Published

1 year ago

January 24, 2025

Alice Rush

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

This week

Trump leaves Paris pact

US EXIT: Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, the New York Times reported. By exiting, the world’s biggest historic emitter will join Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries not committed to the global deal to keep global warming well-below 2C by the end of the century. The decision will take one year to take effect, the newspaper added.

‘FATAL SIGNAL’: European leaders speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week condemned Trump’s decision, Bloomberg said. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the Paris Agreement was “the best hope for all humanity”, while Germany’s economy minister described Trump’s exit as a “fatal signal to the world”, according to the publication. The Times reported that UK prime minister Keir Starmer refused to condemn Trump’s withdrawal from the pact.

CHINA ‘CONCERN’: The Associated Press reported that China expressed concern over Trump’s move, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying: “Climate change is a common challenge facing mankind. No country can be outside of it. No country can be immune to it.” At a press conference, however, he said China’s “resolve” to act was “unchanged”. African Business reported that the chair of the African climate negotiating bloc said the group was “deeply disappointed” by the decision.

US climate regime shift

WIND WOES: Amid shattering the record for the number of executive orders signed in one day, Trump also signed a bill temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for both onshore and offshore wind projects, the Associated Press reported. The Washington Post examined how the move could “significantly curtail” wind power growth over the next four years.

OIL AND GAS ‘UNLEASHED’: Trump became the first president to announce an “energy emergency”, as part of “a barrage of pro-fossil fuel actions to unleash already booming US energy production”, the Guardian reported. This included lifting the moratorium on new US licenses to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) put in place by Joe Biden, Bloomberg reported. The Financial Times reported that Trump could be thwarted by Wall Street’s “reluctance to approve another drilling binge” due to “investor pressure…[and] economic realities”.

EVS AXED: Reuters reported that Trump also signed an order to revoke a 2021 bill signed by Joe Biden, which sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the US were electric by 2030. A Lex opinion article in the Financial Times said the move could be enough to have a “chilling effect on the market”. An FT editorial contrasted Trump’s approach with China’s push for EVs, calling it a “bet on the energy status quo, not on the future”.

Around the world

COP30 HEAD: Brazil appointed André Aranha Corrêa do Lago – an “experienced climate negotiator” and the country’s secretary for climate, energy and environment – as incoming president of the COP30 climate talks, the Guardian reported.
HEATHROW SPAT: The UK Labour Party is “split” over a plan from chancellor Rachel Reeves to approve a third runway at Heathrow airport, with energy secretary Ed Miliband and the mayors of London and Manchester strongly opposed to the move, according to the Independent.
INDONESIA FLOODS: At least 21 people have been killed and 300 more displaced in flash floods and landslides in Indonesia’s Java province, the Associated Press reported.
NIGERIA OIL PROTESTS: More than 20 environmental groups and local communities are protesting the planned return of oil drilling to Ogoniland, Nigeria – an area already deeply affected by pollution from oil spills, Reuters said.
LA ABLAZE: Multiple new fires have erupted amid continuing dry conditions in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported. It added that rain is now forecast for the weekend.

One-third

The proportion of Arctic tundra and ecosystems that has become a source of emissions, rather than a carbon sink, according to research covered by the Guardian.

Latest climate research

Anti-climate change groups are more likely to develop in countries with strong environmental plans, according to an analysis drawing on 30 years of data published in PLOS One.
A study in Limnology and Oceanography Letters recorded how corals in one area of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef fared after facing their most widespread bleaching event on record in 2024.
Arctic “ice roads” – temporary roads formed from the build up of snow that act as lifelines for isolated communities – have reduced because of climate change and are likely to decline further this century, according to research in Communications Earth and Environment.

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

Captured

EU electricity generation from coal, gas, wind and solar, terawatt hours, 1990-2024.

The EU generated more electricity from solar than coal for the first time ever in 2024, according to analysis by the thinktank Ember covered by Carbon Brief. Solar power output in the EU more than tripled between 2014 and 2024, while coal has plummeted by 61%. The analysis also found that wind and solar growth over the past decade has pushed EU fossil-fuel generation in 2024 to its lowest level in 40 years, despite a long-term decline of nuclear power.

Spotlight

Tracing climate fingerprints on tropical storms

This week, Carbon Brief explores a new tool that could be used to calculate the economic damages from tropical storms that can be attributed to climate change.

Tropical storms – known as hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones depending on what part of the ocean they form in – are typically the most costly of all extreme weather events.

Amid a growing field aimed at understanding the influence of climate change on extreme weather, they have also emerged as one of the most difficult events for scientists to study.

There are several reasons for this. One is that tropical storms are rare in comparison to other types of extreme weather events, meaning scientists have less data to draw on to try to work out how they may have changed because of fossil-fuelled warming.

