Climate, in brief

China's government has stopped approving new battery-storage factories while it reviews how much cell-making capacity the country already has and has already planned. [1]

Factories already under construction carry on. Projects that have not broken ground are frozen, and the policy could be relaxed later, industry sources told the Chinese outlet Cailianshe. [1]

China makes about 85 of every 100 lithium-ion batteries in the world, and more than 70 of every 100 electric cars. [2]

The reason is not weak demand. Chinese makers are competing each other's prices down, and the report cites growing concern about too much storage-making capacity. [1]

China has already put a consumption tax on lithium-ion batteries and solar cells, one of several steps Reuters lists as attempts to cool the same fight. [1]

Demand is at a record. The US power industry added 20.2 gigawatt-hours of grid batteries between April and June, its biggest quarter ever and a tenth of the country's entire grid storage capacity. [3]

Money is following. Sites that put generation and storage on one plot drew a record $25 billion in the first half of 2026, nearly double the previous half-year record, and the category is dominated by solar plus batteries. [4]

Southeast Asian countries have spent just under $7 billion on Chinese storage batteries so far this year, and $4.1 billion on Chinese solar panels, up nearly 90% on last year. [5]

The price fall that made all of this possible was enormous: average cell prices are down about 97% since 2000, while yearly demand grew to roughly 1,000 times its 2000 level. [2]

Inside China, batteries passed pumped hydro as the largest kind of installed storage at the end of 2024, then grew another 84% in 2025. [7]

Demand is not about to stop. The IEA expects world electricity use to rise 19% between 2025 and 2030 to 33,600 terawatt-hours, with data-centre use nearly doubling. [8]

AI data centres have become a serious buyer. They took 5 of the nearly 31 gigawatt-hours installed across the US in the first half of this year. [6]

Why it matters. Watch whether China lifts the pause within months, as the report suggests it might; the plants already being built are unaffected, so any price effect lands long after the decision. [1]

A fertiliser works at Sluiskil in the Netherlands, run by the Norwegian company Yara, started capturing its carbon dioxide this week. It will trap and liquefy up to 800,000 tonnes a year and expects to remove about 12 million tonnes over 15 years. The gas is shipped to Northern Lights, a Norwegian operator that buries it 2.6 kilometres under the seabed. Carbon capture has failed in Europe for decades on cost and on opposition. [9]

Why it matters. The European Union is counting on this technology for factories that have no clean alternative, such as chemicals. Critics say it lets oil and gas firms keep producing on a promise to capture later. [9]

Coal-fired generation has stopped growing in 17 of the 26 Chinese provinces studied by Ember, an energy research group. Those regions include the industrial heavyweights Shandong and Hunan and hold more than half of China's coal power capacity. Thermal generation, most of it coal, fell 0.7% in 2025 even though electricity demand rose 5%. Ember calls this the shift from building a clean system to breaking the old one. [7]

Why it matters. Coal generation has also been flat on a 12-month rolling average since early 2024, so Ember says the 2025 drop does not look like a one-off. [7]

China had 1,288 gigawatts of solar installed at the end of July against coal's 1,285, making solar the country's largest source of power capacity for the first time. Capacity is the maximum a plant could produce, not what it does produce. Chinese coal plants run at about 50% of their maximum on average and solar farms at about 14%, so coal still generates far more electricity. Wind and solar together were 24.6% of the power mix in the first half of the year. [10][11]

Why it matters. The chart looks like a finish line and is not one. At today's running rates China's solar fleet would need to be roughly three and a half times bigger to match coal's output. [11]

TerraPower, the American nuclear developer funded by Bill Gates, told Reuters it expects its Natrium reactors to start generating electricity in Britain by 2034. That would make the UK its first market outside the United States. Britain launched an Advanced Nuclear Framework this year to support privately funded small reactors, part of a push for energy security and climate targets. The company expects electricity costing under 100 pounds per megawatt hour. [12]

Why it matters. The price is the company's own expectation for a plant that is not built. Britain launched its Advanced Nuclear Framework this year specifically to back privately funded reactors of this kind. [12]

Rafael Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear inspectorate, said an Assad-era Syrian reactor site was configured to make material for nuclear weapons. Inspectors who visited in August had to tear down walls and squeeze through narrow passages to reach nuclear material that had been hidden, with boxes scattered everywhere. The material is now under agency safeguards and cameras are installed. Syria will decide whether it stays in the country. [13]

Why it matters. Natural uranium metal cannot make a bomb by itself, but a specialist at the Nuclear Threat Initiative said it could be diverted and processed into plutonium. [13]

