Thursday, 16 July 2026

Fugro won a contract from Saipem to run marine survey and inspection work for the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), a carbon capture transportation and storage infrastructure project, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Saipem is heading the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the project's offshore pipeline and connected infrastructure, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported.

NEP operates as an incorporated joint venture between bp, Equinor and TotalEnergies, the same report said.

The project can draw on up to 1 billion tonnes of CO2 storage capacity beneath the North Sea, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

Severe floods in south-western China's Guangxi province killed 39 people and left nine missing after heavy rains, according to Carbon Brief. At least 11 people were killed by two tornadoes in central China's Hubei province linked to Typhoon Maysak, according to Reuters.

Carbon Brief reported the tornadoes as extremely rare events tied to the same storm system. During prolonged heatwaves in June, temperatures in Xinjiang reached 50C, according to National Business Daily.

The China Meteorological Administration's 2026 blue book on climate change found that China's annual average temperature increased by 0.31C per decade from 1961 to 2025.

On policy, China released an action plan for peaking its carbon emissions by 2030, according to state news agency Xinhua. The country's 15th five-year plan for building a Beautiful China set quantitative targets for 2030, including a 3% cut in carbon emissions per unit of production at industries covered by China's national carbon market.

The EU and China set an October deadline to reset trade ties as tensions over cleantech exports and other economic matters rise, according to Carbon Brief. The two sides established a trade and investment consultation mechanism with four workstreams, including trade and investment balancing and export controls.

The United States accounted for nearly 50% of the world's CO2 emissions growth in 2025, a rise attributed to an AI data center explosion, according to CleanTechnica.

The finding draws on the Energy Institute's Statistical Review of World Energy, which CleanTechnica reported is the 75th edition of the report.

Robert Rapier of OilPrice.com highlighted the finding about the US from the Energy Institute report, according to CleanTechnica.

Murat Kurum, the COP31 president-designate, set out a goal for electricity to supply 35% of the world's final energy by 2035, according to Carbon Brief.

Kurum told Carbon Brief that the "35 by 35" figure rests on analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) of what would keep the 1.5C Paris Agreement target within reach.

Buildings, transport and industry are where the goal will be won or lost, Kurum said, describing them as sectors that together produce around 45% of global emissions.

He cited polling from the We Mean Business Coalition, in which 90% of businesses said they expect to have largely electrified operations by 2035, while 88% said electrification would make them more competitive.

Turkey aims to reach 120 GW of renewable capacity by 2035, Kurum said.

The European Commission will unveil a 2040 electrification target on July 17, Carbon Brief reported, citing Bloomberg, with a leaked draft aiming to halve oil use and cut gas use by two-thirds.