New runway would make emissions soar
News
The Carbon Brief Interview: Janos
Pasztor
Janos Pasztor was appointed Ban Ki-moon’s assistant
secretary-general on climate change in January 2015. His interview
with Carbon Brief covers everything from the importance of climate
finance to whether the world could tackle climate change without
the UN.
Plan to begin first fracking operation in UK for
four years rejected
An application to carry out exploratory fracking in the UK
for the first time in four years has been refused by Lancashire
County Council’s planning committee. A second decision over another
site looks likely to be approved today, but could be mired in legal
argument. Carbon Brief summarises the decisions and explores what
they might mean for the UK’s energy mix and climate goals.
Climate and energy news
New runway would make emissions
soar
Heathrow’s nitrogen dioxide emissions would rise by more
than 40% if it were allowed to build a new runway, according a
preliminary report from the Airports Commission. The Commission’s
external consultants found that emissions from aircraft and traffic
would increase from 5,850 to 8,300 tons a year under the favoured
northwest runway scheme. With a recommendation expected
soon, The Daily Telegraphreports that
the Commission will “fudge” the decision by recommending expansion
at Heathrow but without ruling out building at Gatwick – thus
allowing ministers to oppose expansion at Heathrow.
While The Independentsays David Cameron
and George Osborne will test to loyalty of their Cabinet by backing
the Heathrow options. Several ministers have constituencies that
would be affected by increased air and road traffic at Heathrow,
and Boris Johnson has long opposed the plans, it reports.
Meanwhile, The Financial Timesreports that
anti-Heathrow campaigners are planning a big rally in central
London this autumn in the event that Heathrow is chosen.
Fracking: Energy Secretary’s advisor received
£5,000 election donation from company set to benefit from
controversial technique
A new advisor to the Energy Secretary Amber Rudd received a
£5,000 donation to his local party from a company set to benefit
from the introduction of fracking. Addison Projects, part of a £25m
engineering company based in Lancashire, made the donation to the
constituency party of Conservative MP Paul Maynard in March. Mr
Maynard was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ms Rudd
after the General Election. Both Mr Maynard and Addison insist that
the donation was unconnected with efforts to introduce fracking.
Lancashire county council rejects Cuadrilla
fracking bid
Press Association via
Guardian
Councillors have unanimously refused a planning application
for fracking at one site in Lancashire. The Council’s development
control committee turned down Cuadrilla’s application to explore
for shale gas at Roseacre Wood because of “an unacceptable impact”
on rural roads. The committee will resume discussions on a second
proposal for Little Plumpton at 10am this morning. Carbon Briefhas all the details.
Barack Obama sets sizzling climate action pace in
push to leave legacy
The White House has pushed through around 40 new measures to
fight carbon pollution just since the start of 2015, stepping up
the pace ahead of critical talks for a global climate change deal.
Since his speech on his climate ambitions to students at Georgetown
University in June 2013, Obama has taken initial action on all 75
of the goals set out in the plan – to cut carbon pollution, prepare
the US for climate change, and help reach a global warming deal,
says analysis by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
Mark Carney calls on businesses to disclose carbon
footprints
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has called for
companies to disclose their carbon footprints to help investors to
make decisions about whether to back them. Speaking at a conference
on ‘inclusive capitalism’, Carney said: “London has a
responsibility to lead if the age of irresponsibility is over.”
Royal Dutch Shell bids to develop carbon capture
project
Royal Dutch Shell’s disused North Sea gas platform
‘Goldeneye’ could soon get a fresh lease of life as a carbon
capture and storage project, reports the Financial Times. The
energy giant is competing for a £1b pot of money from the UK
government to develop what would be the world’s first carbon
capture and storage project involving a gas-fired power station.
Its prospects received a boost this month when council officials
approved plans for state of the art technology at the plant at
Peterhead, near Aberdeen, which would extract carbon dioxide waste
before sending it to Goldeneye.
Half of Europe’s electricity set to be from
renewables by 2030
More than half of Europe’s electricity could be generated
from renewables by the end of the next decade if EU countries meet
their climate pledges, according to a draft commission paper. A
planned overhaul of the continent’s electricity grids will now need
to be sped up, says the report.
Climate and energy comment
The case for a specialist energy
bank
Nick Butler, The
Financial Times
Nick Butler outlines why the world needs energy-focussed
banks in order to fund the estimated $51 trillion needed to meet
the world’s energy needs over the next 25 years. Though much of the
necessary investment will be funded by governments and major
players such as Exxon and Shell, “enormous sums” will still be
needed to help smaller countries and poorer countries, Butler
argues. And existing banks won’t cut it, says Butler: “I have yet
to come across a major bank which really understands the energy
business in depth.”
On climate change, Hispanic Catholics hear pope’s
message – and it’s personal
Suzanne
Goldenberg, The Guardian
New climate science
Coral population dynamics across consecutive mass
mortality events
New research tracks the fate of corals in the
Arabian/Persian Gulf following the first ever occurrence of four
back-to-back mass mortality events, triggered by a combination of
disease and high water temperatures. The researchers note the
collapse of the coral community and discuss how it compares to
other reefs in decline across the Caribbean and Pacific.
Disappearance of the southeast U.S. “warming hole”
with the late-1990s transition of the Interdecadal Pacific
Oscillation
Why did the southeastern part of the U.S. cool slightly in
the second half of the 20th century while the rest of the country
warmed? A new paper says it’s likely linked to the Interdecadal
Pacific Oscillation, the transition of which to from a positive to
negative phase in the early 2000s coincided with a reversal in the
so-called “warming hole”.
Modelling the instantaneous response of glaciers
after the collapse of the Larsen B Ice
Shelf
A new study examines the behaviour of the 20 or so glaciers
surrounding the Larsen-B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula,
before and immediately after its collapse in 2002. Comparing a
dynamical model with observations, the researchers find the major
outlets have accelerated and thinned while smaller glaciers have
shown little or no change.
Other stories
- Dalai Lama tells Glastonbury of the need to speak
out on climate change (The Guardian) - Euroland: psyched and ready for climate charm
offensive (Responding to Climate Change) - Insurance giants call for climate change heath
risks to be tackled (BusinessGreen) - California’s state pension funds move closer to
divesting from coal (The Guardian) - US climate deniers call Paris summit ‘a threat’ to
the world (The Guardian) - Scientists in South Asia struggle to understand
heatwave (BBC News) - ()