UK political leaders in joint pledge on climate change
News
UK political leaders in joint pledge on climatechange
Pilita Clark &Jim Pickard, Financial Times
The leaders of the UK’s three main political parties haveagreed to stick to the UK’s goal of slashing carbon emissions, tophase out all coal-fired power plants without carbon-captureequipment, and to work on making a global climate deal to be signedthis year legally binding. The FT said it was a “novel agreement,brokered over several months by environmental groups, the Women’sInstitute and Christian Aid, is an attempt to take climate changeout of the political arena”. The BBC’s Roger Harrabinnoted that”environmentalists say the pledge is significant because it quellssome of their fears that the Conservatives might adopt a moreclimate-sceptic line, to mirror UKIP’s position”. Reutersand theTimesalso carry the story.Meanwhile, the Guardianreports that in Australia,Brian Schmidt, who won the Nobel prize for physics in 2011, hascalled on Australia’s political parties to emulate the politicaljoint pledge in the UK. “We should be inspired by what the threemajor parties in the UK have done, so soon before an election,” hesaid.
Climate and energy news
Can Russia control the weather? Climate researchersays CIA fears hostile nations are triggering floods anddroughts
A leading academic told journalists at a conference in SanJose how he got a mysterious phone call asking whether foreigncountries could be triggering droughts or flooding. Professor AlanRobock, from Rutgers University in New Jersey, said: “Consultantsworking for the CIA rang and said we’d like to know if someone iscontrolling the world’s climate would we know about it? Of coursethey were also asking – if we control someone else’s climate wouldthey then know about it.” The Guardianand theTimesalso report the story.
Climate change could bring dengue and yellow feverto UK, scientists warn
A research paper published in the Philosophical Transactionsof the Royal Society B shows that the threat from the Asian tigermosquito will grow over the next 35 years if temperatures acrossEurope continue to rise and the population continues to expand. Itcould bring tropical diseases such as dengue fever and chikungunyato the UK. The Timesalso has the story.
UK carbon market plan would boost emissions price,report says
The European Union could have a higher, more robust andcredible carbon price, if countries agree to adopt a fix to thescheme from 2017, rather than 2021, concludes new analysis jointlypublished today by 12 research organisations, including the LondonSchool of Economics’ Grantham Institute and the University ofOxford.
Next decade ‘critical’ for UK’s energyfuture
Crucial decisions need to be taken over the next 10 years toavoid wasting investment and ensure the 2050 climate target ofreducing emissions 80 per cent on a 1990 baseline remainsachievable, according to the Energy Technologies Institute. Thecontribution of bioenergy and CCS is seen as particularly crucialfor the UK’s future energy system, according to the ETI. “If eitherof these technologies does not feature, it would at least doublethe cost of delivering climate change targets from around one percent of GDP to two per cent – putting the value of CCS andbioenergy to the energy system at around £200bn each,” reportsBusinessGreen.
UN agrees new climate text for Paris deal, buthard work remains
The UN’s latest set of talks aimed at securing a globalclimate deal in Paris at the end of the year in Paris concluded inGeneva on Friday. RTCC said that the negotiating text for Paris hadbeen 38 pages at the start of the week and had ballooned to 88pages by the session’s close. “There is no sign of convergence onmajor issues of climate finance and the burden of carbon cuts richand poor countries will have to shoulder,” it reported. The FT said”deep divisions” remain. A key topic of discussion throughout theweek was the inclusion of a long-term goal to acheive “net-zero”emissions by 2050. Carbon Brief’s explainerhas allthe details of the various proposals being put forward by variousparties. But the FT saidthat “oil-rich Saudi Arabiaand many other countries that do not rely as heavily on fossil fuelexports for their national income say this date is completelyunrealistic and even later deadlines could be difficult”.The BBC, the Timesand Reutersalso reported the story.
The truth behind the wind power subsidiesrow
Do claims in a recent IPPR report that 100 UK wind turbinesare receiving unfair subsidies at a cost of £400m to consumers addup? Fiona Harvey dives in and concludes that the report includes anelement of bias in favour of small wind turbine manufacturers. “TheIPPR report was co-authored by Charles Ogilvie, a former adviser toex-energy minister Greg Barker and currently an associate atBellenden, a PR company,” says Harvey. “Bellenden’s clients includeVergnet, a manufacturer of small wind turbines that is mentioned inthe report, and which could stand to benefit from less competitionin its core market if the government implements IPPR’s advice toban larger models from feed-in tariffs. IPPR, which did not payOgilvie for his work, told the Guardian there was no conflict ofinterest.”
Fossil fuel divestment campaign grows asprotesters target UK banks
To mark “Go Fossil Free” day, the Guardian’s head ofenvironment notes that the divestment campaign has alreadypersuaded 180 institutions, worth $50bn (£33bn) and including localauthorities, universities and churches, to sell off theirinvestments in coal, oil and gas.
