Global Heatwave Crisis Intensifies: Drought, Energy Strain, and Climate Policy Decisions Dominate Headlines
8/18/2026 10:18:35 AM

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Extreme Heat Ravages Europe and Beyond: Drought, Wildfires, and Economic Toll Dominate the Headlines

Global Environmental Crises, Urban Challenges, and Economic Shifts: A Daily News Roundup

Scorched Earth: Europe's Fifth Heatwave, Global Droughts, and the Climate Emergency Intensify

Climate Crisis and Cascading Disasters: Extreme Heat, Wildfires, and Economic Fallout Reshape Global News

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CATL Achieves 2025 Core Operation Carbon Neutrality Target, Sets Path to 2035 Value-Chain Goal

NINGDE, China, Aug. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CATL today announced it had achieved its 2025 target of carbon neutrality across core operations as scheduled, with all 20 battery plants certified as carbon neutral, and unveiled its action roadmap toward full value-chain carbon neutrality by 2035. This signals that decarbonization has evolved from a corporate social responsibility to a core growth driver for CATL.

At a launch event held in Ningde on Monday, the company also called on global partners to accelerate decarbonization across the battery value chain. It announced procurement guidelines that require suppliers to provide carbon footprint data from 2027, and offers favorable terms to suppliers with better carbon emission performance.

"Before contributing to global carbon rules and standards, CATL must first prove what is possible through our own industrial practice," said Robin Zeng, Chairman and CEO of CATL. "As the world ramps up efforts toward net-zero, zero-carbon batteries will not be a choice but a necessity in the near future. We are ready to share our technologies and experience with partners across the industry, helping to shape global carbon standards and advance industry-wide decarbonization."

2025 Carbon Neutrality Target for Core Operations Delivered as Planned

Since the commissioning of our first battery factory in 2012, CATL has been exploring and validating every aspect of zero-carbon manufacturing. This has become an integral part of CATL.

Jiang Li, Vice President, Board Secretary and Head of Corporate Sustainable Development Management Committee of CATL, said, "Carbon neutrality cannot be built on estimates alone. It requires reliable data, clear boundaries and systematic execution."

To build this data foundation, CATL independently developed the CATL Carbon Chain Management System (CCMS) in 2022 to monitor and calculate carbon emissions at its plants and production lines. To date, CATL CCMS has covered carbon data across battery production operations and core upstream suppliers, generating more than 1,000 product and raw material models.

Based on this data system, CATL embeds decarbonization efforts across process and equipment optimization, battery design, green energy consumption, raw‑material sourcing and recycling.

In 2025, zero-carbon electricity accounted for 100% of electricity consumption in its core operations, with more than 18 billion kWh of zero-carbon power consumed cumulatively since 2023. Energy consumption per unit of product at its battery manufacturing bases decreased by 28% compared with 2022, below the industry average. Its carbon emission intensity decreased by approximately 77% compared with 2022. From 2023 to 2025, CATL delivered a cumulative carbon reduction of over 10 million tons of CO₂ equivalent, comparable to Brunei's total national carbon emissions in 2025.

The milestone not only marks CATL's first fulfilled carbon neutrality commitment, but also sets a new benchmark for carbon neutrality practices in the lithium-ion battery industry.

Advancing Toward Full Value-Chain Carbon Neutrality by 2035

More than 80% of carbon emissions across CATL's product lifecycle stem from its supply chain, with total value-chain emissions exceeding five times those generated in core operations.

Bryan Huang, Head of Procurement Center at CATL, said: "CATL will advance value-chain decarbonization across key areas including material innovation, material manufacturing, green logistics, and battery recycling. This requires collaboration across the entire battery value chain."

In terms of data management, baseline carbon data has been established for more than 100 core Tier 1 suppliers, and CATL aims to progressively achieve 100% data coverage across key upstream links.

For emissions reductions, CATL will pursue decarbonization in four pillars: material and process innovation, manufacturing, green logistics and battery recycling.

Material innovation: CATL is focusing on green material innovation and low-carbon process upgrades. For example, for anodes, the company is promoting the adoption of low‑carbon materials such as raw petroleum coke with lower moisture and volatile content.
Material manufacturing: Given the energy-intensive nature of upstream raw material production, CATL has launched a green power coverage plan, targeting 100% green electricity usage across the value chain by 2035.
Green logistics: Leveraging its advanced battery technology and battery swapping network, CATL is promoting 100% zero-carbon logistics solutions across the industry chain.
Battery Recycling: CATL will continue to accelerate the development of a global battery recycling network through Brunp Recycling.

To support supplier decarbonization, CATL will issue its Green Procurement Guidelines requiring new suppliers to provide product carbon footprint data and incorporating renewable electricity usage and energy efficiency into annual supplier reviews. Under comparable conditions, suppliers with stronger low-carbon performance may be prioritized in order allocation and supported through long-term agreements.

CATL will also launch its Zero-Carbon Supply Chain Empowerment Initiative, launching in-depth joint decarbonization initiatives with an initial cohort of 30 core suppliers.

