Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
UK parliament’s climate takeover
MILIBAND SPEECH: UK energy security and net-zero secretary Ed Miliband delivered a “scathing” address to parliament on the “state of the climate and nature” in the UK, Edie reported. Ahead of his speech, Miliband told the Guardian he intends it to become an annual event, adding: “I feel a deep sense of responsibility to the British people to tell them the truth about what we know about the climate and nature crisis.”
RENEWABLES ‘BOOST’: Elsewhere, the government unveiled a strategy for “longer clean power contracts”, reported BusinessGreen, with the aim of “boost[ing] investor confidence” and “curb[ing] consumer costs”. It said the government will amend its “contracts for difference scheme” (CfD), raising contract duration from 15 to 20 years. Carbon Brief’s Simon Evans provided more details.
REFORM U-TURN: The Financial Times reported that the hard-right Reform UK party wrote a letter to “green energy bosses” threatening to “strike down” renewable energy subsidies and “reassess all net-zero related commitments” due to “intolerable costs to the economy”, if successful in the next election. However, deputy leader Richard Tice appeared to backtrack just 24 hours later in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s PM, claiming the letter had been “misread” and that a “contract is a contract”.
Around the world
- NASA DATA: In the US, the Trump administration aborted plans to publish major climate change reports on NASA’s website, the Associated Press reported. This will “make it harder to find major, legally mandated assessments of how climate change is endangering the nation and its people”, the newswire added.
- ‘LANDMARK’ BATTLE: The Australian government has no obligation to protect Torres Strait islanders from the impacts of climate change, concluded a major federal case covered by BBC News. It added that the verdict left community leaders “in shock”.
- ‘FAIR COMPETITION’: The European Union seeks “fair competition” with China on clean energy, Agence France-Press said. However, “tensions are high” ahead of an upcoming summit in Beijing on 24 July, according to the Economist, with electric vehicles a “particular crunch point”.
- MONSOON DEATHS: More than 60 people were killed in 24 hours in ongoing torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan, the nation’s Dawn newspaper reported.
- CANCELLED CELEBRATIONS: Traditional Bastille Day celebrations were cancelled across France due to the risk of fire amid extreme temperatures, Le Monde reported.
£113bn
The potential UK economic losses by 2040 due to stranded fossil-fuel assets, according to a new report covered by Edie.
Latest climate research
- There were a “record number” of compound drought and heatwaves in the Amazon over 2023-4, compared to the period since 1981 | Environmental Research Letters
- The “clean-up” of aerosol emissions in east Asia is likely a “key contributor” to a recent acceleration in global warming | Communications Earth & Environment
- Transformation of abandoned open-pit mines into “solar hubs” could “meet projected 2050 global electricity needs” | Nature Sustainability
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
India has reached a milestone of 50% of its installed electricity capacity coming from “non-fossil fuel” sources (renewables and nuclear) – ahead of its 2030 target under the Paris Agreement, Reuters reported. The newswire said the move “signal[s] accelerating momentum in the country’s clean-energy transition”. A press release from India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy stated that, “despite having one of the lowest per-capita emissions globally, India remains among the few G20 countries that are on track to meet – or even exceed – their NDC commitments”. The research group Climate Action Tracker rates India’s climate pledges as “highly insufficient“.
Spotlight
‘Climate justice and cultural survival’ in Kenya
This week, Carbon Brief interviews Julianna Loshiro, an Indigenous Yaaku activist working in Kenya to conserve nature and her native language.
Carbon Brief: Can you explain who you are, where you come from and the projects you work on?
Julianna Loshiro: I’m a proud Yaaku woman from Mukogodo Forest, north in Laikipia, Kenya, where our language, Yaakunte, and way of life have been passed down through generations. Raised by my grandparents, I was immersed in Indigenous knowledge systems.
Living in the forest is a struggle because of land insecurity. Evictions have been happening to the Ogiek of Mau, the Sengwer community from Cherangany, and even the Yaaku community.
Currently, I am leading efforts to revitalise the Yakuunte language through storytelling, theatre, curriculum development and digital tools. My work is driven by a commitment to cultural resilience and intergenerational justice.
CB: You’ve recently published a book, “Climate Justice is Gender Justice”. Could you outline the key messages that you are trying to get across and also what motivated you to write the book?
JL: My book is an extension of our ancestral wisdom. Every chapter echoes the values and land-based knowledge that I grew up with in the Mukogodo forest. It is an urgent call to centre Indigenous knowledge in the climate conversation and to understand justice through the lens of lived experience. I wrote this book to amplify the stories and wisdom that often go unheard, especially from rural Indigenous communities.
