Climate & Energy · Thursday, 5 November 2026

UN says money to help poorer countries cope with climate harm has stalled at $32bn at most, far short of the $305bn a year needed by 2035

41 stories 48 sources

Signals on this beat

The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing, and the arrow is where it is heading.

A record El Nino High↑

Sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific reached 4C above normal in October, the highest since 1949. [5]
Four California tide gauges set all-time high water records in one week. [6]
Malabar, Florida, took 2 feet of rain in 36 hours. [7]

Climate money falling short High→

Rich countries gave poorer ones at most $32bn in 2024 to adapt. [1]
UNICEF is $5.54 million short for protecting children in Malawi from El Nino. [8]
The fund for harm already done held $342m against requests of $2.8bn. [1]

Power demand outrunning supply High↑

Arizona's biggest utility expects its yearly sales to more than double by 2041, and is keeping a coal plant to help. [9]
Omaha's power company has under 100 megawatts left for new large customers. [10]
Transformers, the big machines every plant needs, are an estimated 15% short this year. [11]

Voters angry at energy costs Building↑

US petrol prices at this week's election were the highest at any such vote. [12]
Colorado voters rejected a right to natural gas in the state constitution. [13]
Michigan voters barred utilities from funding campaigns through political action committees. [14]

Fuel staying scarce High→

Stocks of diesel in some markets are at their lowest seasonal level in 35 years, Adnoc's chief says. [15]
India now buys crude from about 43 countries to get round the Hormuz disruption. [16]
Greenpeace says oil firms made 36 billion euros extra from EU fuel sales. [17]

The stories

41 stories on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

01
UN says money to help poorer countries cope with climate harm has stalled at $32bn at most, far short of the $305bn a year needed by 2035

$32bn of $305bn

given in 2024, against what is needed each year by 2035

the money has been flat or falling since 2022 [1]

16%

less for the poorest countries in 2024 than two years earlier

they need $40bn to $50bn a year [1]

99%

of the 765 million people hit by floods and landslides lived in low- and middle-income countries

from 2020 to 2025 [1]

$2.8bn vs $342m

asked of the loss and damage fund, against what it held

119 countries applied in its first round [1]
What happened
- Rich countries gave poorer ones at most $32bn in 2024 to cope with climate harm, the UN Environment Programme says. [1]
- The 155 developing countries will need $305bn a year by 2035 to adapt. [1]
- The money has been flat or falling since 2022, despite growing harm from extreme weather. [1]
- Adaptation means getting ready for the harm: flood barriers, early warnings, stronger infrastructure, and irrigation that survives drought. [1]
- In 2021 rich countries promised to reach $40bn a year by 2025. [1]
- They are well behind that pace, though development banks may have filled some of the gap last year. [1]
- At last year's climate summit in Belem, Brazil, they agreed to triple the money by 2035. [1]
- That would mean $85bn to $120bn a year, which still meets only 20-29% of the need. [1]
- The least developed countries and small island states need $40bn to $50bn a year, about 3-4% of what they produce. [1]
- That is double the burden on better-off developing countries. [1]
- Yet the least developed countries received 16% less adaptation money in 2024 than two years earlier. [1]
- From 2020 to 2025, floods and landslides hit 765 million people. [1] Low- and middle-income countries held 99% of them. [1]
- The money peaked in 2022 and then fell, partly because many European governments now spend more on defence. [1]
- Major donors are cutting aid budgets, Carbon Brief reports. [2] The Trump administration is also pressing development banks to drop their climate goals. [2]
- A separate fund for harm already done, the loss and damage fund, is already overwhelmed. [1]
- In its first round, 119 developing countries asked for $2.8bn. [1] The fund had $342m. [1]
Given in 2024, at most$32bn
Needed a year by 2035$305bn
The UN's own need figure against the latest year of money sent.
Who is involved

Inger Andersen runs the UN Environment Programme. [1] She said: "Now is the time to honour commitments in full." [1]
- Aid donors cutting budgets
- Development banks pressed by the US
- UN Environment Programme the UN's environment agency; its report put the need at $305bn a year
- Inger Andersen head of that agency; she says a rise past 1.5C is now locked in
- Least developed countries the poorest group of countries; they got 16% less in 2024 than two years before
- European governments among the rich donors; many are moving budget money to defence
How it unfolded
1. 2021 the promise
2. 2021 Rich countries promise $40bn a year by 2025 [1]
3. 2025 At Belem, rich countries agree to triple it by 2035 [1]
4. 2035 the new deadline
5. 9 November the summit opens
6. 20 November the summit is due to end
7. 2022 The money peaks, then falls [1]
8. 2024 At most $32bn flows, the latest figure [1]
9. 9 Nov COP31 opens in Antalya, Turkey [1]
Why it matters

Campaigners want grants or cheap loans, because high-interest loans are hard to repay on sea walls and heat shelters. [1]
The UN report says the cost of debt and investors' returns can more than double what an adaptation project costs. [1]
The poorest countries and small island states are hit hardest, and can least afford sea barriers and firefighting equipment. [1]

How it works

The starting year of such a promise is called its baseline, and the Belem promise to triple has none. [3]
It also never said who pays or which money counts. [3] So countries can still argue over whether the money was tripled at all. [3]

Seen it before

Promising to double your pocket money means little until someone says how much you get now.
The truth
- What is really going on Rich countries promised poorer ones help against climate harm, gave at most $32bn in 2024, and many are now moving budgets to defence. [1]Four days before COP31, nobody has agreed what the promise to triple that money starts from, or who pays. [3]
- Why it works on people A promise to "triple" sounds exact, and it hides that no starting figure was agreed. [3]
- Some harm is never counted, because poorer countries are less likely to track heat deaths or damage to nature. [1]
- The 2025 goal cannot be checked yet, because the latest figures stop at 2024. [1]
- Successful adaptation often leaves no claim or bill showing what it saved, a Nature Communications comment says. [4]
- Who gains Lenders to adaptation projects — When a sea wall is paid for with debt, part of the budget goes to interest and investors' returns rather than to the wall. [1]
- Who pays Small island states and the poorest countries — They have the least money for sea barriers, so they wait, or borrow at rates they struggle to repay. [1]
- Nobody knows yet
  How much money poorer countries will need each year by 2035.
  
  Our $305bn comes from The Guardian's report of the UN study. [1] We could not read the UN report itself, so we have not checked that figure against it.
- Nobody knows yet
  What the promise to triple will come to in dollars.
  
