Saturday, 11 July 2026

Extreme weather and efforts to mitigate it will shape the future of competition between the United States and China, two experts wrote in Foreign Affairs, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The two countries are the world's largest carbon emitters and face climate change-fueled disaster risks that threaten the physical foundations of their power, Semafor reported. Those foundations include critical infrastructure, supply chains, and growth drivers such as data centers.

China in 2025 delivered another record year for both solar and wind, more than the rest of the world combined, according to a new report cited by Semafor Net Zero.

The head of a French poultry-industry group told Reuters that hundreds of thousands of poultry perished across France as extreme temperatures gripped the country during the heatwave, Carbon Brief reported.

Britain recorded parallel livestock losses. Government data obtained by Carbon Brief showed the number of animals dying from heat stress on the way to slaughterhouses doubled in 2025 against 2024, during a stretch of record heat. In Derbyshire, flames tore through 200 hectares of moorland as the heat peaked, according to the Times.

Against that backdrop, the UK government set out a farming roadmap for England running to 2050, with stated goals of strengthening agriculture against climate shifts, lifting domestic food output and supporting nature recovery, Carbon Brief reported. The government paired the plan with GBP 47 million for peatland protection and restoration schemes.

UK energy secretary Ed Miliband had been ready to pledge GBP 400 million to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, but the commitment was dropped over optics concerns during a dispute on defence spending, the Times said.

The Our Ocean Conference wrapped up in Mombasa, Kenya, drawing more than 300 voluntary commitments from governments, civil-society groups and non-governmental organisations, Carbon Brief reported.