Germany moves to legalisefracking
A four-year moratorium on shale gas exploration is set to beoverturned as Germany initiates a process to allow regulatedhydraulic fracturing at depths of over 3,000 metres.
Discoveries of new oil and gas reserves drop to20-year low
Discoveries of new oil and gas reserves dropped to theirlowest level in at least two decades last year, pointing to tighterworld supplies as energy demand increases in the future. Theslowdown in discoveries has been particularly pronounced for oil,suggesting that production from shales in the US and elsewhere, andfrom Opec, will play an increasingly important role in meetinggrowing global demand in the next decade.
Fossil fuel industry must take stranded assetsseriously, says Tim Yeo
Guardian, Terry Macalister and Kai Steemers
The Tory MP and chairman of parliament’s energy and climatechange committee has joined those warning the fossil fuel industryto take the threat of stranded assets seriously, and believes Shellis wrong to write off critics as naive.
Half of UK households ‘paying £200 too much fortheir energy’
More than 13 million households are paying £200 a year toomuch for their energy bills by failing to switch supplier,ministers have said, fuelling fears that loyal customers are beingripped off. Half the homes in Britain are paying more than £1,115 ayear for their energy, despite the fact tariffs are now availablein the market for just £909 a year, according to the Department ofEnergy and Climate Change.
‘Next Pinatubo’ a test ofgeoengineering
Scientists who study ideas to engineer the climate tomitigate global warming say we should be ready to deploy an armadaof instrumentation when Earth has its next major volcanic eruptionon the scale of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. Data gathered in the highatmosphere would be invaluable in determining whether so-called”geoengineering” solutions had any merit at all.
India can lead fight against global warming: PMModi
Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, told a renewablesconference at the weekend that India has the strength and resourcesto lead the world’s fight against global warming. He said: “In ourmythology we have imagined the sun god Surya riding on sevenhorses. In today’s age the first four of the seven horses wouldrespectively be thermal (coal), gas, hydro and nuclear energy. Weneed to utilise more the three other horses of solar, wind andbiomass.”
Limited climate change accord likely in Paris:IPCC expert Jean-Pascal VanYpersal
Jean-Pascal Van Ypersal, the Belgian deputy vice presidentof the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said a climatedeal in Paris is looking likely, but that it is unlikely to beenough to adequately fight global warming. He said: “A deal inParis will at least allow us to continue the work, but I fear timeis passing and we have to make decisions by consensus. I do notthink today that we have the consensus to aim higher.”
Axe cheap petrol to cut emissions, emergingeconomies told
Countries should include fossil fuel subsidy reforms intheir draft contributions to a global climate deal, theInternational Institute for Sustainable Development hasrecommended. Ending artificially cheap petrol and other such marketinterventions could cut greenhouse gas emissions an estimated 6-13per cent worldwide by 2050. It would also free up some US$500billion of public money.
Climate and energy comment
Are wood chips really worse than burningcoal?
Geoffrey Lean looks at the heated debate over the whetherthe Drax power station in Yorkshire, Europe’s second biggestpolluter, should be burning wood pellets imported from the US as areplacement for coal. Lean concludes: “One solution would be forthe whole industry to join an independent forestry certificationscheme to guarantee best practice. At present only a sixth ofsoutheastern US forests belong to one…Drax said it would likethis, but that the – largely private – US foresters are reluctant.Unless they change their minds, the arguments will rage on.”
7 burning issues on the road to a Paris climatedeal
RTCC weighs up the latest draft negotating text that cameout of Geneva last week and selects seven themes worth followingover the coming months: aviation and shipping; climate justice;economic mechanism; oil tax; zero emissions; human rights andgender; and health. “They could make the final cut – or they couldvanish into oblivion,” it concludes.
Saudi Arabia’s nuclearambitions
Nick Butler looks at a new study by the International Centrefor Security Analysis at King’s College London which finds thatSaudi Arabia is pressing ahead with plans to build 16GW of nuclearpower by the early 2030s. As the Kingdom realises that its oil andgas dependency cannot go on forever, Butler says: “The decision togo for nuclear power may be eminently logical in energy policyterms but it will also, unavoidably, raise concerns about apotential arms race in the region.”
New climate science
Climate change and vector-borne diseases ofhumans
PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society B
A special issue of Philosophical Transactions of the RoyalSociety B reports the latest findings on how climate change couldaffect the future impact of vector borne diseases such as malaria,Chagas disease and dengue across the globe. One key finding is thatmany areas of Europe, including the UK, could become highlysuitable for mosquitoes that transmit dengue and chikungunya overthe coming decades.
Modelling street level PM10 concentrations acrossEurope: source apportionment and possiblefutures
Atmospheric Chemistry andPhysics
Researchers have measured particulate pollution levels atmore than 1,850 locations across Europe, 80 of which exceeded EUair quality limits in 2009. Under current legislation, pollution isexpected to improve at most stations by 2030. But the researcherspredict this won’t be enough to meet pollution targets in hot spotlocations such as Southern Poland and major European cities.