Climate, in brief

Italy's Senate gave final approval on Wednesday to a law that opens the way back to nuclear power, by 81 votes to 51. [1]

Italy ran four reactors until a 1987 referendum, held after the Chernobyl disaster, ended its nuclear programme. [1]

Voters said no to nuclear power a second time in 2011, after the accident at Japan's Fukushima plant. [1]

The law builds no reactor. It gives Italy's government 12 months to write rules on licensing, safety, waste and where plants could go. [1]

Since the 1987 vote, Italy has become one of Europe's biggest users of electricity made in its neighbours' nuclear plants. [1]

Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy's minister for energy security, called the vote a historic step and said nuclear power works best alongside renewables. [1]

The same week, dear gas made coal plants more profitable to run than gas plants in Europe. It is the first time since at least 2024, the data firm ICIS says. [2]

The war between the US and Iran has choked gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Europe's gas price went above 80 euros a megawatt hour this month, a three-year high. [2]

Analysts expect Europe's coal power to jump by about a quarter over the next six months, as power from gas falls by about the same. [2]

Germany's remaining coal plants are expected to run close to the most they have ever produced in the last three months of 2026. [2]

Years of closures mean Europe can switch little more to coal if gas climbs again, and Germany shut its last nuclear plant in 2023. [2]

Russia's gas sales to Europe fell to 18 billion cubic metres last year. Its pipeline sales there peaked at about 180 billion a year in 2018-19. It now expects to produce less gas, and sell less liquefied gas abroad, than it forecast in May. [3]

Why it matters. Watch the rules Italy's government must write in the next 12 months on licensing, safety and waste, because no reactor project can be proposed until they exist. [1]

Germany's cabinet approved a plan on Wednesday to stop using coal, oil and gas by 2045. [4] Germany is the third country, after France and the Netherlands, to adopt a national plan like this under an international effort to leave fossil fuels. [4] Under the plan, Germany will check whether its coal deadline of 2038 can move to 2035, Spiegel magazine reported. [4] It expects heat pumps, electric heaters that move warmth from outside air, to become the main way Germans heat their homes. [4]

Why it matters. The plan keeps the focus on electric power, although Katherina Reiche, Germany's economy minister, had asked for more flexibility on cars, heating and carbon prices. [4] It comes as Germany's coal plants are expected to run close to their limit this winter because gas is dear. [2]

Hurricane Polo held Category 5 strength, with winds of 160mph, off Mexico's Pacific coast on Thursday, threatening floods in Guerrero state. [6] Further west, Nolo was forecast to reach Hawaii's Big Island by Friday or Saturday with up to 30 inches of rain. [6] Three Pacific hurricanes have reached Category 5 this year, tying a 2002 record. [7] Forecasters blame El Nino, a warming of the Pacific that shifts storms. [7] Forecasts give it a more than 90% chance of beating every El Nino since the 1870s. [8]

Why it matters. Hawaii has already had two damaging hurricanes in a month, Lala and Lowell, which wrecked or damaged more than 510 homes. [7] Schools and state offices on the Big Island closed on Thursday and Friday. [6]

Emmanuel Macron, France's president, wrote to the European Commission asking it to delay new rules on methane by one year, to January 2028. [5] Methane is a gas that leaks from oil and gas sites, and it warms the planet more than any gas except carbon dioxide. [5] From January, fuel sold into the EU must have its methane leaks measured and checked, or the seller can be fined. [5] More than a dozen EU countries, including Germany, have already asked for a delay. [5]

Why it matters. EU governments agreed these rules themselves in 2023, and now say tight fuel supplies make them risky. [5] The Commission has so far waived the fines until the end of 2029 but not moved the start date. [5]

Two senior Democrats in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer and Sheldon Whitehouse, published a report on Thursday about oil and gas companies. [10] It says the companies won tax breaks, subsidies and weaker pollution rules after Donald Trump asked them for $1 billion in donations during the 2024 campaign. [10] The report rests on 19 investigations into the US environment agency and 13 into nine other agencies. [10] The Trump administration did not reply to Reuters. [10]