  The Guardian gives $85bn to $120bn a year, and New Scientist says no starting year was agreed. [1] [3]
What comes next

Countries meet at the UN's COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, from 9 to 20 November. [1] They will keep arguing over the promise's details. [3]

02
Democrats gain a way to push US climate spending
What happened
- Democrats won both houses of the US Congress on Tuesday, which gives them control of must-pass funding bills. [18]
- Trump keeps his veto, which can block new laws unless two-thirds of the US Congress overrule it. [19]
- Pingree said: "We can put a lot more teeth into the next appropriations bill." [18]
Who is involved

Chellie Pingree, the lead Democrat on funding for the US environment agency, has a long list of subpoenas ready. [18] Those are legal orders to testify. [18]
- Chellie Pingree House funding committee
How it unfolded

The Trump administration froze billions in climate money, including a $7 billion community solar programme. [18]
Its energy department also halted trial projects for hydrogen in Pennsylvania and low-carbon cement in California. [18]

Why it matters

Funding bills could deny agencies running money unless they pay out the solar and energy funds the US Congress ordered. [18]

How it works

Lawmakers call this the power of the purse: the US Congress can attach conditions to any agency's money. [18]
So the US environment agency could be told to pay out frozen solar money, or lose its running costs. [18]

Seen it before

A parent can say no pocket money until the chores are done.
The truth
- None of this restores any money yet, because Trump must still agree a budget with them to avoid a shutdown. [18]
03
El Nino floods hit Florida and the Four Corners
What happened
- Malabar, Florida, took 2 feet of rain in 36 hours on 1 and 2 November. [7]
- It was a once-in-1,000-year event for the area, meaning a one-in-1,000 chance in any year. [7]
- In Colorado, the San Juan River peaked at 16.81 feet in Pagosa Springs, above 15 feet a week earlier. [7]
- The weekend storm killed at least 4 people across the US Southwest, Grist reports. [20]
- Clovis, New Mexico, has had 28.84 inches of rain since 20 September, against a usual 3.3 inches. [20]
How it unfolded

Sea water off Mexico's Baja California is 11 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average, which feeds the storms moisture. [7]

Why it matters

Even this rain cannot reverse the fall of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the Colorado River's two largest reservoirs. [20]

How it works

Hydrologists call this antecedent moisture: ground already soaked cannot take more, so new rain runs off. [20]
The late October storms soaked the Southwest, so this week's rain ran straight off into rivers already high. [20]

Seen it before

A dry sponge drinks a spill, while a soaked one lets it run across the table.
The truth
- Swain blames a very strong El Nino with a boost from climate change. [7] He gives no split between the two. [7]
What comes next

The flood risk in the US West will shift to California in the coming weeks, climate scientist Daniel Swain says. [7]
04
East Asia's typhoon energy forecast near double normal
What happened
- The typhoon season in South East and East Asia is forecast to carry nearly double its 30-year average energy. [5]
- Storms this year have killed dozens, shut major airports and wiped out crops, the BBC reports. [5]
- In October, sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific reached 4C above normal, the highest since records began in 1949. [5]
- The old record was 3.6C, in December 1997. [5]
- El Nino makes typhoons form further east, so they stay longer over warm water and grow stronger. [5]
- Those storms included Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in 2013. [5]
Who is involved

Rafaela Jane Delfino, a climatologist in Manila, simulated past storms in warmer conditions and found 26% more total rain. [5]
Why it matters

Japan has told people to stockpile food, and China is upgrading its warning systems. [5]
The Philippines and its neighbours are preparing for lost rice harvests, and are giving farmers extra fertiliser. [5]

How it works

Meteorologists use Accumulated Cyclone Energy: a single figure for the total intensity of a season's storms. [5]
Typhoons staying longer over warm water build more of that energy, which is why this year's forecast is so high. [5]

Seen it before

A player's points over a whole season tell you more than one big game.
The truth
- Filipinos have protested that corruption is eating money meant for flood-control projects. [5]

05
UNICEF short of $5.54 million for Malawi's El Nino
What happened
- UNICEF, the UN's children's agency, says it is $5.54 million short for protecting Malawi's children from El Nino. [8]
- It needs $7.61 million in all. [8]
- 2.6 million people in Malawi already face crisis levels of hunger, and cholera could return. [8]
- Forecasters expect erratic rains, long dry spells and local floods there from October to March. [8]
- Malawi's government plan aims to reach 958,172 people in 9 high-risk districts. [8]
- Some supplies are already in warehouses in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Bangula. [8]
Why it matters

Children and women are hit hardest, through malnutrition, unsafe water and lost schooling, UNICEF says. [8]
How it works

Aid workers call this anticipatory action: spending before a disaster peaks, while roads still work. [8]
The crisis can be seen coming, so UNICEF can treat children before the roads are cut. [8] It says each $1 spent on reducing risk saves up to $15 in recovery. [8]

Seen it before

Buying an umbrella before the rain costs less than drying everything after.
Why a solar farm can borrow and a sea wall cannot

In project finance, a loan is repaid from what a project earns, so a solar farm with buyers gets lenders and a sea wall, which sells nothing, does not.

The twist

A sea wall can save a town far more than it costs and still be hard to borrow for, because the saving stays with the town and no money comes back to the lender.

The picture

Solar farmsells power
Sea wallsells nothing
Both can be worth building. A lender can only be repaid from the one that brings in money.
Step by step
1. A lender first asks where the repayment will come from
2. In project finance, the loan is repaid from what the project earns
3. A wind or solar farm sells power under contract, so its income can be counted years ahead
4. A sea wall sells nothing: it stops a loss, and no buyer pays it for that
5. With no income to lend against, the wall needs a grant, a cheap loan or a tax
6. So loans go first to what has something to sell, even where a wall is needed more
The same force, elsewhere today

Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.
- Orsted's Revolution Wind
  
  It began full service under contracts with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and a contract with a named buyer is the income a lender counts on.
- Lenders offer extra for an Abu Dhabi chemicals port
  
  Ta'ziz drew more offers than it needed for a terminal and an ammonia plant, both of which will have products to store and sell.
- UNICEF short of $5.54 million for Malawi's El Nino
  
  Treating hungry children and keeping water safe brings in no income to repay a loan, so UNICEF has to ask donors to give the money.
- Puerto Rico's grid leans on home batteries for 18 days
  
  The grid pays for each release of power, so the company running the batteries earns steady income from equipment that protects homes.
Where you've seen this

Roads

A toll road can borrow against its tolls, while a free road waits for tax money.

Schools

A college charging fees can borrow against them, while a free village school needs a government budget.

Street lights

Nobody pays each time they walk home safely, so a town has to pay for the lights itself.

The catch

This is not a fixed law: a fee on the homes behind a wall can repay a loan, but the poorest towns have the least to charge.

And the whole of it

The lender who says no is doing the job properly, because no money would come back. A family in a flood zone sees only that no wall was built, and neither of them sees what the other sees.
The truth
- The 6 million figure is for a severe drought, one scenario UNICEF set out, not a forecast. [8]
- Who pays Children in Malawi's nine high-risk districts — Without the missing money, screening and safe water may not reach them before the roads are cut. [8]
What comes next

Under a severe drought, up to 6 million more people could need help by the 2028 hungry season. [8]

06
The polar vortex falters unusually early
What happened
- The Arctic polar vortex, a spinning mass of air far above the North Pole, is breaking down unusually early. [21]
- Experts say it may be the earliest such break-down on record. [21]
- The earliest one recorded until now was on 28 November 1968. [21]
- The vortex normally peaks in December and January, and usually breaks down deep in winter. [21]
- Its tight spin keeps cold air over the pole. [21] When disturbed, it can push cold air to North America and Europe. [21]
Who is involved

Judah Cohen, a climatologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says it could still prove minor or major. [21]
- Judah Cohen climatologist
How it unfolded
1. 28 November 1968 the earliest on record
2. This November it is happening again
Why it matters

Forecasters expected a mild North American winter because of El Nino, and a split could bring cooler weeks instead. [21]

How it works

Meteorologists call a big disruption a sudden stratospheric warming: waves knock the vortex until it drifts or splits. [21]
Its wobble shifts the polar jet stream, the band of wind that steers our weather, and so moves the cold. [21]

Seen it before

A spinning top stays tight and upright, until a nudge makes it wobble and wander.
The truth
- Nobody knows yet
  Where and when any cold from the polar vortex will arrive, or whether it will arrive at all.
  
