China cuts energy intensity by 4.8 per cent
News
China cuts energy intensity by 4.8 pct in
2014
China beat a key energy efficiency target in 2014, cutting its
energy intensity by 4.8 percent from a year earlier, the State
Council said on Tuesday. The government had aimed for a 3.9 percent
cut in energy intensity after a 3.7 percent drop in 2013 in order
to meet its target of cutting energy intensity to 16 percent below
2010 levels by 2015.
Climate and energy news
British Gas to cut gas prices by
5%
British Gas – the UK’s biggest domestic energy supplier – is
to cut gas prices by 5 per cent on 27 February. The Financial Timessays the company
has become the second energy company in less than a week to cut the
cost of household gas supplies in response to falling wholesale
costs, prompting an admission from Labour that cost-of-living
pressures were easing in the short term.
Britain needs 14 fewer power stations thanks to
energy efficiency gains
Britain would need 14 extra power stations today if it had
not invested in energy efficiency and decentralised generation over
the past 30 years, a new report by the Association for
Decentralised Energy will claim today.
Food diversity under siege from global warming,
U.N. says
Climate change threatens the genetic diversity of the
world’s food supply, and saving crops and animals at risk will be
crucial for preserving yields and adapting to wild weather
patterns, a U.N. policy paper said on Monday.
Norway redefines Arctic ice edge in potential
boost for oil exploration
Norway has set a new definition on where the edge of the
Arctic ice lies, the environment minister said on Tuesday, clearing
the way for the government to launch its Arctic-focused oil and gas
licensing round as early as this week.
Australia weather bureau says models show low
chance of El Nino
Weather models show a low chance of an El Nino, the
Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday, after indicators
of the climate event eased in recent weeks.
Ban Ki-moon appoints WWF’s Janos Pasztor as
climate advisor
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Hungarian WWF
official Janos Pasztor to advise him in the run-up to the UN
climate talks this year in Paris. Pasztor has been WWF’s leading
expert on conservation, policy and science for the last two years.
India’s Modi calls for “paradigm shift” on
climate
Ahead of Barack Obama’s visit to India later this month,
India’s prime minister said he wanted countries with the “greatest”
solar energy potential to cooperate more closely to help reduce its
costs and offer power to remote communities. He made the comments
as he chaired the country’s high-level climate panel on Monday, the
first time the body had met in over three years.
EU politicians seek to revive sluggish carbon
market
European politicians are expected this week to back by a
narrow majority early action to bolster prices on the EU carbon
market.
Most flood-threatened areas of the country are
revealed
A list of England’s most flood-threatened regions – which
mostly includes areas are on the east coast but also includes
inland cities such as Leeds, Canterbury and Leicester – was
released by the Flood Free Homes Campaign, a group which includes
the Association of British Insurers, Friends of the Earth and the
National Flood Forum. The group wants annual spending on flood
defences to rise from about £585 million to £1 billion within 10
years.
Former Saudi oil boss says it can handle low
price
Saudi Arabia can cope with low oil prices for “at least
eight years”, Saudi Arabia’s minister of petroleum’s former senior
adviser has told the BBC.
Climate and energy comment
An ever warmer world in conflict with cheaper
oil
An editorial in the Financial Times says there is now
“fading disagreement about how human activity contributes to the
upward trend” in global temperatures. But falling oil prices are
casting a shadow over climate action: “As Big Oil postpones
projects, the investment case for low carbon becomes harder. This
would be easier to manage if carbon were properly taxed.” It adds:
“Another relatively easy step is to nudge the economy towards more
efficient use of energy, through regulatory action or design
standards.”
How the oil price collapse can deliver the boost
the green economy needs
Carbon Tracker Initiative’s Anthony Hobley argues that far
from being a disaster for clean tech, low oil prices could aid
decarbonisation efforts.
Pope’s statement on climate change: 5 things to
know
Rachel Zoll, AP’s religion writer, lists why
“environmentalists are thrilled by the prospect of a rock-star pope
putting his moral weight behind efforts to curb global warming”.
Seven stairs to Paris: A pathway to fixing climate
change
Climate change is about politics, and we need wise leaders
over the coming 11 months, says the UK’s former chief climate
diplomat John Ashton.
Labour’s energy freeze is dead and Ed has nothing
else to offer
Boris Johnson, London’s Conservative mayor, uses his weekly
Telegraph column to slam Ed Miliband’s energy “price freeze”
pledge. He looks back to 2009 when they were both at the Copenhagen
climate summit: “I don’t remember any breakthrough at all – the
whole thing was a fiasco – and I certainly don’t remember any
intervention by Ed…I was amazed by how little he seemed either to
know or to care. He was much more interested in gossip than in a
long-term programme for the country – and I fear the same is true
today.”
Should tackling climate change trump protecting
nature?
Miles King in the Guardian argues that “stopping
biodiversity loss is as important as stopping global warming”.
New climate science
Snowfall in the Himalayas: an uncertain future
from a little-known past
Snow and ice provide large amounts of meltwater to the
Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in the Himalayas. But if
greenhouse gas emissions continue at current rates, climate change
could cause annual snowfall over these river basins to decrease by
as much as 70 per cent by the end of the century, a new study
finds. The elevation where rain changes to snow (the rain/snow
line) could also creep upward by 700 to 900 metres for most of the
region.
Geographic range predicts photosynthetic and
growth response to warming in co-occurring tree
species
Plants living near the warm limit of species ranges may be
particularly sensitive to climate change, a new study shows.
Researchers tested 11 tree species that grow in these areas in
North America. They found species growing nearest their warm range
limit photosynthesised and grew less, whereas species near their
cold range limit responded positively to warming.
The carbon footprint of traditional
woodfuels
Over half of the wood harvested worldwide is used as fuel,
supplying around nine per cent of global energy. A new study finds
that 27-34 per cent of this wood is harvested unsustainably, with
over 275 million people living in depletion ‘hotspots’ in South
Asia and East Africa. Emissions from wood burning are 1.9 to 2.3
per cent of global emissions, the study finds. Providing 100
million improved stoves that use less wood could reduce this by 11
to 17 per cent, which would be worth over a billion dollars in
saved greenhouse gases.