In brief | 26 May '26

Euronews: Spain unveils climate social plan with €9 billion for energy transition

The plan, which the government hopes to submit to Brussels before the end of the year, is built on two pillars: access to “decent, efficient” housing and the promotion of “sustainable, affordable” mobility. 

Bloomberg: Dubious Chinese carbon projects expose depth of European market’s flaws

Companies in at least nine European countries bought carbon credits from projects that appear not to exist or were verified by an auditor-turned-developer who treated the two jobs as a revolving door. 

Bloomberg: Oil rebounds as strikes near strait muddy outlook for Iran deal

Oil rebounded as fresh US military strikes in Iran clouded the outlook for an interim deal between Tehran and Washington to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the talks set to continue for several more days. 

Euronews: 'We can halt warming – and we must': IPCC scientist on why Europe keeps choosing fossil fuels

'Budapest will also hit 50°C, the only question is when', predicts Hungarian climate scientist Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, a professor at CEU. 

The Guardian: World’s biggest miner BHP backtracks on climate action with key projects put on ice, leaked documents reveal

Cache of internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners show multinational has war-gamed ways to massively delay decarbonisation. 

Bloomberg: Climeworks CEO says carbon removal can’t hinge on Microsoft

A pullback by the tech giant could spur an evolution of the market, said Christoph Gebald. 

HCSS: Intersecting futures: Global trends shaping and shaped by climate change over the next century

Climate change is no longer a distant environmental challenge – it is rapidly reshaping global stability, economic resilience, and geopolitical competition.

The Guardian: Could nature itself hold the solution to climate change? - Commentary

Technological interventions face huge financial or practical challenges, but there is another way.