  Forecasters say the break-down looks likely, and where everything sets up is still in question. [21]
07
COP31 wants more of the world on electricity
What happened
- COP31's organisers want countries to raise electricity's share of energy use to 35% by 2035, from about 20%. [22]
- So far the goal is voluntary. [22] Bowen wants it in a decision signed by every country. [22]
- Dear oil and gas from wars push importing countries, home to three-quarters of people, to cut fuel use. [22]
- Falling prices for solar panels and batteries have sped up the move to electric cars and heat pumps. [22]
Who is involved

Their lead negotiator is Chris Bowen, Australia's climate and energy minister. [22]
COP31 is the UN climate summit opening in Antalya, Turkey, on 9 November. [22]
- Chris Bowen lead negotiator
How it unfolded

Last year's summit in Brazil could not agree new commitments on moving away from fossil fuels. [3]

Why it matters

Countries that switch to electric cars and heat pumps buy less from oil and gas exporters. [22]

How it works

Diplomats call it consensus: a COP decision needs every country's agreement. [3] So one objector could block Bowen's 35% goal. [3]

Seen it before

A group that must all agree on a film often ends up with the one nobody minds.
The truth
- New Scientist expects little from Antalya, with no big declaration or new treaty planned. [3]
- Nobody knows yet
  Where electricity's share of the world's energy stands today.
  
  Bloomberg says about 20%, and New Scientist says about 23%, against the same 35% goal. [22] [3] Neither article says how it counts.
08
Brazil's forest roadmap makes no new promises
What happened
- Brazil, which led last year's climate summit, published its roadmap to end deforestation on 3 November. [23]
- It came less than a week before COP31 begins. [23]
- The roadmap offers countries 18 policies and a five-step process for national forest plans. [23]
- Only 18 countries, and 4 groups of countries, sent in ideas for it. [23]
How it unfolded

In 2021, more than 140 countries pledged to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. [23]
At COP30, 93 countries backed this roadmap, short of the 196 needed for a formal decision. [23]
1. 2021 140 countries pledge
2. 2030 the date they set
Why it matters

It hands the 93 backers a guide for their own plans, and nothing forces them to use it. [23]

How it works

Lawyers call this soft law, because it binds nobody: the roadmap makes no new commitments. [23] It also sits outside the official COP outcomes. [23]

Seen it before

A coach's training plan only helps the players who choose to follow it.
The truth
- India objected to voluntary roadmaps in the formal COP30 outcome, then its minister welcomed this one. [23] Russia, home to the largest northern forests, does not support one. [23]
Good news
- Brazil's deforestation rate has fallen to its lowest on record, down more than 70% since 2022, COP30's president said. [23]
09
Orsted's Revolution Wind starts full service
What happened
- Revolution Wind, a 704-megawatt wind farm off the US north-east coast, began full commercial operation in October. [24]
- It sells its power under contracts with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island. [24]
- Its shares jumped almost 10% after this week's Democratic win, then closed almost 5% higher. [25]
- Orsted said on Thursday that core earnings rose 19% in nine months, to 20.2 billion Danish kroner. [24]
Who is involved

Orsted, the Danish company that built it, is the world's largest offshore wind developer. [25]
How it unfolded

The Trump administration issued several stop-orders against the project. [25]
Orsted has lost more than 70% of its market value since Trump returned to office in 2025. [25]

Why it matters

A Democratic House could block further repeal of wind and solar tax credits, a Rystad Energy economist says. [25]
Barclays analysts say calmer politics could make new US renewable projects cheaper to finance. [25]

How it works

Bankers call this a risk premium: lenders charge more when a government might stop a project. [25]
Stop-orders made US wind look risky, so its money cost more. [25] If that risk falls, so can the charge. [25]

Seen it before

A shop gives credit more cheaply to a customer who always pays on time.

It began full service under contracts with utilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and a contract with a named buyer is the income a lender counts on.
The idea, in story 05: Why a solar farm can borrow and a sea wall cannot →
The truth
- The 19% leaves out new partnerships and cancellation fees. [24] Nine-month profit fell to 2.6 billion kroner, from 6.5 billion. [24]
- Orsted says that fall came mainly from cutting the value of its US projects as interest rates rose. [24]
- Who gains Wind and solar developers in the US — Lenders may charge them less if a Democratic Congress makes sudden stop-orders less likely, Barclays analysts say. [25]
10
Arizona's biggest utility may keep coal until 2038
What happened
- Arizona Public Service, the state's largest electric utility, plans to keep its Four Corners coal plant open up to 2038. [9]
- It had planned to close the plant in 2031. [9]
- The utility expects yearly sales to reach about 80,600 gigawatt-hours in 2041, up from about 34,200 in 2025. [9]
- Peak demand would pass 14.5 gigawatts in 2041, against a record of about 9.2 gigawatts set in August. [9]
- Big factories and data centres drive the growth. [9]
- It will add 2,000 megawatts of solar and 2,500 of batteries by 2029, plus 4,000 of gas through 2036. [9]
How it unfolded
1. 2031 the old closing date
2. 2038 the new latest date
Why it matters

APS says big users that never arrive are a risk, so it makes them sign minimum terms and exit fees. [9]

How it works

Planners call this a load forecast: a bet on future demand, here that big users will double APS's sales. [9]
APS's forecast has peak demand growing 3.4% a year, so it counts on the coal plant for longer. [9]

Seen it before

A baker who expects a busy year keeps the old oven instead of scrapping it.
The truth
- APS says keeping the plant could save customers close to $1 billion. [9] The Sierra Club, an environmental group, says it is protecting profits instead. [9]
- Nobody knows yet
  When the Four Corners coal plant will really close.
  