The economics of zero-carbon opens substantial new growth opportunities. CATL is making strong efforts in zero-carbon mobility, zero-carbon power, and the electrification of industries, with several application scenarios already implemented. Together with global partners, CATL aims to expand the zero-carbon economy, accelerate the global clean energy transition, and help create a more sustainable future.

Tencent Details Progress Toward Carbon Neutrality Goals and Outlines AI-Era Priorities

New report outlines how infrastructure efficiency, renewable electricity and AI-enabled innovation can support lower-carbon growth

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent (0700.HK) published its Carbon Neutrality Mid-Term Report and launched an accompanying interactive microsite, sharing its progress to date and pathway toward achieving carbon neutrality across its own operations and supply chain by 2030.

The report comes as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence is creating a defining energy challenge for the technology sector. AI workloads are raising rack power demand by up to tenfold, placing new pressure on electricity supply, cooling and infrastructure. At the same time, AI is emerging as a powerful tool for improving efficiency, integrating renewable energy and accelerating low-carbon innovation beyond the technology sector.

The report showcases Tencent's response to the AI-energy challenge: improving the efficiency of computing infrastructure, aligning electricity demand more closely with renewable energy availability, and applying AI and digital technologies to support decarbonization beyond its own operations, while tracking progress toward its 2030 carbon neutrality commitments.

As Tencent Chairman and CEO Ma Huateng writes in the report, "We are applying our digital and AI capabilities to cut emissions within our own infrastructure – and we believe AI holds far greater potential still: to accelerate low-carbon innovation, lift efficiency, and support broader environmental transformation in industries beyond our own."

Redesigning infrastructure for the AI era

One example is T-AIDC, Tencent's next-generation data center architecture for the AI era. AI workloads have increased rack power demand from 6–8 kW to 30–100 kW or more, placing new requirements on power delivery, cooling and system design. T-AIDC addresses these demands through an integrated architecture designed for high-density computing and delivers power-supply efficiency of up to 98%.

Applying AI and innovation beyond our own operations

Beyond its own infrastructure, Tencent is exploring how AI and digital technologies can support emissions reductions across a range of sectors.

In steel production, AI-driven scheduling and digital twin technologies can help plants become more flexible in when and how they use energy, reducing emissions, lowering costs and supporting grid stability. Tencent is also working with partners to better align data center workloads with renewable energy supply through AI-powered scheduling, helping integrate more variable renewable electricity into energy-intensive digital infrastructure.

Tencent is also helping climate technologies move from research to real-world deployment through CarbonX Program, supporting innovation in areas such as carbon removal, carbon utilization and long-duration energy storage. This work is complemented by TanLIVE, Tencent's climate intelligence platform, which helps connect governments, investors and climate-tech stakeholders while improving access to climate solutions, data and investment opportunities.

Delivering progress toward carbon neutrality

Alongside these broader efforts, the report demonstrates Tencent's continued focus on reducing emissions at source through energy efficiency, renewable electricity procurement and low-carbon infrastructure, guided by a carbon-mitigation hierarchy that prioritizes avoiding, reducing and replacing emissions.

That approach is translating into measurable progress. Renewable electricity consumption increased from 22.0% in 2024 to 48.5% in 2025, while owned data centers achieved an 82.9% renewable electricity share. Since announcing its carbon neutrality commitment, Tencent has procured more than 6.5 billion kWh of green electricity.

Sharing progress to advance the conversation

By sharing both its progress and the work behind it, Tencent aims to contribute to a broader conversation about how the technology industry can manage the energy demands of AI while using digital innovation to support the transition to a lower-carbon economy.

Explore the Carbon Neutrality Mid-Term Report and interactive microsite at https://www.tencent.com/climate/

For media queries, please contact: gc@tencent.com

[End]

About Tencent

Tencent is a global technology and entertainment company focused on creating connections and experiences that matter. Founded in 1998, Tencent is driven by its mission to create "Value for Users" and apply "Tech for Good."

Tencent's communication and social services connect more than one billion people around the world, helping them to keep in touch with friends and family, access transportation, pay for daily necessities, and even be entertained. Tencent also develops and publishes some of the world's most popular video games and other high-quality digital content, delivering rich and immersive interactive entertainment experiences. Tencent also offers a range of services such as cloud computing and other enterprise services to support our clients' digital transformation and business growth. Headquartered in Shenzhen, Tencent has been listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since June 2004.

Global Heatwave Crisis Intensifies: Drought, Energy Strain, and Climate Policy Decisions Dominate Headlines
8/18/2026 10:18:35 AM

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Global Heatwave Crisis Intensifies: Drought, Energy Strain, and Climate Policy Decisions Dominate Headlines 8/18/2026 10:18:35 AM

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Global Heatwave Crisis Intensifies: Drought, Energy Strain, and Climate Policy Decisions Dominate Headlines
8/18/2026 10:18:35 AM