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From concern about energy bills to support for renewables, via the slightly more surreal avenue of suggesting the data is somehow untrustworthy, we examine five publications' takes on the government's latest energy and climate poll.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released the latest instalment of its quarterly  Public Attitudes Survey yesterday. Based on interviews with 2,000 people, the poll aims to track how the public views DECC's policy priorities - including on energy efficiency, energy infrastructure and reducing emissions.

Media reports

Every opinion poll tells a story - though the five publications we review here have come up with rather different takes on what the narrative from DECC's polling might be.

1. Energy bill concern: 59 per cent

Carbon Brief top-lines on public concern over energy bills. The survey found that more people than ever before - 59 per cent - were worried about paying their energy bills. Interestingly, while some areas of the media have devoted a significant amount of column inches to claims about the  effect of renewable subsidies on  bills, our own  polling indicates people tend to lay the blame for rising bills on energy company profits rather than so-called green taxes.

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M J Richardson

The Scottish government may have to try and meet its ambitious renewable energy targets without onshore wind. The government yesterday proposed stricter planning regulations which would significantly curb where windfarms can be built. 

Scotland's Planning Minister,  Derek Mackay, said the proposals would "ensure developments go in the right place", while a  Scotsman frontpage said the plans effectively meant a "windfarm ban for Scotland's wilderness". If the plans get through, reducing the possible sites for windfarms will make it harder for the country to reach its target of meeting 100 per cent of its electricity demand from renewables by 2020. 

Squeezing space

The new regulations would significantly limit the number of locations available to build new windfarms. 

Under the proposals, developers would be banned from putting windfarms on national parks. They would also have to jump through a number of new regulatory hoops to build on designated wild lands. As the map below shows, wild lands cover around 20 per cent of Scotland - meaning the amount of available land for windfarm developments would be significantly reduced.

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Public concern over rising energy bills at an all time high
59 per cent of respondents in DECC's latest face-to-face polls are worried about paying their energy bills. Greenpeace's EnergyDesk also looks at the poll's results.
Carbon Brief 

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Ed Balls slams government's 'energy policy crisis'
Ed Balls strongly criticised the government in a speech for its lack of progress on green energy policy.
BusinessGreen

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From time to time, we're told by parts of the media that earth is headed for a 'mini ice age'. Despite decades of data to the contrary, the theory is linked to the mistaken belief that the sun is driving climate change, not human activity.

The  Daily Mail repeated the claim today in an article urging us to "forget global warming ...the Earth may soon be plunged into a 250-year cooling period". The piece follows a radio interview with scientists from the Russian Pulkovo observatory.

But the vast majority of scientists do not agree that the sun is the main driver of climate change - or that we're on course for a mini ice age. Here's why.

Solar changes and the Little Ice Age

Scientists know the sun has some impact on earth's climate. Chris Rapley, professor of climate science at University College London, told Carbon Brief recently:

"Climate science shows that the sun does have an influence on climate; this is not controversial. The planet responds to changes in the flux of energy that it intercepts from the Sun."

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Is Conservative MP Peter Lilley right to claims a new estimate of the UK's shale gas resource will be 250 times larger than previously thought? A look at the figures suggests the real number could be ten times smaller.

Commentators on the energy debate have been  avidly awaiting a new figure for the amount of shale gas the UK has for a few months now. But over the weekend, the  Financial Times broke the news that the release of the estimate - produced by the British Geological Survey (BGS) for the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) - has been delayed by several weeks.

In today's  Daily Telegraph, Lilley writes:

"Ed Davey was apparently so upset by the British Geological Survey's new estimates, which show there may be 250 times as much shale gas as previously thought, that he told them to go and redo their figures."

Lilley's claim appears to stem from a  Times article from February, which publicisd figures indicating that BGS's new figures could be about 250 times larger than a previous estimate.

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Public concern over rising energy bills is on the up, according to new government data. The news follows reports of energy companies  doubling their profits as Britain experienced a cold snap this spring.