Another is that one of the main tools that scientists use to study climate change – climate models – are often not of high enough resolution to recreate the relatively small-scale structure of a storm. Global models can typically simulate Earth down to around a 100 kilometre (km) by 100km scale, whereas the eye of a storm tends to be just 30-40km wide.

To try to address these issues, researchers at Imperial College London have come up with a new tool for examining the influence of climate change on tropical storms.

Rapid attribution

The “Imperial College storm model” (IRIS) is a statistical technique that can be used to calculate how the potential intensity of any given tropical storm globally could have been affected by climate change.

IRIS has been used to create a database of millions of virtual tropical storms. The computing power for this is supported by a citizen science project, where people can download an app to donate the processing power of their smartphones.

Researchers can draw on this database to rapidly calculate how the potential intensity of a tropical storm occurring today compares to one in a hypothetical world without human-caused climate change.

IRIS works in a similar way to models used by the insurance sector, explained its creator Prof Ralf Toumi, co-director of the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment at Imperial. He told Carbon Brief:

“There’s been a few academic attempts to replicate these models. We’ve taken a very different approach to everyone else and that allows us to do this attribution quite quickly.”

Toumi’s team outlined the workings of IRIS in a paper published in Scientific Data in 2024.

Earlier this month, they published their first climate attribution study using the tool in Atmospheric Science Letters.

This study found that Typhoon Haiyan, the second-strongest landfalling tropical storm on record, which struck the Philippines in 2013, was “very unlikely to have occurred without the increase in potential intensity driven by global warming”.

In addition to this, Toumi and his team have been using the model to calculate how climate change may have affected the intensity of a wide range of recent storms, choosing to publish the results directly on Imperial’s website.

“We feel we should communicate [our results] immediately,” he told Carbon Brief, adding that the peer-review process for publishing scientific papers is comparatively “slow and painful”.

Loss and damage

In a recent analysis using the tool, the team estimated that around 45% of the $50bn in economic damages caused by Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida in 2024, can be attributed to climate change.

Toumi hopes that the tool could one day be used to inform discussions about how much money polluting countries should pay into a new fund for loss and damage from climate change agreed at UN climate talks. He told Carbon Brief:

“If a Pacific island says ‘we’ve just been hit by a category 5 storm, we need some money’, a donor country may argue ‘your nation is bound to be hit by hurricanes, how do we know the extra risk from climate change?’ With this model we could provide answers to such statements.”

Harjeet Singh, a UN climate veteran involved in aiding negotiations for the loss and damage fund, said that advances in attribution science could be a “game changer” in assigning responsibility for damages from climate change. He told Carbon Brief:

“However, rigorous, event-specific attribution studies can be time-consuming and may not always be feasible – especially for communities needing urgent support. Simpler frameworks based on historical emissions, technological capacity and GDP can be more practical, while still being guided by scientific insights.

“Ideally, a hybrid approach would apply detailed attribution for unprecedented or contested events, while a simpler, responsibility-based funding mechanism covers more frequent climate impacts to ensure fair and timely financing.”

Watch, read, listen

PARIS EXIT EXPLAINED: Veteran US climate diplomat, Sue Biniaz, explained the ramifications of the wording of Trump’s Paris Agreement exit order, in Just Security.

‘THIRSTY’ AI: The Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast explored what the UK government’s plan to boost artificial intelligence could mean for energy and water resources.

SAVIOUR OR VICTIM: In the Conversation, a group of female academics explained why the portrayal of women as either “climate victims” or “saviours of nature” can be problematic.

Coming up

26 January: International Day of Clean Energy
26 January: Belarus presidential election
28 January: EU event on public funding for carbon removal, Brussels and online

Pick of the jobs

La Trobe University, river communities research fellow | Salary: Unknown. Location: Bundoora/Albury-Wodonga, Australia
Climate Litigation Network, science adviser | Salary: £42,500 or €50,000. Location: London or Amsterdam
British Antarctic Survey, marine biologist | Salary: £30,201. Location: Rothera, Antarctica

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 24 January 2025: Trump leaves Paris Agreement; EU solar outshines coal; Tracing climate fingerprints on tropical storms appeared first on Carbon Brief.

DeBriefed 24 January 2025: Trump leaves Paris Agreement; EU solar outshines coal; Tracing climate fingerprints on tropical storms

Climate Change

Corpus Christi Leaders Believe Data Center Plans May Be Behind Delays to Emergency Water Supply

Published

11 hours ago

May 19, 2026

Alice Rush

Authorities in Sinton won’t confirm or deny Corpus Christi’s suggestion that the small town is hoarding its precious groundwater for data centers. Across Texas, a booming buildout of server farms is adding strain to water resources that are already stretched to their limit.

By Emily Salazar, Dylan Baddour

This story was produced in partnership by Inside Climate News and the Texas Newsroom, the state’s network of public radio stations.

