The Environmental Protection Agency has canceled the appearance of three agency scientists who were scheduled to discuss climate change at a conference today. John Konkus, an EPA spokesman and a former Trump campaign operative in Florida, confirmed that agency scientists would not speak at a conference held in Rhode Island. He gave no further explanation. Tom Borden, programme director for the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, also confirmed that the EPA had on Friday canceled the appearance by two employees and an EPA consultant, Reuters reports. The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program is one of 28 such programs funded by the EPA, according to the EPA’s website. Associated Press, The Hill and Time also have the story. The news comes as the Hill reports that the EPA has removed more references to climate change from its website. A watchdog group on Friday highlighted changes to the EPA’s page dedicated to energy and environment information for state and local governments. The site, previously the EPA’s “Climate and Energy Resources for State, Local and Tribal Governments” has been renamed “Energy Resources for State, Local and Tribal Governments”, the New York Times reports.

All marine wildlife will be affected by ocean acidification as a result of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions, a major report is expected to say. And infant sea creatures will be put most at risk by a rise in ocean acidity, the study conducted by more than 250 scientist finds. For instance, the number of baby cod growing to adulthood could fall to a quarter or even a 12th of today’s numbers, the researchers warn. The assessment comes from the BIOACID project, which is led from Germany. The study’s lead author is Prof Ulf Riebesell from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel. He told BBC News: “Acidification affects marine life across all groups, although to different degrees. Warm-water corals are generally more sensitive than cold-water corals. Clams and snails are more sensitive than crustaceans. And we found that early life stages are generally more affected than adult organisms.”

The chancellor has been urged to renew the UK’s commitment to carbon pricing in the Budget next month or risk giving new life to coal-fired power stations. SSE, the largest UK utility by market capitalisation, warned Philip Hammond that energy companies need more clarity on his approach to taxing carbon emissions. In a letter also signed by two other energy companies and an environmental group, SSE said a “robust and strong carbon price” was the best way to meet the UK’s climate change goals. Drax, which runs the country’s biggest power station in North Yorkshire, also urged the chancellor to use his autumn budget to shed light on carbon taxes, the Guardian reports. First introduced in 2013, the carbon price floor was a crucial factor in the recent fall of coal power generation. Reuters also has the story.

The subsidy bill for new offshore wind farms could be almost 50% higher than expected because officials have overestimated future wholesale prices, new research finds. Last month ministers awarded subsidies to support three major offshore wind farms by guaranteeing them a 15-year price for electricity. The difference between the guaranteed price — £57.50 per MWh for the two cheapest projects, and the wholesale market price for power, which is close to £45 per MWh today — will be “topped up” with subsidies. Ministers estimated that the top up payments for the three new wind farms would cost £176 million a year by 2023-24. However, Aurora Energy Research suggests that “the government’s methodology for forecasting future subsidy payments to these projects appears to underestimate the likely cost by almost 50 per cent, or £80 million per annum”. This is because officials use forecasts of the average future wholesale price to estimate the payments required.

The UK government may consider introducing new subsidies for electric vehicles, a minister has said. Roads minister Jesse Norman told the Guardian that a subsidy scheme could encourage more people, as well as retailers, to opt for electric bikes rather than cars or trucks. Norman said his ambition was to “make the transition to a world where a 12-year-old can cycle safely” and that central government could start pushing councils to take more action on this goal. Most e-bikes currently on the market cost around £1,000, the Daily Mail reports. AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said subsidised e-bikes would make sense to many people seeking to cut costs. ‘This is one way drivers and young people could avoid rip off prices at the fuel stations,’ he said.

“It is a deal unlike any other. If it goes ahead, Saudi Arabia’s plan to offer shares for sale in its national oil company would, according to some estimates, create the biggest listed company in the world,” write energy editor Emily Godsen and financial editor Patrick Hosking in the Times. “At $2 trillion, Saudi Aramco would be more than twice the size of Apple, five times bigger than Exxon Mobil, the largest oil company, and eight times bigger than Royal Dutch Shell, Britain’s biggest company.” But significant barriers remain until the deal is finalised, the writers explain in a new analysis.

Iceland lost most of its forests around a thousand years ago, when Viking settlers cut down the trees that once covered a quarter of the countryside. Now, scientists are attempting to replace some of those lost trees, in a bid to sink lost carbon and improve soil quality. But progress is slow, Henry Fountain explains in a multimedia-led feature for the New York Times.

Climate change is “a real and imminent threat” to agriculture in the Peruvian Andes, a new study warns, and there is a pressing need to develop adaptation strategies to reduce yield losses and prevent food insecurity. In a series of field experiments, researchers simulated warming of 1.3C and 2.6C on traditionally-grown varieties of potato and maize at different elevations. Yields of maize and potatoes declined by >87% when plants were grown under warmer temperatures. Growing crops at higher elevations to adapt to warming also saw maize production drop by 21-29%, the study finds, due to inferior soil conditions.

Widespread implementation of “cool roofs”, which reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat than standard roofs, in Los Angeles county could save 83m gallons of water per day, a new study suggests. In addition to cooling, cool roofs can decrease outdoor water consumption by reducing evaporative and irrigation water demands. Using satellite data and regional climate models, researchers show that cool roofs across California could reduce consumption across the major metropolitan areas by around 9%.