Europe in focus as Trump assault continues

The Climate, Health & Equity Brief is GMMB’s take on the latest news on the current impacts of climate change. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so by clicking here.

Hot Topic: It’s a big world out there. While President Trump’s dismantling of U.S. climate action continues, we’re focusing on developments across the pond this week as U.S. agencies grapple with slashed funding, massive staff cuts, and destructive changes to U.S. climate policy.

In Germany’s federal elections, the conservative CDU/CSU alliance secured 28.5% of the vote, positioning Friedrich Merz as a leading candidate for the chancellorship. Merz has indicated that he aims to continue some climate action and maintain the country’s 2045 net-zero target, albeit with adjustments to climate policy. He has been critical of rapid transitions away from coal and gas power and emphasizes that environmental initiatives should not come at the expense of Germany’s industrial base.

Ultimately, the direction of climate policy will depend on negotiations among Germany’s governing parties, including the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the second-largest party in the Bundestag after securing 20.8% of the vote.

Like Germany, the EU has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving climate neutrality while making policy adjustments it says are designed to aid economic growth. This week, the European Commission unveiled the Clean Industrial Deal, a €100 billion ($108 billion) initiative to boost investment in clean technologies. At the same time, the EU has scaled back carbon tariffs on most companies and reduced the scope of mandatory corporate sustainability reporting by 80%, moves that are likely to undermine climate policy enforcement and provide less visibility on corporate progress toward the EU’s net-zero goals.

And there was positive news this week in the UK as the Parliament’s Climate Change Committee released its annual carbon budget. While challenges remain, the report highlights significant progress in emissions reductions and confirms that technological advancements, growing public support, rising EV sales, and infrastructure investments are coming together to make climate neutrality in the UK an achievable goal by 2040.

Human Health

Two new studies from the University of Queensland analyzing decades of climate data show that climate change has increased heat wave mortality in Australia by 20% and that city dwellers face higher risks due to the “heat island” effect and socioeconomic factors for many that put them at higher risk. (Phys.org)

Scientists in India are examining the link between climate change and a surge in severe neurological illness in India as mounting evidence suggests that rising temperatures and extreme weather are fueling the spread of harmful pathogens and increasing climate-related health risks. (Mongabay)

A recent survey reveals that 39% of Americans believe global warming is harming public health (+8 points since 2014), with sharp increases in recognition of risks like heat stroke (45%, +31 points), air pollution (44%, +26 points), and asthma (43%, +26 points). (Yale Program on Climate Change Communication)

Planetary Health

A new study found that global glacial loss this decade was more than a third higher than previous periods, with Central Europe losing 39% of its glacier ice in little over 20 years. (BBC)

A new study found that low-altitude cloud cover is decreasing—likely due to rising temperatures—and was responsible for 0.2°C of warming in 2023, signaling a potential feedback loop accelerating planetary warming. (The Washington Post)

Scientists have discovered a way to turn common rocks into a high-tech, low-cost means to trap atmospheric carbon, though concerns remain over the new technology’s scalability and energy efficiency. (The Washington Post)

Equity

New research finds that 9 in 10 Bangladeshi migrants fleeing climate-hit areas face modern-day slavery, creating an urgent need for stronger social protections as climate disasters threaten to displace up to 19.9 million people in Bangladesh by 2050. (Climate Home News)

At Louisiana’s request, the Trump administration has revoked the historic district eligibility of an 11-mile stretch in “Cancer Alley,” sparking outrage that the move prioritizes industrial development over preserving Black heritage and protecting communities from pollution. (Louisiana Illuminator)

Despite contributing little to the climate crisis, fourteen Pacific island nations will need to adapt their tuna-dependent economies—with the help of a $107 million grant from the UN’s Green Climate Fund—as climate change threatens the fish critical to their food security, livelihoods, economic stability, and governmental revenue. (The Washington Post)

The Pacific island nation of Nauru is selling passports to wealthy foreigners to fund a $65 million climate adaptation project to relocate 90% of its population from coastal areas threatened by rising sea levels. (Bloomberg)

Politics & Economy

Given the proliferation of distressing climate news from the Trump Administration, we will now summarize new developments at the bottom of this section each week while focusing separately on other important developments domestically and abroad.

