In brief | 30 July ‘26

Reuters: Wildfire threat moving east, threatening Italy and Greece, EU says

Head of crisis centre warns fire threat moving, multiple new outbreaks could see 'all Europe on fire'. 

Bloomberg: Heat pushes Rhine toward 36-year low in risk to energy supplies

The Rhine River’s water levels risk dropping to an unprecedented low as heat waves grip Europe, creating a bottleneck for the delivery of coal and fuels inland while raising shipping costs.

Reuters: Low Danube river levels force Romania to shut down both of its nuclear power reactors

Planned shutdown will increase Romania's reliance on power imports; Romanian Danube levels at decades-low levels. 

Bloomberg: Europe’s hot, dry summer raises winter power market risks

Europe’s power markets are beginning to price risks for this winter due to concerns about persistent drought and constraints on French nuclear generation.

Reuters: Germany's Uniper firms up 20-year LNG purchase deal with Canada

German state-controlled energy group Uniper finalised a 20-year liquefied natural gas purchase ​deal with Canada as the two nations ‌deepen their partnership.

NYTimes: Canada’s answer to Trump’s tariffs: more energy deals with Europe

The Carney government’s agreement with a German natural gas company will also reduce Europe’s dependence on a Qatari supply made more uncertain by war.

PIK: Global crop models underestimate how rice responds to extreme heat

Modelled estimates for yield reductions from 1°C of global warming were roughly half those of the real-world observed experiments (3.8 percent instead of 8.1 percent).

CATF: Targeting sustainable aviation fuel at a handful of major airports could deliver outsized climate and health benefits

Directing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to a small number of high-impact airports, rather than spreading it across the aviation network, could significantly increase the fuel’s climate and public health benefits while global supply continues to build.