Carbon Brief

Heatwaves impact power generation sources like nuclear, gas, wind, and solar, with France's nuclear reactors shutting down during a 2026 heatwave. Extreme heat reduces nuclear efficiency due to cooling challenges, lowers gas plant efficiency, and decreases wind speeds, while increased electricity demand strains networks.

The article discusses carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a technology central to many nations' net-zero strategies, with the UK investing £21.7bn in its development. Critics argue CCS is costly, tied to fossil fuels, and unproven at scale, while organizations like the IPCC emphasize its importance for decarbonizing high-emission industries.

Climate sceptics and rightwing commentators have shared misleading charts suggesting Europe is experiencing its 'quietest' year for wildfires in 2026, but the data includes Russia and Siberia, skewing the results. A factcheck by Carbon Brief reveals the European Union's 2026 wildfire area burned is second only to 2022, with France setting a modern record and Spain facing one of its worst seasons, displacing over 350,000 people.

In 2025, wind and solar power generated 44% of Germany's electricity, surpassing fossil fuels for the first time. Renewables grew under the Energiewende strategy, despite opposition from the AfD and government plans for gas plants. The EU as a whole also saw wind and solar overtake fossil fuels in 2025.

84% of nations missed a 2025 deadline to identify subsidies harmful to biodiversity, with 32 countries spending an estimated $270bn annually on such subsidies. Only 21 countries met the target, and 66 others began the process, while 68 provided no data and 62 have not submitted reports to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

A rapidly intensifying El Niño event in the tropical Pacific has increased the chance of 2026 setting a global temperature record to 35%, up from 19% in April. The first half of 2026 was the third-warmest on record, with May and June 2026 being the second-warmest months amid strong El Niño conditions. Projections suggest 2027 could surpass 2026 as the warmest year, reaching around 1.7°C above pre-industrial levels.

Recent studies estimate thousands of heat-related deaths in Europe during May and June 2023, with France, Germany, and the Netherlands reporting significant excess deaths. Research links 42% of UK heatwave deaths to human-caused climate change, while methods like 'excess deaths' and 'statistical modeling' are used to quantify the impact.

The article presents 28 quotes from Andy Burnham, the UK's incoming prime minister, highlighting his past support for phasing out fossil fuels and advancing net-zero goals. Despite recent ambiguity on reversing Labour's drilling policy, historical statements emphasize climate action and green job creation.

The article discusses the debate over air conditioning (AC) in Europe amid rising heatwaves, highlighting lower AC adoption compared to the US and the political tensions around climate action. It notes that historical climate conditions and older infrastructure in Europe reduced the need for AC, but recent extreme heat has increased its relevance. The text clarifies that climate change has intensified heat events, challenging claims of 'European hostility' to AC.

Western and central Europe experienced a record-breaking June heatwave, with France, the UK, Spain, and Switzerland setting new temperature records. A rapid-response study attributed the extreme heat to climate change, stating such temperatures would have been 'virtually impossible' 50 years ago. The event coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1976 UK heatwave, prompting comparisons.

In the UK's record-hot summer of 2025, livestock heat deaths during transport doubled compared to 2024, with 6,600 animals—mostly chickens—dying due to heat stress. Data from the Food Standards Agency, obtained via FOI, revealed extreme transport conditions, including body temperatures exceeding 45°C in chickens, and climate change was cited as a contributing factor.

UK sales of electric vehicles (EVs) surpassed petrol cars for the first time in a 12-month period, with 516,490 EVs sold compared to 504,010 petrol cars as of May 2026. The shift occurs amid debate over the UK’s zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which the industry argues is too stringent despite EV demand growth.

Project Cosmos, launched by Carbon Brief in June 2026 after an 18-month research and development effort, aims to create the world’s largest database of climate change research. The database contains over 1.8 million unique publications linked by 40 million citation relationships and includes the Cosmos 500 rankings of most cited authors, publications, and institutions.

Carbon Brief's Cosmos database contains 1.8 million climate studies, visualized as a 'cosmos' with stars representing individual studies and colored clusters indicating areas of academic focus. The database serves as a comprehensive resource for humanity's knowledge of climate change.

Carbon Brief's Cosmos database ranks the most highly cited climate publications, using citation counts from 1.8 million scientific documents to create the Cosmos 500 list. The ranking focuses on citations within the database, distinct from broader citation metrics like Google Scholar.

Carbon Brief's Project Cosmos, a database of 1.8 million climate change publications, ranks the most highly cited climate scientists using a citation score based on references within the database. The Cosmos 500 ranking differs from external citation counts like Google Scholar by focusing solely on references from Cosmos.

Carbon Brief's Project Cosmos is a collaborative database containing over 1.8 million climate change publications linked by 40 million citations. Built over 18 months with academic guidance, it aims to analyze climate science trends, identify research gaps, and rank key publications, authors, and institutions through the Cosmos 500.

Carbon Brief's analysis of its Cosmos database identifies the top 500 climate research institutions globally, with over a third based in the US and only 30 from global south countries, half in China. The ranking highlights concerns about the Trump administration's attacks on climate science.

China's provincial governments have released their 15th five-year plans (2026-2030), aligning with national climate goals like peaking carbon emissions by 2030. Plans emphasize solar, wind, hydrogen, and new-energy vehicles (NEVs), with regional variations in focus, such as Zhejiang's 90GW solar target and Jilin's 50% NEV sales goal by 2030.

Global EV sales are expected to reach 23 million in 2025, an 11% increase from the previous year, driven by the Iran war's impact on demand for cheaper electric mileage. Falling lithium-ion prices and rising gas costs have accelerated the shift to EVs, though China's domestic sales declined while exports rose by 73%. In the US and UK, EVs offer significant fuel cost savings over gas vehicles.

Energy-efficient air conditioning units could save Indian households ₹69bn annually, according to Carbon Brief analysis. Shifting to five-star rated AC units instead of two-star could reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 5Mt yearly. India's AC demand is rising due to heatwaves, with sales increasing by over 25% annually since 2021.

UK EV drivers save £1,100 annually on fuel costs compared to petrol cars, with total savings of £3bn yearly from over 2m battery EVs, 1m plug-in hybrids, and 100,000 electric vans. The government may weaken EV sales targets, aiming to lower the 2030 zero-emissions vehicle mandate from 80% to 50-70% amid industry lobbying.

Solar power has become Asia's third-largest electricity source, surpassing gas for the first time, driven by rapid growth in China, India, and Pakistan. Annual solar output in Asia increased nearly fourfold since 2020, while gas power output stalled due to supply disruptions and high prices.

China’s solar installations slowed in 2026 due to a policy shift to a market-driven 'contract for difference' system, reducing guaranteed revenue for developers. Analysts attribute the drop to financing uncertainties and industry competition, though the government aims to add 200GW of solar and wind capacity this year.

China’s CO2 emissions rose 2% in early 2026 due to increased coal and gas use amid a 23% year-on-year rise in wind-power capacity and 33% for solar. The surge in 'wasted' wind and solar output, caused by inflexible coal power management and grid systems, led to a 4% rise in power-sector emissions, despite record renewable energy additions.