Flood threats, offshore wind funds & climate surprises
News
Homeowners face huge bills to pay for flood
threat
“Thousands of homeowners and small businesses at risk from
flooding will find their insurance premiums trebling or be unable
to obtain cover under government plans to exclude them from a new
affordable insurance scheme.”
Climate & energy news:
Ed Davey pledges new price support for offshore
wind power
Coverage of the government decision to rebalance renewable
subsidies from the Guardian presents it as new “support for
offshore wind power”. In an accompanying column, Environment Editor
Damian Carrington writes that the wind industry has welcomed cuts
to onshore wind subsidies, but some community energy projects face
questions about viability. The Times headlines their piece “Small onshore wind farms to be
scrapped as subsidies cut.” Reuters saysthe changes in offshore
subsidy “[give] clarity to investors, who can now calculate their
guaranteed returns on renewable energy projects to the end of the
decade.”
ALEC calls for penalties on ‘freerider’ homeowners
in assault on clean energy
From the US: “An alliance of corporations and conservative
activists is mobilising to penalise homeowners who install their
own solar panels – casting them as ‘freeriders’ – in a sweeping new
offensive against renewable energy, the Guardian has
learned.”
Energy company warns it will cancel some onshore
wind farms
Some renewable energy companies are warning that they will
cancel onshore wind farms after cuts in government subsidies, the
Financial Times reports.
Large Companies Prepared to Pay Price on
Carbon
From the US: “More than two dozen of the nation’s biggest
corporations, including the five major oil companies, are planning
their future growth on the expectation that the government will
force them to pay a price for carbon pollution as a way to control
global warming.” The NYT calls this a “striking departure from
conservative orthodoxy and a reflection of growing divisions
between the Republican Party and its business
supporters.”
E.ON to announce £50 increase in gas and
electricity bills
E.ON is expected to announce price rises for gas and
electricity customers this Friday.
Changes to the Green Deal and the Energy Company
Obligation
The government has announced changes to energy efficiency
schemes the Green Deal and ECO. This blog sets out the technical
changes.
Climate & energy comment:
Climate Silence
A new briefing paper from the Climate Outreach Information
Network argues that a “Climate Silence” has descended on the UK,
with media, NGOs and government all reluctant to talk about climate
change.
What surprises could climate change have in store
for us?
How predicable is climate change going to be? “There are a
few different ways that global warming could unfold in the decades
ahead. The world might heat up steadily and predictably, giving
humans and other species time to adjust. Or we could see large,
abrupt changes that are extremely difficult to adapt to.”
Government cuts its projections for offshore
wind
In announcing changes to subsidies for renewable power, the
government has cut its ambition for the size of the UK offshore
wind industry in 2020, Chris Goodall says.
New Climate Science
The changing carbon cycle of the coastal
ocean
New research suggests that the coastal ocean zone – made up
of rivers, estuaries and the continental shelves – now takes up
more carbon dioxide than it releases. Previously, it was thought to
be a source of the gas.
Coastal flooding by tropical cyclones and
sea-level rise
Accelerated sea-level rise certainly will increase the
flooding and property damage triggered by tropical cyclones,
regardless of whether or not these storms become more powerful,
warn researchers in the US.
New research will allow more reliable dating of
major past events
Academics have developed a new internationally agreed
radiocarbon dating curve which provides reliable time scales for
those seeking to understand ancient environments, including members
of the International Panel on Climate Change.