Ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in Labour’s first year in power.
Greta Thunberg has warned that 40C heatwaves in the UK are “only the beginning” and says Britain’s leaders have “their heads completely buried in the sand” regarding climate change.
Her comments follow revelations that Labour ministers met fossil fuel industry lobbyists more than 500 times during the party’s first year in power, while Labour MPs took tens of thousands of pounds in donations from oil and gas lobbyists.
The activist, 23, was speaking as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued a rare red heat-health alert for the first time since 2022, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 40C later this week.
“This is what experts have been warning about for decades,” Thunberg told Metro. “This is unfortunately only the beginning.”
She added: “We know that the climate crisis is here and now, and not a faraway threat in the future, and those suffering the most are the ones who have contributed the least to cause it.”
Power-mad orange gasbag Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
The UN just released its 2025 Global Climate Report, and, predictably, the outlook for our earth is incredibly dire. The past 11 years were the 11 warmest on record, and Earth’s energy imbalance—the amount of solar energy absorbed versus the amount Earth radiates back into space—is also the highest on record. Greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase through 2025, despite the world crossing the 1.5°C threshold marked in the Paris Agreement above which the worst effects of global heating will take place.
There is no shortage of urgent climate news right now. The scientific consensus that we need to phase out fossil fuels fast has not changed, despite President Donald Trump’s anti-climate policies rolling back environmental protections and clean energy growth. But data shows coverage about climate change in US news outlets has plunged.
Downward trend
FAIR’s research has found that online news coverage of climate change has been trending down. A search of the term “climate change” in Media Cloud’s US–National dataset, which indexes 248 online outlets, found that there was almost 32% less climate coverage in 2025 than 2024.
This trend is similar in TV news. A recent Media Matters (3/4/26) study found that climate coverage on major US commercial broadcast TV networks was down 35% in 2025.
Zooming out to the past five years to date, results show a steep downward trend. In 2021, 2.4% of US online news pieces in MediaCloud contained the phrase “climate change.” In 2025, that percentage was 1.3%, which is a nearly 46% decrease.
This trend continues in 2026. Between January 1 and March 31 2026, climate stories made up 1.1% of total US news coverage. That’s a 42% decrease compared to the same period in 2021, when climate stories made up 1.9% of coverage.
Coverage of climate change in MediaCloud’s US news database peaked at 3.4% of content in October 2021. This was in the runup to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow (10/31/21–11/13/21), and was at the time the world’s fourth-warmest October on record, although now it’s only the seventh-warmest. Coverage reached its nadir in January 2026, at just under 1%, and as of March 31, 2026, sat at 1.1%.
The unlabeled ‘crisis’
The term “climate crisis,” which carries with it a more urgent connotation than the more familiar “climate change,” has nearly disappeared from media lexicon. The term, which averaged 0.4% of coverage in 2021, reaching its peak in November 2021 at 0.7%, has averaged 0.1% of content in the first quarter of 2026.
Though it has never approached the usage of “climate change,” there was a time when the terms “crisis” or “emergency” to describe the heating planet were popularized in media and political lexicon (Public Citizen, 6/22/19). In 2019, activist Greta Thunberg (Twitter/X, 6/4/19) declared:
It’s 2019. Can we all now please stop saying “climate change” and instead call it what it is: climate breakdown, climate crisis, climate emergency, ecological breakdown, ecological crisis and ecological emergency?
Months later, the Guardian (10/16/19) changed its style guide to “introduce terms that more accurately describe the environmental crises facing the world.” The editors explained:
Climate change is no longer considered to accurately reflect the seriousness of the overall situation; use climate emergency or climate crisis instead to describe the broader impact of climate change.
In 2026, this terminology is arguably more applicable now than it has ever been. The years 2015–25 were the hottest on record. Yet while the Guardian continues its policy, it appears increasingly isolated.
Trump and climate silence
Under a president who called climate change a “con job” at the UN, and whose EPA edited its “Climate Change Science” page to blame global heating on debunked “natural causes” theories like changes in Earth’s orbit and volcanic activity, news media should be redoubling their efforts to tell climate change stories with accuracy.
