June 2026 – Week 2

By Anders Lorenzen

In this week’s live blog, we are taking a broader look across climate and energy, covering the key news, developments and comments.

As part of an expanded focus on real-time coverage, this live blog will continue to track developments across global energy markets, including electricity prices, oil and gas benchmarks, and renewable generation trends. But we will also track key climate news and events, including impacts such as extreme weather events as they happen.

It is updated every day throughout the week with the most significant developments around energy and climate.

Last week’s live blog can be found here.

Latest

Thursday 11th of June 2026

12:00 GMT

Extreme heat: And there’s more heat. Copernicus, the UN’s climate science and satellite body, say that early heatwaves in Europe are becoming the new normal.

This comes on the back of record-setting temperatures in several European countries.

11:45 GMT

Football World Cup: As the World Cup kicks off today, more context on the climate and wider environmental impact of the tournament.

The FIFA pick of Dallas and Houston to host World Cup matches is being scrutinised as both cities are pulling water from the same stressed Texas reservoirs that just pushed Corpus Christi into a water emergency. For each match day, a stadium of that size requires 2.3 million to 3.8 million litres of water for sanitation, turf irrigation, concessions and cooling. This is being extracted from a municipal system already under pressure in extreme heat conditions, with both Dallas and Houston currently sweltering in extreme heat of 34/35 degrees C, and the forecast does not suggest any immediate relief.

Wednesday 10th of June 2026

17:45 GMT

Solar power: According to the energy think tank, Ember, solar power has, for the time ever, overtaken coal in the US.

The analysts say that solar power held a record-high 12.8% share of U.S. electricity supply in May, overtaking coal-generated power for the first full month on record.

Tuesday 9th of June 2026

11:30 GMT

Fossil fuels: While the world’s major banks publicly reaffirm their commitment to climate action, a new report tells a different story.

The report, The Dirty Dozen, published by Banking on Climate Chaos, a coalition of organisations, documents that the world’s banks are steamrolling fossil fuel projects.

It is led by one of the world’s largest banks, JP Morgan Chase, who in 2025 alone, funded fossil fuel projects to the tune of $58 billion.

The report, which analysed the 65 largest banks globally, found that in 2025, they spent $906 billion funding fossil fuels.

11:15 GMT

Football World Cup: On the back of yesterday’s news about the extreme heat expected at the World Cup, another analysis looks at the impacts of the giant sporting event itself.

The emissions of the event jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico are set to soar and amount to double that of the previous event, the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar. This is significant as Qatar, due to air conditioning needs and the creation of infrastructure such as stadiums, was already very high.

This year, such infrastructure is not needed as the host countries are already big sporting nations and large stadiums is not an issue.

But the fact that in this year’s edition, the World Cup has been significantly expanded, being hosted by three different countries, as well as travel by spectators, and that there is no clear objective from FIFA and the host nations to focus on the carbon footprint of the sporting event, is driving emissions to a record high.

Monday 8th of June 2026

11:30 GMT

Football World Cup: The Financial Times reports (behind paywall) that the Football World Cup, which starts this Thursday, could pose serious extreme heat risks.

The British financial news outlet consulted with scientists who warned that many US host cities regularly exceed safe “wet-bulb globe temperature” levels. The metric, which factors in humidity, sun and wind, shows conditions in places like Houston, Miami and Dallas frequently reach thresholds linked to heat illness.

Researchers estimate a one-in-four chance that at least one match will hit dangerous levels. So far, the world’s governing football body, FIFA, has adjusted kick-off times and added hydration breaks. But this does not deal with all the concerns, and players and fans remain exposed, especially in venues without cooling or shade facilities.

Extreme weather: On the back of what we reported in last week’s live blog, the briefing by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on the 2026 El Niño, which the UN body says has been forming for the past three months and could start this week, with its peak intensity expected to last until November this year. Our article below offers the key details on what WMO expects:

Earlier updates

10:00 GMT

Oil price: Oil Futures have surged on Monday after having recorded drops on successive days at the end of last week. Again, the Oil Futures have reacted to geopolitical developments rather than supply and demand.

In early trading on Asian and European markets, Brent Crude and WTI were up by around 4% each compared to the end of Trading on Friday, as Iran and Israel exchanged fire, prompting pessimism about any progress on peace negotiations and ending the blocking of the critical oil trade passage, the Strait of Hormuz.

You can view the latest daily Oil Futures changes, including historical data, below:

Friday 5th of June 2026

10:30 GMT

Oil supply: The IEA have repeated warnings of record-low oil inventories and added that we may reach historical low levels.

10:10 GMT

Food security: In an article we published yesterday, Máximo Torero, the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), argued that food prices are set to rise due to interconnected global shocks from crises like the Hormuz blockade, saying it requires urgent resilience-building measures.

Torero stated:

The world is entering an age of shocks, where crises are no longer isolated events but interconnected disruptions with global consequences. COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains. The war in Ukraine has disrupted food and energy markets. Now, the Strait of Hormuz crisis is revealing how tightly interconnected energy, fertiliser, and food markets have become.

He urged governments to urgently prioritise:

In the long term, countries must focus on building structural resilience. That means investing in diversified ports, roads, railways, warehouses, logistics hubs, and alternative trade corridors to reduce dependence on chokepoints. Countries should also establish strategic fertiliser reserves, enhance regional and domestic connectivity, and invest in cleaner and more resilient energy systems for agriculture.

Read the full article below: