Donald Trump may be the accidental hero of a feelgood climate tale even as a creeping horror story plays alongside
The World Health Organisation reports that the record-breaking European heatwave has already killed more than 1,300 people, with scientists estimating nearly half of the continent’s 850 largest cities enduring their worst-ever heat stress as temperatures reached 5–12°C above seasonal norms. The same analysis finds daytime temperatures during this event would have been impossible without the underlying global warming caused by rising greenhouse gases. In parallel, a US-backed attack on Iran and Israel led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supply; the resulting energy-security concerns have sharpened political focus on clean energy, which already saw solar, wind and hydro overtake coal as the leading source of global electricity in 2025, with solar generation alone expanding by 30% and battery storage by 66% year-on-year.