Instead, one cannot help but notice a correlation between Trump’s second presidency and dwindling media attention to the climate. From January 2021 through November 2024, climate pieces were an average of 2.2% of total news content per month. From December 2024, after Trump was elected, through March 2026, climate pieces averaged more than 46% lower, at 1.2%.
The lack of recent coverage is not for lack of newsworthy climate stories. In addition to the release of the 2025 UN report, in March alone:
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research filed a lawsuit charging that the Trump administration shut down the Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research to get back at Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, whom Trump has clashed with (NCAR/UCAR, 3/16/26).
Scientists found that March’s record-shattering heatwave in the Western US would have been “virtually impossible” without the climate crisis. The heatwave included the hottest March days on record in the US, with two 112°F days in Arizona (NBC New York, 3/30/26).
The Trump administration paid a French energy giant $1 billion to cancel its offshore wind projects and invest in fossil fuels instead (Grist, 3/25/26).
More than 160 environmental and public health groups called for the firing of EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, who has rolled back national environmental regulations, including air quality standards, pollution limits for oil and gas drilling, and regulations on power plant and vehicle emissions (Earth.org, 3/26/26).
An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began in late March, killing wildlife and damaging reefs (Al Jazeera, 3/27/26).
Iran War and climate
The US and Israel’s unprovoked war on Iran is causing global oil and gas price shocks—and is being reported as the worst energy crisis in history, topping the crises of the 1970s and the Ukraine invasion of 2022 (Fortune, 3/23/26). With the war dominating headlines—the terms “Iran” and “war” made up 10.5% of US news coverage in March, per MediaCloud’s data—there were plenty of opportunities to discuss the war’s impact on climate.
While 5,012 stories in MediaCloud’s US news database mentioned Iran and oil or gas prices during March 2026, only 219 (4.4%) mentioned those topics in relation to renewable energy or climate change.
Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, spoke at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, explaining that a just transition from fossil fuels is not only an environmental imperative, but also an economic and national security one:
Sunlight doesn’t depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits, wind blows without massive taxpayer-funded naval escorts [and] renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil and to side-step might-is-right politics.
Renewables like solar and wind are less beholden to geopolitics than fossil fuels, which are vulnerable to volatile shipping lanes and international relations in the specific regions of the world they are produced. Once solar panels and wind turbines are installed, they allow for energy to be produced locally and predictably. As a result, their prices remain stable over time (Global Witness, 4/2/26).
Solar and wind have also been cheaper than fossil fuels for quite some time. A 2025 Lazard report found that utility-scale solar and wind have been the lowest-cost generation sources for 10 years, even without tax subsidies.
This is not the first time in recent years the corporate press failed to make the connection between war-inflated gas prices and the need for renewable energy. In June 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, UN sanctions on Russian oil led to a global shortage, causing the national gas price average to top $5 a gallon. Out of 93 nightly news episodes in June 2022 that discussed gas prices, only 18 made even a passing climate connection, and only one made a pro-climate argument (FAIR.org, 7/29/22).
Impacts of climate
The Nation (3/5/26): “The climate implications of this new war are not the center of attention at the moment, but they are essential context for understanding what’s at stake.”
What’s more, as Mark Hertsgaard and Giles Trendle wrote for The Nation (3/5/26), “Modern warfare is inextricably linked with climate change.” Whether or not a war is fought over oil, the authors note, it cannot be fought without it. If the world’s militaries were a country, they would have the fourth-largest national carbon footprint.
Modern warfare emits astronomical amounts of carbon, which cause extreme heat and other dangerous weather events that impact livelihoods and destabilize economies—conditions that lead to more war.
And warfare also has immediate environmental and public health impacts, some directly linked to fossil fuels. After Israel attacked Iran’s oil facilities, black rain fell in Tehran. The heavy metals and toxic chemicals unleashed have the potential for major public health ramifications, leaching into food supplies and waterways in addition to air. Health risks from this pollution include lung problems, heart problems and cancer.
Climate change does not occur in a vacuum. It is relevant to virtually everything that happens on Earth, from natural disasters to your weekly expenses. Studies show that 80–89% of people worldwide want to see stronger action on climate change from their governments.
