the climate brief Accurate Reporting of Climate Science

The decline of Arctic sea ice in 2012 is a "clear and alarming sign of climate change" - that's the verdict of a report today from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The report, which investigates last year's major climate and weather events, found 2012 was the 27th consecutive year with above average global temperature.

Top ten warmest year on record

Global average temperature in 2012 was 0.45 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1961 to 1990 long term average, according to the report. That's the ninth warmest on record.

Natural climate fluctuations from year to year mean scientists  don't necessarily expect each year to be successively warmer than the last. The important point is that the world is significantly warmer than it was a few decades ago.

The years between 2001 and 2012 were among the top 13 warmest on record:

The UK has a world leading carbon tax but is lagging behind on implementing other green measures, according to a new report. Financial advisors KPMG  ranked 21 of the world's major economies according to how well they use taxation to incentivise low carbon investment. While the UK is number 1 for climate taxation, it seems the government isn't doing enough to incentive new and innovative ways to lower emissions.

UK leads climate taxation

KPMG puts the UK top of the class for policies which penalise carbon dioxide emissions. But it's unclear if the government would want the accolade, as it continues to try and convince industry that green policies don't put them at an  economic disadvantage.

The UK's main climate taxation policy is the  carbon price floor. The price floor sets aminimum price companies have to pay to emit carbon dioxide - currently £15.70 per tonne of carbon dioxide. If the EU carbon price is below this - it is currently  around £2.50 per tonne - companies pay the difference to the UK government. The policy is unpopular with both industry and environmental groups that say it is simply a way of  making lots of cash for the Treasury without having any real impact on emissions.

Energy bills are going up. But the government says green policies will leave consumers better off in the long run. Much of this relies on the assumption that people will upgrade household goods like TVs and washing machines for more efficient models, so we asked the government to share how it worked the savings out.

Savings from green policies

The government released its new calculations a few weeks ago. It estimates that by 2020, green policies will have put energy bills up £280, but will have brought them down by £450. Although bills will still go up, it promises that the policies will leave people £166 better off than if no measures were introduced. But the government's assumptions haven't impressed everyone.  

A  Telegraph article lambasted the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for assuming hard-pressed families can "shell out" for new appliances when money all over the country is distinctly tight. It says "...millions of households, especially older people, will not necessarily be replacing their appliances within the next seven years."