftly closing”. Separately, the Guardian reported that UK ministers dropped a bill that would have made the country’s international commitments on climate and environment, such as those made at COP, legally binding.
OFFSETTING EXPANSION: Carbon Brief analysis found that the UK would need to plant a forest “twice the size of Greater London” to offset the emissions that would result from the proposed expansion of Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports. Operations at these airports would add 92m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) into the atmosphere by 2050, if companies meet their flight targets, the analysis found. The environment minister backed the expansion of the airports, saying mitigation measures can offset the environmental impacts, the Times noted.
FUNDING INFRASTRUCTURE: The UK government announced a new nature-restoration fund, aimed at accelerating new infrastructure projects by allowing developers “to meet their environmental obligations faster”. The fund will cover a range of projects, such as new wind farms, railways, roads and data centres across the country. Currently, builders must comply with their environmental obligations on a project-by-project basis, but the new fund will “[pool] contributions…to fund larger interventions for nature”, the government added. However, environmental groups are concerned about this reform’s environmental impacts, saying “high carbon infrastructure such as airport expansion” could also be covered by the bill, Business Green reported.
Spotlight
Colombia’s land reform conference
At the UN biodiversity summit in October, Carbon Brief interviewed Nury Martínez, president of the Colombian farmers’ organisation Fensuagro. She is also a member of the South America coordinating committee of Vía Campesina, a global organisation representing more than 200 million peasants in 80 countries.
Martínez told Carbon Brief about the main expectations of the peasant movement for the second conference on agrarian reform and rural development, which will address farmers’ demands to access and work larger swathes of land. It will take place in Colombia during the first quarter of 2026.
This second conference will take stock of the first one, held in 2006, which delivered a set of voluntary guidelines for governance and land tenure, and will discuss a new agrarian reform.
What does the proposed agrarian reform consist of?
Land must fulfil a social function. That’s why we say that land is for those who work it – because there are large tracts of land where the owners don’t use it, or [they] have extensive livestock where a cow has four or five hectares and we have no land to produce food.
We propose an integral and popular agrarian reform because we believe that it goes beyond access to land, [but also includes] access to the goods of nature, such as water, seeds, access to territories…[We want] to stop the hoarding [of land] in the hands of a few.
What would be the result of these agrarian reforms? Transforming the way in which food is being produced for the world?
We say strengthen peasant production because we have always produced without chemicals. We are making the transition to agroecology, to rescuing culture and ancestral knowledge. [But] you can’t do agroecology if you don’t have land, territory.
We are proposing food sovereignty because we consider food [to be] a human right. [Also] access to technical assistance, fair commercialisation and [strengthening of] local markets.
Would agrarian reform be implemented at the global level, or only in Colombia?
The second conference will be held in Colombia in the first quarter of 2026, but it is a global event, with the participation of more or less 119 countries that are part of the United Nations.
The countries supported it being in Colombia because the Colombian government is implementing the National Agrarian Reform System. Right now we are having the possibility of access to land after more than 100 years.
News and views
‘NEW PHASE’ OF BIRD FLU: Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter their flocks, contributing to a doubling in the price of US eggs since 2023, Associated Press reported. The current outbreak, which started in 2022, has led to the killing of more than 145m of chickens, turkeys and other birds, the newswire noted. The New York Times said the outbreak, which has worsened over the past weeks, has “enter[ed] a new phase”, with some cattle suffering from reinfection. The outlet pointed out that since the virus first struck cattle last year, more than 900 herds and dozens of people have been infected, with one person dying as a result.
TRACEABILITY IN BRAZIL: Brazil’s government will begin to implement a “cattle traceability” system that will be mandatory as of 2027 and must be fully operational by 2032, Infobae reported. The system will “monitor and record the history, location and trajectory of each identified animal” to meet “the health requirements of international markets”, the outlet added. Elsewhere, Reuters reported that the governor of Mato Grosso, one of the largest farming states in Brazil, is set to veto a bill that “sought to weaken protections for endangered biomes”, including the Amazon.
PACIFIC PROTECTION: The Pacific island nation of the Marshall Islands announced its first-ever marine protected area (MPA), Oceanographic Magazine reported. The marine sanctuary will cover 48,000 square kilometres of “the most pristine ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean”, said National Geographic Pristine Seas, an initiative focused on ocean conservation that helped provide the scientific basis for establishing the MPA. The area will “be fully protected from fishing” and will be managed with “special emphasis on traditional knowledge and Indigenous insights”, the outlet wrote.
FIRES AND FOOD: Prospect Magazine wrote that “the insidious effects [of climate change] on global food production and security are barely mentioned” in discussions of the recent LA wildfires. It added that extreme weather’s impacts on crops “can be seen the world over”. Meanwhile, Trump issued an executive order to ignore existing regulations and deliver more water from California’s Central Valley, CalMatters reported. The outlet wrote that “Trump cited the Los Angeles fires [as justification], even though the actions he is ordering…would primarily serve farms”.