One of the key ideas I share is that climate solutions are not just scientific, they are also cultural, emotional and relational. The book reflects how climate change impacts everyday lives and how different genders experience this crisis differently, but it also shows how we can heal by listening to those closest to the land.
Writing the book was a way of sharing our Yaaku worldview with the wider world, where nature is family and language is spirit. Culture is a form of resistance. So, by linking climate justice with our cultural survival, I am showing that language and environmental conservation are deeply intertwined. If we lose one, we risk losing the other. This book is a living testimony that our Indigenous identity is key to the future of our planet.
CB: Your book promotion also references the organisation, Indigenous Young Moms, for which you serve as project manager. What perspectives does motherhood lend to efforts to achieve both climate and gender justice?
JL: Motherhood sharpens our sense of urgency and hope. As an indigenous young mother, I don’t just see climate change in statistics, I see it in the drying rivers, the struggling bees and the questions my child will ask tomorrow.
Climate justice is gender justice because it demands that we account for these differences. It means dismantling systems that exclude women, men, non-binary and gender-diverse people from decisions, and it is Indigenous women who often lead the way.
CB: What has been missing from the conversation around preserving Indigenous cultural heritage and empowering Indigenous communities? How do you see your book filling this gap?
JL: Indigenous systems are too often ignored in development efforts. As a Yaaku woman, I have felt the silence imposed on both my language and my gender. We need to create solutions led by Indigenous people. We must be trusted as experts and storytellers in this journey.
Now, it is young people bringing positive and impactful solutions, at the grassroots level, and to even bigger platforms, like speaking at Indigenous caucuses. We’re really happy to see individuals and organisations holding out their hands to us. It’s really moving because it’s been hard for our voices to be heard.
Watch, read, listen
FRUITS OF LABOUR: Migration Story highlighted the “daily struggle” of informal workers in Asia’s “largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market” as they endure the economics of heat stress.
COMMODIFICATION: Indigenous storyteller Nina Gualinga, in a Guardian documentary, explored the “extractivism” associated with “spiritual healing in the Amazon”.
HOLIDAY HEATWAVES: In the BBC’s The Climate Question podcast, host Graihagh Jackson asked how more frequent extreme temperatures will transform the travel industry.
Coming up
- 14-23 July: High-level political forum on sustainable development, New York
- 19 July: Tasmanian state election, Australia
- 21-22 July: International Conference on Climate Leadership, Harbin, China
- 24-25 July: EU-China summit, Beijing, China
Pick of the jobs
- Ember, digital communications intern | Salary: £25,207. Location: Remote
- Sequoia Climate Foundation, programme manager | Salary: $185,000-$190,000. Location: Irvine, California (hybrid)
- Australian National University, research fellow | Salary: $118,632-$134,507. Location: Canberra, Australia
- WWF, head of policy (climate) | Salary: £56,297-£65,680. Location: Woking, UK
- The Conversation, commissioning editor, environment | Salary: £34,000-£40,000. Location: London (hybrid)
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 18 July 2025: India’s clean-energy milestone; Climate reaches UK parliament; Conserving trees and culture in Kenya appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
This is already a record amount of land burned in a single year, far exceeding the previous high, Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) data shows.
It is also almost four times the average area burned in wildfires by this stage of the year over 2012-24 – and 50% higher than the previous record amount burned by this time in 2019.
The burned area overtook the previous annual record in April, BBC News reported at the time, and has continued to soar in the months since.
Major wildfires
The chart below shows that UK wildfires in 2025 so far have already burned by far the largest area of land over any calendar year since GWIS records began in 2012. The previous record year was 2019, followed by 2022, while 2024 saw the lowest area size burned.
Annual land area burned by wildfires across the UK from 2012 to 2025 (red), alongside the average area burned each year over 2012-24. Source: Global Wildfire Information System.
Climate change can increase the risk and impact of wildfires. Warmer temperatures and drought can leave land parched and dry out vegetation, which helps fires spread more rapidly. Climate change is making these types of extreme conditions more likely to occur, as well as more severe.
Fire services in England and Wales responded to 564 wildfires from January to June 2025 – an increase from 69 fires in the same period last year, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said in a statement in June.
Most wildfires in the UK are caused by human activity, whether accidental or deliberate, according to the NFCC. Some common ignition sources are disposable barbecues, lit cigarettes and campfires.
Jessica Richter, a research analyst at Global Forest Watch, says that, while fires are also a key part of some ecosystems, climate change is the “major driver behind the increasing fire activity around the globe”. She tells Carbon Brief:
“As we see more fires, we’re going to see more carbon being emitted and that’s just going to be, for lack of a better phrasing, adding fuel to the fire.”
