Today’s ESG Updates
- China Fails to Gather Its Green Power: Power generation is no longer the pressing problem of the renewables sector in the country. The issue is capturing this power without exceeding grid capacity limits.
- Europe Continues Wildfire Battles: Despite the recent weather change, some wildfires remain unexterminated due to inaccessible areas in Belgium, France and Greece.
- The Approaching End Of Heatwaves: The most recent weather reports show the approaching rainfall for all the Northern regions of Europe, less for the South of the continent.
- Apple Will Loosen Data Consent Regulation: After a legal proceeding ended in Germany regarding Competition law, the company agreed to change its rules concerning data protection for targeted advertising.
Renewable energy curtailments is the new challenge for Chinese renewables
A recent report by Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air found that China, the world’s largest producer of solar power, had to reject 360 TWh of clean energy from January to June this year. Analysts say the main issue is a lack of transmission infrastructure combined with new coal-fired plants with supply contracts, which creates a priority that forces clean power curtailment. This combination makes the curtailment a structural issue that can persist for the rest of the decade.
Curtailments now affect investments in the field. New solar-and-storage projects are now getting funding instead of standalone solar.
However, curtailments are becoming a global problem, from Australia to Europe. Australia has rejected 7%, or 2.93 TWh, of its wind and solar output so far in 2026. Japan has rejected 4%, or 2.35 TWh, of the total renewable generation. India has curtailed 8.13 TWh only in the second quarter of the year.
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Europe battles with wildfires despite weather change
One of the largest wildfires in Belgium’s history blazed out of control despite less favorable weather conditions for the fire to spread. Favorable winds and rain make the situation more manageable, but inaccessible spots of fire are spreading toward Germany. Early estimates say the fire has covered 30 square kilometers.
In Greece, a fast-moving wildfire heading for Athens was extinguished. Another fire on the Salamina island killed two people, injured nine, and destroyed several homes.
In France, a wildfire in the Landes region in the southwest is now under control. Last week, about 600 residents were evacuated, and the battle with the fire, which covered 17 square kilometers, lasted four full days. Half of the evacuated returned home.
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The end of heatwaves is approaching Europe
The newly released weather reports promise a much-awaited change to the scorching heat of the last couple of months. As of the start of this week, rain is becoming more frequent across Europe, breaking a dry streak. Parts of southern England have endured 62 consecutive days without rain, almost since the start of the summer.
A few days of rain after such a dry period can make a significant difference for the environment: dried soil can become more productive, plants can revive, and the air can eventually become cleaner. Rain can also help address the recent problem of low water levels in some of the region’s most crucial water reserves, such as the Danube River. Finally, rainy weather might ease the wildfire problem that has been spreading across the region in recent weeks.
Apple will change app data consent rules after a years-long investigation
Apple will change the rules affecting app providers’ data use for targeted advertising as a result of a concluded legal proceeding over a violation of competition laws. The company is now bound to fulfill its commitments related to the Apple Tracking Transparency Framework (ATTF) over the next four months and then run them for seven years.
As part of the new agreed-upon commitments, Apple will make its consent prompts more neutral and the consent-request architecture less complex for third parties. Also, app developers, such as media publishers, will have more freedom to explain to users what personalized advertising means. The changes will apply in almost all EU countries.
France and Italy previously fined Apple €150 million and €98.6 million, respectively, under the ATTF regulation, so the company is clearly trying to avoid further losses.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: Jones Lee