  APS says it will choose between 2031 and 2038, depending on what customers need. [9]
What comes next

State regulators, the Arizona Corporation Commission, will now consider the plan. [9]
11
US ban on foreign grid parts worries its industry
What happened
- A Trump order lets the US energy secretary block foreign-made grid equipment judged a security risk. [11]
- It can also force the removal of equipment already installed. [11]
- The order centres on big transmission equipment of 69 kilovolts and above. [11]
- Transformers are already 15% short this year and substations 8%, Wood Mackenzie, an energy analyst, estimates. [11]
- Utilities are projected to spend over a trillion dollars on grid upgrades through 2030. [11]
Who is involved

Executive Order 14421 was issued on 26 August, and the secretary is Chris Wright. [11]
- Chris Wright US energy secretary
Why it matters

Alice Wu of RMI, a clean energy group, asks what removing equipment would cost people on their bills. [11]

How it works

Security engineers call this function over origin: what a machine can do matters more than where it was built. [11]
Most replies that took a side told the US government this, since a flaw can be exploited by anyone, anywhere. [11]

Seen it before

A front door lock is judged by how well it holds, not by where it was made.
The truth
- Wood Mackenzie counts over $22 billion of grid imports since 2025. [11] RMI and BloombergNEF put 2025 alone at over $30 billion, with China just $3.5 billion. [11]
- Who pays US utility customers — If foreign grid equipment has to be ripped out and replaced, RMI asks whether that cost lands on their bills. [11]
What comes next

His department has until 24 December to publish the rules. [11]
12
Greenpeace counts 36 billion euros of extra EU fuel profit
What happened
- Oil companies earned 36 billion euros more from EU diesel and petrol than before the war, Greenpeace estimates. [17]
- That is 154.4 million euros a day, from 1 March to 19 October. [17]
- Germany's share was just under 6.7 billion euros, and France's 5.7 billion. [17]
- EU energy ministers discussed cutting bills on 29 October, but reached no decision on a tax. [17]
- BP's third-quarter profit hit $8.46 billion, its highest since 2008. [17]
- In EU countries with capped pump prices, diesel before tax rose 0.38 euros a litre, against 0.57 euros elsewhere. [17]
Why it matters

Europe buys almost all its oil and gas abroad, and road transport still runs on petrol and diesel. [17]

How it works

Refiners call it the crack spread: the gap between crude's price and the fuel made from it. [17]
It has tripled in Europe since the Hormuz crisis began, because there is too little refining capacity. [17]

Seen it before

When the only bakery in town runs short, bread's price rises faster than flour's.
The truth
- Oil firms reject the charge, saying they only pass on dearer crude. [17] Noah Gordon of a European think tank says that is part of it, and margins rose too. [17]
- Who pays Drivers across the EU — Before tax, diesel at the pump rose more than crude did, and Greenpeace says that gap went to oil companies. [17]
- Nobody knows yet
  Whether the Greenpeace figure for oil company profits is right.
  
  It comes from a campaign group's report, and the oil industry rejects the charge. [17]
13
OMV's boss says fuel stays tight as crude falls
What happened
- Emma Delaney, the new head of Austria's OMV, says low fuel stocks will keep refining markets tight. [15]
- OMV's European refining margin, what it earns per barrel refined, more than tripled to $37.50. [15]
- Its quarterly operating result rose 68% to 2.1 billion euros, its strongest since 2022. [15]
- The IEA, the West's energy watchdog, says world oil stocks fell 509 million barrels from February to September. [15]
- Adnoc's chief says diesel stocks in some markets are at their lowest seasonal level in 35 years. [15]
- Crude itself fell to $94.10 a barrel on Thursday, after a three-day drop of about 19%. [26]
Who is involved
- Emma Delaney head of OMV
Why it matters

Delaney said the disruption will take time to work through the market. [15]

How it works

Traders call this a tight market: with stocks low, a small supply gap moves prices a lot. [15]
OMV's three refineries ran at 92% of capacity, so it could sell into those prices. [15]

Seen it before

When a shop has almost no stock left, one late lorry empties the shelves.
The truth
- Delaney's company gains from this tightness, so her view comes from a seller. [15]
- Who gains Refiners such as OMV — Low stocks let them charge far more for diesel than crude costs, and OMV's refineries were running to sell into that. [15]
14
India now buys crude from 43 countries
What happened
- India buys crude from about 43 countries since the Hormuz disruption, says Neeraj Mittal, its top petroleum ministry official. [16]
- It relies on imports for over 90% of its crude. [16]
- The UAE now supplies about 15% of its crude and 25% of its cooking gas. [16]
- US supplies of imported cooking gas rose to 67% of the total, from 10% at the start of the year. [16]
- India launched a $9 billion deep-water oil search in July. [16]
- Mittal says prices rose only 7%, with no shortages and no rationing. [16]
Why it matters

Mittal says other countries have cut their use because of price, while Indian demand is still growing. [16]

How it works

Energy analysts call this diversifying supply: buying from many sellers, so one closed sea route cannot stop everything. [16]
When Hormuz shut, India turned to sellers as far off as Venezuela and the US. [16]

Seen it before

A family that shops at several markets still eats when one closes.
The truth
- Mittal's claim that India's rise is perhaps unique is his own, and we could not check it. [16]
15
California's sea hits records at 4 sites
What happened
- Four California tide gauges set all-time high water records between 24 and 30 October, NOAA, the US ocean agency, says. [6]
- San Diego reached 2.80 feet above the usual highest tide. [6] Los Angeles reached 2.70 feet. [6]
- La Jolla and Santa Barbara each reached 2.65 feet, in records going back more than 100 years. [6]
- The water flooded roads, homes and businesses. [6]
- Three things stacked up: a very high tide, slow ocean waves from El Nino, and a marine heatwave. [6]
How it unfolded
1. 22 to 27 November high tides
2. 22 to 26 December high tides
Why it matters

Low-lying parts of the California coast could flood again before the year ends. [6]

How it works

Oceanographers call this thermal expansion: warm water takes up more space, so the marine heatwave lifted the sea. [6]
Kelvin waves, slow pulses of warm water from El Nino, added 6 to 12 inches on top. [6]

Seen it before

Soup warmed in a full pan rises up the side and can spill over.

What comes next

NOAA expects more high tides on 22 to 27 November and 22 to 26 December. [6]
16
The same rain now falls in fewer hours
What happened
- About half the world's yearly rain falls in about 9 storms, delivered over a total of about 28 days. [27]
- A study found those storms have shortened by about 86 minutes a decade since 1980. [27]
- That cuts the time to deliver half the year's rain by just over 9.5 hours. [27]
- Europe and South America changed most, with the wettest storms shortening by up to 144 minutes a decade. [27]
- The findings are published in Earth's Future, a science journal. [27]
Who is involved

Chiyuan Miao and colleagues at Beijing Normal University used more than 19,000 rain gauges, from 1980 to 2022. [27]
- Chiyuan Miao Beijing Normal University
Why it matters

The change reaches flash floods, water supply, farm output, soil loss and wildfire risk, and varies by region. [27]

How it works

Hydrologists call this rising rainfall intensity: the same rain in fewer hours means more in each hour. [27]

Seen it before

A bucket poured slowly soaks a plant pot, while the same bucket poured at once runs over the top.
The truth
- The Guardian's report of the study does not say how much of the change warming caused. [27]
17
CO2 seeps faster from Antarctic ground
What happened
- CO2 seeping from frozen ground in Antarctica's Taylor Valley rose five-and-a-half times between 2020 and 2025. [28]
- The rate went from about 1.7 grams per square metre a day to 9.5 grams. [28]
- That rate roughly matches what Arctic soils give off in summer. [28]
- Scaled to all Antarctica's ice-free land, it could reach 76.8 million tonnes of CO2 a year. [28]
- Chile emitted 78.7 million tonnes in 2024. [28]
Who is involved

Livio Ruggiero of Italy's National Research Council led 3 field trips, driving canisters into the soil. [28]
- Livio Ruggiero National Research Council, Italy
Why it matters

Climate scientists may need to add this to the southern hemisphere's carbon budget, the team argues. [28]

How it works

Climate scientists keep a carbon budget: a count of every source and store of carbon. [28]
A source nobody counted leaves the count short, so this gas would have to go in. [28]

Seen it before

A forgotten monthly payment leaves your budget wrong, even if every other line is right.
The truth
- The 76.8 million is not a proper inventory, New Scientist says. [28] The team's explanation, salty water rising from under the ice, is untested. [28]
- Nobody knows yet
  What is driving the rise in CO2 from Antarctic soil.
  
  An outside permafrost expert says the leak does not look driven by thaw, and that the cause is unclear. [28]
18
Recent record heat is small beside what could come
What happened
- Record-breaking heatwaves of recent years are "no match" for those possible later this century, a study in Nature Communications finds. [29]
- Under high emissions, many regions would get heatwaves with several times more total heat. [29]
- Those heatwaves would also last many times longer, up to several months. [29]
- For several past heatwaves, this holds even under low and medium emissions. [29]
- If countries skip their Paris plans, many heatwaves in most regions would break every past measure at once. [29]
Who is involved

Philipp Aglas-Leitner of the Free University of Berlin is the first author, working with colleagues in Australia and Germany. [29]
- Philipp Aglas-Leitner Free University of Berlin
Why it matters

Many of these future heatwaves lie well outside what people have lived through, which matters for how places prepare. [29]

How it works

Climate scientists call these emissions scenarios: model runs under different amounts of future pollution. [29]
The gap between runs shows how much of the future heat depends on what countries burn. [29]

Seen it before

Driving faster or slower on one road gives different arrival times, and neither is a promise.
The truth
- These are model projections, not forecasts of any given year. [29]
19
Warmer UK seas could split the food chain
What happened
- Warming could raise fish and seabed animal variety around the UK by about 12% by 2050, a study says. [30]
- Over the same time, phytoplankton could lose about 3% of its variety and zooplankton about 7%. [30]
- The sea around Britain is among 20 hotspots that warmed fastest over 50 years. [30]
- The projections assume 3C of warming by 2100. [30]
Who is involved

Those are tiny drifting plants and animals, the food at the bottom of the sea's chain. [30]
The study, in Science Advances, was led by Cefas, a British government science agency. [30]
Why it matters

Earlier work suggests anchovies and sea bass may gain, while cod, haddock and coley lose out. [30]

How it works

Ecologists call this a food web: who eats whom. [30] If predators grow more varied while prey thins out, the chain can break. [30]

Seen it before

A party with more guests and fewer sandwiches soon runs short.
The truth
- These are machine-learning projections under one warming path, so the numbers could shift. [30]
What comes next

The work has gone to the UK government's review of protected sea areas. [30]
20
Pakistan's Swat basin could warm by over 5C
What happened
- The Swat basin in northern Pakistan is expected to warm by more than 5C by the end of the century. [31]
- Summer rain could more than double under some climate scenarios, while winter rain would change little. [31]
- The basin holds more than 10,000 glaciers. [31]
- The study warns of worse floods, erosion, farm losses and failing infrastructure. [31]
- It is one of 4 basins studied across Central and West Asia. [31]
Who is involved

The warning comes from a study by the Green Climate Fund, with support from the Asian Development Bank. [31]
- Green Climate Fund
- Asian Development Bank
Why it matters

People and farms below the glaciers would get more water for a while, then less. [31]

How it works

Hydrologists call this peak water: melting ice first swells the rivers, then the flow drops as the glaciers shrink. [31]
So the study expects Swat to have a short water surplus, followed by a long shortage. [31]

Seen it before

Spending your savings feels like extra income, until the account runs low.
21
Bhutan's burst lake lost 73% of its area
What happened
- A glacial lake in Bhutan shrank by 73% when it burst on 29 October, satellite images show. [32]
- Sintaphu Tsho fell from 24.13 hectares to 6.54 hectares. [32]
- A second lake on the glacier beside it fell 24% to 12.47 hectares. [32]
- The flood destroyed facilities at Gasa Tshachu, a popular hot spring. [32]
- It also set off flash flood warnings in India's West Bengal and Assam. [32]
Who is involved

Suhora Technologies, an Indian satellite data company, made the assessment. [32]
How it unfolded

That second lake had grown 188% over the 10 years before the flood. [32]

Why it matters

The second lake is still more than twice its 2016 size, so a lot of water remains above the valley. [32]

How it works

Glaciologists call this a glacial lake outburst flood: a lake fed by melting ice breaks out all at once. [32]
Sintaphu Tsho had grown only 3.4% in 10 years, so its size alone gave no warning. [32]

Seen it before

A balloon looks fine right up until it bursts.
The truth
- The figures come from a private firm that sells satellite data, and no Bhutan agency is quoted confirming them. [32]
22
Delhi's air turns 'very poor' before Diwali
What happened
- Delhi's air quality index reached 377 on Wednesday morning, in the "very poor" band of 301 to 400. [33]
- Smoke from burning fields in Punjab and Haryana, cold air and still winds drove the rise. [33]
- Authorities added Metro trains, raised parking charges and staggered government office hours. [33]
Who is involved

The index measures 8 pollutants, including tiny particles that reach deep into the lungs. [33]
How it unfolded

October had been Delhi's cleanest in 8 years. [33]

Why it matters

Children and older people are most at risk from air like this. [33]

How it works

Regulators call this a graded response: emergency rules tighten step by step as pollution rises. [33]
A forecast of very poor air triggered Delhi's Stage II, which adds road cleaning and dearer parking. [33]

Seen it before

A school moves from a warning to detention to calling parents as behaviour gets worse.
The truth
- Delhi has banned firecrackers before, and enforcing the bans has proved difficult, with toxic haze again last year. [33]
What comes next

India's Supreme Court allowed certified "green" firecrackers on 7 and 8 November, only in set hours. [33]
23
War may have dirtied Asian air, a study cannot prove it
What happened
- A new paper asks whether the Middle East war has dirtied the air over India and China. [34]
- India gets about 45% of its imported crude from the Middle East, and China about 54%. [34]
- Coal supplies about 57.5% of India's energy and about 54.79% of China's, the paper says. [34]
- Satellites saw more sulphur dioxide, a gas from burning coal, during the war than in a period without it. [34]
- Sulphate, made from that gas, is about 48% of the fine particles over India and 42% over China. [34]
- The paper is in npj Clean Air, a Nature journal. [34]
Why it matters

If fuel shortages push power plants back to coal, people nearby could breathe the cost, the paper suggests. [34]

How it works

Scientists separate a plausible path from proof of a cause. [34] Here the gas rose, but nobody counted whether coal burning rose too. [34]

Seen it before

Your shoes are muddy and it rained, but that does not prove you walked in the rain.
The truth
- Nobody knows yet
  Whether the sulphur dioxide over India and China came from the war.
  