Examples of 2025 wildfires around Galloway (1) and Inverness (2) in Scotland, and a wildfire in Powys (3) in Wales. Source: FIRMS, MapTiler, OpenStreetMap contributors.
The UK has also recorded its highest-ever wildfire emissions this year, according to Copernicus, which was “primarily driven” by major wildfires in Scotland from late June to early July.
These were the largest wildfires ever recorded in the country, reported the Scotsman. They “ravaged” land in Moray and the Highlands in the north of the country, the newspaper added.
Scotland experienced an extreme wildfire in Galloway Forest Park in April, which was “so intense it could be seen from space”, the Financial Times said.
Elsewhere, in April, the Belfast News Letter reported that firefighters tackled almost 150 fires on the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.
More recently, BBC News reported that firefighters in Dorset, England received “non-stop” wildfire calls in the first weekend of August, with one blaze “engulf[ing] an area the size of 30 football pitches”.
Wildfires have also caused devastation across many parts of Europe in recent weeks – including Albania, Cyprus, France, Greece, Spain and Turkey – as well as in the US and Canada.
The post Analysis: Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025 appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Analysis: Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
Climate Change
DeBriefed 8 August 2025: Arctic heatwave; Climate anxiety deep-dive; France’s wildfire crisis
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Global extremes
RECORD HEAT: Multiple countries experienced record heat this week. Nordic countries were hit by a “truly unprecedented” heatwave, where temperatures reached above 30C in the Arctic Circle and Finland endured three straight weeks with 30C heat, its longest heat streak in records going back to 1961, said the Guardian. Reuters reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is facing “surging temperatures this summer”, following its hottest spring ever.
FIRE WEATHER: Some 81 million Americans were under air quality alerts as hundreds of wildfires burned across Canada and parts of the US, reported the Guardian. Meanwhile, a “massive” wildfire in California has “become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year” amid an intensifying heatwave, reported the Associated Press.
TORRENTIAL RAIN: A “torrent of mud” has killed at least four people in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, Reuters reported. According to the Times of India, “more than one cloudburst” hit the high-altitude district of Uttarkashi on Tuesday, triggering flash floods. It added that cloudburst risks in the Himalayan region are “projected to increase with climate change”. Meanwhile, Taiwan News said that “torrential rain in central and southern Taiwan over several days has left three dead, four missing, 49 injured and prompted 85 rescues”. Flash floods in a Myanmar-China “border town” have killed six people, according to the Straits Times.
Around the world
- COP30 CHAOS: After significant delays and pressure from a UN committee, Brazil has finally launched the official accommodation platform for COP30, Climate Home News reported. It added that “significant markups and sky-high prices remained”.
- MORE TARIFFS: Donald Trump has increased tariffs on imports from India to 50% as “punishment” for the country buying Russian oil, the New York Times reported.
- CORAL BLEACHING: The Guardian said that the Great Barrier Reef suffered its biggest annual drop in live coral since 1986 in two out of the three areas that are monitored by scientists..
- ENDANGERED: Top scientific advisers in the US have announced that they will “conduct an independent, fast-track review of the latest climate science” following the Trump administration’s move to repeal the “endangerment finding”, the scientific basis for federal climate regulations, Inside Climate News reported.
10,000
The number of glaciers in the Indian Himalayas that are “receding due to a warming climate”, according to Reuters.
Latest climate research
- Ecosystem restoration should be “pursued primarily” for biodiversity, supporting livelihoods and resilience of ecosystem services, as “climate mitigation potential will vary” | Nature Geoscience
- Attendees at the 2024 UN Environment Assembly “underestimate global public willingness to contribute 1% of their personal income to climate action” | Communications Earth & Environment
- Urban green spaces can lower temperatures by 1-7C and play a “crucial role in cooling urban environments” | Climate Risk Management
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
Carbon Brief’s in-depth explainer unpacked the findings of a recent analysis on climate anxiety in more detail. The analysis explored 94 studies, involving more than 170,000 participants across 27 countries, to find out who is more likely to be affected by climate anxiety and what its consequences could be. The analysis suggests that women, young adults and people with “left-wing” political views are more likely to feel climate anxiety.
Spotlight
Heat and fire in France
This week, Carbon Brief explores how France’s media has covered the impacts of recent heatwaves and wildfires.
“We’re used to high temperatures, but we’ve never experienced heat like this [so] early in the year before,” a family member who lives in the Dordogne area of southwest France explained during a recent visit to the country.
