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Daily Briefing |

TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 18.11.2015
UK’s coal plants to be phased out in 10 years & rich countries agree to slash export subsidies for coal plants

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News.

UK's coal plants to be phased out within 10 years
BBC News Read Article

The UK’s remaining coal-fired power stations will be shut by 2025 with their use restricted by 2023, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has announced, unveiling the government’s new energy strategy. Coal currently provides almost a third (28%) of the UK’s electricity. In a speech later today it is expected she will announce gas will become “central” to the UK’s energy supply, and that nuclear is vital to the government’s policy, the BBC reports. “We are tackling a legacy of underinvestment and ageing power stations which we need to replace with alternatives that are reliable, good value for money and help to reduce emissions”, she said. However environmental groups criticised plans to focus on gas instead of renewables. This energy policy shift “will put tackling climate change on the backburner”, the Guardian writes. The speech comes amid concerns that the UK could suffer from blackouts as a result of short supplies, with the MailOnline warning that demand could outstrip supply in March. The Times, the Financial Times, BusinessGreen,Reuters, and the Telegraph also covered the story.

In a major step on the road to Paris, rich countries agree to slash export subsidies for coal plants
The Washington Post Read Article

Members of the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development agreed yesterday to slash subsidies aimed at exporting technology for coal-fired power plants, following a “concerted push” from the US after months of negotiation, the Washington Post reports. The decision to eliminate export credits for the least efficient coal plants, which will come into effect in 2017, “marks a major negotiating success for the Obama administration” in the run up to the Paris climate talks. The Hill and Climate Home also carry the story.

Senate Votes to Block Obama’s Climate Change Rules
The New York Times Read Article

The Senate voted yesterday to block President Obama’s tough new climate change regulations, hoping to undermine his negotiating authority before a major international climate summit meeting in Paris this month, the New York Times reports. Obama’s rule would significantly cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants, and is the centrepiece of his efforts to address climate change. But Obama is nearly certain to veto it, the Hill writes. The Senate this week could also vote on a measure to block the related EPA rule setting carbon output limits for newly constructed coal-fired power plants. Reuters also has the story.

Large variation found in airlines' CO2 emissions
The Guardian Read Article

There is “huge variation” in fuel efficiency between transatlantic airlines, with British Airways and Lufthansa emitting 51% more carbon dioxide than the cleanest flyers, according to a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation, who revealed the VW test-rigging scandal. Pollution from a non-stop transatlantic round trip averages around one tonne of CO2 per passenger, the report finds. Separately, a leaked European parliament study has forecast that the aviation and shipping industries will make up 39% of global CO2 emissions by 2050, the Guardian reports.

UPDATE 2-Norway's Statoil follows Shell in pullout from Alaska
Reuters Read Article

Norwegian oil major Statoil said yesterday that it will pull out of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, just weeks after Royal Dutch Shell abandoned its own oil exploration work there, which cost $7 billion. The latest pullback comes as oil companies slash spending on expensive offshore projects during the worst price crash in six years. the Hill and Grist also cover the story.

Batteries start to compete for power grid
The Financial Times Read Article

The cost of batteries is falling to the point that they are becoming an increasingly viable option for uses such as supporting the stability of power grids, according to a new report. Within five years the price of batteries is likely to have fallen to the point that they will be competitive against back-up fossil fuel power generation, the investment bank Lazard predicts. Electricity storage has until recently been prohibitively expensive, and so cheaper batteries will enable increased use of intermittent power sources like wind and solar.

Shrinking Antarctic glaciers could make Adélie penguins unlikely winners of climate change
The Conversation Read Article

Adélie penguin numbers exploded in East Antarctica at the end of the last ice age, according to new research, raising the possibility the these penguins could be winners from current climate change. As glaciers and ice sheet shrink, ground that was previously covered in ice will become suitable for Adélie penguin nesting, and if food supplies remain adequate this could allow their numbers to grow. The MailOnline also has the story.

Comment.

Every type of new generation in the UK needs a subsidy
Zachary Davies Boren, EnergyDesk Read Article

The economics of power plants were poor years before the UK started to go green, writes Zachary Davies Boren of Greenpeace’s EnergyDesk. It’s simply the way the energy market works, he says: capital costs are too high for investors to make bets on the price of power, and therefore scrapping green subsidies, especially since new gas and nuclear will continue to get subsidies, won’t undo any alleged market distortion.

Science.

Annual coral bleaching and the long-term recovery capacity of coral
Royal Society Read Article

Coral reef mass bleaching events are predicted to occur annually by the end of the century but it’s not well understood whether species can recover between events. A new paper exposes three coral species to elevated temperature for 2.5 weeks over two consecutive years. While P. divaricata and O. faveolata were able to recover, P. astreoides suffered cumulative damage to chlorophyll a, energy reserves and calcification that meant it was unable to recover fully within a year. As energy reserves promote resistance to bleaching, failure to recover within a year suggests the future demise of heat sensitive coral species, say the authors.

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