Why it matters. This month the US environment agency moved to repeal the limits on carbon from coal and gas power plants. [10] The agency says that saves the industry $370 million, while the Biden administration had put the rule's benefits at $370 billion. [10]

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, spoke at a UN climate summit in New York on Wednesday. [9] He said it is not realistic to expect every country to cut emissions at the same pace while access to money and technology is unequal. [9] Turkey will host this year's UN climate summit, COP31, in Antalya from 9 to 20 November. [9] Under a deal between the two countries, Australia will lead the negotiations and Turkey will run the summit. [9]

Why it matters. Erdogan said climate targets that ignore societal and economic realities are bound to fail. [9] He also backed a pre-summit meeting in Fiji and a leaders' meeting in Tuvalu so Pacific islands are heard. [9]

Dairy farmers in the UK delivered about 240 million fewer litres of milk than expected this summer, because of extreme heat. [12] That is the finding of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a research group, for May to August. [12] The heat left poor grass for grazing and put strain on the cows. [12] The lost milk was worth more than 83 million pounds. [12] The UK had its hottest summer on record in 2026, with five heatwaves. [12]

Why it matters. Many farmers, like Debbie Wilkins in Gloucestershire, are already giving their cows winter feed. [12] An ECIU analyst said future heatwaves will be harder to recover from, because milk cannot be stockpiled. [12] Strong output earlier in 2026 means the year's total could still be near a record. [12]

The US Department of Energy will offer $1.9 billion to 31 projects that upgrade existing power lines, it said on Thursday. [11] The projects will replace the wires on more than 1,500 miles of lines with ones that carry more power, and add new equipment to about 21,000 miles more. [11] Together they should let the grid carry 23 gigawatts more. [11] The companies involved will add about $3.4 billion of their own. [11]

Why it matters. Building a new power line can take decades, while upgrading an old one uses land that is already cleared. [11] The utilities chosen include Alabama Power, Duke Energy and Eversource. [11]

California's governor, Gavin Newsom, signed a law on Saturday that lets petrol stations sell E15. [13] E15 is petrol mixed with 15% ethanol, an alcohol fuel. [13] California was the only US state where it could not be sold. [13] State senators had voted for the change more than a year earlier. [13] Petrol in California was about $6.14 a gallon on Sunday, against a US average of $4.44. [13]

Why it matters. An ethanol trade group says E15 could cut prices by about 20 cents a gallon. [13] Ethanol makers and corn farmers gain a new market of about 650 million gallons a year, one producer estimates. [13]

The town of Gouverneur in New York state waited three years for its first two electric school buses. [14] After one day their chargers failed, and in November their heating broke, keeping one bus off the road for four months. [14] About 5,000 of the 500,000 school buses in the US run on batteries. [14] Some cost nearly $500,000, two to three times the price of a diesel bus. [14]

Why it matters. More than $2.4 billion in federal grants paid for the switch, and states like New York and California require it. [14] Some districts are now slowing down because of short range in winter and long repairs. [14]

South Africa's car industry is worried it will lose future production to Asia as carmakers decide where to build electric models. [15] President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a tax break that lets carmakers deduct 150% of what they invest in electric and hydrogen car factories. [15] About 67% of cars made in South Africa are exported, and 63% of those go to the EU and the UK. [15] Only 2.8% of new cars sold in the country are electric or hybrid. [15]

Why it matters. The car industry employs about 113,000 people directly. [15] Ford's head in Africa says countries compete inside the company for each new model, and executives say steady electricity and chargers matter as much as the tax break. [15]

Geely, one of China's biggest carmakers, showed a charging system on Wednesday that takes a car from 10% to 70% in 4.5 minutes. [16] It can reach 97% in 8 minutes and 40 seconds. [16] Its rival BYD showed a system this year that reaches 97% in nine minutes. [16] Sales of electric cars in China have fallen for 11 months in a row through August. [16]

Why it matters. Chinese carmakers are fighting over charging speed to win back buyers at home. [16] A Geely executive said charging is now close to its physical limit, so each further gain will be smaller. [16]

