Published

3 years ago

November 24, 2023

Alice Rush

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

This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.

This week

Fossil fuels out

COP28 CUTBACKS: France and the US will back a ban on private financing for new coal power at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, which kicks off next week, Reuters reported. The EU parliament passed a resolution calling for countries to agree to “a tangible phase-out of fossil fuels as soon as possible…including by halting all new investments in fossil fuel extraction”, said another Reuters story. (Note that the parliament is distinct from the EU itself, which has only committed to pushing for a phaseout of “unabated” fossil fuels at COP28.)

COAL RUSH: Meanwhile, India’s power ministry has said that the country plans to expand its coal generation capacity by adding “at least 80 gigawatts (GW) by 2031-32”, Indian newspaper Mint reported. “New Delhi won’t bow down to any pressure to take coal phasedown targets” at COP28, Indian newspaper Economic Times reported.

Extreme heat

RED ALERT: Brazil reached its hottest temperature on record on 19 November, when the southeastern town of Araçuaí hit 44.8C, according to the Brazilian Report. Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology put large parts of the country under a red alert, the Guardian said. The Independent cited a rapid attribution analysis, which found that “temperatures in Rio were up to 4C warmer last week than they were in the period from 1979-2000”. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that a fan died during a Taylor Swift concert in Brazil due to the heat.

AFRICAN HEAT: The record-breaking heatwave engulfing Madagascar in October would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused warming, according to a new rapid attribution study, the Guardian reported. The report highlighted the lack of media coverage of the heatwave, the newspaper added. Elsewhere, News24 reported that South Africa recorded an all-time national temperature record of 43C this week.

Around the world

SCEPTICS TRIUMPH: Far-right climate sceptics have won elections in Argentina and the Netherlands. Argentina’s new president Javier Milei has called climate change a “socialist lie”, according to E&E News. The Party for Freedom, which has won the most seats in the Dutch parliament, says in its manifesto that “we must stop being afraid” of climate change, the Agence France-Presse reported.
JUST TRANSITION: Indonesia has released its final plan to mobilise $20bn of investment from rich countries to help it build renewables and replace its fleet of coal power plants, according to Nikkei Asia.
PEAKING EARLY: A survey of experts found that more than 70% think that China is on track to hit its target of peaking its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions before 2030, Chinese-language outlet Jiemian reported.
UK SPENDING: Climate measures were “thin on the ground” in the UK’s autumn statement, Carbon Brief reported.
‘SUPERCHARGE’ RENEWABLES: The Australian government plans to “supercharge” its renewables ambitions by underwriting 32GW of low-carbon power projects by 2027, said the Australian Financial Review.
GAS IN GAZA: As Israel’s conflict with Hamas continues, Haaretz reported that the US wants Israel to develop offshore gas fields as a new “revenue stream” to help “revitalise” the Palestinian economy.

7,200

The number of fossil-fuel representatives that have attended UN climate talks over the past 20 years, according to the Washington Post.

Latest climate research

Labourers on rice and maize fields are the most exposed agricultural workers to dangerous humid heat, new research in Environmental Research Communications found.
The occurrence of “ocean-onto-land” droughts – which originate over the oceans and migrate onto land – has increased in the past 60 years, according to a study in Nature Climate and Atmospheric Science.
A new paper in Science Advances presented the first “fine-scale” observations of methane and CO2 emissions from NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation imaging spectrometer. The authors attributed the emissions to their sources, including the oil and gas, waste and energy sectors.

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

Captured

There is a relatively small amount of allowable carbon emissions – known as the “carbon budget” – remaining if global warming is to be limited to 1.5C, the ambition of the Paris Agreement. As Carbon Brief’s coverage of the UN Environment Programme emissions gap report shows, as of the start of 2023, the remaining carbon budget for having a 50% chance of keeping temperatures at 1.5C was only around 250bn tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2), which is roughly six years of current emissions.

Spotlight

IEA’s ‘moment of truth’ for oil-and-gas companies

Carbon Brief takes a dive into the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest report on the future of oil and gas. It has been launched to coincide with the start of COP28, which IEA chief Dr Fatih Birol described as a “moment of truth” for the sector.

Fossil fuels are set to take centre stage at COP28 in Dubai, a city built on decades of oil extraction. Dozens of nations say they want the event to yield a global commitment to reducing fossil-fuel use.

COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber, who is also chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), has said cutting fossil-fuel supply is “inevitable and essential”. Doing so would require oil companies such as his to radically change their business models.