COURTING CONSERVATION: Nepal’s supreme court struck down a controversial new law that would allow infrastructure development – “such as hydropower plants, hotels and railway lines” – in protected areas, Mongabay reported. The outlet called the decision “one of the most important in Nepal’s conservation history”. Paraphrasing one judge’s arguments, Mongabay wrote: “It would be wrong to pit development and environment against each other by adhering to the belief that development can take place only when there’s damage to the environment.”
Watch, read, listen
MASS MORTALITY: The New Republic looked at the growing phenomenon of mass animal die-offs and what these events can teach scientists about resilience.
UNITED FOR A RIVER: This Scroll.in video showed how people are leading conservation of southern India’s Jatari river, which is home to unique flora and fauna species.
FARMERS’ LAWSUIT: A comment piece in Nature broke down a lawsuit filed by Swiss farmers suing their government to strengthen climate action.
OLD SOLUTION: A Grist story explored how farmers in the UK and US use the ancient practice of gleaning – collecting leftover crops after the harvest – to cut food waste.
New science
- Fertiliser use has a “large and significant negative effect” on the diversity of pollinators and flowering plants in a grassland ecosystem, according to new research published in npj Biodiversity. The authors wrote that the results of the two-year study “strongly suggest that financial incentives are necessary to offset yield reductions to improve biodiversity outcomes in agricultural grasslands”.
- A study in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B detailed a new metric for assessing the impact of land-use change on species extinctions. The researchers say the maps can be used to “estimate the impact on extinctions of diverse actions that affect change in land cover, from individual dietary choices through to global protected area development”.
- New research in Nature Ecology and Evolution analysed data from 2.2m records of plant species from 1921 to 2021 and found that plant collections grown in botanical gardens have significant constraints with implications for conservation, such as limited growth. The study stresses the “urgent need” for re-evaluating biodiversity management in botanical gardens to fulfil their conservation goals.
In the diary
- 2 February: World Wetlands Day
- 3-8 February: Meeting of the standing committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) | Geneva
- 25-27 February: Resumed session of the UN biodiversity summit COP16 | Rome
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 29 January 2025: Trump takes office; UK nature ‘falling short’; Egg prices soar appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Cropped 29 January 2025: Trump takes office; UK nature ‘falling short’; Egg prices soar
The Endangered Species Committee, known as the God Squad, issued a rare exemption from compliance with the Endangered Species Act for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmental groups are suing the Trump administration over its decision to exempt oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from complying with the Endangered Species Act, a move they say threatens both the coastline region and the law designed to protect threatened plants and animals.
Environmental Groups Take Trump Administration’s ‘God Squad’ to Court
The ocean’s fastest and most formidable predators might also be the most physiologically vulnerable to warming waters, researchers warn.
The evolutionary edge that fueled great white shark dominance for millions of years could soon become its greatest downfall.
Climate Change
China Briefing 16 April 2026: Billions for grid | Petrochemical plan | China’s high-seas bid
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s China Briefing.
China Briefing handpicks and explains the most important climate and energy stories from China over the past fortnight. Subscribe for free here.
Key developments
Surge in grid investment
TRILLION-YUAN ERA: China’s two largest power grid operators invested a total of 167.5bn yuan ($24.5bn) in the first quarter of 2026, reported state broadcaster CCTV. State Grid said that during this period it spent more than 10bn yuan on connecting “new energy” projects to the grid, up 50% from last year, reported Shanghai-based news outlet the Paper. The two state-owned enterprises (SOEs) plan to invest 1tn yuan ($146bn) annually over the 15th five-year plan period (2026-2030), said finance news outlet Yicai.
POWER CURBED: However, in what Bloomberg called a “clear signal that the grid is struggling to absorb all the extra power from the rapid growth in renewables”, solar and wind utilisation rates – the percentage of total power generated by a source that is used by the grid – fell again at the start of the year. They stood at 90.8% and 91.5%, respectively, in January and February 2026, according to a post by an SOE-linked research institute republished by energy news outlet International Energy Net. The rates are now “approaching [minimum] limits that the government had relaxed only two years ago”, added Bloomberg.
SIX PROVINCES SUPERVISED: A recent meeting of the National Energy Administration (NEA) concluded that China’s renewable installations had seen “steady growth” in 2026, adding that the body must make “sustained efforts” to “expand” investment in renewable power, reported International Energy Net. Separately, International Energy Net also said that the NEA will increase “supervision” of the power sectors in six provinces – Hebei, Jilin, Xinjiang, Fujian, Hunan and Guangdong. The outlet said this would entail scrutinising how they implement “energy conservation and carbon reduction” tasks, with a “focus” on coal plants, how they construct large clean-energy bases and their consumption of new energy, as well as their power infrastructure and markets.