Volkswagen opened orders in China on Thursday for a second electric car built with Xpeng, a Chinese carmaker. [17] The car, the ID. UNYX 09, went from design to production in two years, about 30% faster than before. [17] It starts at 199,900 yuan, about $29,785. [17] Volkswagen delivered 26% fewer cars in China in the first half of 2026, its fewest in 16 years. [17]

Why it matters. Chinese brands like BYD and Geely keep taking buyers from Volkswagen, the German carmaker. [17] Its China chief said this week that the market's fall is as big as the one in the Covid pandemic. [17]

Bentley, a British maker of luxury cars owned by Volkswagen, showed its first fully electric car in London on Wednesday. [18] The Torcal is an SUV with a range of up to 375 miles and a starting price of 173,000 pounds. [18][19] Bentley spent 350 million pounds on its factory in Crewe, England, to build it. [18] The company had already dropped its goal of selling only electric cars by 2030. [18]

Why it matters. Other very expensive carmakers are holding back: Lamborghini delayed its first electric car and McLaren says it has no plans for one. [18] Bentley says half the interest so far comes from buyers new to the brand. [18]

Tesla's robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, had just 8 cars carrying riders in the week to 22 September, according to a tracker cited by Electrek. [20] That is about as many as when it launched in June 2025, though 476 are registered with the state. [20] Separately, a Belgian safety group found Tesla's driver-assist system often went over the limit in 20 and 30km/h zones. [21] The EU could vote on allowing the system everywhere on 6 October. [21]

Why it matters. Dutch regulators approved the system in April and Belgium followed, while Sweden and other EU countries worry that it speeds. [21] Tesla did not answer Reuters' questions about the Belgian test. [21]

Reform UK councillors want North Northamptonshire Council, in central England, to scrap its climate emergency declaration from 2021. [25] Councillor Leon Gibbs said it makes no sense to call it an emergency while aiming for a target 24 years away. [25] Last year the Reform-run council moved its net zero goal from 2030 to 2050, the UK's national target. [25] Net zero means taking out of the air as much planet-warming gas as is put in. [25]

Why it matters. Labour, Conservative and Green councillors all opposed the move. [25] Kettering's Labour MP pointed to this summer's heat at the local hospital and to winter flooding in the county. [25]

Blood tests on people living near a chemical factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, found high levels of PFOA, and dozens were told they could be at higher risk of serious illness. [24] PFOA is a forever chemical, one that does not break down, and it was used to make non-stick coatings at the site until 2012. [24] The UK banned it in 2020, and the World Health Organization lists it as a cause of cancer. [24] The tests were paid for by journalists and a group that funds environmental court cases, after health officials said testing was not recommended. [24]

Why it matters. Mario Panteli, a father of five, says he will have to keep his children out of the garden, and residents were told to stop eating their own hens' eggs. [24] The factory's owner, AGC Chemicals, says it will close the site later this year. [24]

Cleveland Pools in Bath, Britain's oldest open-air swimming pool, reopened in September 2023 for the first time in almost 40 years. [26] Four months later the River Avon flooded it. [26] Pumping out the floodwater lifted the pool and broke pipes underneath. [26] The trust that owns it says it will reopen, but repairs may start only in early 2028. [26]

Why it matters. A restoration paid for with millions of pounds of public money was undone by one flood. [26] The trust must now raise the money for a second repair. [26]

Scientists have named a new species of wild cat, the tilcayo, found in the cloud forests of Bolivia's Andes mountains. [22][23] It is the first new living wild cat species described since the pampas cat in 1923. [22] The first one studied was living in a wildlife sanctuary after a family found it in the forest and kept it as a pet. [22] It weighs about 1.4 kilograms, smaller than a house cat. [22] DNA shows its line split from its nearest relatives 1.4 million years ago. [23]

Why it matters. Nobody yet knows how many tilcayo live in the wild. [23] Local people already knew the cat and named it, and scientists kept their word for it. [22]