A new paper in Nature which claims to narrow the range of uncertainty for “climate sensitivity” is widely covered by the media. The Washington Post says the authors suggest “that they may be able to rule out some of the most dire scenarios of what would happen if greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere were to double. Unfortunately, the same scientists say the best-case scenarios are also probably unrealistic.” The Post explains that the new paper “attempts to recalculate the ‘equilibrium climate sensitivity’ (ECS), a highly influential metric that describes how much the planet will warm if carbon dioxide doubles and the Earth’s climate then adjusts to the new state of the atmosphere”. Some climate sceptics has tried to argue that the value for ECS is more likely to be at the very low end of the range. But this is dismissed by the new paper – as well as the very high end of the range. The new finding contrasts with a similar study, also published in the journal Nature, which argued the range central estimate for the range was higher. The Post says that Peter Cox, the lead author on the new paper, says he sees similarities between the papers, as well as differences: “What we both do is say the low values are unlikely,” he says. “We also think the high values are unlikely, they think they’re likely.” The Guardian carries an Agence France-Presse article about the study, which says “the findings should not be seen as taking pressure off the need to tackle climate change”, adding that “one wild card not taken into consideration by the new model is the possibility of rapid shifts in climate brought on by the planet itself”. Carbon Brief has also covered the new study in detail. The Times, meanwhile, runs with the headline: “Worst climate warnings ‘will not come true’.” It adds: “[The study] suggests that the target set in the Paris Agreement on climate change of limiting the average temperature increase to well below 2C is more achievable than some scientists have claimed.” In an accompanying analysis piece by the Ben Webster, the Times’s environment editor, he writes: “[The paper] should not be interpreted as suggesting that we need to take less action on emissions. As the lead author says, it actually shows that our situation is not hopeless. We can prevent danger by taking bold steps in shifting away from fossil fuels…Contemplating a future in which we fail to curb emissions is alarming enough without hyperbole.”

Output from the UK’s wind farms has topped 10 gigawatts for the first time, setting a new national record, according to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). “Breaking short-term output records on top of monthly and annual figures clearly shows that wind is now a major part of the UK electricity mix, and will continue to be in the future,” says Dr Jonathan Marshall, energy analyst at ECIU, adding: “Claims that the grid would be unable to handle 5, 10 or 20 per cent wind power have been shown to be well wide of the mark.”

Germany will have to spend more than 1 trillion euros to meet even the lower end of the European Union’s 2050 target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, according to a draft of a study commissioned by the BDI German industry group. The study, reviewed by Reuters, says it is technically feasible to achieve the lower end of the EU’s target of eliminating 80-95% of emissions by 2050, given sufficient investments. But Reuters says it raises questions about Germany’s goal of meeting the upper end of the target, saying that would require huge but unspecified levels of additional spending. Reuters adds: “The study identified some options for achieving the climate targets, including expanding EU carbon dioxide pricing already in place for the energy and industrial sectors. It also called for increased support for CO2-neutral fuels through the use of alternative energy sources such as methane, and said it was imperative to develop underground systems to capture and store carbon.” Separately, Reuters reports that “India will need at least $125bn to fund renewables dream”, according to Anand Kumar, secretary at the ministry of new and renewable energy. Kumar said that was a “conservative estimate” and foreign capital would be central to achieving the goal.

A number of paper report on a study claiming that, according to the Telegraph, “microwaves in Britain generate as much carbon dioxide as more than one million cars”. The Guardian chooses a different angle: “Europe’s microwave ovens emit nearly as much CO2 as 7m cars.” The MailOnline asks: “Another reason to ditch ready meals?” The paper attempts to conduct a “gradle-to-grave” full lifecycle analysis of microwave ovens. However, the misleading press release accompanying the study has been dismissed by other scientists. Prof David Reay, professor of carbon management at the University of Edinburgh is reported in the Guardian as saying: “In sum, the paper does a decent job of estimating life-cycle emissions of microwaves, but to say “Microwaves could be as bad for the environment as cars suggests new research”, as the press release does, is very misleading in my view.”

EDF Energy has claimed it could build a second new nuclear power station in the UK that would be 20% cheaper than the £20bn Hinkley Point C project under construction in Somerset. The French state-owned company said a new plant at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast would be cheaper because of replication in construction techniques, existing grid connections and the exploration of new finance models. Reuters also covers the story. Separately, Reuters reports that “France is expected to announce measures this week to accelerate the installation of wind turbines and overcome long-running opposition from activists who have frustrated the country’s attempts to hit renewable energy targets”.

The Guardian reports that the World Economic Forum, which is set to meet in Davos next week, has delivered a strong warning about Donald Trump’s go-it-alone approach to tackling climate change as it highlighted the growing threat of environmental collapse in its annual assessment of the risks facing the international community. The WEF’s global risks perception survey shows that Trump’s arrival in the White House in 2017 coincided with a marked increase in concern about the environment among experts polled by the Swiss-based organisation. The Independent also covers the story.

Offshore wind capacity could increase five-fold by the 2030s, cutting carbon emissions and saving on consumer bills, according to new analysis by Aurora Energy Research. The step change in the amount of wind turbines in the seas around Britain’s coasts could be achieved with contracts that by 2025 are effectively “zero-subsidy”, it adds. The report called on ministers to continue their policy of ensuring a guaranteed price for electricity generated by offshore wind under the “contracts for difference”. It adds that the costs of managing the intermittency of wind on the system would remain “manageable” even with high amounts of wind capacity on the grid.

An editorial in Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, one of the world’s highest-circulation newspapers, says the “government should rethink its policy decision to position coal as a ‘mainstay power source’ to stop unbridled expansion of the use of coal in thermal power generation”. It adds: “A major change in the world’s attitude toward coal came in 2015 with the Paris climate accord, which prompted many industrial nations in Europe to accelerate their efforts to reduce coal consumption. China, a leading power consumer, has also switched to curbing its consumption of coal…Even if it is unrealistic to try to slash Japan’s coal-fired power generation sharply right now, the government should at least realize that an energy policy that runs counter to the powerful global trend cannot be sustained over the long-term.”

A mass mortality event that saw 200,000 saiga antelope die in just three weeks in 2015 may have been influenced by rising temperatures, a new study concludes. The animals were killed by septicemia caused by a strain of bacteria known as Pasteurella multocida type B. The new study finds that there was unusually high relative humidity and temperature in the days leading up to the mortality event, which may have helped the disease to spread.

The amount of snow meltwater available in the High Mountains of Asia has fallen in the last 30 years, new research finds. Meltwater from the region supplies a water source to millions living in countries such as India, China and Pakistan. The researchers find less meltwater is reaching regions downstream from the mountains, but several locations, including Pamir, Kunlun Shan, Eastern Himalaya, and Eastern Tien Shan, have experienced a small increase in meltwater availability. “Negative changes in SWE storage in these mid-elevation zones have strong implications for downstream water availability,” the researchers say.