Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Deadly extremes
FLOODING: Up to 700 people are believed to have been killed by flash floods in Nigeria, reported BBC News. Northern Nigeria has faced “prolonged dry spells worsened by climate change”, followed by “excessive rainfall”, which can cause flash flooding, reported the Associated Press.
FIRES: In Canada, continuing wildfires forced the evacuation of more than 26,000 people, “with heavy smoke choking millions of Canadians and Americans and reaching as far away as Europe”, reported Le Monde. CBC News reported that authorities in the Canadian state of Saskatchewan have been “battling the worst wildfire [the state has] seen in decades”. Scientist Prof Colin Laroque told the broadcaster: “This is classic climate change…This is our new normal.”
DEVASTATION: In northeastern India, at least 48 people have been killed in flash floods, Al Jazeera reported. Meanwhile, in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, heavy rainfall over the weekend triggered “flash floods and mudslides”, damaging roads and disrupting power supplies to around 5,000 people, reported Reuters.
Trumping at the bit
DRILL, BABY, DRILL: The Trump administration in the US announced plans to eliminate Biden-era protections across millions of acres of the Alaskan Arctic, opening the area up for drilling and mining “in some of the last remaining pristine wilderness in the country”, the New York Times reported. According to US energy secretary, Chris Wright, Trump wants to “double the amount of oil coursing through Alaska’s vast pipeline system” and build a “massive natural gas project as its ‘big beautiful twin’”, reported the Associated Press.
‘GOLD STANDARD’: Elsewhere, more than 6,000 scientists and academics signed an open letter opposing a new push by Trump to impose what he called a restoration of “gold standard science” across federal agencies and national laboratories, reported the the New York Times. It explained: “The executive order puts his political appointees in charge of vetting scientific research and gives them the authority to ‘correct scientific information’, control the way it is communicated to the public and the power to ‘discipline’ anyone who violates the way the administration views science.” Meanwhile, CNN reported that “NASA scientists describe ‘absolute sh*tshow’ at agency as Trump budget seeks to dismantle top US climate lab”.
Around the world
- BIG TECH: Meta signed a 20-year deal with an Illinois nuclear plant for energy to power its AI and data centres, reported the Financial Times.
- BIG SOLAR: Builders will be required to fit solar panels to the “vast majority” of new-build homes in England under changes to be published this year, according to energy secretary Ed Miliband, said BBC News.
- BIG TARGET: The EU’s climate science adviser warned the bloc against watering down climate targets, a day after it was reported that EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra “successfully lobbied Germany’s coalition government to endorse a controversial measure that weakens the EU’s next climate target”, said Politico.
- BIG PROBELÉM: Civil society groups raised the alarm on how the “exorbitant price of accommodation” and “high cost of flights” will undermine Brazil’s civil society participation at COP30 in Belém, reported Dialogue Earth.
$2.2 trillion
How much global investment in clean-energy technologies, including renewables, nuclear and energy storage, is expected in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. This is “twice the amount expected for fossil fuels”, reported Reuters.
Latest climate research
- A study in Communications Earth & Environment warned that the world has “likely” already reached a tipping point in the West Antarctic ice sheet and that its collapse would result in four metres of sea level rise over a timescale that “could be millennia”.
- Nature Communications published research which found that poor air quality in Europe could lead to 282,000 premature deaths a year by 2100 under a low-ambition climate scenario – but drop to 67,000 if ambitious action is taken to cut emissions.
- Climate change-driven atmospheric evaporative demand – sometimes known as “atmospheric thirst” – caused around 40% of increased drought severity globally from 1981-2022, according to new research in Nature.
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
The UK’s sunniest spring generated a record amount of solar power, according to new Carbon Brief analysis. The data revealed that the nation’s solar sites generated a record 7.6 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity from January to May 2025. This is 42% higher than the 5.4TWh generated in the same period last year, as well as marking a much larger 160% increase over the past decade, the analysis said. It added: “The solar electricity generated in 2025 to date has avoided the need to import gas costing around £600m, which would have released 6m tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) when burned.” The Times and BBC News covered the analysis.