In its new report, the IEA lays out the role such companies could play in this transition. It also punctures many of the narratives that the oil industry has formed in recent years concerning its climate action – or lack of it.

‘Central to the solution’

Al Jaber has stressed that oil companies are “central to the solution” for climate change. The IEA agrees that the net-zero transition will be “more costly and difficult” without oil companies on board, but says a “step change” is required.

Oil majors such as Shell and BP have made much of their low-carbon investments. Yet, in 2022, the IEA says the industry channelled just 2.7% of its capital spending into clean energy. (It notes that Adnoc says it invests in clean energy, but has not revealed how much.)

Many spend nothing at all. More than 80% of oil and gas is produced by companies with no plans to invest in clean alternatives. State-owned firms such as Adnoc, which account for more than half of global production, have been particularly hesitant.

The IEA says oil industry spending on low-carbon alternatives could be brought in line with the agency’s “net-zero by 2050” scenario, if it increases to around 50% of capital expenditure by 2030. However, this would require shareholders and governments to accept lower returns, something there “does not appear to be a large appetite [for]”.

No ‘status quo’

Many oil-and-gas companies plan to cut emissions from their operations and drilling sites – rather than those from burning their products. Adnoc, for example, intends to be a “net-zero” company by 2045.

Yet these efforts are lacking in sufficient ambition, according to the IEA. It says less than 2% of oil-and-gas production is covered by an emissions target that aligns with the agency’s net-zero scenario.

There are also question marks over how oil companies are cutting their emissions.

The report stresses that relying on the still-emergent technology of carbon capture and storage (CCS), as many oil companies appear to be doing, cannot be “a way to retain the status quo”. It says the $3.5tn annual cost of scaling up CCS enough to maintain production while hitting climate targets is equivalent to the industry’s entire revenue.

The IEA also cautions against reliance on carbon offsets, which three-quarters of oil companies with emissions targets have stated they will use.

‘Last ones standing’

Oil companies often emphasise the world’s “need” for fossil fuels and, indeed, the IEA sees a small amount of oil and gas extraction necessary even as companies “evolve their portfolios”.

Still, the IEA reiterates that its net-zero pathway means no new oil-and-gas fields. In fact, it says new developments since it first issued this warning in 2021 mean some would now have to be closed early.

Various oil companies clearly intend to be the “last ones standing” – extracting oil long into the future. To them, the IEA issues a warning: “Many producers say they will be the ones to keep producing throughout transitions and beyond. They cannot all be right.”

Watch, read, listen

THE CLIMATE 1%: The Guardian has published a new series titled “the great carbon divide”, examining “who is most responsible for the emissions that are driving the escalating climate crisis, and what to do about carbon inequality”.

OFFSETS OUTED: A new Channel 4 documentary investigated the shadowy world of carbon-offsetting, travelling to Cambodia to try to speak to reticent industry representatives and investors, as well as local journalists who pointed to rights abuses in projects.

REFORMING FINANCE: As calls to transform the global financial system grow stronger at COP28, Boston University and the Centre and Science Environment, a research advocacy organisation in India, hosted a webinar to unpack what this could look like.

Coming up

27-29 November: UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland
29 November: Launch of IEA Energy Efficiency 2023 report
30 November-12 December: UNFCCC COP28, Dubai, UAE

Pick of the jobs

World Resources Institute (Europe), food, land and water policy lead | Salary: €80,000-101,000 if based in the Netherlands and £65,000-82,000 if based in the UK. Location: The Hague, Netherlands, or London
The Sunrise Project, co-director for the global finance programme | Salary: $143,275-171,248 if based in the US; £110,000-132,000 if based in the UK and €100,340-107,181 if based in the Netherlands. Location: North America, Europe or Asia
The Fletcher School at Tufts University, assistant professor in climate policy, Salary: Unknown. Location: Massachusetts, US

DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org

The post DeBriefed 24 November 2023: Fossil fuels under fire on eve of COP28; Record heat from Brazil to South Africa; IEA’s ‘moment of truth’ for oil and gas appeared first on Carbon Brief.

DeBriefed 24 November 2023: Fossil fuels under fire on eve of COP28; Record heat from Brazil to South Africa; IEA’s ‘moment of truth’ for oil and gas

Climate Change

Analysis: Solar overtakes gas power in Asia for first time ever

Published

5 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Alice Rush

Solar has overtaken gas power in Asia to become the continent’s third-largest source of electricity, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief.

The rapid expansion of solar power in nations such as China, India and Pakistan has seen its annual output increase nearly fourfold since 2020.

