The International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin gives us bad news about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). After a week of contentious deliberations and some displays of temper, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suspended its 65th session Friday evening without an agreement on either a timeline for the remainder of its Seventh Assessment Cycle or even a budget for the coming year. In closing, Chair Jim Skea highlighted the Panel’s achievements this week, including greater clarity on the timeline, a decision on how to draft meeting reports, and the confirmation of an informal group to provide advice on artificial intelligence. Despite what Chair Skea described as some of the Panel’s most turbulent months, he said, “The engine room of the IPCC is working, and it’s healthy.” Let’s hope so but it’s not obvious.
The Financial Times reports that EU leaders have resisted an Italian-led effort, supported by Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, to weaken the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and delay its extension to buildings and transport from 2028 to 2030, amid concerns over soaring energy prices. Germany, France, Spain and the Nordic countries defended the ETS as a vital price signal for encouraging green investment. The compromise was to reassess the impacts of extending the system, while asking the European Commission to consider differences in energy prices across member states when developing short-term measures.
It was very disturbing news this week from the Guardian that Western Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc, shrank by more than a metre last year. The peak of Mont Blanc in France now stands 4,807.47 metres above sea level, a team of surveyors said on Wednesday, putting “the roof of Europe” 1.29 metres lower than in 2025. The summit has shrunk back by 3.43 metres since a high of 4,810.90 metres in 2007. “Climate breakdown was a factor in western Europe’s hottest summer on record this year, scarring Alpine regions and melting ice at dizzying speed. Earlier this month, Swiss glaciologists warned of an “explosion of melt rates” after confirming that one-fifth of the country’s ice had been lost in the past five years, and 5.5% of volume was lost between 2025 and 2026.”
In an opinion article published by the Guardian, an anonymous author working as a risk modeller for a major insurance company warns that the industry is systematically underestimating the growing financial risks associated with climate change. The author reveals that insurers are pressuring risk analysts to lower their projections of potential losses from extreme weather events in order to keep premiums competitive, leaving companies and policyholders dangerously exposed. As floods, wildfires, droughts and other climate-related disasters become more severe, the author warns that inadequate insurance coverage and potentially overwhelming claims could have devastating consequences for homeowners, businesses, banks and ultimately the wider economy.
The Financial Times reports that France and Germany have sealed an EU car deal. The Franco-German agreement represents a significant setback for Europe’s climate ambitions, weakening the regulatory framework intended to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles. By abandoning the 2035 climate-neutrality objective for new cars, easing restrictions on combustion engines and plug-in hybrids, and relaxing corporate fleet targets, the agreement risks prolonging dependence on fossil fuels and slowing transport-sector decarbonisation. It also sends mixed signals to manufacturers and investors at a time when electric vehicle sales are growing rapidly, potentially undermining Europe’s longer-term competitiveness in clean technologies. While the agreement may provide short-term relief for Europe’s automotive industry, it raises serious questions about the EU’s ability to reconcile industrial competitiveness, energy security and its legally binding 2050 climate-neutrality objective.
Ten years after its adoption, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is proving to be a remarkable success, with countries ahead of schedule in phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), powerful greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning, potentially preventing 0.5°C of global warming by the end of the century. As Chico Harlan reports in The New York Times, the agreement demonstrates how legally binding targets, financial support for developing countries and cooperation with industry can deliver effective climate action, offering a possible model for tackling other potent greenhouse gases such as methane.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:
- There’s never been a more important moment to travel right in Europe with masses of overdevelopment, cruise ships, walking pollution and captive cetaceans still hot topics when it comes to responsible tourism issues in Europe. Check out the Responsible Travel website.
- Experience the beauty of Scotland this autumn.
- Autumn is the best time for a cycling trip in Europe because the summer heat is gone, the roads are quiet, and the trees turn bright red and gold. Check out Bike Tours in Europe for some inspiration.
- 2026 is the centenary of the death of the painter Claude Monet (1840-1926). To mark this anniversary, the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris has organised an exhibition, entitled Monet, painting time, focusing on his body of work’s relationship with time. It continues until January 27, 2027.
George H. Lorimer (1867-1937), an American journalist, editor, author and publisher, provides a timeless reflection on the difference between material wealth and what truly makes life rich: “It’s good to have money and the things that money will buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven’t lost the things that money won’t buy.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA report on options to strengthen Europe’s sustainable competitiveness
- As Türkiye prepares to host COP31, the IEA highlights progress and contradictions in its energy transition
- Climate change: there is no new normal
- Electrifying public transport is only half the journey
- Carbon capture: four decades of promises, but where are the results?
- The missing pieces of the energy transition: efficiency, grids and flexibility
- The surprising energy efficiency benefits of driverless trucks
- Germany’s climate transition: the cost of acting versus the cost of standing still
- Beyond climate denial: the five faces of climate disinformation
- Clean energy finance overtakes fossil fuels for the first time, but G20 governments and development banks still fund fossil fuel lock-in
Please send your comments on any of the posts. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
If you know anyone who would like to receive this weekly notice, please invite them to contact EiD at news@energyindemand.com. It is not available on the WordPress website.