Conflict spurred cooperation with China
CHINA ‘WINNING’: In Vienna, Chinese climate envoy Liu Zhenmin told state news agency Xinhua that the Middle East conflict has created an urgent need for countries to rethink energy security strategies and accelerate the energy transition. Xinhua also cited Liu as warning against over-reliance on a single source of energy imports. Meanwhile, state broadcaster CCTV published a segment arguing that a “greener” system will “provide a strong guarantee” for energy security, although it did not mention the conflict. Several outlets have continued to highlight how low-carbon energy has helped China weather the conflict and boosted sales of Chinese technologies, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Indian Express, Washington Post and Bloomberg. Semafor said China was “winning the global energy war”.
MANY MEETINGS: United Arab Emirates crown prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Chinese president Xi Jinping discussed how to “prevent further impacts” from the conflict on energy security, said Xinhua. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said he addressed “regional energy security” with Chinese premier Li Qiang, reported Reuters. A post by China-Russia Information Net on nationalist media outlet Guancha quoted a Chinese diplomat in Russia telling reporters that “current dramatic changes in the international situation” are causing the two countries to discuss “further energy cooperation”. The Philippines is continuing to consider “oil and gas cooperation” with China, despite territorial disputes, Reuters also reported.
‘PROFOUND’ IMPACTS: Energy administration head Wang Hongzhi wrote a chapter in a “study guide” to the 15th five-year plan, published by industry outlet China Power News Net, in which he noted that “geopolitical conflicts are profoundly reshaping the global energy landscape”. He added that “traditional fossil fuels must continue to serve as a safety net while [China] simultaneously accelerates efforts to transition [to clean energy sources]”. Environment minister Huang Runqiu wrote in the CPPCC Daily, the official newspaper for the advisory body Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), that China will “earnestly” carry out “carbon peaking actions” in the next five years. Huang also said that, with “concerted efforts”, China’s 15th five-year plan targets are “achievable”.
Petrochemical plan published
UPGRADE DEADLINE: China issued a plan for either upgrading or phasing out “outdated” petrochemical plants by 2029, reported Reuters. It added that the plan did not confirm explicitly “how many plants may be upgraded or phased out”. The news outlet Economic Daily said that, according to the document, China would focus on upgrading or phasing out outdated capacity “as determined in 2025”, while also developing a “long-term working system” for assessing the industry. According to the full document, published on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) website, carbon-emission assessments were part of the selection criteria, with policymakers planning on “developing or revising” further standards for carbon emissions under the plan.
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CHEMICAL OVERCAPACITY: The Paper quoted MIIT official Chang Guowu telling reporters that the plan will address the “low standards of design and construction” and “outdated processes” in older plants that lead to “significant” environmental risks. Xinhua said that, of China’s more than 27,000 petrochemical plants, “more than 1,600…outdated facilities” were reported in 2025, 600 of which required upgrading. Chemical news WeChat account WeLink Chemicals noted the policy was released against a backdrop of “overcapacity and declining demand for road transport fuels”, with the government having “stepped up efforts to curb overcapacity” in 2025.
More China news
- TARGET PLEDGED: China will cut the carbon intensity of its international shipping vessels by at least 15% by 2030 compared to 2025 levels, said climate outlet IdeaCarbon. It said China will also “significantly enhance” its influence in emission reduction talks at the International Maritime Organization.
- SANCHEZ VISITED: China and Spain “can contribute to finding solutions” for environmental issues, Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez told Xi Jinping, according to the Associated Press. Ahead of the meeting, Sanchez also argued China should play a more substantial role on climate change, said the Singapore-based Straits Times.
- CHINA COMMITTED: Huang Runqiu reaffirmed China’s support, “as always”, for global climate governance in a meeting with UN advisor Selwin Hart, said the Paper.
- FUNDING HALTED: The EU “quietly” approved a plan to prevent EU funds being provided to “clean technology projects containing Chinese inverters”, said the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
- AI UNVEILED: Chinese researchers developed a “first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence model designed to track carbon emissions”, reported Xinhua, adding that it “could shift the balance of power” in global climate negotiations, such as by quantifying the “embedded carbon” of products that developed countries import from China.
- CONTROLS CONSIDERED: China is deliberating “limiting exports” to the US of the equipment needed to make solar panels, according to Reuters.
Spotlight
The debate over China’s bid to host the “high seas” treaty
The final preparatory commission for the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement has closed, laying the groundwork for the treaty’s first conference of the parties (COP1).
One key agenda item was China’s presentation of a bid to host the secretariat. In this issue, Carbon Brief examines the debate surrounding the bid.