Asia accounts for around 60% of the world’s solar-power growth in this period, putting the continent at the heart of the global solar boom.

Coal and hydropower remain Asia’s largest sources of electricity, generating roughly 52% and 12% of the continent’s power each year, respectively.

Yet despite expectations that gas power would undergo “explosive growth” in the region, output has stalled due to supply disruptions, relatively high gas prices and growth in clean alternatives.

In contrast, solar has surged, generating some 1,727 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in the 12 months to April 2026.

As the chart below shows, this pushes it just ahead of gas, which generated 1,711TWh over the same period and has remained roughly flat for the past several years.

Electricity generation from solar (red) and gas (blue), TWh, on an annualised basis between December 2019 and May 2026. Source: Carbon Brief analysis of Ember data.

The milestone reflects wider trends in the global electricity mix, with monthly generation from both wind and solar surpassing gas generation globally for the first time in April 2026.

Asia’s solar expansion has been driven largely by China, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the growth in the region’s output since 2020.

Record installations in 2025 took China’s cumulative installed capacity to 1.2 terawatts (TW) by the end of the year.

China also dominates global solar supply chains, hosting more than 80% of solar manufacturing capacity.

This means it has played an important role in enabling solar deployment in other Asian countries through cheap solar-panel exports. Amid the energy crisis sparked by the Iran war, Chinese solar exports to Asia doubled to reach a record 39 gigawatts (GW) in March 2026.

Meanwhile, Asian countries have faced a number of challenges in expanding gas-power capacity. Most of these nations are reliant on imported liquified natural gas (LNG) to support their gas-power projects.

Around 81GW of planned gas capacity in Asia was cancelled in 2022 and 2023, amid LNG supply disruptions and price spikes following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

LNG import terminals and pipelines have faced delays and cancellations in south Asia and South Korea as a result of rising fuel and construction costs, as well as weak demand for gas power.

Global gas turbine shortages have also delayed plans to build new gas-power plants in Vietnam and the Philippines.

While Asia’s gas-power capacity increased by 22% between 2019 and 2024, gas-fired generation has only increased by a modest 6% over the same period. Existing gas plants are not always operating at high capacities, as gas is outcompeted by other fuels.

These trends are not uniform across the region, with increased generation in some countries – such as China and Taiwan – being offset by declines in others – such as Japan and India.

Although China has nearly doubled its gas -power generation in the past decade, gas supply issues and high prices make it less competitive than coal and renewables.

The expansion of clean energy has also reduced the need for gas-fired generation in many Asian countries. Pakistan’s widely reported “boom” in rooftop solar is one notable example of this trend.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the latest energy crisis has “renewed gas supply reliability and affordability concerns” among gas-importing countries in Asia, many of which are highly dependent on gas flows through the strait of Hormuz.

Methodology

The figures in this article are based on Ember’s monthly and annual electricity data for Asia.

Annual data was used for the year-end data points, as the coverage is more complete compared to the monthly data.

Rolling annual totals based on monthly data were used to interpolate between the annual data points.

The figures in the chart are based on Ember’s definition of Asia, which covers the following countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

This does not include some countries that are part of the continent of Asia and that use relatively large amounts of gas, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia.

The post Analysis: Solar overtakes gas power in Asia for first time ever appeared first on Carbon Brief.

Analysis: Solar overtakes gas power in Asia for first time ever

Climate Change

Nearly 100 civil society groups from Türkiye and Australia urge COP31 Presidency to take bold steps to transition away from fossil fuels

Published

9 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Alice Rush

Bonn, Germany, Friday 12 June 2026 — A diverse coalition of almost 100 civil society organisations representing Türkiye and Australia have released a joint statement at the Bonn climate conference urging the COP31 Presidency put the transition away from fossil fuels at the centre of the COP31 agenda.

The statement, signed by 94 organisations and addressed to Minister Murat Kurum (Türkiye) and Minister Chris Bowen (Australia), both attending the Bonn Climate Change Conference this week, emphasises that close cooperation between Türkiye and Australia brings a historic opportunity to make international progress in the transition away from fossil fuels, while walking the talk domestically and paving the way to a clean future within their respective borders.

By combining the diplomatic reach of both host nations with the long-standing climate leadership of the Pacific, COP31 should champion the action required to limit warming to 1.5°C.