Spotlight
Lessons from 20 years of Japanese ‘Cool Biz’
This week, Carbon Brief examines a “casual dress” policy that has been “surprisingly effective” at driving emissions savings in Japan.
For many people, the thought of Japan conjures up images of thronging cities, bright lights and smartly dressed “salary-men” unwinding in an “izakaya” (Japanese pub) after a gruelling day at the office.
Every morning, in cities around Japan, some 38 million office workers put on a uniform of suits and ties and make their way to work.
Come summer, however, and the morning commute adopts a laid-back Friday feel. Men’s suit jackets and neckties are replaced by open collars and short sleeves. Venture to the southern island of Okinawa and you might spot a salary-man in a Hawaiian-style “kariyushi” shirt.
This was not always the case. Twenty years ago this month, then-environment minister Yuriko Koike introduced Japan – and the world – to the term “Cool Biz”.
“Cool Biz” – literally Cool Business – is an enduring campaign aimed at reducing energy consumption from air conditioning in the hot summer months when temperatures routinely exceed 30C.
‘No necktie’
Introduced in 2005, the same year the Kyoto protocol finally “entered into force”, Cool Biz mandated that government office buildings turn down the air conditioning to 28C and encourage employees to cool off by wearing less formal clothing. The campaign was characterised by the pithy slogan: “No jacket, no necktie.”
The impact was near immediate. By official estimates, nearly half a million tonnes of CO2 were saved in the first year of Cool Biz. The following year the savings tripled.
In 2012, the policy was estimated to have saved Japan 2.2 MtCO2 of emissions. (This is equivalent to the emissions of Montenegro that year.)
While temperature regulations were only mandated in government buildings, the impacts of the campaign extended far wider.
Thanks to a widespread publicity campaign – which included a Cool Biz fashion show of Japanese public figures and business leaders – name recognition reached 96% in its first year, according to a survey by the Ministry of Environment.
Uniqlo, Japan’s largest clothes retailer, recorded a 14% sales bump – which it attributed to its range of Cool Biz-appropriate casual workwear. And the Federation of Japanese Necktie Unions petitioned the government, after it forecast a 30% sales slump worth approximately £1bn.
‘Accidental steering’
Twenty years on, working in relaxed attire in summer has become “firmly established in Japanese society”, Atsushi Watabe, programme director of sustainable consumption and production at Japan’s Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, told Carbon Brief.
But research into its popularity revealed that concerns about climate change are unlikely to have played a major role in the uptake.
Surveys with members of the public found that Cool Biz had little or no impact on peoples’ reported environmental awareness or commitment, according to Prof Elizabeth Shove, an emeritus professor of sociology at Lancaster University,
Cool Biz’s actual success was a case of “accidental steering” through a combination of social, material and historical factors, said Shove.
Government officials led by example, she said. Japan’s then prime minister Junchiro Koizumi insisted that Cool Biz be worn for cabinet meetings and appeared in interviews in open-collar shirts.
“If the ministers are wearing a tie, their subordinates would feel uneasy about not wearing it,” prime minister Koizumi said at the time. “So the ministers should not wear a tie.”
Turning down the air conditioning in government buildings, likewise, set a standard for other businesses to follow.
Timing also played a role, according to Watabe. Women working in Japanese offices were some of the earliest to support Cool Biz, having been subjected to cooling conventions adapted for male workers, he said, adding:
“Gradually, men who had always considered wearing suits outside as the norm also accepted the change and began to feel its benefits.”
A key lesson is that the success of Cool Biz came from shifting societal norms rather than targeting the behaviour of individuals, said Shove:
“Norms and values don’t just exist – they come from histories of standards, regulations and building research… [Cool Biz] was surprisingly effective by not changing individual behavior, but by just setting a new standard in the government’s own buildings and in industry.”