It is news media’s responsibility to reflect reality and to address the concerns of the communities they serve, regardless of the priorities of the administration in power. Failing to mention climate change where it is relevant will not stop it from occurring, but inattention will surely make it worse.
This story is part of the 89 Percent Project, an initiative of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.
FAIR’s work is sustained by our generous contributors, who allow us to remain independent. Donate today to be a part of this important mission.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
The sun rising over London, seen from Richmond Park, on Sunday. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/AFP/Getty
Highest temperatures of 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as Kew Gardens in London reaches 32.3C
England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded their highest temperatures of 2026 on Sunday, which was also the UK’s hottest May day for at least 79 years.
Kew Gardens in west London recorded 32.3C (90.1F), Cardiff 27.4C and Armagh 23.4C.
Scotland reached 23.5C in Edinburgh, just 0.1C below the record of 23.6C set in Aboyne on 1 May.
The first area of the UK to hit the heatwave threshold was Santon Downham in Suffolk, which reached the criteria of recording temperatures of more than 27C for three consecutive days at 11.30am on Sunday.
The other areas officially in heatwave conditions are Heathrow, Kew Gardens and Northolt in London, Benson in Oxfordshire, Brooms Barn in Suffolk, and High Beach and Writtle in Essex.
Temperatures could rise again on Monday, with possible highs of between 33C and 34C.
The climate crisis is increasing the likelihood of extreme heat. Large parts of western Europe are experiencing similar peaks, and the French national weather agency, Météo-France, said periods of exceptional heat are to be expected “more and more often and more and more prematurely, and to be more and more intense”.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Awesome, unexpected and unforgettable: a sudden bolt of silver as a tuna jumped clear of the sea. Nobody else saw it, and I (Angus Atkinson) almost thought I was hallucinating. But since I first saw one from a boat just off the south Devon coast ten years ago, Atlantic bluefin tuna have steadily increased in the southwest UK. Last year I even saw them from the shore, and tuna now supports a local fishery.
Tuna is not the only species to make a rapid change in the southwest UK about a decade ago. Blue, thresher and porbeagle sharks suddenly increased dramatically. Spiny lobsters suddenly increased. Meanwhile basking sharks and many important fish species like cod and pollack declined. What is going on?
Fortunately, in the southwest UK, help is at hand. Not only does this peninsula host some of the most complete long-term recordings of observations in the UK, we also have a burgeoning network of marine observers.
This was the brainchild of marine consultant Bob Earll, who 15 years ago set up a network called South West Marine Ecosystems. This links scientists, marine charities, fishermen, conservation trusts, managers and citizen scientists many of whom have natural history skills to match the best. This network enables members to more easily share observations and recordings about marine life.
Alongside established high-tech and long-term monitoring such as at the Western Channel Observatory (a set of sampling sites at sea within a 30-mile-radius from Plymouth), many pairs of eyes are looking at the sea along the entire coast of this peninsula. Each year we meet and put data together to report on the status of everything in the marine ecosystem, whether it swims, crawls or flies, and from nutrients right up to the numbers of stranded whales.
South West Marine Ecosystems’ annual reports and annual conferences put the previous year’s observations into the context of all that has gone before. That includes strange new events such as the 2025 octopus outburst. This near-real time reporting, with everyone comparing notes, provided a lightbulb moment: these species shifts were not continuous but seemed to be concentrated into a short intense period of massive change around 2014 to 2016.
In the southwest UK, tuna have increased to the extent that they support a tightly regulated fishery, with a UK catch quota of 230 tonnes for 2026-28. Fishing is always an emotive subject, and some people say we should be leaving these beautiful animals alone.
Kayakers have a close encounter with tuna while photographing marine wildlife off the coast of Devon in 2024.
A recent announcement by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) offers some hope that tuna fisheries worldwide are moving in the right direction.
The MSC endorses those seafood sources that have been harvested sustainably, meaning that they abide by the rules of well-managed fisheries based on scientific advice, with minimal collateral ecological damage. This most recent announcement shows an important positive result: the proportion of tuna products available with an MSC endorsement has just risen to nearly 50%, compared to less than 20% only five years ago.
