International: United Kingdom
Britain strengthens ties with California as new clean energy and climate agreement signed
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Britain has forged a deeper alliance with California on clean energy and climate action, as Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new agreement aimed at boosting transatlantic investment and environmental protection.
A UK climate security report backed by the intelligence services was quietly buried – a pattern we’ve seen many times before
5 Feb 2026
Last autumn, a UK government report warned that climate-driven ecosystem collapse could lead to food shortages, mass migration, political extremism and even nuclear conflict. The report was never officially launched.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
UK to join major wind farm project with nine European countries
27 Jan 2026
The UK is set to back a vast new fleet of offshore wind projects in the North Sea alongside nine other European countries including Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.
UK Govt accused of 'suppressing' report warning of catastrophic climate risks
26 Jan 2026
An official government report this week warning that "global ecosystem degradation and collapse threatens UK national security and prosperity" was abridged to remove references to some of the potentially catastrophic climate-related risks.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
15 Dec 2025
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
UK soars past wind power generation record for second time in two months
10 Dec 2025
Great Britain’s maximum wind generation record was broken on Friday, 5 December, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has confirmed.
UK farmers lose £800m after heat and drought cause one of worst harvests on record
5 Dec 2025
Many now concerned about ability to make living in fast-changing climate after one of worst grain harvests recorded.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
3 Dec 2025
COMMENT: The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts.
UK's 'largest' floating solar farm given go-ahead
3 Dec 2025
The 46,500-panel array will be installed at the Port of Barrow's Cavendish Dock in Cumbria and will be capable of producing enough energy to power 14,000 homes a year.
UK security, food and economy at risk without climate action, experts say
1 Dec 2025
Only urgent and radical action can prevent systemic breakdown affecting our economy, food supply and national security. This was the stark message from the U.K.’s first national emergency briefing on climate and nature to policymakers this week.
Ed Miliband confirms crackdown on North Sea exploration – but new drilling will continue
28 Nov 2025
Strategy paper released with budget allows new oil and gas projects to move ahead if they are linked to existing fields.
Scotland's first wind farm 'supercharged' after upgrade
11 Nov 2025
Scotland's first commercial wind farm will be able to deliver five times more clean power than before after being upgraded.
How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods
6 Nov 2025
Many extreme weather events are becoming more common and more intense around the world, fuelled by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
4 Nov 2025
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
UK Prime Minister will attend Brazil climate summit
21 Oct 2025
Keir Starmer will travel to the Amazon rainforest for the COP30 United Nations climate summit next month, Downing Street has confirmed, after weeks of speculation that he would not.
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
16 Oct 2025
The UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050, independent climate advisers have said.
'Urgent' call for tree planting as Northern Island failing to meet targets
15 Oct 2025
Tree planting in Northern Ireland is too slow to meet legally binding targets and thousands of residents are living in "tree poor" neighbourhoods, according to the Woodland Trust.
Researchers compare the footprint of meat vs. plant-based dog foods. The differences were staggering.
13 Oct 2025
Global pet food emissions rival those of a small country. A new UK study reveals that switching dogs to plant-based foods could slash emissions tenfold—without sacrificing nutrition.
National security threatened by climate crisis, UK intelligence chiefs due to warn
10 Oct 2025
The UK’s national security is under severe threat from the climate crisis and the looming collapse of vital natural ecosystems, with food shortages and economic disaster potentially just years away, a powerful report by the UK’s intelligence chiefs is due to warn.
UK Conservatives promise to ditch carbon pricing
8 Oct 2025
The UK’s opposition Conservative party (currently third in the polls) has pledged to cut energy prices by scrapping carbon pricing and wind subsidies.
UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised over plan to scrap climate change act
6 Oct 2025
Campaigners said it will put the Tories on the side of "conspiracy theorists and far right extremists".
UK to speed up fracking ban
3 Oct 2025
The government is to speed up its plans to permanently ban fracking in the UK, in order to counter the Reform party’s promises to bring back the controversial practice.
Republican gala dinner in Windsor disrupted by climate protesters ahead of Trump’s UK visit
18 Sep 2025
Climate protesters have interrupted a gala dinner for Republicans in Windsor celebrating Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK.
UK foreign aid for nature hits £800m record due to cash for carbon credits
16 Sep 2025
The UK’s climate-aid spending on “nature protection and restoration” reached record levels of nearly £800m last year, according to government figures obtained by Carbon Brief.
Ex-actor Zack Polanski's unusual path to become UK Green Party's new leader
9 Sep 2025
Zack Polanski has stormed to victory in the Green Party leadership election on a platform promising bold communication and "eco-populism".
Scottish oil and gas regulator says net-zero 'not a platitude' for sector
8 Sep 2025
The head of the oil and gas regulator says cutting the sector's carbon emissions is not "a platitude or a soundbite" but presents significant commercial benefits.
Politicians now talk of climate ‘pragmatism’ to delay action – new study
8 Sep 2025
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has described her plan to “maximise extraction” of the UK’s oil and gas from the North Sea as a “common sense” energy policy.
UK Conservatives pledge to get all oil and gas out of North Sea
2 Sep 2025
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party will remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies drilling in the North Sea if elected.