Watch, read, listen
DRILLED: A new podcast series explored how ”Greenpeace, which was only tangentially involved in the Standing Rock [oil pipeline] protests, has been slapped with a $666m bill for damages”.
REPUBLICANS ‘SCARED’: The Guardian interviewed former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on a wide range of issues, including his thoughts on why some Republicans are “scared” to speak about the reality of climate change.
SELLING NEGATIVE EMISSIONS: A feature in the Financial Times examined the “battle to create a carbon trading market for negative emissions” in the UK.
Coming up
- 7 June: Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Summit, Nice, France
- 7-8 June: Blue Economy and Finance Forum, Monaco
- 9-13 June: Third UN Ocean Conference, Nice, France
- 11-13 June: Global NDC Conference 2025, Berlin, Germany
Pick of the jobs
- Asia Society Policy Institute, senior programme officer, China climate industrial policy | Salary: $58,500-70,000). Location: Washington DC
- Greenpeace, senior communications advisor | Salary: AUD$116,562.56. Location: Australia
- The Hertie School, research associate or postdoctoral researcher – climate politics | Salary: Unknown. Location: Berlin, Germany
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
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The post DeBriefed 6 June 2025: Nigeria’s deadly flash floods; UK’s record spring drives solar surge; Lessons from Japan’s ‘Cool Biz’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Climate Change
“Sink or swim”: WA Gov hugely underestimating decline in regional gas demand while sleeping on green exports, new report finds
PERTH, Tuesday 13 October 2026 — A new report from Greenpeace Australia Pacific and Springmount Advisory reveals green commodity exports are an untapped economic opportunity for Western Australia in a declining Asian gas market, while offering a genuine solution for decarbonising Asia.
From Gas to Green: Building Western Australia’s Future State is a comprehensive analysis of the declining gas market in Asia, and the untapped economic opportunity for WA to become a global leader in green commodity exports while driving the regional shift away from fossil fuels.
The report offers key recommendations for the WA Government to support regional decarbonisation through an orderly phase out of gas exports in favour of green iron and other green exports. It comes as global climate leaders from across business, politics and advocacy prepare to meet for the Global Citizen Now: Perth event focused on decarbonising WA.
Key findings:
- Gas demand is falling across WA’s core markets in Asia: Gas demand fell in 2025 and is projected to continue to decline, driven by a combination of global geopolitical factors and domestic concerns.
- Policy shifts in key markets since the war on Iran now prioritise renewables and nuclear over gas: Japan, South Korea and China have legislated energy plans that prioritise renewables and nuclear over gas.
- New WA gas would arrive in a saturated, uncertain Asian market filled with cheaper gas: The US is now the world’s largest liquefied gas producer and plans to double its capacity as it also targets Asian markets.
- Green commodities offer a real solution to sustain WA’s economy: WA can lead Australia’s green commodity exports, which by 2060 could be worth almost a trillion dollars.
- Exporting more WA gas is likely to delay or impede Asia decarbonisation: Despite claims by the gas industry, there is no evidence that WA gas is displacing coal in Asia, and in fact diverts resources from genuine decarbonisation options.
Geoff Bice, WA Campaign Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “As our export partners in Asia shift away from expensive and polluting gas, the WA Government has a golden opportunity to pivot our economy to green exports, like green iron, which is the most effective way to help our region to decarbonise.
“The writing is on the wall: gas is in decline, renewables are our future. In this context, it makes zero sense for the government to encourage high risk projects like Woodside’s reckless Browse gas proposal at Scott Reef.
“This report clearly shows that the WA Government faces a choice: sink or swim. They can either allow the gas industry to keep ripping off West Australians and continue propping up its decline, or choose the path that will deliver enormous benefits to the state and the world by becoming a leader in the rapidly expanding green economy.”