Corpus Christi Leaders Believe Data Center Plans May Be Behind Delays to Emergency Water Supply

Climate Change

New Zealand Moves to Ban Tort Liability for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Damage

Published

11 hours ago

May 19, 2026

Alice Rush

The move comes as the American Petroleum Institute and Republicans in Congress push legislation in the U.S. to shield the oil and gas industry from climate accountability.

By Dana Drugmand

New Zealand’s government has announced that it plans to amend the country’s signature climate law to prohibit liability arising from climate change damages, a controversial move that critics say would shield polluters from climate lawsuits and undermine the rule of law. It comes amidst recent legislative action from Republican lawmakers in the U.S. to similarly restrict liability for climate-related harms.

New Zealand Moves to Ban Tort Liability for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Damage

Climate Change

Pacific civil society cautions ISA of ‘bluewashing’ deep-sea mining

Published

11 hours ago

May 19, 2026

Alice Rush

SUVA, FIJI, Tuesday 19 May 2026 – Pacific civil society groups are calling for transparency and inclusion in regional deep-sea mining talks, as environmental stewardship concerns and poor economic prospects accompany the corporate push.

This cautionary call comes on the first day of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)’s Pacific Small Island Developing States regional workshop, the so-called ‘Deep Seabed Sustainable Blue Growth Initiative’ in Suva, Fiji.

The Pacific Regional Non-Government Organisations (PRNGO) Alliance, including Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS), Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), Greenpeace Australia Pacific (GPAP), and over 20 Pacific civil society organisations, questioned the agenda of the “blue growth” forum, arguing that the workshop emphasises sponsoring States, but only includes observer engagement with other Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS).

The collective stressed the importance of ensuring that the workshop does not unintentionally privilege or amplify only the perspectives of sponsoring States in a manner that could be perceived as legitimising or advancing deep-sea mining pathways in the Pacific.

Mr Joey Tau, Chair of the PRNGO Alliance, said: “We are extremely concerned that the current agenda is inappropriate to the Pacific context; as it stands, it clearly centres states that have an interest in deep-sea mining, with relations and benefits to the mining industry. Such regional workshops must ensure equal visibility and space for non-sponsoring States, particularly those advocating for precautionary approaches and environmental safeguards.

“We also challenge the ISA in its mandate to encourage policy discussions on effective protection of the marine environment and not just on the economics, exploration and exploitation.”

Ms Vani Catanasiga, Executive Director of the FCOSS, said: “The ISA came in to conduct a workshop, but they excluded civil society organisations. Why has that been allowed? The ISA is excluding a body of knowledge that is needed for concrete conversations that also takes into consideration the well-being of the Pacific people. This was not well thought through – this forum should have at least emphasised the importance of a civil society perspective. As we are aware, deep-sea mining will have transboundary harm; this is why it is important to have civil society in the room during these conversations.”

Reverend James Bhagwan, General-Secretary of PCC, said: “For Pacific peoples, there is nothing sustainable about deep-sea mining when it violates our cultural and spiritual connection to the ocean. The ocean is not an empty space. It is not simply a resource. It is our common home, our provider, our ancestor, our climate regulator, and part of God’s creation. In the Pacific, we have long said: the ocean is us, and we are the ocean. To mine the ocean is to wound the life-system that holds our peoples, our islands and future generations together.”

Ms Laisa Nainoka, Oceans Campaigner at PANG, said: “There is no such thing as sustainable deep-sea mining. Harm does not become harmless just because we rebrand it. It is fundamentally destructive, with far-reaching impacts on the ocean, marine life, and the communities that depend on them for survival. These impacts are not confined to the high seas or the exclusive economic zones of sponsoring states, it is felt across the entire ocean.”

Mr Rae Bainteiti, Political Coordinator at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Calling the destruction of our ocean floor ‘sustainable blue growth’ is deceptive, biased, and wrong – it is bluewashing the biggest modern threat to the Pacific. Deep-sea mining is a risky investment that will cost the Pacific the most and benefit us the least. The average Pacific Island State would only receive mere thousands of dollars through the ISA benefit-sharing regime as it stands, while international mining companies rake in billions. There is no Pacific ‘blue growth’ in a mined ocean. True blue growth should mean investing in healthy oceans, sustainable livelihoods, climate resilience, and protecting marine ecosystems, not opening the door to another extractive industry.”

Pacific civil society organisations have consistently emphasised that, rather than framing deep-sea mining as an opportunity for “blue growth,” the ISA should prioritise its environmental protection obligations.

At the forum this week, PRNGO is calling for the ISA to:

Actively include civil society and community perspectives in workshops;
Prevent pro-mining bias in deep-sea mining governance by shifting focus away from heavily invested Sponsoring States toward meaningful engagement with PSIDS;
Give equal weight to dialogue about protecting nature, including the role of independent science, the application of the precautionary approach, and the consideration of cumulative mining impacts.

To date, 40 countries have called for a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining, including seven Pacific nations.

– ENDS –