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Daily Briefing |

TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 25.05.2016
Total aims to be 20% low-carbon by 2036, Exxon faces ‘change or die’ moment on climate, & more

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News.

Total aims to be 20% low-carbon by 2036
The Financial Times Read Article

French oil and gas firm Total wants a fifth of its assets to be invested in low carbon energy including renewables, energy storage and energy efficiency, reports the Financial Times. The firm’s current assets are worth $130bn, it adds. Climate Home also covers Total’s plan, set out at the firm’s annual general meeting yesterday.

Exxon Mobil faces 'change or die' moment on climate
BBC News Read Article

Exxon Mobil is being asked to acknowledge the growing threat from climate change and the global goal of limiting warming to well below 2C, the BBC reports. A “significant group of shareholders” will today seek to force the firm’s hand at its annual general meeting in Dallas, the BBC says. Supporters of the motion include the Church of England investment fund and the Norwegian government’s pension fund, the world’s largest. Calpers, the California state pension fund, is also raising concerns over Exxon’s climate policy, reports the Financial Times. Exxon and rival Chevron face the “toughest-ever push by shareholders” on climate, reports Reuters. The Guardian also reports on the Exxon shareholder revolt. A Guardian request to report from inside the AGM was denied, with Exxon citing “the Guardian’s lack of objectivity of climate change reporting demonstrated by its partnership with anti-oil and gas activists”. Climate Home has a “bluffers guide” to the shareholder actions at this week’s oil major AGMs.

Shell CEO warns renewables shift could spell end if too swift
Reuters Read Article

Shell would put its dividend payments, and even its very existence at risk if it switched to producing renewable energy too quickly says chief executive Ben van Beurden, Reuters reports. At the firm’s annual general meeting yesterday 97% of shareholders rejected a resolution to invest fossil fuel profits in becoming a renewable energy company. Van Beurden says the industry will need to invest up to $1tn a year, even if the world commits to reaching the climate goals agreed in Paris last year.

UK renewables cuts 'risk slowing shift to clean energy'
The Guardian Read Article

UK government cuts to renewables and support for shale gas risk slowing the shift to clean energy says Achim Steiner, departing head of the UN Environment Programme, in an interview with the Guardian. Investing in “intermediary steps” such as gas could mean having to move faster, at higher cost later on, he says. Steiner also says the UK should “look carefully” at the signal to investors sent by uncertainty as a result of policy changes.

Cattle drugs could fuel climate change, study suggests
BBC News Read Article

Feeding cows antibiotics could increase methane emissions, according to new research covered by BBC News and others. Scientists found cowpats contaminated with antibiotics produced 1.8 times more methane, the BBC reports. The effect is caused by changes to the make up of microbes in dung beetles, says New Scientist. The findings highlight the potential for unintended environmental consequences from antibiotic use, says the Mail Online.

EDF chief refuses to set dates for Hinkley decision or start-up
The Telegraph Read Article

Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of French utility firm EDF, has refused to say when the company will make a final decision to proceed with the Hinkley Point new nuclear plant, reports the Telegraph. De Rivaz, questioned by MPs yesterday, was “vague” on funding for the project, reports the Times. A second article in the Times notes that the contract for the project could be cancelled by the UK government if it is delayed by more than eight years. This condition was set out in contract terms made public earlier this year. The Financial Times reports that the French government says it remains “fully behind” the Hinkley scheme. Economy minister Emmanuel Macron gave the assurance in a letter to MPs, published yesterday. The Guardian also covers the de Rivaz hearing under the headline: “No deadline set for final decision on Hinkley nuclear plant”.

Britain could see first fracked gas this year after permit approval
Reuters Read Article

The UK’s first fracked shale gas could flow this year after approval for Third Energy’s plans in North Yorkshire, reports Reuters. The Times says surveys to look for fracking sites across three counties are now set to begin. The Guardian says the approval shows fracking has won the battle but not the war.

La Niña Could Drive Up UK Energy Prices
Bloomberg Read Article

Electricity prices could rise this winter as the El Niño weather system gives way to La Niña, Bloomberg reports. Cooler temperatures would raise demand while the lighter winds that tend to follow the end of El Niño could reduce wind power output. The combined impact could mean price spikes next winter, it reports. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology says the recent El Niño — one of the strongest in history — has now ended, reports the Financial Times.

Comment.

Coastal flooding: a sign of the damage our economy is wreaking on our fragile environment
Rowan Williams, The Guardian Sustainable Business Read Article

The prevailing global model of economic growth appears to be blinding us to the costs of the high-carbon system, writes former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, in an article highlighting the threat from rising sea levels in cities around the world. Growth also “inexorably increases the distance between rich and poor”, he writes.

Fracking is a futile betrayal of our national interest
John Ashton, The Guardian Read Article

It makes no sense to impose a shale gas industry on a crowded country such as England unless there were an “overwhelming national interest”, writes John Ashton in the Guardian. The government’s promise to go “all out for shale” would “betray our national interest”, he writes, given efforts to respond successfully to climate change.

Science.

Climate Change and Maize Yield in Iowa
PLOS ONE Read Article

Every 1C of temperature rise could translate into an average 6% drop in maize yields in Iowa in the US, a new study says. Researchers modelled the impacts of climate change on yields in Iowa specifically as it has an ideal climate and soils for maize production and the state contributes substantially to global yields. The researchers ran simulations for a range of temperature and summer rainfall projections, and all results show a decrease in maize yields from late 20th century to middle and late 21st century – ranging from 15% to 50%.

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