Wednesday, 22 July 2026

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

Kurum described the "35 by 35" target as based 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.

The EU, UK and Canada have backed the goal, as have the Brazilian COP30 and Ethiopian COP32 presidencies, Kurum said. Each has told him the target will feature at the center of COP31 talks.

Buildings, transport and industry are the sectors that will decide whether the goal is met, Kurum said, putting their combined share of global emissions at around 45%.

He cited We Mean Business Coalition polling in which 90% of businesses said they expect to have largely electrified their operations by 2035, with 88% saying they expect electrification to improve their competitiveness.

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

An oil products tanker named the Kaifan, owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Co., was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, according to security consultancy EOS Risk Group. UK Maritime Trade Operations said the ship was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman's Limah.

Traffic through the strait has thinned sharply. In the week ending July 19, Hormuz crossings averaged seven tankers each day, compared with 16 per day a week earlier, according to Rahul Kapoor, global head of shipping analytics and research for S&P Global Energy. Hormuz was deserted on Tuesday with no ships observed transiting.

Some vessels have altered course rather than proceed. An empty Sinokor supertanker, the Plata Singapore, that was sailing toward the Gulf of Oman with the aim of reaching Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura, deviated from its path on Sunday.

Others have signaled their national ties. The India-flagged supertanker Desh Viraat, half-filled with crude from Fujairah, switched its broadcast signal to "Govt. of India Await" after the Houthi threat on Monday.

Two state-run refiners in India have halted crude oil loadings from Iraq, citing security risks in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Rigzone.

One of them, Indian Oil Corp., dropped plans to fill the supertanker Lila Jamnagar, a vessel capable of carrying up to 2 million barrels, Rigzone reported.

A second buyer, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd., which sits under state-owned ONGC, has stopped its own liftings from Iraq amid the worsening security picture, according to Rigzone.

India's shipping ministry told shipowners, managers and recruitment agencies to hold off on placing Indian seafarers aboard vessels crossing Hormuz until further notice, a step it linked to more frequent attacks on commercial ships, Rigzone said.

Traffic across the waterway declined after Iran struck several oil tankers in a bid to assert control over the strait, according to Rigzone.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) issued a letter on July 21, 2026 fixing the parameters for the two upcoming Capacity Market auctions. It covers a T-1 round tied to the 2027 to 2028 delivery year and a T-4 round tied to the 2030 to 2031 delivery year.

Energy Minister RT Hon Michael Shanks MP addressed the correspondence to the National Energy System Operator (NESO), according to DESNZ. The document also fixes interconnector de-rating factors that will apply to the T-4 round.

DESNZ said the two sets of parameters may shift after auction prequalification, with final values locked in ahead of the auctions in early 2027.

The United Kingdom will cut value-added tax (VAT) on domestic electricity from 5% to 0% starting October 1, 2026, according to electrive.

New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the tax cut on his second day in office, electrive reported. "We're taking immediate action to cut taxes on energy bills, put more money in people's pockets and bring back hope," Burnham said.

The change leaves a gap between the two ways drivers of electric vehicles power their cars. EV drivers in the UK currently pay 20% VAT on public charging compared with 5% at home, according to electrive. The cut to 0% applies to household electricity, widening the difference against the public rate.

Around one third of all UK households lack access to home charging, meaning they have no driveway to charge their electric cars, electrive reported. Those drivers depend on public chargepoints, where the 20% rate remains.

EVA England chief executive Vicky Edmonds called for the UK Government's Cost of Public Charging Review to deliver structural reform to bring down prices at the chargepoint.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, advanced sensors, and other emerging technologies across the nation's mining sector, according to the DOE.

The DOE said the deal is a five-year framework meant to advance mining innovation, improve worker safety, increase productivity, and support secure domestic production of critical minerals.

Under the MOU, DOE's Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office and Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation will collaborate with DOL's Mine Safety and Health Administration, according to the DOE. The agencies plan to share non-proprietary data, research, and technical expertise that supports the deployment of next-generation mining technologies.

Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said the MOU will further President Trump's promise to restore coal as a key driver of America's energy supply chain, and said American coal will again be the envy of the world.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said pairing DOE's technical expertise with DOL's leadership on mine safety can support American miners, secure domestic supply chains, and put cutting-edge technology to work for the people who power the nation.

China's shipments of rare-earth magnets bound for the United States this year run 20% below the average recorded between 2022 and 2024, according to customs data cited by Semafor Net Zero, even with a trade truce in place between the two countries.

As part of last year's agreement with Washington, Beijing committed to a one-year pause on implementing sweeping export restrictions on the rare-earth materials, which Semafor Net Zero describes as essential to defense and energy manufacturing.

The US trade representative recently acknowledged that China's compliance with the pact was "not perfect," Bloomberg reported.

Washington has allotted billions of dollars to secure critical minerals outside China, according to Semafor Net Zero, a spending effort that has raised concerns it could leave Europe more reliant on Beijing.

The UK government swapped out the approved grant categories and values for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with the replacement taking effect 21 July 2026, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The department had set out those same grant categories and values on 28 May 2026, flagging them for use from 21 July 2026.

The rules cover England and Wales and carry the joint publication of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero alongside the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Approved standards in the notice sit under Regulation 4 of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022, while the grant categories and grant levels fall under Regulation 13.

The Australian government forecasts that metallurgical coal exports will grow for only two more years before falling to 157 million tonnes by 2031, according to IEEFA. S&P Global sets the decline steeper, projecting exports drop to 143Mt by 2031 and hold there until at least 2035, IEEFA reported.

Supply capacity is contracting alongside the forecasts. Yancoal announced in June that its Ashton met coal mine in New South Wales will close in 2028, citing significant technical challenges and operational risks, according to IEEFA. The New South Wales government stated in March 2026 that no new greenfield coal mines will be approved in the state.

On the demand side, Indian steelmakers are moving toward routes that consume less met coal. Tata Steel inaugurated its first Indian scrap steel-based electric arc furnace steel plant in March 2026, IEEFA reported.

Ashok Kumar Panda, Chairman and Managing Director of Steel Authority of India, said manufacturing new steel from scrap has "a huge growth waiting for it," according to IEEFA.

JSW Steel's under-development Rayalaseema Steel Project in Andhra Pradesh will use direct reduced iron technology as an alternative to a met coal-consuming blast furnace, IEEFA reported, with scrap steel recycling also involved at the plant.

The UK government published a Transition Access Agreement Policy Position Statement in July 2026 as part of updates to its carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) business models, according to UK DESNZ. The document runs to 15 pages and 211 KB.

The CCUS business models research page is published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

The publication was first published on 21 December 2020 and last updated on 22 July 2026.

The July statement follows Draft Commercial Principles for the Transition Access Agreement, which were published in February 2026 in a document of 17 pages and 221 KB.