The BBNJ agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty, governs the sustainable use and conservation of the “high seas” – marine areas outside national jurisdictions – with a new United Nations (UN) body established to oversee enforcement.
As well as facing significant impacts from climate change, the ocean plays an important role as a carbon sink, absorbing around 29% of man-made emissions.
The treaty “recognis[es]” the need to address oceanic biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, according to previous Carbon Brief analysis, identifying key impacts from climate change, acidification, pollution and “unsustainable” use.
It aims to encourage conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the high seas, such as by managing “marine genetic resources”, creating protected areas in the ocean, developing environmental impact assessments and facilitating capacity-building and transfer of marine technology.
China’s bid
China’s bid to host the secretariat focused on its “sustainability efforts” and “commitment to multilateralism”, reported the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
The country’s bid document drew attention to several of its emission-reduction efforts, including “green shipping corridors” and strengthening carbon sinks through protecting mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs.
In a speech, Chinese ambassador to the UN Fu Cong said that the bid “reflects China’s unwavering support” for multilateralism, adding that a successful Chinese bid would lead to the first UN-related body headquartered in the Asia Pacific region. He said:
“That means it will not only be welcomed, but also be prioritised. It will have the full backing from all levels of government in China and its people.”
Li Shuo, director at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s China climate hub, attended the meetings. He said in a note that China’s decision to bid “reportedly came from [President] Xi Jinping”, galvanising a coordinated cross-ministry effort to secure host the secretariat.
Creating debate
China entering the race has caused a stir.
As host, it could inhibit “robust environmental safeguards” by “embedding elements of its domestic governance model” into how the treaty operates, wrote Dr Chime Youdon, research fellow at India’s National Maritime Foundation, on the organisation’s platform.
But such concerns are weakened by the fact that China would “want the treaty to function” if it were host, argued Prof Philippe Le Billon and Zelda Ladefoged, professor and master’s student at the University of British Columbia, in an article for the Conversation.
Nevertheless, they noted “sustained” worries around China’s influence, given the extensive involvement of its companies in distant-water fishing and deep-sea mining, which are not covered in the treaty.
Li told Carbon Brief that, as far as he saw, no-one was “actively pushing back against” the bid on any of the above grounds. Instead, he observed “anxieties” around “accreditation, information security and visa and conference participation issues”.
Daniel Kachelriess, cross-cutting coordinator at the High Seas Alliance, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations focused on ocean governance, echoed this in comments to Carbon Brief. He said “values like neutrality and impartiality, transparency and accountability” are important for the decision, as well as practical issues such as “reliable” internet access.
The Financial Times reported that Chinese delegates have offered immunity to attendees and flexibility around visas, citing unnamed sources.
But a successful Chinese bid could be a “significant escalation” of China’s involvement in global environmental governance, wrote Le Billon and Ladefoged.
As such, the BBNJ could prove a “case study” of sustaining environmental progress without the US and of China “learning to translate its ambitions into leadership”, said Li.
Watch, read, listen
PROFIT PRESSURE: The Economic Observer investigated how higher profit remittance requirements for state-owned enterprises is placing pressure on the balance sheets of power, coal and other energy companies.
CARNEY’S CALCULUS: The Wire China Podcast discussed how a deteriorating relationship with the US affected Canada’s approach to importing Chinese electric vehicles.
AFRICAN SOLAR: Climate Home News interviewed a renewables company working in Africa about what the end of Chinese solar export rebates could mean for the continent.
FUEL PRICE WOES: The New York Times published a video about how rising diesel prices are hitting China’s long-haul truck drivers hard.
140%
The year-on-year rise in March in exports of Chinese new-energy vehicles (NEVs, including both plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles), reported Bloomberg, citing renewed interest caused by the “global energy shock stemming from the Iran war”.
-14%
The year-on-year fall in March in domestic sales of Chinese NEVs, reported Yicai, citing “changes to the NEV purchase tax exemption and the overlapping effects of the Chinese New Year holiday”.
New science
- Between 1978 and 2023, emissions of “gaseous reactive nitrogen” – including ammonia and nitrous oxide – from croplands in China more than doubled | PNAS
- There are “disparities in [the] energy transition” between households in rural China, with small, low-income households and areas in the Loess plateau facing a “disproportionate energy burden and energy poverty” | Communications Earth and Environment
Recently published on WeChat
China Briefing is written by Anika Patel, with contributions from Lekai Liu, and edited by Simon Evans. Please send tips and feedback to china@carbonbrief.org
The post China Briefing 16 April 2026: Billions for grid | Petrochemical plan | China’s high-seas bid appeared first on Carbon Brief.
China Briefing 16 April 2026: Billions for grid | Petrochemical plan | China’s high-seas bid
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