Climate & Energy News: 3 November 2026

UK climate minister Katie White said COP31 in Antalya must respond to the latest global warming science, which she called really scary. She said the UK will hold up IPCC reports and prioritise electrification, methane cuts and deforestation, while defending the Jackdaw gas field as in line with carbon budgets. White also said the Hormuz crisis has driven the biggest uptake ever in UK solar, electric vehicles and heat pumps.

Tesla's Megapack factory in Brookshire, Texas, is now a foreign-trade zone, letting it defer duties on imported parts for 14 months. The approval was published in the Federal Register on Monday and covers components such as battery cells, transformers and wiring. Tesla's application says Section 301, 232 or 122 tariffs still apply, so Chinese LFP cells in US Megapacks still face the 25% Section 301 tariff, paid later when units leave.

President Donald Trump has turned the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool into a showcase for algae biofuel and has stood by the plan that microalgae can produce renewable fuels at scale. He delivered his closing message for the 2026 midterm election cycle at the pool on Monday, November 2. The pool's algae were thriving by summer 2026, satellite imagery showed, and biomass is part of his American Energy Dominance policy.

With three quarters of the year past, 2026 is virtually certain to be the warmest or second-warmest year on record. A strengthening El Nino made August the warmest on record and September the second-warmest, while the first nine months were second only to 2024 in all six datasets. Carbon Brief gives 2026 a 67% chance of beating 2024 in the six-dataset average, with temperature groups likely divided in January.

Brazil published the world's first global roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, saying countries can reduce dependence on coal, oil and gas while boosting economies and lifting people from poverty. The roadmaps follow last year's Cop30 compromise and are meant to shift UN climate summits from negotiation to implementation, with Cop31 due in Antalya this month. A climate scientist said they are valuable but lack a timeline or key benchmarks.

Germany's Federal Network Agency awarded 288 MW of rooftop and noise barrier solar across 143 projects in its latest auction. The agency received 177 bids totaling 347 MW and excluded 34 bids totaling 58 MW without disclosing reasons. Awarded prices ranged from €0.085/kWh to €0.10/kWh, with a volume-weighted average of €0.0967/kWh, just below the maximum and higher than the July tender average of €0.0972/kWh.

Spanish PV association UNEF estimates solar PV reduced Spain's wholesale electricity costs by 17.02 billion euros between January 2025 and June 2026. It says average day ahead prices would have been 86% higher without solar, at 112 euros per megawatt hour instead of 60.2. Utility scale PV accounted for 14.23 billion euros of the savings, while self consumption added 2.79 billion euros.

A new study says the number of buildings in the contiguous United States threatened by wildfires could almost triple by 2060 if the country continues to ignore climate change, mismanage forests and build in fire prone areas. On average, 300,000 buildings could be damaged or destroyed by midcentury. The East could see a fivefold increase in area burned by 2060, while the West could burn more than 1 billion hectares between 2023 and 2060.

The EPA announced it is ending a more than 20 year effort to develop methods for monitoring air pollution from giant livestock and poultry operations, effectively shuttering Clean Air Act regulation of factory farms. The agency framed the move as a reprieve for farmers, a key constituency for Trump and Republicans, days before midterm elections. Research says emissions from these operations cause nearly 12,700 deaths a year in the United States.

Audit Wales says the Welsh public sector is unlikely to meet its 2030 net zero ambition because decarbonisation has fallen down the priority list since 2022. The watchdog found public bodies are struggling to invest under financial and political pressures. It criticised the Welsh government for not defining the ambition as a target, while council building decarbonisation would cost at least £2.3bn.

Nova Scotia's grid operator has opened a technology-neutral call for on-demand capacity as the province prepares to shut coal plants by 2030. IESO Nova Scotia launched the request on Oct 30 for projects of at least 10 MW, with submissions due Jan 30, 2027. Eligible technologies include battery storage, pumped hydro, long-duration storage, geothermal, biomass, hydrogen combustion, hydrogen fuel cells and small modular reactors.

The UK government is launching its first study into levels of PFAS, known as forever chemicals, in the population, using blood and urine samples from the Health Survey for England. UKHSA said current evidence suggests possible health impacts are likely limited, with the strongest links in large groups to raised cholesterol and lower birth weights. The study will also measure lead, arsenic, bisphenols, phthalates and flame retardants.

The UK's net zero target by 2050 could be undermined by a new deal allowing AI data centres to build onsite power while waiting for grid connections, BBC research found. Four planned hyperscale data centres, including three in southern England, are considering gas-fired power that would create more CO2 than Manchester, Liverpool and Southampton combined. Ofgem says developers seek 72 gigawatts of connections, above last year's 45 gigawatt peak.

Greenpeace dropped nine boulders off the east coast of England to create a barrier disrupting bottom trawling. Its ship Arctic Sunrise released the rocks without a licence off the Norfolk coast over the weekend before mooring in Great Yarmouth. Greenpeace said it effectively closed 116 sq km of the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area to bottom trawling, while Defra said activities at sea should be carried out lawfully.

A Brown University study found Americans have paid more than $150 billion for gas and diesel since the start of America's war against Iran than in the same period last year. Global prices rose after supply disruptions, with Iran holding one of the world's top oil reserves. Americans are paying upwards of $6 a gallon even though US oil companies have not had their own supply chains disrupted the way Middle East crude has.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's $36.8 billion in guaranteed transportation funding expired on September 30, 2026, and a short-term extension to December 11 does not include those dollars. A Senate Commerce Committee report says the cuts could stall projects for electric vehicle charging, transit and rail that help families save money. Congress is also considering leaving the guaranteed funding out of the next transportation bill.

The Illinois Commerce Commission authorized a study of the most affordable way to meet building decarbonization goals under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. The consultant's report has flaws, but it finds gas use in buildings and industrial facilities must decline by at least 50 percent to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The study modeled pathways including energy efficiency, electric appliance replacement and unproven biofuels.

West Virginia's attorney general investigated NRDC and other groups over alleged consumer fraud tied to climate advocacy. The AG served a subpoena for 10 years of communications, and NRDC said it would file a federal First Amendment lawsuit. The AG withdrew the subpoena about two hours after NRDC announced it would sue.

Tucson Electric Power and Arizona Public Service filed 2026 integrated resource plans that include new renewables and storage but also add fossil gas and extend coal use. APS plans over 4,000 MW of gas by 2041 and extends Four Corners coal operations to 2038, while TEP would convert Springerville units to gas by 2031 and add 300 MW of gas. APS also proposes a 14% rate hike, and both plans will go before the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Darryl Baker, a mother of two in north London, says she has saved hundreds of pounds in six months by taking discarded clothes and other items from supermarket bins. With staff permission, she keeps, donates or sells finds such as branded clothing and a Barbour jacket. Other dumpster divers include Jeff Ferrell, who has scavenged for more than 50 years and estimates his finds are worth tens of thousands of dollars a year.

A policy brief argues the EU's July 2026 Emissions Trading System review should create a dedicated investment tool for aviation and shipping e-fuels. It says the current proposal is not fit for purpose to de-risk clean fuel investment in those hard-to-abate sectors. The brief says early support could build a domestic e-fuel value chain and strengthen Europe's industrial position.

bp pulse connected more than 850 charging points at over 95 US locations to ChargeHub's Passport Hub. Drivers can find, access and pay for charging through ChargeHub or connected services without adding bp pulse's app. The network has also opened new sites, including 12 bays in Grand Bay, Alabama, and 22 near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.