Climate change campaigners “will be relieved”, said the
Telegraph, by the appointment by David Cameron of Amber Rudd as the
new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
The Financial Timessaid the move had
“surprised” the energy industry. The Guardianand BusinessGreenreported all the
reaction.

The US Department of the Interior has granted conditional
approval for Shell to explore for oil in the Arctic. Shell must get
the nod from other US regulators in order to proceed. Green groups
attacked the plan, reports the Guardian. The decision puts
Shell a significant step closer to Arctic drilling,
say the Washington
Postand Financial Times. The New York Times, The Hill, Climate Progressand
Gristall have the story.

Sea levels are rising faster than thought, a new study has
found, with polar melt part of the reason, reports the Washington
Post. Coastal homes are at risk from accelerating sea level rise
says The Times. The Daily Mail, Climate Central, Scientific Americanand many others
had the story too. A new satellite has been launched to measure
ocean height, reports the BBC.

Carbon pricing alone cannot solve the climate problem,
according to a new World Bank study covered by RTCC. There are many
other market failures and behavioural biases beyond failure to
price emissions, it says. The bank suggests five policies that can
help including energy performance standards for cars and buildings
but the transition should start now, Reuters reports. Business Greenand AFPalso have the story.

A warming climate could drive wheat yields down in the US,
according to new research, even after accounting for the benefits
of reduced frost exposure. The study looked at 30 years of winter
wheat trial data from Kansas and concluded 2C of warming would cut
yields by 15%. Increased irrigation can offset some of the impacts,
however.

Florida Republican Carlos Curbelo says it’s “vital” work
begins on climate legislation, reports ClimateWire. It says his
willingness to discuss the issue, despite the views of most of his
colleagues, could mark a “thawing moment” in frozen congressional
debate. Curbelo took office in January and has concerns about
rising sea levels.

UK energy consumption has been falling fast since 2006, says
Chris Goodall, at between 2 and 2.5% per year. But fossil fuels
still represent 85% of all UK energy use, he says. The figure is
falling, but only slowly and is roughly the same as in the mid-90s.
Carbon Brief covered similar ground last year.

Rising temperatures and drought present a threat to the
carbon locked up in the world’s peatlands. But these valuable
landscapes may have developed a defence mechanism, according to new
research. Chemical changes in the soil during short term drought
favour shrubs over herbs, which increases carbon sequestration and
protects historical soil carbon in the long term, say the
researchers.

A new study finds that as global temperature rises, increases
in heat resistance in wheat could come at the expense of higher
average yields. Field trials with wheat in Kansas between 1985 and
2013 suggest the overall effect of warming on wheat yields is
negative, even after accounting for increased tolerance and the
benefits of reduced exposure to freezing temperatures.

A new study explores a way to assess the global warming
impact of crop-based biofuels. The greenhouse gas payback time is
the number of years it takes before the greenhouse gas savings
equal the initial carbon losses caused by displacing natural
vegetation and it can vary between 1 and 62 years, the study says,
depending on which crops are used and where in the world they are
grown.