A report by the Global Sustainability Institute says Britainhas just 5.2 years of oil, 4.5 years of coal and three years of itsown gas remaining. It calls for a “Europe-wide drive” towards wind,tidal, solar and other sources of renewable power to counterdiminishing fossil fuel reserves across the continent.

A scientist claims he recently had a paper rejected forbeing viewed as “not helpful” to the climate science community. Theepisode has echoes of “the infamous ‘climategate’ scandal”, theTimes says. The University of Reading’s Lennart Bengtsson – whorecently resigned from the advisory board of Lord Lawson’s climateskeptic thinktank the Global Warming Policy Foundation – said oneof the reviewers was concerned abut how his research could beconstrued by climate skeptic elements of the media. The storyfeatures on the frontpage of today’s Times.

John Abraham mourns the loss of climate scientist TomCrowley. “It is safe to say climate science, and the Earth’s healthis better for Dr. Crowley. It is also evident that those around himwere made better too”, he says.

Industry representatives are challenging the government’sclaim it has reformed solar subsidies on cost grounds. The industryclaims the reforms will only save the government 1.8 per cent ofthe total Levy Control Framework budget. An amount that could havebeen reclaimed through other reforms that would have been lessdamaging to the solar industry, they argue.

A “dash to gas and nuclear is vital” if the world is goingto reduce energy sector emissions, Simon Jenkins argues. Hecriticises a cultural fascination with coal that he says hasencouraged investment in less economical forms of energy – such aswind power – at nuclear and gas’s expense.

A new paper shows natural gas has higher greenhouse gasemissions than burning coal or oil over a 20 year timeframe,Climate Central reports. The study by Cornell University’s RobertHowarth is the latest in a series of papers suggesting methaneemissions from natural gas extraction are higher than the US’sEnvironmental Protection Agency previously thought. The industrydisputes the paper’s findings.

A new paper claims El Nino – a climatic phenomenon whichtriggers changes in temperature and rainfall – can reduce maizeyields by more than 4 per cent. The research “tells us that we canpredict when the bad years will be, ahead of the harvest,” explainsco-author professor Andy Challinor from the University ofLeeds.