The data also show support for some low carbon energy sources is at an all time high as the public becomes increasingly aware of the new kid on the block, shale gas.

Research company TNS UK interviewed around 2,000 people for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)'s Public Attitudes survey. The idea was to gauge how the public sees what DECC calls its main "business priorities" - goals such as energy efficiency, improving the UK's energy infrastructure and increasing the amount of energy we generate from low carbon sources. DECC runs the survey every three months to track changes in opinion.

Paying for energy

More people than ever before said they were worried about paying their energy bills - 59 per cent. Almost a quarter said they were "very worried". That's a nine per cent rise since the question was last asked in February, with a result DECC says is probably down to Britain experiencing a particularly cold start to spring.

Concern does not appear to have translated into action, however, with fewer people switching energy suppliers. 52 per cent of people switched in the last year, compared to 55 per cent when the question was last asked in July 2012. Energy suppliers may be comforted by the news that 61 per cent said they had no plans to switch in the next year.

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Adapt faster to changing climate, Europe warned
A new report from the European Environment Agency warns major changes to agriculture, transport systems and infrastructure are needed if countries are to adapt to rising sea levels and extreme weather resulting from climate change.
The Guardian 

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The politics of climate change
Research from the US suggests the public are more likely to support emissions reductions, regardless of their political orientation, if they believe there is a scientific consensus on global warming.
PhysOrg

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Last year's royal wedding had millions at home watching, cup of tea in hand and a roast in the oven - with their kettle, ovens and televisions causing a peak in electricity. But according to the Mail on Sunday, such pleasures could be spoiled if a new proposal to curtail energy use through chips that could turn off household appliances comes in. Sounds sinister - but is it right?

Fridges and freezers across the land could be arbitrarily switched off to cope with power surges and more variable power supply from renewables, according to the  Mail on Sunday and Telegraph.

The story is based on a  proposal from the network of organisations that own and operate electricity transmission grids across Europe. The 'European Network Transmission System Operators for Electricity' group (ENTSO-E) - which includes the UK's National Grid - has suggested to the European Commission that a chip could be inserted in new appliances, which would temporarily switch them off when the grid is struggling to balance supply and demand.

The European Commission is  expected to use the proposals to feed into changes to regulations governing the  electricity market. The proposals are part of a wider push for demand side management - or a  smarter electricity grid that will allow network operators to cope with the arrival or more unpredictable power sources like wind and wave power.

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We know that plants absorb carbon dioxide, but are they moderating earth's temperature another way? A new study suggests the cooling effect of tiny particles emitted from plants can offset one per cent of global warming. We asked the authors what this means for slowing the pace of temperature rise.

What are aerosols?

Aerosols are tiny particles that can have a  cooling effect on the atmosphere. The particles scatter sunlight directly and stimulate clouds to form, preventing sunlight reaching earth's surface.

Scientists are confident that aerosols offset a substantial portion of human-caused warming, but there is still a lot of  uncertainty about how much.

Most aerosols come from  human activity, such as vehicle exhausts and wood burning. A much smaller fraction are naturally occurring, mainly through volcanic eruptions.

A new study in  Nature Geoscience explains how plants could be another - albeit much smaller - source of natural aerosols through the gases they release.

As co-author Ari Asmi from the University of Helsinki tells us, these so called biological aerosols bolster the effect of aerosols from other sources. 

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Survey may reveal vast underestimate of UK shale-gas reserves
The FT reports: "George Osborne had wanted to herald in the Budget the dramatic findings of a British Geological Survey report - that the extent of shale gas reserves in the UK has been vastly underestimated - as part of a sweeping pro-shale announcement, according to Whitehall sources." However, DECC is reported to have asked for the calculations to be redone.
Financial Times

News:

Industrialised nations' greenhouse gas emissions dipped in 2011, data shows
Industrialised nations' greenhouse gas emissions dipped 0.7% in 2011, helped by a US shift from high-polluting coal in power plants and by Europe's economic slowdown, data compiled by Reuters showed on Friday.
Reuters

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