In brief | 9 July '24

Carbon Brief: What record global heat means for breaching the 1.5C warming limit

Recent warming has led to renewed debate around whether the world might pass the 1.5C Paris Agreement limit sooner previously estimated.

Financial Times: Chinese BYD agrees $1bn deal to build electric vehicle plant in Turkey

Second-largest EV maker expands EU production as bloc clamps down on access for China imports.

Carbon Brief: Labour government’s in-tray for climate change, energy and nature

New UK prime minister Keir Starmer ran for office on a manifesto that promised big changes to the country’s climate, energy and nature policies.

Bloomberg: Google is no longer claiming to be carbon neutral

The tech giant, which has seen its planet-warming emissions rise because of artificial intelligence, has stopped buying cheap offsets behind the neutrality claim. The company now aims to reach net-zero carbon by 2030.

Euractiv: Iberian leaders agree to negotiate energy interconnections with France

Portugal and Spain have agreed to participate jointly in meetings with France on energy interconnections, arguing that the issue is a European one and not just one between the Iberian peninsula and France.

Bruegel: The changing dynamics of European electricity markets and the supply-demand mismatch risk

A cost-efficient, managed transition will require European coordination of electricity supply, demand and network investments.

Financial Times: Europe’s battery industry hit by EV slowdown and Chinese competition

Europe’s nascent battery industry is reeling from the global slowdown in electric car sales, forcing companies to cancel or postpone projects that would have powered more than 2mn EVs for a year.

The Telegraph: French energy giant pulls out of race to build Britain’s first mini-nukes

EDF's exit comes after announcing it would halt work on new small modular reactor designs and switch to using existing technologies.

Climate Home News: Lithium tug of war: the US-China rivalry for Argentina’s white gold

As global competition hots up to secure lithium supplies for batteries, China is boosting its investments in Argentina while the US courts President Javier Milei.

Bloomberg: No one knows exactly how many people are dying from extreme heat

Rising temperatures are killing a growing number of people around the world. Academics, doctors and government officials are struggling to keep track.

Ember: Canada pushing ahead with new gas extraction and LNG export terminals despite falling global demand

Strategy comes with risks like volatile energy costs, stranded assets and undermining climate goals, think tank says.