The nuclear cooperation deal the United States and Saudi Arabia signed in July does not include Saudi Arabia signing the Additional Protocol, the agreement that gives UN inspectors sweeping access. Grossi said on Monday that something close to it on some points is in the works. Iran signing the same protocol was a central part of the 2015 nuclear deal. Saudi Arabia wants civil nuclear power. [14]

Why it matters. The Additional Protocol is the part that lets inspectors look beyond the sites a country has declared, and Saudi Arabia has not signed it. Grossi did not say which points the new arrangement would cover. [14]

Italy has just had its hottest summer in more than 75 years, according to CNR-IBE, part of the country's largest public research institute. August averaged 25.6C, beating the previous records of 24.6C in 2024 and 24.0C in 2017, and running 5.2C above the 1951-1980 average. Researcher Lorenzo Arcidiaco said 2026 is on course to be Italy's hottest year since his records began in 1950. Rome, Florence and Turin were all hit repeatedly. [15]

Why it matters. The worst-hit areas were the north-western lowlands and the Apennines, which are farming regions, so this lands as a harvest problem first. [15]

European crops are reaching maturity noticeably earlier as the continent warms. Hermann Greif, a Bavarian farmers' union district president, told Reuters that maize harvest has moved from around 14 September twenty years ago to the start of September, and wheat from mid-August to late July. Plants develop by accumulating heat, so warmer air speeds the whole cycle. France's farm office rated only 27% of grain maize good or excellent on 31 August, the worst in records back to 2011. [16]

Why it matters. France's agriculture ministry forecasts a 35% drop in grain maize, and analysts expect output near half of last year's, the lowest since 1976. [16]

Australia's large-scale solar farms hit new state records in August while curtailment fell. Curtailment is when a grid switches off working solar or wind because it cannot use or store the power at that moment, so the electricity is simply lost. Victoria led on utility generation with 1,387 gigawatt-hours. More than a gigawatt of generation and storage reached financial close during the month, including two projects pairing 300 megawatts of solar with 300 megawatts of batteries. [17]

Why it matters. Curtailment falling while solar output rises is the sign a grid is absorbing more clean power rather than throwing it away. [17]

Tunisia allocated 455 megawatts of solar in the sixth round of its authorisation scheme, which is aimed at small firms, landowners and small investors rather than large developers. It covers projects up to 10 megawatts for solar, and all the electricity is sold to STEG, the state electricity and gas company. Prices are set by size, from 0.217 Tunisian dinars per kilowatt-hour for the smallest plants down to 0.142 for the largest. The fifth round produced about 288 megawatts. [18]

Why it matters. Tunisia is buying capacity from many small owners rather than a few big ones, which spreads who earns from the transition inside the country. [18]

Switzerland legalised local electricity communities at the start of 2026, letting neighbours trade the power they generate between themselves rather than through a supplier. Six months on, a survey by the solar trade body Swissolar of the 30 largest grid operators found about 1,860 of them nationwide, averaging 7.2 members each and ranging from three to 29. Just over a fifth of participants generate their own electricity. Swissolar says grid fees and paperwork are still holding it back. [19]

Why it matters. It lets a household with panels sell to the house next door rather than export the surplus to a national grid. Nearly four in five members generate nothing themselves and are simply buying from a neighbour. [19]

SINTEF, one of Europe's largest independent research institutes, calculates that scrapped crystalline silicon solar panels in the European Union could yield 71,400 to 125,800 tonnes of recovered silicon by 2040. That is enough for an estimated 35.6 to 62.9 gigawatts of new panels. Whether Europe can use it depends on building ingot and wafer plants, and researcher Nagarajan Somi Ganesan named a planned 20-gigawatt Spanish project called Sunwaf. Recovered silicon is not yet pure enough for panels without further refining. [20]

Why it matters. Somi Ganesan says recovered silicon could cut reliance on newly mined silicon, but only if Europe builds the ingot and wafer plants to use it. Without those, the scrap is a resource and not a supply. [20]

Electric vehicle sales in Russia doubled over the summer as motorists queued for hours at petrol stations. Ukrainian strikes on major Russian refineries intensified from early June, halting some of them, and by the end of August Russian petrol production had fallen to about 70% of what the country consumes. Some drivers switched to electric cars or converted their vehicles to natural gas. Electric and plug-in models were only 4.3% of Russian car sales last year. [21]

Why it matters. Manufacturers and importers were caught out by the shortage, so the limit on sales was supply of cars rather than demand for them. [21]