  The authors say it cannot be pinned on coal or on the war, because nobody measured coal burning over the same months. [34]
24
Democrats win state power over energy
What happened
- Democrats will hold the governor's office and both state houses in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and likely Arizona. [14]
- Such control is called a trifecta. [14] Pennsylvania has not had a Democratic one in more than 30 years. [14]
- Democrats in Pennsylvania's state house want to make community solar and battery storage easier to build. [18]
- They also want to stop local governments banning renewable energy. [18]
- In Texas, Democrat Jon Rosenthal beat Bo French for a seat on the all-Republican Railroad Commission. [14]
- Texas supplies over 40 percent of US oil and gas, and voters there also elected a Democratic senator. [18]
Who is involved

Despite its name, that commission oversees Texas's oil and gas industry. [14]
- Jon Rosenthal won
- Bo French lost
Why it matters

New onshore wind, solar and battery projects are usually decided by states, an Atlantic Council energy expert says. [25]

How it works

Federalism means US states hold powers of their own, so they can back renewables while Trump opposes them. [25]

Seen it before

A school can set its own phone rules, whatever a minister says about phones.
The truth
- Utility regulator races in Arizona and Montana had still not been called by Wednesday afternoon. [14]
25
Voters reject a right to natural gas
What happened
- Colorado voters rejected a change to the state constitution creating a right to produce and use natural gas. [13]
- In California, voters turned down a measure to shorten environmental reviews and limit legal challenges. [13]
- In Eugene, Oregon, voters approved a clean energy fund paid for by a tax on large companies. [13]
- Michigan voters barred utilities from sidestepping campaign-finance rules by giving to political action committees, which fund election campaigns. [14]
- Ann Arbor, Michigan, voted against a board that could have led to a public takeover of its DTE Energy grid. [14]
How it unfolded

It answered cities trying to block gas lines in new buildings, and state moves to cut gas emissions. [13]

Why it matters

A right in a state constitution would have given utilities legal power to challenge environmental rules, opponents said. [13]

How it works

In constitutional law, a constitution outranks ordinary law, so a right to gas could have overridden city gas rules. [13]

Seen it before

A school can ban phones in class, but a country's law can overrule the school.
The truth
- Yale's environment digest reports California's measure as defeated. [13] Canary Media said early results only pointed that way. [14]
26
Fuel prices and lost seats, 50 years on
What happened
- US petrol prices at this week's midterm elections were the highest at any such vote, The Conversation reports. [12]
- Brenda Shaffer of the Atlantic Council, a think tank, called it "unquestioningly an energy election". [25]
- This year Maine voters worried about heating bills, and Florida voters about home insurance, Scientific American reports. [18]
- The fuel price rise from the Iran war was perhaps the most consequential issue, Scientific American says. [18]
Who is involved
- Maine heating bills
- Florida home insurance
How it unfolded

In 1974, after an Arab oil embargo took crude from $4.31 to $10.31, President Ford's party lost 48 House seats. [12]
In 1978, with inflation at 9%, President Carter's Democrats lost 15 House seats. [12]

Why it matters

The cost of energy runs through much of the economy, so it reaches voters quickly. [12]

How it works

Political scientists call this retrospective voting: judging those in power by recent pain, here at the petrol pump. [12]
Voters notice those price changes, and those in power become less likely to win again. [12]

Seen it before

A coach gets the blame for a bad run, even when the best players are injured.
The truth
- A US president or Congress has little control over petrol prices. [12] In 2022, after record petrol prices, Democrats lost just 9 House seats. [12]
27
COP31's host leans on coal as well as sun
What happened
- Turkey, which hosts COP31, is showing off Karapinar, one of Europe's largest solar farms. [35]
- Karapinar has more than 3 million panels, on land the size of 2,600 football pitches. [35]
- It supplies about 0.7% of Turkey's power demand, the plant director says. [35]
- He says it avoids about 1.75 million tonnes of carbon a year. [35] Turkey emitted 584.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas in 2024. [35]
- Coal was Turkey's largest source of electricity last year, at 33%. [35] Solar and wind together made nearly 23%. [35]
Why it matters

Campaigners say Turkey's clean energy push sits badly with its reliance on coal. [35]

How it works

Energy analysts read a country's energy mix, and Turkey's still has coal at 33%, ahead of solar and wind. [35] One solar farm, however huge, moves it little. [35]

Seen it before

One healthy salad does not change a week of chips.
The truth
- The plant's carbon figure comes from its own director. [35] Campaigners say Turkey has no concrete plan to leave fossil fuels. [35]
28
US lawmakers go to COP31 without a seat
What happened
- A group of 19 US lawmakers will travel to COP31, Representative Sean Casten said on Wednesday. [36]
- The US is not in the talks, because Trump took it out of the Paris Agreement a second time. [36]
- US state and city leaders are also going, under a coalition called America is All In. [36]
- Casten said they would tell the world that "America has spoken". [36]
Who is involved

The trip is led by the SEEC Institute, a think tank, and will meet officials and businesses. [36]
Why it matters

Casten says it would be naive to forget that the US failed to ratify Kyoto and left Paris twice. [36]

How it works

Diplomats call this parliamentary diplomacy: lawmakers meet foreign officials while their own government stays out of the talks. [36]
These 19 cannot sign anything at Antalya, but they can show other delegations what the election changed. [36]

Seen it before

A parent says the family is not coming, and a cousin turns up anyway to say hello.
The truth
- Trump can still veto new climate laws, so how much Democrats can deliver is an open question. [36]
29
Ten years of Paris: less warming ahead, more carbon now
What happened
- The Paris Agreement, the world's main climate treaty, came into force 10 years ago this week, on 4 November 2016. [37]
- Global emissions are now 9% higher than in 2016. [37]
- In 2015 the world was on course for about 3.6C of warming by 2100. [37] Climate Action Tracker now says about 2.6C. [37]
- Progress has stalled since 2021, and policies still point well past the treaty's goal. [37]
- The years 2023 to 2025 were the hottest on record, the first three averaging over 1.5C of warming. [37]
- China, the US and India now produce more than half of yearly emissions. [37]
- The US left the treaty again this January. [37] 194 parties remain. [37]
Why it matters

Every extra fraction of a degree brings more deadly floods, heatwaves and wildfires, the UN's environment chief says. [37]

How it works

Diplomats call it pledge and review: each country sets its own target, and public reporting supplies the pressure. [37]
No country can be forced to meet its target, so the treaty works only through that pressure. [37]

Seen it before

Telling friends your running goal adds pressure, though nobody fines you for skipping a run.
The truth
- Nobody knows yet
  How much warming the world is heading for.
  
