The UK failed to consult European countries properly over potential environmental risks from the Hinkley Point C nuclear project, a United Nations committee has ruled. The UK “is in non-compliance with its obligations” to discuss the possible impact of any accident or other event that could affect those nations in proximity to Hinkley, the ruling from the UN Economic and Social Council says. Paul Dorfman, a senior researcher at UCL’s energy institute, said the news throws whole new element of doubt over Hinkley: “It is hard to see how EDF can sign off any final investment decision whilst the government has yet to resolve this important issue.” The Department of Energy and Climate Change says it is “confident that we have met the relevant international requirements in relation to Hinkley Point C.” Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that a second Chinese company is poised to invest in Hinkley Point, with the Chinese state-backed nuclear giant CNNC in talks with EDF. Xie Jiajie, a senior official at CNNC, says that the company would take an equity stake in Hinkley Point once EDF has made its final investment decision on the project. Shareholders in EDF had been expected to offer final approval for Hinkley Point at the company’s general meeting this week, says the Sunday Times, but instead will now get a chance “to air their views and grill the company’s board, which remains divided.”

Bringing forward by a year the launch of a scheme to encourage power companies to safeguard the supply of electricity at peak times could cost households £38 a year, UK government documents suggest. Under the plans, the government will pay subsidies to old power plants to keep running through winter 2017-18 – costing up to £3bn in total. Despite the new levy, the scheme would result in “lower consumer bills than would otherwise have been the case”, the government says. The capacity auctions were due to secure power from winter 2018/19 but coal plants closures have forced the government to start a year early, says Reuters. Lisa Nandy, the shadow energy and climate change secretary, accused the government of “burying bad news” while the local elections dominated the news on Friday, reports the Guardian. She also criticised the scheme as a “massive waste of money” because previous payments ended up going to nuclear facilities and other plants that would have stayed open regardless. The Mirror also has the story.

Saudi Arabia is planning to float its $2.5 trillion oil company Aramco in London, Hong Kong, and New York. The Saudi authorities hope to entice ExxonMobil, China’s Sinopec, and potentially BP, into taking strategic stakes, says the Telegraph. The Aramco sale is planned as soon as 2017 or 2018 and would in theory be five times larger than any initial public offering in history – a “huge prize for the London Stock Exchange”. However, Saudi Arabia may have trouble finding buyers at “nose-bleed prices”, says the Telegraph, given investor aversion to state companies embroiled in politics. One industry expert said the market value of Aramco is probably just $250bn to $400bn, given that the state creams off a royalty rate of 20% and tax of 85%. Meanwhile. Khalid al-Falih, long regarded as the Saudi oil minister-in-waiting, has taken control of a revamped energy ministry, reports the Financial Times. A close adviser to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mr Falih will be responsible for the listing of Saudi Aramco, as well as Saudi Arabia’s vision to diversify its economy away from oil. Falih signalled that his appointment will make no difference to the kingdom’s aggressive policy of trying to drive rival producers out of business with cheap oil, reports the Times. “Saudi Arabia will maintain its stable petroleum policies,” Falih says, “we remain committed to maintaining our role in international energy markets and strengthening our position as the world’s most reliable supplier of energy.” The FT takes a closer look at the new energy minister. Elsewhere, the FT also reports that discoveries of new oil reserves have dropped to their lowest level for more than 60 years. Oil explorers found 2.8bn barrels of crude and related liquids last year – the lowest annual volume since 1954, reflecting a slowdown in exploration activity as oil companies seek to conserve money.

Fracking could take place in Britain this year for the first time since 2011, under plans that could get the green light from council officials this week. Gas company Third Energy is seeking planning permission to frack a shale gas well it has drilled at Kirby Misperton in Ryedale, North Yorkshire. After months of consultation, North Yorkshire County Council’s planning officer is this week expected to issue her recommendation on whether councillors should approve or reject the plans. If the company gets the go-ahead, gas from the site could be powering homes in Yorkshire before the end of this year, says Third Energy’s chief executive Rasik Valand.

As a huge wildfire continues to spread in Alberta, Canada, a new study suggests that declining winter snow extent and reduced snowmelt could have contributed to the dry conditions. According to satellite data, last month saw the lowest area of snow cover in the northern hemisphere of any April in the past 50 years. A mild winter has seen snow melt faster and earlier in the year, giving forests and grasslands a chance to dry out earlier and provide the potential for a longer fire season. The lingering effects of last year’s El Niño event also contributed to a mild, dry winter, the researchers say. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that cooler weather and light rain have stopped the blaze from growing as much as feared. With round the clock efforts of more than 1,400 fire fighters, two separate fires had threatened the border of Saskatchewan, to the east of Alberta, says the Telegraph. The fire is expected to be one of the costliest natural disasters in Canada’s history, and it has forced oil companies to cut more than one-fifth of the country’s daily oil production, reports the Financial Times. The Independent also has the story, and the Telegraph has the wildfire in pictures.

China’s £520bn sovereign wealth fund CIC is among the companies lining up to bid for control of Britain’s biggest gas distribution network. Next month, National Grid will formally launch the auction for a majority stake in its £12bn gas business, which operates more than 82,000 miles of pipe and delivers fuel to nearly 11m homes. CIC has joined forces with Australian investment giant Macquarie, the German insurer Allianz, and infrastructure specialist Dalmore Capital. A rival consortium rival is thought to include Kuwait’s state investment vehicle Wren House, Canadian investment giants Borealis and Canada Pension Plan, British fund manager Hermes, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Domestic flights in Britain will all but disappear over the next decade because of falling demand, says a senior airline boss. Laurie Berryman, UK vice-president of Emirates, argues that existing routes would continue to be squeezed because of a lack of space at Heathrow and the rise of long-haul flights directly from regional airports. Flights from London to Manchester, for example, could end altogether within ten years, he says, particularly once the HS2 rail line is complete, which will mean the route will take roughly the same time by rail as it takes to fly.

The cause of recent dramatic changes in oil price is “speculation, driven by changing expectations about the behaviour of the key producing and consuming nations,” writes Butler. Can any of this be stopped? he asks: “Probably not, although it is worth considering the options.” Butler looks at the feasibility of ways of limiting speculation, such as taxing speculative trading, limiting daily movements in price, and a “stabilisation mechanism” – an institution created to intervene actively in the market. “None of these ideas appears practical,” says Butler: “The end result of all this is a feeling of impotence – speculation exists, sets the price and does great damage. But it is very hard to control.”

A new study finds that bacteria and archaea in the seabed are sensitive to changes in climate. These tiny microbes are found in the top 15cm of the seabed, where they help regulate carbon in the deep ocean. The researchers collected 228 samples from a range of latitudes in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. They found the microbes thrive in cold waters, but decline significantly as the deep ocean warms. The paper concludes that “climate change will primarily affect deep-sea benthic archaea, with important consequences on global biogeochemical cycles, particularly at high latitudes.”