US buyers imported a record 53,290 tonnes of copper cathode from the Democratic Republic of Congo in July, 23.9% of all US copper imports. Total US copper imports passed 220,000 tonnes that month for the first time, as traders rushed ahead of a possible tariff. In 2024 the US took under 32,000 tonnes from Congo all year. No Congolese brand is approved for delivery on the US COMEX exchange, so the metal is priced off the London exchange instead. Industry sources describe discounts of $550 to $800 a tonne. [22]

Why it matters. Reuters names copper rod mills and tube makers among the buyers, and copper is what grids, motors and chargers are wound from. China's imports of Congolese copper fell 4.3% over the same seven months. [22]

Investors are scouting Argentina's Patagonia for very large data centres, drawn by cool air, renewable power, shale gas and empty land. The Argentine energy company Pampa Energia is seeking investors for a project of up to 500 megawatts, a director told Reuters. Connectivity and electrical infrastructure remain the main obstacles, and the projects are developing quietly. Argentina has no data-centre backlash of the kind seen in the United States, where critics say the sites strain grids and raise bills. [23]

Why it matters. Reuters says hyperscalers are hitting roadblocks from anti-data-centre campaigns elsewhere, and that Argentines have not yet had one of these built near them. [23]

A public consultation opened on plans for a Welsh government-owned renewable energy company. Plaid Cymru, the party leading the Welsh government, promised in the 2026 election campaign that renewable projects would have to share profits with local communities to win approval. It also promised a strong presumption in favour of burying cables rather than using pylons. Welsh Conservative energy spokesperson Janet Finch-Saunders said Wales needs cheap, reliable power to keep factories open instead. [24]

Why it matters. An opposition spokesperson said Welsh families already pay some of the highest energy bills in the UK. The argument is over who collects the profit from projects built on Welsh land. [24]

Kenya's president William Ruto said he has ordered Tata Chemicals, part of India's Tata group, to end its operations in Kenya, saying its presence had not benefited the country. In late July Kenya had already told the company to suspend work at the Magadi soda ash plant and halt exports. Ruto said the firm held the contract for 100 years and built nothing in Kajiado, the county where the plant sits. He said two new companies will take over. [25]

Why it matters. Soda ash is used to make glass, and Ruto says he wants a glass factory and a chemicals plant built in Kajiado rather than raw material shipped out. [25]

African countries received an average of $43.7 billion a year in climate finance in 2021 and 2022, about 23% of what they need, according to figures cited by economist Kelechi Nwosu-Ogbonna at SOAS. The continent needs roughly four dollars for every one it gets. The money is also badly spread: the ten African countries most vulnerable to climate change receive only 11% of the continent's climate finance, while another ten attract 76% of private climate investment. Current funding covers 18% of planned emissions cuts and 20% of adaptation costs. [26]

Why it matters. Current funding covers only 18% of planned emissions cuts and 20% of adaptation costs, so both halves of the continent's plan are short, not just one. [26]

At least 44 gigawatts of American land-based wind projects are stuck in review at the US Department of Defense, John Hensley of the American Clean Power Association told Utility Dive. The review is about radar and airspace, not electricity. Meanwhile the overall clean power pipeline passed 200 gigawatts and rose 11% year on year, and new purchase deals were up 23%, driven by data centres. Google alone accounted for 54% of corporate power purchase announcements in the second quarter. [27]

Why it matters. The overall clean power pipeline grew 11% over the year, so wind is losing share rather than the whole sector slowing. [27]

The prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket are expanding bets on weather and climate, from how hot a given city will be on a given day to how many billion-dollar disasters a year will bring. Kalshi's markets will appear inside the Weather Channel app, used by more than 330 million people. A Kalshi spokesperson told the Guardian the company sees its markets as a source of well-calibrated forecasting data and even a way to help shape forecasts. [28]

Why it matters. The Guardian reports alarm at forecasts being turned into betting odds inside an app that 330 million people open to decide what to wear. [28]

Cars running on something other than petrol, including compressed natural gas, hybrid and electric models, outsold petrol cars in India for the first time in August. The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, which represents dealers for India's biggest carmakers, said cheaper running costs and worry about E20 petrol pushed buyers across. E20 is petrol with 20% ethanol, mandated last year to cut oil imports, and owners of older cars say it hurts fuel economy and engines. [29]

Why it matters. A fuel policy meant to reduce crude imports has ended up pushing Indian buyers out of petrol cars altogether, which was not the plan. [29]

More than 27,000 electric vehicles were sold in Australia in August, 24.9% of all new cars, beating petrol at nearly 26,000 and diesel at 23,600 for the first time. The Guardian names two causes: the war in Iran pushing up petrol prices, and a federal emissions standard introduced last year that forces carmakers to cut average tailpipe emissions each year. That rule has pushed a lot more cheap electric models into showrooms. [30]

