Conversion of the Lynemouth coal-fired power plant inNorthumberland to burn biomass has been delayed after the EuropeanCommission said householders facing subsidies to pay for the schemerisk being overcharged. The power plant was one of eight renewableprojects to get a new type of subsidy last April, paid for vialevies on consumer energy bills. The Department of Energy andClimate Change has said the government would work to resolve theCommission’s concerns. BusinessGreenhas more on thestory.

Shares in British Gas owner Centrica plunged more than nineper cent yesterday as the company cut its dividend for the firsttime since it was created in 1997. The response was an “urgent”step to protect its credit rating as warmer weather and falling oiland gas prices led to a 35 per cent drop in annual profits, saysthe Financial Times. Two of Centrica’s20-year old gas-fired power stations, Killingholme and Brigg, areto close as they are losing money. While most of the blow toprofits was down to low oil and gas prices, perhaps a fifth wasself-inflicted, caused by errors or poor decisions, says AllisterHeath in The Telegraph.

Police in Delhi are investigating claims of sexualharassment against Rajendra Pachauri, made by a staff member at TheEnergy and Resources Institute. Pachauri, who has also been thechairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since1992, strongly denies all claims, telling the Times of India”unknown cyber criminals” had accessed his personal email accountwithout authorisation. RTCChas more on the story.

A landmark EU directive to encourage greener road fuels hasbeen given a reprieve and will not be scrapped at the end of thedecade. The fuel quality directive has been a platform for measuresintended to price tar sands out of the European market and fortargets to provide 10 per cent of Europe’s transport fuel from lowcarbon sources by 2020. The EU’s vice president for the energyunion said the directive would likely survive past 2020 but wouldbe adjusted for “all the lessons learned from biofuels”.

Harvard lawyers will meet today to ask a judge to dismiss acase brought by students who say the university is failing its dutyto fight climate change and safeguard future generations. Thelawsuit calls for the withdrawal of investments worth $79 millionin coal, oil and gas companies. A Harvard spokesperson said thatwhile climate change “must be confronted”, efforts would remainfocused on “supporting the research and teaching that willultimately create the solutions to this challenge”.

Heathrow airport will breach EU pollution laws by 2030 evenwithout the construction of a third runway, according to governmentprojections. Figures released by the Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs suggest that even at its present size, theairport means London will not meet strict EU criteria for nitrogendioxide emissions within the next 15 years. Plans to expand theairport would increase flights from 480,000 to 740,000 per year anddouble passenger numbers.

The Associated Press has followed scientists as they explorethe northern peninsula of Antarctica. Among other things, thescientists are searching for hints of pollution trapped in pristineancient ice and signs of unstoppable melting. “If experts areright, and the West Antarctic ice sheet has started meltingirreversibly, what happens here will determine if cities such asMiami, New York, New Orleans, Guangzhou, Mumbai, London and Osakawill have to regularly battle flooding from rising seas.”

If an environmental journalist agrees with the vast body ofscientific evidence that climate change is real and something toworry about, why do they get accused of being a climate changecampaigner? If Nick Robinson, the BBC’s Political Editor, reportson an independent economic analysis that warns if we keep spendingmoney, we will go into debt, no one says it is a right-wingconspiracy, says Louise Gray.

The Mediterranean Sea will become warmer and saltier underclimate change, a new study suggests. The research finds seasurface temperatures will increase by 1.73-2.97 degrees Celsius bythe late 21st century. The warmer, saltier water will affectcirculation patterns in the sea, the researchers say. The studyalso finds that the warming water will cause sea levels to rise by34-59cm.

Pine trees in New Zealand will be at greater risk from highwinds towards the end of the century, a new study suggests. Theresearch finds that trees are likely to grow taller as a result ofrising atmospheric carbon dioxide, but not wider. These moreslender trees will be more likely to be damaged by high winds,which are also expected to become more extreme with climate change.