Over recent weeks, there have been extreme heatwaves and fires across Europe, which has set new records across the continent, including in France.
France is now gripped once again by extremes. The country is currently experiencing yet another heatwave and this week faced its “largest wildfire in decades”, according to France24.
French climate scientist Dr Olivier Boucher, who is also the CEO of Klima consulting, told Carbon Brief:
“Climate change is already having visible and significant impacts in France. Heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more intense, and are occurring earlier in the season.
“This trend is accompanied by an increased risk of wildfires, particularly in southern regions, though other areas are also increasingly affected, putting the built environment at risk.”
Red alerts
In July, nearly 200 schools closed or partially closed as a result of high temperatures across the country.
Since the start of the summer, water reserves have been under close surveillance and multiple areas are facing water restrictions as a result of drought.
These water restrictions can include the use of tap water and violations can incur fines of €1,500 (£1,300). According to Le Monde, more than a third of the country is under drought alerts.
France has also experienced a “devastating summer” for fire outbreaks, according to FranceInfo. Traditional firework displays celebrating France’s Bastille day on 14 July were cancelled across the country due to forest fire risks, said Le Monde.
On 4 August, the local area of Aude, situated in the south-east, was placed under a red alert for forest fire risks.
Since then, there have been record-breaking fires in the region. BBC News reported that fires have “scorched an area larger than Paris”. The broadcaster added that the country’s prime minister, François Bayrou, linked the fires to global warming and drought, describing them as a “catastrophe on an unprecedented scale”.
Needing to adapt
Le Point explained how heatwaves impact grape vines and how winemakers have adapted their growing techniques by leaving more leaves on vines to protect the grapes from getting burned by the sun. However, it added that, “in the long run, it is necessary to think about more long-term modifications of viticulture”.
FranceInfo told the story of winegrowers losing their crops, worth millions of euros, in the recent fires in southern France, adding that it is “a real economic disaster for farmers affected by the flames”.
Le Monde interviewed French geographer Dr Magali Reghezza-Zitt, who described the nation’s preparations for dealing with climate change as inadequate. She told the newspaper:
“The gap between what needs to be done and the pace at which climate change is accelerating grows wider each year.”
Boucher added to Carbon Brief:
“All economic sectors are impacted by climate change, with agriculture among the most vulnerable. As the warming trend is projected to continue over the coming decades, adaptation will be essential – both through the climate-proofing of infrastructure and through changes in practices across sectors.”
Watch, read, listen
‘GRASSROOTS ALLIANCE’: A Deutsche Welle documentary explained how unions, activists and the India Meteorological Department have joined forces to protect Delhi’s informal workers from extreme heat.
NEW RULES: A Bloomberg article said that South Africa “will seek jail time, fines and higher taxes for breaches of proposed rules to govern carbon emissions” as part of new efforts to reduce the country’s dependency on coal.
SUSTAINABLE AI?: As the AI race intensifies, the Financial Times investigated if data centers can “ever truly be green”.
Coming up
- 5-14 August: Resumed talks on a global plastics treaty, Geneva, Switzerland
- 10-15 August: Ecological Society of America annual meeting | Baltimore, US
- 13-15 August: African Union-AIP water investment summit 2025 | Cape Town, South Africa
- 15 August: China Environmental Science Youth Academic Conference | Changsha, China
Pick of the jobs
- Save the Children, senior climate advisor | Salary: £61,500-£69,200. Location: London
- Irish Independent, environmental correspondent | Salary: Unknown. Location: Dublin
- Ember, interim managing director | Salary: £89,000-£100,000. Location: Remote
- British Antarctic Survey, seabird remote sensing data analyst | Salary: £41,344-£45,479. Location: Cambridge, UK
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 8 August 2025: Arctic heatwave; Climate anxiety deep-dive; France’s wildfire crisis appeared first on Carbon Brief.
DeBriefed 8 August 2025: Arctic heatwave; Climate anxiety deep-dive; France’s wildfire crisis
Climate Change
N.C.’s Democratic Congressional Delegation Condemns EPA Cancellation of Solar for All
They joined a chorus of critics across the country, where grantees in almost every state had been awarded funds to provide solar energy for 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Democratic U.S. House members from North Carolina on Thursday condemned the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to cancel $7 billion in grants for the Solar for All program, created under the Biden administration to expand access to solar energy in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
N.C.’s Democratic Congressional Delegation Condemns EPA Cancellation of Solar for All
Standard Chartered to Sell 5M Carbon Credits to Help Protect Amazon Rainforest
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