Osborne delivers a not very green budget
News
Greenhouse gas rise ‘will boost cropyield’
Climate and energy news:
England’s lights ‘would go out without Scotland’srenewable energy’
England needs Scotland’s large and rapidly growing renewableenergy supply to maintain energy security, says Fergus Ewing, theScottish energy minister. This comes as Ed Davey said independencefor Scotland would force up energy bills for Scottish households.In yesterday’s budget, the chancellor also revealed revenue fromNorth Sea oil has been downgraded by £3 billion, reportsthe Daily Express.
Budget 2014: Manufacturers shielded against greentaxes
Chancellor George Osborne unveiled the 2014 budget onTuesday, announcing a £7 billion plan to cut energy bills forenergy-intensive industries and a freeze in the Carbon Price Floor- a tax aimed at driving investment in low carbon energyinvestment. In keeping with Osborne’s vision of “a Britain thatmakes things again”, this amounts to a number of concessions formanufacturers, saving them nearly £50,000 a year, reports theFinancial Times. The package has been welcomed by business leadersbut has angered environmentalists, reports the Guardian. RenewableUK, the UK wind andmarine renewables trade body, said the changes would “chill themood” of investors in clean energy projects, reports theBBC. BusinessGreenhas a rundown of thebudget announcements as they happened. The Telegraphand theDaily Mailalso report on what thebudget announcements mean for fuel bills andmanufacturers.
Isle of Wight tidal energy test site plansunveiled
Prototype energy turbines look set to be installed off TheIsle of Wight, as a new tidal energy testing site was unveiledyesterday. But fishermen and business owners oppose the project ongrounds that it will damage shellfish beds, reports theBBC.
Climate and energy comment:
In Conversation with Lord Krebs: UK fightingclimate change with more nuclear energy
Lord John Krebs, chair of the UK Climate AdaptationSub-Committee, talks extreme weather, resilience, mitigation andenergy security in an interview for the Conversation. In the UK, wecan expect both droughts and extended periods of heavy rain tobecome more common, says Krebs. The public perception is that yes,the recent floods are a sign of things to come in the future, headds.
UK Budget 2014: The missing shale gasrevolution
George Osborne in his Budget speech on Wednesday talked aboutcutting energy costs by investing in new sources of energyincluding a shale gas revolution. But with just one well fracked inthe UK, it’s in danger of becoming a revolution that never happens,argues Nick Butler. “Sadly it seems that changing bingo tax is ahigher priority than doing something about serious about the UK’sfailing energy policy”, he argues.
Engaging with climate change after the UKfloods
Extreme weather events are critical times for joining thedots between climate change and people’s everyday lives, says AdamCorner from the Climate Outreach and Information Network. Whilescaring people into caring is generally a bad strategy in the longterm, extreme weather will become a more tangible problem in the UKas we continue to change the climate, says Corner.
White House to Introduce Climate DataWebsite
President Obama plans to launch a website to turn scientificprojections about drought, wildfires and sea level rise intoeye-catching digital presentations. The idea is anyone can plug anaddress into the program – like you can with Google Earth – to seehow climate change is likely to affect their own backyards. Butuntil climate science and mapping applications can live up to thesite’s ambitions, it will remain very much in its testing phase,says the New York Times. Reutersalso covers the White Houselaunch.
New climate science:
Audience segmentation and climate changecommunication
Does tailoring to subgroups of the public who share similarvalues, beliefs, behaviours, and/or policy preferences make forbetter climate change communication? A new paper gives a briefhistorical overview of “audience segmentation” and how successfullyit’s been used in marketing, health, politics, and most recentlyclimate change.
Climate change mitigation policies andpoverty
While climate change mitigation policies – such as reducinggreenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion, improvingenergy efficiency and avoided deforestation – can have benefits indeveloping countries, some actions may worsen poverty and hinderits alleviation. This is according to new research aiming to bridgea lack of research in this area.