  Al Jazeera cites Climate Action Tracker at about 2.6C by 2100, and New Scientist says 2.8C. [37] [3] Neither article explains the gap.
Good news
- In 2015 the world was on course for about 3.6C of warming by 2100. Climate Action Tracker now puts it at about 2.6C.
30
Omaha's power company runs short for new customers
What happened
- Omaha Public Power District projects it has under 100 megawatts to offer new large customers for the next few years. [10]
- A large data centre alone could need as much as 1,000 megawatts. [10]
- Its boss Javier Fernandez says anything needing 2 megawatts or more may have to wait. [10]
- Projects totalling nearly 2,000 megawatts are in its queue through 2031, and about 5,000 more are looking at the area. [10]
- Fernandez told Grist: "Literally, no one has excess capacity." [10]
Who is involved

It serves about 419,000 customers across eastern Nebraska. [10]
- Javier Fernandez head of the utility
How it unfolded

Winter Storm Uri forced rolling blackouts there in 2021, and the regional grid then required more spare power. [10]

Why it matters

Nebraska expects a $208 million budget gap next year, and leaders fear losing jobs and tax money to power limits. [10]

How it works

Utilities keep a waiting list of big new users, called a queue, and Fernandez knows not all will get built. [10]
If the utility builds too little, Omaha loses new firms and jobs. [10] If it builds too much and big users never come, its ordinary customers pay. [10]

Seen it before

A school bus company guessing next year's pupils risks too few buses or too many.
The truth
- The utility would not say how much of its queue is data centres. [10]
31
A Michigan utility's gas plan rests on unproven carbon capture
What happened
- DTE Electric, in south-east Michigan, proposes two new gas plants totalling 2.1 gigawatts, running from 2031 and 2032. [38]
- It says carbon capture added by 2035 will make them meet state law. [38]
- Michigan law requires carbon-free power by 2040. [38]
- A gas plant counts as clean there only if it captures at least 90% of its emissions. [38]
- The 20-year plan also closes the 3-gigawatt Monroe coal plant, and adds 15 gigawatts of renewables and 4.5 of storage. [38]
- The gas plan is more than double the 946 megawatts DTE proposed 4 years ago. [38]
How it unfolded
1. 2031 first gas plant
2. 2035 capture added
3. 2040 carbon-free by law
Why it matters

DTE has contracts to supply Oracle and Google with 2.4 gigawatts, and critics link the extra gas to them. [38]

How it works

Engineers call it carbon capture: taking CO2 out of the chimney and storing it underground. [38]
The one US commercial power plant to use it, Petra Nova, had a 3-year shutdown and missed its targets. [38]

Seen it before

Building a house now and promising to add the fire escape later leaves everyone trusting the promise.
The truth
- DTE declined to comment to Canary Media. [38] Earthjustice, a law firm, says it wants customer money for the plants before anyone checks the capture costs. [38]
- Who pays DTE's customers in Michigan — Critics say they would pay billions for gas plants that depend on a carbon capture system not yet shown to work at US power plants. [38]
What comes next

Michigan regulators will study the plan over the coming year. [38]
32
Home batteries could soften a data centre bust
What happened
- A report says home batteries and rooftop solar, run together, could save the US $614 billion in grid spending. [39]
- The US had 113 gigawatts of such equipment in 2025. [39] The plan needs 524 gigawatts by mid-century. [39]
- The average household bill would fall by $122 a year by 2050, the report estimates. [39]
- It also tests what happens if power demand falls 5% short of forecasts to 2030. [39]
- In that case, overbuilt plants and wires add about $84 billion in costs from 2030 to 2040. [39]
- Virtual power plants would cut that by $33 billion, or roughly 40%. [39]
Who is involved

The Brattle Group, a consultancy, wrote it for The Pew Charitable Trusts. [39]
Why it matters

Customers could end up paying for plants built for data centres that never arrive, and states want to shield them. [39]

How it works

A virtual power plant is a network of home batteries and solar that a utility controls remotely. [39]
Planners value being able to wait: these small units can be added once demand really appears. [39]

Seen it before

Renting extra chairs once guests confirm beats buying a hundred you may never use.
The truth
- The $614 billion is a model estimate, and Pew, which paid for it, also publishes a guide to these policies. [39]
- Who pays Ordinary US power customers — If data centres never arrive, the plants built for them still get paid for through household bills. [39]
- Nobody knows yet
  How much power data centres will really need.
  
  A lead author at Brattle says the people forecasting it face more uncertainty than anyone has in his 20 years of analysis. [39]
33
A transformer now takes over 3 years to arrive
What happened
- Large power transformers can take more than 3 years to arrive after ordering, The Conversation reports. [40]
- They change electricity's voltage, and can be the size of a 2-storey house and weigh up to 400 tons. [40]
- Many in service around the world are past their intended life. [40]
- Demand for those linking power plants to the grid nearly tripled from 2019 to 2025. [40]
- Demand for those serving towns more than doubled, and their cost rose 80%. [40]
- Each is custom-built, so no spare sits in a warehouse when one fails in a storm. [40]
Why it matters

New power plants of every kind can wait over 2 years to connect to the grid. [40] So data centre firms are installing their own gas plants instead. [40]

How it works

Materials scientists prize one metal here: grain-oriented electrical steel, with its magnetic crystals lined up one way. [40]
That cuts energy loss, but only a handful of mills can make it, and just one is in the US. [40]

Seen it before

A tailor's suit takes weeks, because it cannot come off a shelf.
34
Puerto Rico's grid leans on home batteries for 18 days
What happened
- Puerto Rico's grid used Sunrun's home batteries for 18 straight days in October, during unusually hot weather. [41]
- Sunrun's network has grown to over 60,000 customers and nearly 70,000 batteries, from about 4,000 customers in 2024. [41]
- They often deliver 45 megawatts for 4 hours at a time. [41]
- Customers there averaged 36 hours without power in 2025, against about 2 hours on the US mainland. [41]
- Homes pay 26.36 cents a kilowatt-hour, against 18.16 cents across the US. [41]
Who is involved

Sunrun is a US home solar company, and LUMA runs the island's grid. [41]
- Sunrun home solar
- LUMA the grid
Why it matters

The grid can draw power without waiting for a new plant, and homeowners get paid for sharing it. [41]

How it works

Grid engineers call this dispatch: calling up power when supply runs short, as LUMA now does with home batteries. [41]
Each home gives a small share of its battery and keeps the rest for its own blackouts. [41]

Seen it before

Neighbours each lending one chair can seat a wedding.

The grid pays for each release of power, so the company running the batteries earns steady income from equipment that protects homes.
The idea, in story 05: Why a solar farm can borrow and a sea wall cannot →
The truth
- Battery firms told regulators some 2025 gaps exceeded the programme's roughly 50 megawatts, so it could not stop every blackout. [41]
- Who gains Puerto Rican homeowners with batteries — They are paid for sharing stored power, on top of having their own backup in a blackout. [41]
Good news
- In Puerto Rico, nearly 70,000 home batteries were called on for 18 straight days in October, during unusually hot weather.
35
India's farm pumps could take 116 gigawatts of solar
What happened
- India's farms could use another 116 gigawatts of solar panels, says a report by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association. [42]
- About 100 gigawatts would power grid-connected pumps, and 16 gigawatts would replace diesel ones. [42]
- India has nearly 23 million irrigation pumps. [42]
- A government scheme, PM-KUSUM, added a record 7.6 gigawatts in 2025-26. [42]
- Farms use 17.88% of India's electricity. [42]
- Power subsidies for farms doubled, from 1.21 trillion rupees in 2020 to 2.41 trillion in 2025. [42]
Why it matters

Solar pumps could give farmers steadier power, the report says. [42]

How it works

Trade economists call this a local content rule: a scheme buys only home-made parts. [42]
Parts of PM-KUSUM require Indian-made cells and panels, and 13.8 gigawatts have been installed that way. [42]

