A new report by the Environmental Audit Committee makes the case that being in the European Union has improved environmental standards in the UK, and gave Britain a “louder voice” at the Paris climate talks last year. Mary Creagh, chair of the committee, said: “When it comes to protecting our natural environment and dealing with global problems like climate change, the overwhelming evidence is that EU membership has improved the UK’s approach to the environment and ensured that the UK’s environment has been better protected.” Peter Lilley, a committee member since last summer, has published a dissenting view, arguing many of his colleagues on the committee had “vested interests” because they received EU funding, reports the BBC. The Guardian reports the decision by the National Farmers’ Union, announced on Monday, that it favoured remaining in the EU but would not be campaigning on the issue. Elsewhere, a letter signed by several former high-ranking environmental officials in the Guardian argues that the UK’s membership of the EU has allowed it to “punch above its weight” in international climate negotiations and had a major influence on action to decarbonise the world’s economy. The letter, signed by Lord Turner, former chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, Lord Deben, chairman of the CCC and former environment secretary and Chris Huhne, former environment secretary, among others, says: “Brexit would damage our national interest by reducing our diplomatic leverage. Never again would a British official be able to play such a pivotal role in climate negotiations.” New Scientist and BusinessGreen also cover the new report.

This morning sees widespread coverage of plans by Swedish energy group, Vattenfall, to sell off its loss-making German lignite mines to EPH, one of central Europe’s largest energy groups. The company says it is accelerating its shift towards a more sustainable production. Chief executive, Magnus Hall, says: “The sale means more than 75% of our production will be climate neutral compared to about 50% today.” Greenpeace had tried to bid for the coal operations with the intention of closing them down, notes The Guardian. With the Swedish company expected to lose 22-27 billion kroner in the deal, Hall said it was worth the upfront cost to reduce the business’s carbon exposure, reports ClimateHome. Carbon Pulse, Reuters, BusinessGreen and Energy Live News all have more on the story.

New research shows that dinosaurs may have been on their way out 24 million years before the giant Chicxulub meteorite, often blamed for their extinction, smashed into the Gulf of Mexico. An analysis of fossil frequency over time by researchers from the University of Reading in the UK, found that three major sub-clades had already reached a “tipping point” 90 million years ago, possibly as the climate cooled and sea levels shifted, subjecting the dinosaurs to new evolutionary pressures. Co-author Prof Mike Benton of Bristol University, told BBC News: “World climates were getting cooler all the time. Dinosaurs rely on quite warm climates and mammals are better adapted to the cold. Reuters and Mail Online have more on the new research.

Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could lead to greater yields of key crops like wheat, rice and soybeans in high latitude regions such as the US, Canada and Europe, according to new research. By artificially raising carbon dioxide around farm fields and measuring the impact on crop production, the researchers found all four crops used water more efficiently, potentially leading to increases in yields of up to 10% by 2080. Lead author Delphine Deryng warned the study should not be interpreted to mean that increasing carbon dioxide is a good thing but that it should be taken into account as one factor in a complex changing climate. iNews takes a closer look at whether climate change is good or bad for crops, concluding that the answer depends on the crop in question and where it is grown.

Protesters have scaled some of London’s most famous landmarks in a bid to highlight the city’s poor air quality. Fifteen statues across the capital, including Admiral Lord Nelson, Oliver Cromwell, Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria, were all fitted with gas masks to make the point that London has broken World Health Organisation guidelines on safe air quality every year since 2005, reports BusinessGreen. In a statement, Greenpeace called for whoever is elected Mayor of London next month to introduce a Clean Air Zone in the capital. Reuters, The Guardian and Energy Live News have more, the latter including some photos taken by activists from the top of Nelson’s Column.

The price of oil has fallen over 3% following the failure of a weekend meeting between OPEC and non-Opec countries to agree on a worldwide supply cap. The deal fell apart when Saudi Arabia said Iran must sign the deal as well, reports The Financial Times has five questions oil market participants will now be asking and a close-up on Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, who it says has emerged as the unpredictable new voice of the kingdom’s energy policy. Reuters looks at “the global oil deal that never was” and has a Q&A about what happened at the Doha meeting to force its collapse

Mongoose Energy, the community energy company with former energy secretary Ed Davey at the helm, is to “take on the power suppliers at their own game”, reports The Telegraph, by launching as a retail gas and electricity supplier. Davey says the company will supply electricity from renewable sources, adding that: “[O]ur unique selling point as the only supply company majority-owned by community energy groups will appeal to many consumers who want to see our energy industry more local, more democratic and greener.”

Criticisms that top-level documents by the UN’s climate science panel are harder to understand than a paper by Albert Einstein are unwarranted, argue Thomas Stocker and Gian-Kasper Plattner in a Nature Climate Change commentary today. Working Group I pioneered a new communication tool – the so-called headline statements – which they “provide a coherent narrative and concise summary of the comprehensive 1,535-page scientific assessment on just two pages.” Critical studies therefore “miss the text element of the SPM that was intentionally simplified and condensed to become the most accessible part of the assessment.”

The Guardian pays tribute to Sir David MacKay, who died last week of cancer at the age of 48. The former scientific adviser to the government and “true polymath” achieved cult status among climate and energy aficionados following the publication of Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air but his academic achievements in information theory, machine learning and neural networks were just as celebrated, says Lynas. He adds: “David’s numerate and disarmingly honest approach to the energy issue brought him lasting respect from all sides of what had become an increasingly rancorous debate.” Elsewhere, Nick Butler also pays tribute to a “remarkable man” in The Financial Times. A long obituary in The Telegraph before the weekend described how MacKay set out to cut “UK emissions of twaddle” by applying the laws of physics and mathematics to the debate on sustainable energy.

More efficient use of water by crops under increasing atmospheric CO2 may help offset some of the drop in yields expected with climate change, a new study says. Researchers simulated the impact of climate change on yields and water use of wheat, maize, rice and soybean – with and without elevated CO2. If the modelling results could be replicated in the field, the effects of elevated CO2 could reduce global yield losses and crop water use, the researchers say.

A new study sheds light on the physical traits of trees that make them more susceptible to dying during a drought. In very dry conditions, the lack of water for a tree to take up from its roots means it can instead suck up air bubbles, which then block the flow of water around the tree. Analysing 33 existing studies of 475 tree species, the researchers identified three aspects of tree species that could be incorporated into models to help forecast tree deaths in future droughts.