Underserved communities are reaping the benefits of London’s solar microgrids
2 Sep 2025
Thanks to a change in regulations, residents in social housing can now access the clean, affordable energy coming from their own roofs.
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
Climate scientists criticise Ireland over new ‘temperature neutrality’ proposal
13 Aug 2025
Climate scientists have criticised Ireland over proposed measures that would weaken the country’s commitments to reducing methane emissions.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
By changing our diets now, we can avoid the food chaos that climate change is bringing
8 Aug 2025
Climate change is pushing up the prices of the food we buy and changing what we eat.
What is net zero and is the UK on track to achieve it?
7 Aug 2025
The political consensus around the UK's net zero policies has collapsed, with opponents now branding them too difficult and expensive.
Barclays exits net zero banking alliance
5 Aug 2025
Barclays will exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, marking the second UK-based bank to withdraw from the UN-backed coalition dedicated to advancing global net zero goals through their financing activities, after the departure last month of HSBC.
Climateflation could push up UK food prices by more than a third by 2050, report says
29 Jul 2025
Increasingly extreme weather threatens production and supply chains in Britain and elsewhere.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
HSBC becomes first UK bank to quit industry’s net zero alliance
15 Jul 2025
Campaigners condemn ‘troubling’ move that follows departure of six of largest US banks after Trump’s election.
“Compliant deception”: MPs warn of oil industry greenwashing at debate on proposed fossil ad ban
14 Jul 2025
UK’s first parliamentary debate on the issue drew comparisons both with tobacco industry tactics and the industry’s now widely accepted ad ban.
UK: Thousands lobby MPs to demand climate action
10 Jul 2025
More than 5,000 people from across the UK arrived in Westminster on Wednesday to meet their MPs and demand urgent climate action to protect their communities.
Net-zero much cheaper than thought for UK – and unchecked global warming far more costly
9 Jul 2025
Reaching net-zero will be much cheaper for the UK government than previously expected – and the economic damages of unmitigated climate change far more severe.
Activists protest at London headquarters of global ad giant promoting fossil fuels
3 Jul 2025
The agency’s work for the fossil fuel industry has made it “complicit in causing existential harm to people and planet”, say campaigners, who are calling on WPP to drop those clients.
UK can reach net zero by 2050, climate report finds
26 Jun 2025
Climate Change Committee says current targets could be met provided country takes ‘steps forward’ to achieve them.
Oil giant funds computer game that promotes fossil fuels to schoolchildren
9 Jun 2025
Equinor, the company looking to develop the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, has funded a computer game aimed at UK school children, promoting the idea that fossil fuels are part of a green energy mix.
British farmers 'making a change' to cut carbon emissions
6 Jun 2025
It follows the UK experiencing the warmest spring on record and predictions of a hotter-than-normal summer, with an increased chance for heatwaves.
UK’s solar power surges 42% after sunniest spring on record
6 Jun 2025
The UK’s solar farms and rooftops generated more electricity than ever before in the first five months of 2025, as the country enjoyed its sunniest spring on record.
Why expensive gas – not net-zero – is keeping UK electricity prices so high
28 May 2025
The UK’s high electricity prices have become intensely political, with competing claims over the cause of rocketing bills and how best to get them down.
Watchdog urges Scotland to take action after repeatedly missing climate targets
23 May 2025
Climate Change Committee says original goal of a 75% emissions cut by 2030 will now be delayed by up to six years.
The case for Australian carbon tariffs
Thu 19 Feb 2026
OPINION: It may seem a niche issue but sorting the issue of carbon leakage from emissions-intensive facilities is needed to put industrial climate policy on a firm footing.
California, Connecticut preparing 'attack' against Trump's repeal of basis of US climate regulation
Fri 20 Feb 2026
California and Connecticut are working together on a multi-state "plan of attack" against President Donald Trump's repeal of the foundation of federal climate regulation of vehicles, the states' attorneys general told Reuters on Tuesday.
As Trump retreats from climate goals, China is becoming a green superpower
Thu 19 Feb 2026
How the world's biggest carbon emitter is now at the helm of a renewables revolution.
EU countries back stronger price curbs on new carbon market
Fri 20 Feb 2026
European Union countries on Wednesday backed plans to strengthen price curbs in the bloc's upcoming carbon market, EU diplomats told Reuters, in response to concerns from some governments that the policy could raise fuel bills.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
Tue 17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
Modi's rooftop solar push slowed by reluctant lenders, states
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to accelerate the rollout of rooftop solar power is falling short of targets despite heavy subsidies due to loan delays and limited support from state utilities, vendors and analysts say.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Warming climate threatens Greenland's ancestral way of life
12 Feb 2026
The Arctic region is on the frontline of global warming, heating up four times faster than the rest of the planet since 1979, according to a 2022 study in scientific journal Nature, causing the sea ice to retreat.
Africa leads growth in solar energy as demand spreads beyond traditional markets, report says
Mon 16 Feb 2026
A report shows that Africa has emerged as the world's fastest-growing solar market even as global growth slowed last year, driven by a 60% surge in imports of solar panels from China.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