Tom Quinn, Managing Director of Springmount Advisory: “Western Australia prospers when it looks to the future and builds for future demand. Twenty years from now, what the world needs is green commodities made using WAs abundant renewable resources. Just like it did with iron ore in the 1950s and gas in the 1970s, WA should look to the future and build what the world will need, not sunsetting industries like gas that are already past their peak.”
-ENDS-
Media contact
Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or lucy.keller@greenpeace.org
A report from Greenpeace Australia Pacific and Springmount Advisory reveals the untapped green economic opportunity for Western Australia in a declining Asian gas market, which also offers a genuine solution for decarbonisation in Asia.
Is Western Australia clinging to a fading gas industry while a thriving green future passes it by? As major Asian trading partners rapidly pivot away from volatile gas imports toward cheap solar and battery storage, this report exposes a high-stakes choice: risk becoming stranded in an oversupplied fossil fuel market, or harness WA’s unmatched sun and wind to lead the global clean energy transition.
Summary
From Gas to Green: Building Western Australia’s Future State reveals that Western Australia (WA) faces a critical juncture as falling Asian gas demand, geopolitical gas supply volatility and accelerating renewable energy deployment undermine the long-term economic viability of gas exports. By harnessing its world-class wind and solar resources, the report demonstrates that WA can execute an orderly phase-out of gas and pioneer a green commodity export economy that could generate $987 billion in economic value by 2060, create 24,000 ongoing jobs, and drive a 9.6% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.
Key Findings
- Gas demand is falling in Asia – WA can no longer rely on gas exports: Gas demand in core Asian markets fell in 2025 and is projected to continue to decline in 2026. Legislated energy plans in Japan, South Korea, and China now prioritise renewables and nuclear over gas.
- Asia is increasing renewables, importing gas just gets in the way: Evidence from markets like Thailand suggests that gas imports are increasingly crowding out cheaper renewable energy investments and battery storage rather than displacing coal, locking in more emissions over time.
- Green commodities offer a real solution to decarbonise Asia – this is a major win for WA: With world-class renewables, WA can lead Australia’s green commodity exports, which by 2060 could be worth almost a trillion dollars ($987 billion) and support a genuine 9.6% reduction in global emissions.
Recommendations to WA government
Recommendation 1: Plan an orderly gas phase-out aligned with a trading partner pivot plan
Implement a managed, orderly phase-out of gas exports aligned with trading partners’ decarbonisation pathways, rather than waiting for demand to collapse, by:
- Developing and implementing a staged phase-out of gas facilities aligned with feedstock supply expiry or typical end of facility lifespans.
- Committing to no new gas development for gas expansion, including Browse and Kimberley fields.
- Developing new, reciprocal trade relationships with existing gas trade partners, structured to progressively replace gas exports with green commodities – integrated with recommendation 2.
Recommendation 2: Develop an integrated green commodity export strategy, positioning WA as a global green iron manufacturing hub
Establish an integrated green commodity export strategy that immediately prioritises green iron development, positioning WA as a global green iron manufacturing hub, by:
- Committing to green commodity export targets to give industry and investors a clear demand signal.
- Prioritising green iron as the lead sector within the broader green commodity strategy, given WA’s iron ore endowment and first-mover potential.
Recommendation 3: Reject false solutions such as carbon dumping (CCS) and blue hydrogen
Reject carbon dumping (also described as carbon capture and storage, or CCS) and blue hydrogen as viable decarbonisation technologies, and prioritise green hydrogen and proven renewables for clean energy and fuel production by:
- Excluding blue hydrogen projects (and CCS-dependent projects) from all government support programs.
- Requiring existing hydrogen-based production (including ammonia, methanol, synthetic fuels) to have clear, near-term transition timelines to switch to green hydrogen production.
What you can do
Together, we can push for a prosperous green future.
You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.
REPORT: “From Gas to Green” Building Western Australia’s Future State