UK Climate News
Political climate policies in the UK
On the 27th June, the fifth anniversary of the UK’s net zero legislative commitment and one week before the UK general election, Mission Zero Coalition published a new report on the UK’s energy transition. It not only assessed what has been delivered and achieved, but also looks forward to the next five years, setting out what needs to happen if we are to keep the UK’s net zero ambitions on track and deliver a net zero grid. It focuses on key pathways for the accelerated deployment of offshore and onshore wind, solar PV and nuclear energy.
Climate change was one of the central focus points of this year’s general election, driven in part by the escalating impacts such as floods and heatwaves experienced by people, as well as the dilutions of crucial Net-Zero policies by the current Conservative Government last year. Additionally on the 22nd June, thousands of people marched through central London calling on all political parties to take action for nature’s recovery.
Apart from Reform, all major political parties continue to back the UK’s net-zero climate goal. Their climate pledges within their manifesto’s are summarised below:
The Labour Party secured a landslide majority in the UK’s 2024 general election, ending 14 years of Conservative leadership. Labour’s climate pledges are detailed below:
Supreme Court ruling against Surrey council threatens new fossil fuel projects
On the 20th June, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the climate impact of burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting permission for oil and gas drilling sites. The ruling was regarding Surrey County Council’s decision to expand a permit for an oil well site at Horse Hill, near Horley, in 2019. By a three-to-two majority, the court found that Surrey County Council’s decision to expand a permit was unlawful. The court said that the local council should have considered the emissions from burning the oil and not just the narrower effects of extracting it. Several similar Supreme Court rulings have been made in recent months in the UK; campaigners and activists hope the trend will continue and UK councils and government will be forced to adequately consider the impacts of climate change in their decisions.
Similarly, on the 20th June, the government of Hawaii settled a lawsuit with a group of young people who had sued the state’s Department of Transportation over its use of fossil fuels. The case was brought in 2022 and organized by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit organization that is pursuing similar cases in other states and federal courts, and Earthjustice, an environmental law firm. The case alleged that, by depending on polluting fuels such as gasoline, the state’s Department of Transportation was violating Hawaii’s Constitution, which guarantees the “right to a clean and healthful environment.” The settlement, which was announced shortly before the case was to have gone to trial, requires the state to make a series of changes to reduce planet-warming emissions. It also recognizes the constitutional rights of young people in the state to a clean and healthy environment.
Just Stop Oil activists take charge with two major protests in June
Protesters from Just Stop Oil sprayed orange powder on part of Stonehenge on the 19th June, leading to confirmed arrest of two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument. The demonstration was condemned by the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader. Just Stop Oil said its motivation was to demand the next UK government to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas, and coal by 2030.
Orange powder was also sprayed over private jets at Stansted airport on the 20th June where, according to them, Taylor Swift’s plane was stationed. This comes after Taylor Swift’s recent criticism from campaigners for her use of private jets – reportedly racking up 178,000 miles on her two planes last year.
Chris Stark to lead Mission Control to deliver clean power by 2030
Chris Stark will lead a new control centre to turbocharge the government’s mission to provide Britain with cheaper and clean power by 2030, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announced on 9th July.
This new Mission Control will be the first of its kind in government, with a relentless focus on accelerating the transition away from volatile fossil fuel markets to clean, homegrown power, to boost Britain’s energy independence and cut bills for the British people.
Mission Control will be a one-stop shop, bringing together a top team of industry experts and officials to troubleshoot, negotiate and clear the way for energy projects.
It will work with key energy companies and organisations including the regulator Ofgem, the National Grid and the Electricity System Operator to remove obstacles and identify and resolve issues as they arise. This will speed up the connection of new power infrastructure to the grid, and cleaner, cheaper power to people’s homes and businesses.
EU Climate News
Green Claims Directive: Council ready to start talks with the European Parliament
The EU Council has adopted its general approach on the Green Claims Directive. The Council decided to enforce a new set of rules considering a recent study discovering more than half of green claims by companies in the EU were vague or misleading, and 40% were completely unsubstantiated. The Directive aims to address greenwashing and help consumers make truly greener decisions when buying a product or using a service.
The proposal includes minimum requirements for businesses to substantiate, communicate and verify their green claims, obligating companies to ensure the reliability of their voluntary environmental claims with independent verification and proven with scientific evidence.
The Directive also targets the proliferation of private environmental labels, requiring them to be reliable, transparent, independently verified and regularly reviewed. Whilst only allowing new labels if developed at the EU level, and approved only if they demonstrate greater environmental ambition than existing label schemes.
The general approach maintains the fundamental principle of the ex-ante verification of explicit environmental claims and environmental labels, as provided for in the Commission proposal. This means that any green claim would have to be verified by third-party independent experts before being published.
Nature restoration law: Council gives final green light
The Council of the EU has formally adopted the Nature Restoration Law on 17th June. Under the law, the EU will implement restoration measures on at least 20% of land and sea by area size this decade. It will then expand restoration to all ecosystems in need of repair up to 2060. A peatland-specific target has been set to revitalise 30% by area size this decade, increasing to 50% by 2050.