Seen it before

A school that must buy uniforms from one local shop keeps that shop busy.
The truth
- The association's members sell these panels, so the 116 gigawatts comes from those who stand to gain. [42]
- Who gains Indian solar panel makers — Parts of the farm pump scheme must use Indian-made cells and panels, so the scheme's demand goes straight to them. [42]
Good news
- Over 2.8 million irrigation pumps had gone solar by July 2026. [42]
36
Electric cars take 37% of German sales
What happened
- Electric cars took a record 37% of new car sales in Germany in October, the country's vehicle authority says. [43]
- That is 94,086 cars, up 79.5% from a year earlier. [43]
- Petrol cars fell 40.5% to 38,516, and diesel fell 21.6%. [43]
- For a second month running, Germans registered more electric cars than petrol and diesel together. [43]
- Germany has already passed the 693,000 sales the car industry forecast for all of 2026. [43]
- China's BYD is just ahead of Tesla in German sales this year, though most BYDs sold there are plug-in hybrids. [43]
How it unfolded

Germany scrapped its last subsidy overnight in December 2023, and sales fell sharply in 2024. [43]
1. December 2023 old subsidy ends
2. 2024 sales fall
Why it matters

Average CO2 from new cars fell 21.1% in a year, to 79.4 grams per kilometre. [43]

How it works

Economists call this a purchase subsidy: public money off the price, which Germany pays to private buyers. [43]
Germany pays 3,000 euros, up to 6,000 for poorer families, and private registrations rose 20.6% in October. [43]

Seen it before

A half-price sale fills a shop with people who were only thinking about buying.
The truth
- Electrek calls the subsidy the biggest driver, without measuring it against dear fuel. [43]
Good news
- Electric cars took a record 37% of new car sales in Germany in October, more than petrol and diesel cars together.
37
Dear petrol sends US buyers to used electric cars
What happened
- High fuel prices are pushing more US used car buyers toward electric cars, Electrek reports. [44]
- A used Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron now sits about 29.8 days on a dealer's lot. [44]
- The average new car spent 82 days on the lot in October. [44]
- Used electric cars averaged $32,533 in September, up $2,896 in a year. [44]
- Average prices for electric cars rose 9.8% last month, while petrol cars rose just 0.3%. [44]
Who is involved

iSeeCars, a car pricing company, reported that the Toyota bZ4X and Honda Prologue also sell in 35 days or less. [44]
Why it matters

Fast sales matter to dealers, who often borrow to hold their stock and pay interest for each extra day. [44]

How it works

Economists call this substitution: petrol got dearer, so used car buyers moved to electric cars. [44]
Used electric demand rose with no matching rise in supply, so these cars sell faster and cost more. [44]

Seen it before

When bus fares jump, more people dust off their bikes.
38
GM recalls 67,380 electric cars over brakes
What happened
- General Motors is recalling 67,380 electric cars because a software fault can briefly cut braking. [45]
- The recall covers the Cadillac Lyriq, Celestiq and Vistiq, and the Chevrolet Blazer EV, in all-wheel-drive versions. [45]
- GM found 24 complaints, including 20 minor accidents and 2 claims of minor injury. [45]
- The fix is a free software update, over the air or at a dealer. [45]
How it unfolded

It began when a 2024 Lyriq hit a garage at low speed, and a GM worker reported it in April. [45]
GM had a similar recall in 2024. [45]
1. 2024 Lyriq hits a garage at low speed
2. April a GM worker reports it
Why it matters

Software now runs the brakes on these cars, so a fix can reach owners without a workshop visit. [45]

How it works

Software engineers call this an edge case: a fault that shows only in a rare mix of conditions. [45]
Here a light touch on the brake, a sharp turn and a bump together made the software misread wheel movement. [45]

Seen it before

A door that sticks only on wet days with the heating on is hard to spot.

What comes next

Owner letters are due to go out on 14 December. [45]
39
Lenders offer extra for an Abu Dhabi chemicals port
What happened
- Ta'ziz, an Abu Dhabi chemicals company, raised $1.39 billion for two projects at Ruwais. [46]
- Over $928 million goes to a chemical storage and export terminal, including $225 million of Islamic finance. [46]
- Over $460 million goes to an ammonia plant making 1 million tonnes a year. [46]
- Both deals drew more offers than needed, which bankers call oversubscribed. [46]
- With April's $2 billion methanol deal, it has now raised over $3.39 billion. [46]
Who is involved

Ta'ziz is owned by Adnoc, the UAE's state oil company, and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi investment company. [46]
- Adnoc
- ADQ
Why it matters

Ta'ziz says the projects support the UAE's plan to rely less on selling crude oil. [46]

How it works

Bankers call this project finance: money raised for one plant or terminal, not for the whole company. [46]
The terminal and the ammonia plant will have chemicals to store and sell, and lenders offered more than was asked. [46]

Seen it before

A lemonade stall on a busy street finds it easy to borrow for lemons.

Ta'ziz drew more offers than it needed for a terminal and an ammonia plant, both of which will have products to store and sell.
The idea, in story 05: Why a solar farm can borrow and a sea wall cannot →
40
Two US solar suppliers plan to merge
What happened
- Shoals Technologies and Array Technologies, two US solar equipment makers, plan to merge in a share swap. [47]
- Shoals shareholders would own about 65%, and Array's about 35%. [47]
- They forecast combined sales of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion in 2027. [47]
- Shoals's boss Brandon Moss would run the new company, and the two already share a chairman. [47]
Who is involved

Shoals sells electrical systems for solar farms, and Array sells trackers, which tilt panels toward the sun. [47]
- Brandon Moss would run it
Why it matters

Solar farm builders could then buy both products from one supplier, which the firms call a one-stop shop. [47]

How it works

Business schools call this cross-selling: selling existing customers more of your range. [47]
Only 20% of the pair's projects used both firms' products, so Moss sees $2.5 billion of extra sales. [47]

Seen it before

A burger shop that adds chips sells more to the people already in the queue.
The truth
- The $2.5 billion is the most possible, if each firm sold everything on every project the other serves. [47]
What comes next

The deal needs shareholder approval and should close in early 2027. [47]
41
Wall-climbing robots check Gulf plants after attacks
What happened
- Gecko Robotics, a US company, is sending wall-climbing robots across the facilities of Adnoc, the UAE's state oil firm. [48]
- They look for weak spots and damage after attacks on Gulf energy sites in the Iran war. [48]
- The new model, Raptor, is 3 to 5 times faster than the last, the company says. [48]
- It works without taking a plant offline. [48]
- Gecko also signed a $300 million deal with the US Navy last week. [48]
- It may build the robots in the UAE. [48]
Why it matters

The sooner an owner knows what is damaged, the sooner a plant can go back to work, Gecko's boss says. [48]

How it works

Engineers call this non-destructive testing: checking metal for faults with sound waves, without cutting into it. [48]
Raptor's sensors gather millions of readings, so repair crews know what to fix first. [48]

Seen it before

A doctor's ultrasound looks inside you without opening you up.
The truth
- The speed claims, including 50 times faster than rivals, come from Gecko itself. [48]

UN says money to help poorer countries cope with climate harm has stalled at $32bn at most, far short of the $305bn a year needed by 2035

41 stories on this beat today.

Why a solar farm can borrow and a sea wall cannot