Daily Briefing |
TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES
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Today's climate and energy headlines:
- No 'slowdown' in global surface temperatures after all, study finds
- US scientists: Global warming pause 'no longer valid'
- U.S. EPA finds no 'widespread risk' to drinking water
- Insulation bills will go through roof after EU ruling
- Bonn climate talks start slow as hefty text withstands the chop
- Exclusive: EU set to offer polluters another 10 years of free carbon credits - document
- Norway's pension fund to divest $8bn from coal, a new analysis shows
- US, Brazil and China voice doubts over Australia climate plans
- Cheap coal, giant batteries may keep gas waiting for its golden age
- Australia has forfeited world leadership on climate policy, says Kofi Annan panel
- DECC budget cut by £70m
- On the way to a historic agreement on climate change
- Surface melt dominates Alaska glacier mass balance
- Climate change and the ethics ofdiscounting
News.
The much discussed “slowdown” in surface temperatures may
not exist after all, finds a new study from the US National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It reanalyses past
temperature records and updates trends with the latest data,
finding warming over the past 15 years is as rapid as in the second
half of the 20th century – and higher than reported by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Climate and energy news.
New evidence casts doubt on the idea that global warming has
slowed down in recent years says the BBC. The climate change
“hiatus” disappears with new data, saysNature News. The story is the front-page
splash forThe Independent, which devotes a fullinside pagesaying the “heat is on
climate-change sceptics” andasking”How do you explain this, Lord
Lawson?”.The New York Timessays the slowdown may
have been based on “incorrect data”.The Washington Postsays it’s probably
the biggest debate in climate science right now. But leading
climate scientist Gavin Schmidt explains atRealClimatewhy the new research is “perhaps
less dramatic than it might seem”.The Guardiansays the new research
“debunks” the idea “used by sceptics to undermine climate science”.
Drinking water has been contaminated by fracking on a small number
of occasions, according to a major five-year US EPA study, which
found no widespread or systemic pollution linked to the
industry.The Washington Postsays it is the most
comprehensive study of existing information to date, but the EPA
says its conclusions are still not definitive because data gaps
remain, notesThe Financial Times.The Hillcalls it “largely a win for
industry” whileGristsays fracking “could” pollute water
supplies and a headline fromDeSmogBlogsays fracking “puts… water
supplies at risk”.The New York Times,Climate ProgressandBloomberg New Energy Financealso have
the story. The review is a draft and will be finalised next year.
The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled the UK’s reduced-rate VAT
on energy saving goods and services to be contrary to EU rules,
says the Times.BusinessGreensays prices for homeowners
could rise as a result.The Telegraphsays solar panels could be
affected too.
Progress was glacial at UN climate talks in Bonn as delegates
tarried in slimming down a draft global warming treaty to be
adopted in Paris in December. After four days, negotiators had
trimmed just 5% of the 90-page rough copy. “We are deeply concerned
at the slow pace,” said a Maldivian official.
Plans to reform the EU’s carbon market beyond 2020 could continue
to hand the bloc’s most polluting industries free carbon credits,
says Reuters, based on a document seen by the newswire. It says
regulators are considering giving free credits to cover 30 to 100%
of some sectors’ emissions for another decade, in order to prevent
carbon leakage.
Some 122 coal firms around the world will be affected as Norway’s
pension fund is expected to divest from coal, says the Guardian. UK
firms due to be affected include SSE and Drax, it says.
Brazil, China, South Africa and the US have questioned whether
Australia’s current climate policies will see the country able to
make future greenhouse gas cuts. Ten countries voiced their
concerns at a special review session at UN climate talks in Bonn
over Canberra’s long-term emission targets and commitment to the
2015 Paris deal. Australia said it would meet its ‘5% against 2000
by 2020’ emissions reduction goal, a view not shared by analysts at
the Climate Action Tracker institute, who say emissions will likely
rise 12-18% above 2000 levels.
The idea of a ‘golden age of gas’ is looking increasingly unlikely
because of low coal prices and large steps in solar, says Reuters.
The cost of solar panels has been divided by eight in only four
years, the article says, and new battery technology means
renewables are more likely to compete as a domestic energy source.
Meanwhile, a number of Asian countries moving ahead with plans to
expand coal-fired power generation.
Australia has forfeited its position as a global leader on
tackling climate change and is now a “free-rider”, a panel led by
former secretary general of the United Nations Kofi Annan has said.
The Africa Progress Report 2015 disputes claims by the fossil fuel
lobby that moving away from carbon would impede economic growth in
developing countries. It says high-emitting nations, such as
Australia, have stepped back from global discussions in favour of
unilateral action.
The chancellor has announced more than £3bn of in-year budget cuts
for government departments, including £70m for the Department of
Energy and Climate Change.The Guardianhas a few details on where
the axe might fall.Carbon
Briefhas a detailed breakdown of DECC’s budget.
Climate and energy comment.
Deutsche Welle interviews Jennifer Morgan of the World
Resources Institute at the UN climate talks in Bonn, which continue
through this week and next. The leading German broadcaster asks
Morgan how things are shaping up for the expected global climate
deal in December.
.
Assessing how much ice mountain glaciers are losing is a
challenge because of remote and rugged geography, and the fact that
individual glaciers respond differently to climate change. A new
study of 116 glaciers in Alaska finds that tidewater glaciers are
losing ice a lot slower than other types, and contribute only 6% to
regional ice loss.
When it comes to climate policy making, striking the right
balance between the benefits for those creating the risks and those
facing them in future generations is an ethical matter. But which
moral theory should this “discount rate” be based on? A new paper
explores the issues at hand.