Targets cover a range of ecosystems, such as coastal, freshwater, forest, agricultural and urban as well as wetlands, grasslands, forests, rivers and lakes.
EU states have up to 2030 to take measures on habitats deemed in poor condition to restore at least 30%. This rises to 60% by 2040 and “at least” 90% by 2050. Member States have also agreed to reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030.
Other targets include restoring drained peatlands and planting at least three billion additional trees by 2030.
The Law has faced opposition but was passed with a slim majority of 20 countries. These countries accounted for 66% of the EU’s population, surpassing the 65% required for a majority by the European Council.
Global Climate News
High climate hopes for Mexico’s newly elected President
In a landslide victory, Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, became the first woman president, and the first Jewish person, to be elected president of Mexico. Sheinbaum received a doctorate in energy engineering and then spent years at a renowned research lab in California studying Mexican energy consumption patterns and became an expert on climate change. That experience earned her the position of secretary of the environment for Mexico City and then in 2018, she became the first female mayor of Mexico City.
Under past administrations, Mexico has played an important role in global climate negotiations and was one of the first nations to introduce climate change legislation. However, progress recently halted as the most recent government poured money into the state-run fossil fuel sector and dismantled policies to promote renewables. It is hoped that Sheinbaum will continue the work of past administrations, reaffirming Mexico’s status as a climate leader among less wealthy nations.
New Zealand to introduce bill to reverse oil and gas exploration ban
On the 9th of June, New Zealand's government said it would introduce legislation to remove a controversial ban on offshore petroleum exploration to attract investment to the country's oil and gas sector. The bill would end the ban, in place since 2018, on exploration outside onshore Taranaki, an energy-rich region on New Zealand's North Island. The proposal aims to deal with the energy security challenges posed by rapidly declining natural gas reserves. The bill is expected to be introduced to parliament before the end of 2024. The bill will also aim to change the way petroleum exploration licenses are tendered and issues, aiming to improve regulatory efficiency.
New Zealand has pledged to reach Net-Zero emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement. However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published a landmark report in 2021 setting out its scenario for the global energy system to reach net-zero annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050. The report says that in the Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario (NZE), there is “no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply”. It states explicitly: “The trajectory of oil demand in the NZE means that no exploration for new resources is required and, other than fields already approved for development, no new oil fields are necessary”.
Extreme weather conditions across the globe
Mexico recorded its hottest day in history in June when temperatures in the Sonoran Desert hit 51.7C. The country's ongoing heatwave has claimed the lives of at least 125 people this year. Human-caused climate change made this month's killer heatwaves in Mexico, Central American and the US southwest even warmer and 35 times more likely, a new study has found. Existing drought conditions have further aggravated the situation by preventing the dispersion of polluting particles, decreasing water availability, and reducing hydropower generation and electricity supply. Additionally, observations show that 5-day maximum temperatures in May-June recorded this year are expected to occur about every 15 years in today’s warming of 1.2C. However, around the year 2000, when global temperatures were half a degree lower than now, such events were expected to occur only about once every 60 years.
More than half of northwestern India experienced the longest 40C+ spell since 1951 occurring from May 16 to June 17. This heatwave lasted for 33 days and in some areas of the country, water shortages due to extreme demand for supplies caused even more chaos. June ended with 11% deficiency in monsoon rain for the country, 7th lowest rain since 2001.
Wildfires in New Mexico consumed more than 18,000 acres of land, forcing thousands to evacuate. President Biden declared the fires as a major disaster, granting local, tribal and state agencies as well as non-government agencies access to emergency federal funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The declaration also allowed home and business owners who have been affected to access grants and low-cost loans to cover the costs of temporary accommodation and repairs.
Meanwhile, scientists say this year is on track to be the hottest on record after global temperatures “breached the threshold of 1.5C for each of the past 12 months and seas had reached their warmest for 15 months in a row”.
How has Russia’s war with Ukraine accelerated the global climate emergency?
Research has revealed the climate cost of the first two years of Russia’s war on Ukraine was greater than the annual greenhouse gas emissions generated individually by 175 countries. Sources state that “The invasion has generated at least 175 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.”
According to a report by the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War - the Russian Federation faces a $32 billion (£25 billion) climate reparations bill from its first 24 months of war. The UN general assembly has said that Russia should compensate Ukraine for the war.
Russia’s invasion triggered a military spending surge, particularly in Europe, boosting demand for explosives, steel and other carbon-intensive materials.
New research
1. Are aerosols doing more damage than we think?
New research has discovered that aerosols caused by human activities have had a stronger impact on “Arctic amplification” than greenhouse gases. According to studies, over 1955-84, Arctic amplification is more strongly associated with aerosol concentrations due to a greater sensitivity of Arctic Sea ice to aerosols.
2. Can methane removal techniques save us?
A new study suggests that methane removal techniques could be used to avoid overshooting the 1.5C warming limit. Using an adaptive emissions methane removal routine in a simple climate model, the researchers “successfully limit peak warming to 1.5C for overshoots of up to around 0.3C.”
