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Attracta Mooney, Financial Times
Global sea temperatures were the second highest on record for the month of April, “stoking concerns among scientists that an El Niño warming cycle is brewing that would intensify extreme weather”, reports the Financial Times. It continues: “The naturally occurring El Niño weather phenomenon, where water temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean become significantly warmer, temporarily accelerates the rise in global air temperature, resulting in the spread of fires, floods and droughts. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported record sea-surface temperatures across much of the tropical Pacific in April, while the global average for non-polar oceans reached 21C – just shy of the 21.04C record set in April 2024 during the last El Niño event.” The newspaper adds that, according to Copernicus, “El Niño conditions [are] now expected in the coming months”. The Boston Globe reports that a “rare ‘monster’ El Niño could emerge this summer”.
MORE ON EXTREME WEATHER
Heated: “As Super El Niño approaches, Trump proposes gutting NOAA.” Bloomberg: “Asia heatwave spells double trouble for economies hit by oil.” Vox: “The exploding costs of US wildfires.” A “quieter” US hurricane season this year could still impact the US power grid, says Bloomberg.
Taylor C Noakes, National Observer
Canada’s National Observer reports that the Trump administration has “forced a Canadian-backed renewable energy company to abandon its landmark wind power project – and is demanding an equivalent investment in US fossil-fuel development if the company wants to recoup $120m in offshore wind leases”. It continues: “The project, Golden State Wind, is a joint venture wind-power project off the coast of California. Reventus Power, a UK-based, wholly owned portfolio company, is the wind-power generation venture of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). As of 2024, the Canada Pension Plan had over CA$1bn invested in wind-power generation through Reventus Power.” The newspaper adds that the US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that Golden State Wind had “voluntarily ended” its offshore wind lease in a statement on 27 April.
MORE ON US
The US defense department is “holding up the development of more than 250 new onshore windfarms on private lands by failing to complete its national security reviews”, an industry group tells the Associated Press. A “tentative state budget deal in New York includes an agreement with lawmakers to soften a landmark climate law that had called for steep and immediate cuts to planet-warming emissions”, says Bloomberg. A pilot scheme in New York City is offering renters battery-powered air conditioning, to help cope with high bills and demands on the grid during heatwaves, says the Associated Press. Bloomberg: “The bust in US home solar has worsened after Trump ends subsidies.”
Yicai
China’s 22 major solar panel manufacturers posted a total loss of 10.5 bn yuan ($1.5bn) in the first quarter of the year, as raw material prices tumbled and demand remained “sluggish”, reports business news outlet Yicai. It says that the revenue of these 22 companies decreased by 11.6% from a year earlier and adds that the impact of efforts to curb excessive production in the solar sector has been “slower than expected”. Meanwhile, industry news outlet BJX News cites data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) saying China’s newly installed solar capacity fell 31% year-on-year to 41.4 gigawatts (GW) in the first quarter, below pace for the forecast of 238-287GW in average annual additions during the 15th five-year plan period. The outlet also says investment in solar projects now faces three major challenges: “profitability pressure” from market-based pricing reforms for renewables; power consumption and grid integration; and “stringent taxation” from local authorities.
MORE ON CHINA
Seven central ecological and environmental inspection teams started another round of inspections in regions including Guangdong and Xinjiang, reports Xinhua. Erik Solheim, former UN under-secretary general, writes in China Daily that China demonstrates “energy production and ecological restoration are not competing”. Peking University’s Wang Xi writes in People’s Daily that more resources should be directed toward “green energy” and “green manufacturing”. China Daily: “Green energy revolution sparked by political will.” Another China Daily article marks the 20th anniversary of China’s renewable energy law entering force. Brazil “reclaimed top spot globally for Chinese investment” in 2025 as China worked to expand its foothold in the Brazilian clean-energy sector, reports Reuters. Bloomberg reports that the Canadian government is “debating how to divide up the new low-tariff quota for Chinese-made electric vehicles”.
Yamini Kalia and Stephanie Kelly, Reuters
Oil major BP is selling its stakes in two flagship UK carbon capture and storage projects in northern England, says Reuters. It continues: “The oil major said it plans to sell a portion of its equity in the Net Zero Teesside (NZT) Power project and the Northern Endurance Partnership project (NEP) in northern England, without disclosing the size of the stakes on offer or potential buyers.” The Guardian says that the news comes as BP “continues to retreat from the green agenda”, adding: “BP’s flagship carbon-capture projects were backed by Bernard Looney, the company’s former chief executive, as ‘the right thing for the world, a tremendous business opportunity’ which would create the nation’s first major carbon-capture project and ‘maybe the world’s first zero-carbon industrial cluster’. His departure almost three years ago has led to a tumultuous period for the 117-year-old company, including a leadership overhaul and a steady dismantling of Looney’s green agenda, which failed to win over BP shareholders.”
MORE ON UK
The Times: “Centrica buys Severn gas power station in south Wales.” More farmers are going organic to “meet consumer demand and protect land”, says the Times. UK drivers could save up to £1,000 a year by switching to an electric car, as the Iran war pushes up petrol prices, says the Independent. The Daily Telegraph covers a government report commissioned in 2024 and published online this March, which it says suggests that home energy efficiency measures “may result in consumers turning up their heating more”.
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