Why it matters. Australia had trailed most rich countries on electric cars, which were under 2% of sales four years ago and about 8% last year. Five of August's top ten brands were Chinese. [30]

Tesla announced an electric motor that uses no rare earth elements. Rare earths are a group of metals, not actually rare in the ground, but concentrated in a few countries and awkward to refine; strong magnets made from them are what most electric motors rely on. Electrek argues the announcement matters less than it sounds, because engineers and buyers have been cutting rare earth content for years under pressure from cost and supply worries. [31]

Why it matters. China dominates rare earth refining, so every gram designed out of a motor is a gram of leverage removed from a supply chain. [31]

TotalEnergies said it has handed operation of the Papua LNG project in Papua New Guinea to ExxonMobil, which already runs the neighbouring PNG LNG plant. The French company will sell a 9.1% interest to its partners and keep 20%. It also said it has cleared contractual and commercial hurdles and completed tendering for engineering and construction, moving towards a final investment decision. Rebidding and design changes have cut close to $4 billion since 2024, bringing capital spending to around $14 billion. [32]

Why it matters. Rebidding contracts and redesigning the project cut planned spending to around $14 billion, and it is still short of a final investment decision. [32]

Jaguar Land Rover will cut about 4,000 jobs, roughly a tenth of its global workforce, over the next two years. Chief executive P B Balaji said the cuts are part of a plan to save 1.7 billion pounds, and the company is dealing with US tariffs, the aftermath of a serious cyberattack and hard competition. It is Britain's largest carmaker. The company does not expect factory workers to be affected and says reductions will be voluntary where possible. [33]

Why it matters. Britain's biggest carmaker is shedding a tenth of its staff while handling US tariffs and the aftermath of a cyberattack at the same time. [33]

Britain will lend 400 million pounds, about $541 million, to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. Brazil launched it at the COP30 climate summit last year, aiming to raise $10 billion of public money in the first year, and has secured almost three quarters of that. The fund is run like an endowment and pays eligible countries an annual stipend based on how much of their tropical forest is still standing. Britain is giving it as a loan, not a grant. [34]

Why it matters. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said some of Britain's international climate money should be loans rather than grants, and in July said the savings would help pay for a cap on bus fares. [34]

Italy connected 2,918 megawatts of new renewable capacity in the first half of 2026, of which 2,610.9 megawatts was solar, according to the trade body ANIE Rinnovabili using data from grid operator Terna. Installations returned to growth in the second quarter after six months of contraction, up 14% year on year, driven almost entirely by solar. Wind added 295.2 megawatts and fell 22%; hydropower fell 73%. Household rooftop installations dropped 20%. [35]

Why it matters. Household installations fell 20% for a third year running while projects larger than 10 megawatts surged 197% on the quarter, so the growth is coming from big sites. [35]

British solar farms and rooftops generated 8.8 terawatt-hours of electricity across June, July and August, a record for a UK summer, according to Carbon Brief. It coincided with the UK's hottest summer on record, five heatwaves between May and August, and the sixth sunniest summer with more than 620 hours of sunshine. Chris Hewett of the trade body Solar Energy UK put the record down to clear skies and continued growth in how much has been built. [36]

Why it matters. Summer 2026 was the UK's hottest on record and its sixth sunniest, so the record is partly weather and partly the growing amount of solar that has been built. [36]

Most American states that set 2030 emissions targets are not on track to meet them, and some are now cutting or abandoning them rather than missing them. New York's emissions fell about 20% between 2000 and 2019, and in 2019 governor Andrew Cuomo signed a legally binding 2030 target. Emissions dropped in 2020 during the pandemic, rebounded afterwards, and this year the state killed the goal. The law had let citizens sue if the rules needed to meet it were not enforced. [37]

Why it matters. Voters worried about inflation and higher energy prices from the war in Iran are the reason given. The New York law had let citizens sue if the rules needed to hit the target were not enforced. [37]

A review in Nature Reviews compiles global nitrogen flows since 1955 and finds the amount of reactive nitrogen entering the living world has risen fivefold since the 1960s. Reactive nitrogen mostly comes from synthetic fertiliser, made by converting the unreactive nitrogen gas that makes up most of the air. Emissions back to the atmosphere rose only 12% over the same period, meaning roughly 50 million tonnes a year has been accumulating on land since 1959. It pollutes soil, water and air. [38]

Why it matters. The review says cutting fertiliser demand through diet change, better efficiency and waste recycling could move about 51 million tonnes of nitrogen a year back towards balance. [38]