Remarkably, tuna has just overtaken cod as the main seafood bought in the UK. This probably reflects the increasing availability of more sustainably-sourced tuna and sharply declining cod stocks.
A state of flux
Managing these fisheries involves treading that tightrope between allowing livelihoods for the fishing industry, but allowing the whole ecosystem to flourish. The challenges of climate change, shifting distributions and fishing pressure combine into a real headache to manage fisheries responsibly.
Abrupt shifts in ecosystems, as we have witnessed in the southwest of the UK, are critical for fisheries management. In just a few years an ecosystem can lurch into a different operating space with different species and links.
Computer simulation models of ecosystems can broadly project how food webs might respond to the average pace of climate change. Importantly, these models are notoriously poor for predicting abrupt shifts, often known as regime shifts, that punctuate the steadier pace of change.
With these challenges, fisheries managers need all the help they can get to understand abrupt ecosystem shifts. The tuna increase was well documented by South West Marine Ecosystems. The success of this network means that similar programmes are spinning up around the other coasts of the UK.
Similar initiatives are underway elsewhere. The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research provides a data network from public reporting of jellyfish increases, which are important for the management of Norwegian aquaculture.
Joined-up science efforts like South West Marine Ecosystems, alongside long-term scientific monitoring studies and, of course, traditional fish stock assessments, will help us know better whether tuna should stay on the menu.
Wind turbines seen at the Altamont Pass wind farm on January 13, 2026 in Livermore, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“The most corrupt presidency ever—and it’s not even close,” said one critic.
Critics slammed the Trump administration on Monday after it announced a deal to pay almost $1 billion to a French energy company to cancel its plans to construct wind farms across the eastern US.
As reported by The New York Times, French firm TotalEnergies has agreed to forfeit its leases in federal waters off the coasts of New York and North Carolina, and will instead invest the money it received from the Trump administration into oil and gas projects in the US, “including a facility in Texas that would export liquefied natural gas to global markets.”
TotalEnergies paid nearly $928 million for the rights to access federal waters during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
The Times described the agreement as “an extraordinary transfer of taxpayer dollars to a foreign company for the purposes of boosting the production of fossil fuels, a main driver of climate change, while throttling offshore wind power.”
Patrick Pouyanné, the chief executive of TotalEnergies, said that the firm decided to abandon its US wind farm plans due to “practical” considerations, while emphasizing that the firm wasn’t giving up on wind power all together.
“When the Trump administration came to power and began setting US energy policy, we said that we’ll have to reconsider, clearly, these offshore wind project developments,” explained Pouyanné, adding that “we continue to invest in onshore solar, onshore wind, batteries.”
Many critics expressed disbelief that the Trump administration would go to such extraordinary lengths to kill a clean energy project, especially after the president sent oil and gasoline prices soaring earlier this month when he launched an unprovoked and unconstitutional war with Iran.
“Let’s call this what it is: a taxpayer-funded bribe to kill homegrown clean energy and hand the money straight to oil and gas executives,” wrote climate advocacy organization Evergreen Action in a social media post. “Trump is once again making Americans pay more for energy so his Big Oil donors can rake in even more profits.”
Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, expressed a similar sentiment.
“$1 billion of our tax dollars to kill a clean energy program that creates jobs, just so Trump’s Big Oil donors can make more profit,” D’Arrigo wrote. “The most corrupt presidency ever—and it’s not even close.”
Matt Gertz, senior fellow at press watchdog Media Matters for America, argued that the agreement was a corrupt bargain aimed at hurting the president’s political foes, including the Democratic leaders of New York and North Carolina.
“Climate/renewables arguments aside, this is the president’s administration paying a foreign company to invest in states where Republicans are in charge rather than ones where Democrats are in charge,” Gertz wrote, “using tax dollars to punish people who didn’t vote for his party.”
US Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) said that the deal to kill the planned wind farms was yet another example of the Trump administration making life in the US less affordable.
“This administration just spent $1 BILLION of your money to make sure wind farms don’t get built,” Blunt Rochester wrote. “You’’ll have them to thank for higher electric bills each month.”
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark RichardsDonald Trump warns against following the Onaquietday.org blog, says that he’s heard that she’s a which with a black cat and a dangerous kitchen.