Renewable energy saw record growth in the U.S. last year, with renewables making up 24% of the energy mix, coal dropping to a record low 14.7%, and energy storage surging 55%, yet U.S. clean energy investments still trail far behind China, and Trump’s policy rollbacks pose risks to future progress. (Axios)

State Farm, California’s largest home insurer, reports a staggering $7.6 billion in wildfire losses from the Los Angeles fires, marking the highest payout by any insurer as industry-wide claims near $30 billion. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Germany’s newly elected government is expected to maintain the country’s goals to phase out all coal plants by 2038 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, but with a shift in focus toward industrial and economic priorities rather than an aggressive green agenda. (Axios)

The EU is rolling back key climate policies in a bid to ease regulatory burdens on businesses, even as it pledges €100B ($104B) for clean tech manufacturing—signaling a major retreat from its aggressive decarbonization agenda amid rising energy costs and political pressure. (Semafor)

A new study by Climate Central highlights how the climate crisis is driving rising temperatures in West Africa’s “cocoa belt,” which produces 70% of the world’s cocoa, impacting harvests and contributing to a record 136% increase in chocolate prices from 2022 to 2024. (Ecowatch)

The latest IEA report projects that global electricity demand will grow by 4% annually through 2027, with renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower projected to meet approximately 95% of the increased demand. (ABC News)

Global financial services company HSBC is delaying its net-zero carbon emissions target because of a slow global economy, now aiming to reach net-zero 20 years later than planned and expecting to record only a 40% drop in emissions this decade. (Reuters)

Major sustainable investment firms are dropping references to climate change as GOP opposition reshapes the financial landscape. (Bloomberg)

Administration Watch:

• The White House has ordered federal scientists to stop working on the UN climate report ahead of a key IPCC meeting in China, from which the U.S. has withdrawn. (CNN, Earth.org)
• EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is privately urging the White House to strike down the Endangerment Finding—the official federal determination requiring the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions given their impact on human health and welfare. (The Washington Post)
• Zeldin is also attempting to freeze the $20 billion in green funding already dispersed under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. (Grist)
• NOAA scientists refused to link warming weather to climate change at their first monthly climate briefing under the Trump administration. (New Scientist)
• The Trump administration has laid off 880 NOAA employees, sparking concerns about the agency’s ability to accurately forecast and respond to extreme weather events. (Time)
• Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem issued a memo to “eliminate all climate change activities and the use of climate change terminology in DHS policies and programs.” (Bloomberg)
• The White House announced a planned 65% reduction in the EPA budget. (POLITICO)
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has created a new class of “emergency” permits to fast-track fossil fuel projects. (The New York Times)
• The Trump administration laid off 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees, exacerbating an already critical staffing shortage and threatening wildfire mitigation, ecological restoration, and public land management. (Grist)

Action

The ferocity of President Trump’s anti-environment agenda is turbocharging climate action efforts, including new climate accountability lawsuits and legislative proposals to force oil companies to pay for climate disasters. (The Guardian)

Environmentalists in Alaska filed one of the first lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s push for “energy dominance” through expanding fossil fuel production and revoking protections for vulnerable coastal and Arctic areas. (The New York Times)

The UK has launched an £81M ($102M) initiative to develop an early warning system for climate tipping points, using AI, drones, cosmic ray detection, and ocean monitoring to predict catastrophic shifts such as the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet and crucial Atlantic currents. (The Guardian)

Japan, the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter, has revised its climate, energy, and industry policies through 2040, aiming to reduce greenhouse gases by 73%, use greater quantities of renewables for energy production, and strengthen industrial capacity for economic growth. (Reuters)

A UK pilot facility in Weymouth, SeaCURE, has begun removing CO2 from seawater—potentially a more efficient method than capturing it from air—to combat climate change, though challenges remain regarding energy use and environmental impact. (New Scientist)

Environmental groups and organic farmers have sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture for scrubbing their websites of references to climate change and effectively freezing funding promised for businesses and nonprofits through conservation programs. (The New York Times)

Life as We Know It

As climate change intensifies, U.S. first responders are adapting with upgraded equipment, specialized training, and new emergency strategies to adapt to increasingly severe and unpredictable weather. (CBS News)

In a new annual survey from Colorado College, 72% of respondents from eight Western states agreed that Congress should prioritize protecting clean air, water, and wildlife habitats rather than maximizing the amount of public land used for drilling and oil. (Inside Climate News)

Kicker

In our time of justified climate angst, Gen Z advisors to the Climate Mental Health Network have developed the Gen Z Zine—a grassroots digital magazine by and for Gen Zers that offers tools to support climate-concerned youth.

We don’t want it, we don’t need it…please don’t send us tens of billions of dollars to spend this year.”
– EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin

The GMMB Climate, Health & Equity Brief would not be possible without the contributions of the larger GMMB team—Catherine Ahmad, Aaron Benavides, Stefana Hendronetto, Nikki Melamed, Sharde Olabanji, Kenzie Perrow and Marci Welford. Feedback on the Brief is welcome and encouraged and should be sent to CHandEBrief@gmmb.com.