The National Grid has released its winter outlook report, which outlines how much power the UK will have during the cold months ahead. The report has spawned a number of headlines, which in some cases are contradictory. TheBBC, Reuters and the Times lead on the message that there will be no blackouts this winter, as the gap between supply and demand in electricity is manageable, even though it is shrinking. The Guardian focuses on the point that winter capacity will be the “lowest in a decade” and that the National Grid is more likely to draw on additional sources of power to meet demand. Other papers focus on a high risk of blackouts. The Independent says that the risk of lights going out in households and companies is “at its most severe for a decade”, which it says is a result of Britain’s “dwindling power-generation capacity”. The Telegraph says factories may have to shut down due to the “worst power crunch in a decade, as does the Mirror and the Daily Mail, calling it “Bonkers!”. Carbon Brief has a detailed Q&A on the report.

Off the back of the National Grid’s winter outlook report, Downing Street will hold a “top-level meeting” next week to discuss the UK’s “growing energy supply crunch”, the Financial Times reports. David Cameron will meet with chancellor George Osbourne, energy secretary Amber Rudd and minister Oliver Letwin to discuss the UK’s power supply, it says.

President Xi Jinping’s visit to the UK next week is expected to bring multi-billion pound investment in UK nuclear power from the Chinese. But this could be a threat to national security, senior military and intelligence figures have warned ministers, according to the Times, due to the influence over national infrastructure that this would hand to the Chinese. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that Amber Rudd hopes to see a nuclear deal “very soon”. The Daily Mail and the Mirror follow up on the Times’ story.

The government has issued its response to the warnings of the UK’s independent Committee on Climate Change that the country is off track for meeting its targets. The response acknowledges that there is a challenge in meeting the fourth carbon budget, but says it will deliver a new “emissions reduction plan” imminently — though it contains little details on what this will include at the moment.

Energy secretary Amber Rudd says that she wants to do more to see the big six energy companies slash bills, and is in conversation with the energy companies. She has already written to the companies asking them to cut prices due to falling wholesale costs. Prices were raised ahead of the general election after Miliband promised a price freeze, and so far only British gas has lowered its prices

Business secretary Sajid Javid has announced plans to repeal legislation that gives ministers control over the Green Investment Bank, which means they can no longer object if the principle that it should only invest in green projects is withdrawn during its privatisation. Javid said he expected investors to stick with the spirit of the bank’s green purpose in a move to downplay fears that its mission would be compromised.

Bank of England governor was justified to warn of the risks of climate change on the financial industry, says Martin Wold in the Financial Times. Rising temperatures will have an impact on the financial landscape, including insurers and the potential for stranded assets. To respond to the threat, it is important to disclose information about the carbon intensity of investments. “Clarifying such risks and ensuring they are recognised by the markets is what domestic and international regulators should be doing,” he concludes.

The Green Investment Bank risks becoming less green, due to privatisation and the removal of safeguards, says James Murray in Business Green. The government needs to provide assurance that the bank will remain 100% green, as well as find an additional source of funding for it in the coming year, he argues.

A new study suggests that the atmosphere is the driver of a decades-long climate variation known as the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO), rather than the ocean as previously thought. The AMO is a natural phenomenon where the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean fluctuations over long periods of time. For decades, research on climate variations in the Atlantic has focused on the role of ocean circulation as the main driver. By using multiple climate models, the researchers found that the pattern of the AMO can be accounted for by atmospheric circulation alone, without any role for the ocean.