The statement calls on the COP31 Presidency to:

Commit to own and advance the just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.
Turn the Just Transition Mechanism – agreed upon at COP30 to enhance international cooperation as well as support and enable equitable and inclusive just transitions – into concrete actions through defined funding, clear timelines, and practical operational details that protect workers and vulnerable communities.
Enable meaningful progress in international climate finance to advance all pillars of climate action on mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, ensuring that “big polluters pay”.
Rebuild trust in the multilateral process by having a Presidency team that acts as an ‘honest broker.’ This includes protecting the integrity of negotiations from fossil fuel industry influence, which has had a worrying record presence in the last few COPs, and ensuring the full participation of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, local communities, and upholding human rights.

The letter also urges Türkiye and Australia to inspire strong global outcomes in negotiations in Antalya in November, by leading by example, developing national roadmaps to transition away from fossil fuels and taking bold decisions domestically.

Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The Pacific is at the forefront of global efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. From the beginning, we have worked to advance multilateral cooperation and strengthen the global climate regime — writing the 1.5°C redline into the Paris Agreement, establishing funding for loss and damage, and taking the world’s biggest problem to the world’s highest court. To the COP31 partnership, we bring the experience of 30 years of frontline leadership, the values of reciprocity and collective responsibility, and the warm hearts and unending resolve of our communities. We will continue to be the voice of science, justice and ambition. For us, phasing out fossil fuels and holding the line on 1.5°C is about survival. Together, we can ensure a safer, thriving future for the peoples of the Pacific and for communities worldwide.”

Tanyeli Behiç Sabuncu, WWF-Türkiye Climate and Energy Practice Manager, said: “As the President of COP31, Türkiye should not postpone leaving coal. One-third of the electricity mix in the country comes from it and new coal-fired power plant units are still being planned, despite losing both its economic and social licence. Phasing out fossil fuels is not merely an emission reduction goal. It is also a pathway toward a liveable world for people and nature as well as energy security for consumers and businesses. COP31 presents Türkiye a defining choice: stick to the choices of the past or lead a transformative shift toward a just and clean energy future. Announcing a coal phase-out date would send the clearest initial signal that the country takes its leadership role at COP seriously.

Denise Cauchi, CEO Climate Action Network Australia, said: “The fossil fuel era is ending. The escalating energy crisis is exposing the true costs of fossil fuel dependence—not only through worsening climate impacts, but also through global insecurity, energy price shocks and rising living costs. As the incoming President and President of Negotiations, Türkiye and Australia must put the 1.5°C temperature goal at the heart of COP31, which requires a managed, equitable transition away from coal, oil and gas, backed by finance and supported by a just transition. Australia must lead with credibility. As the world’s third-largest fossil fuel exporter, it needs a clear plan to phase out fossil fuels, including exports, and contribute its fair share of international climate finance.”

ENDS

Photos from the press conference will be added here after the event. The press conference will be live streamed and archived here

Media contact:
Kate O’Callaghan, Greenpeace on +61 406 231 892 (Whatsapp/Signal) or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org

Nearly 100 civil society groups from Türkiye and Australia urge COP31 Presidency to take bold steps to transition away from fossil fuels

Climate Change

‘A new chapter’: Inaugural National EPA CEO John Bradley faces significant choices on the horizon

Published

9 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Alice Rush

SYDNEY, Friday 12 June 2026 — In response to the appointment of the inaugural CEO of Australia’s first National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), the following can be attributed to Glenn Walker, Head of Nature at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:

“Greenpeace welcomes the appointment of the inaugural CEO of Australia’s first National EPA as the beginning of a new chapter in the conservation of our world-famous nature.

“Now is a time of environmental crossroads — the inaugural National EPA under new CEO John Bradley’s leadership has a duty to provide robust environmental protection advice to the Albanese Government, and can start by protecting Scott Reef and the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef.

“Mr Bradley has the important task ahead of leading the National EPA’s recommendation on Australia’s largest proposed fossil fuel project, Woodside’s toxic Browse project in Western Australia. Browse threatens Australia’s largest freestanding reef, Scott Reef, and our climate, and must be rejected by any agency concerned with protecting the environment.

“Mr Bradley must also use his new position to crack down on rampant deforestation, which is threatening the Great Barrier Reef and sending our native animals, like the koala, to the brink of extinction in Queensland and New South Wales. As a former head of Queensland’s state environment department, Mr Bradley understands the threat of deforestation, and has a unique opportunity to finally protect the Reef from that threat.”

—ENDS—

Images and videos of deforestation can be found here, and of Scott Reef here.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Emma Sangalli on 0431 513 465 or emma.sangalli@greenpeace.org