By Ed King
– The day’s top climate change stories as chosen by RTCC
– Tweet @RTCCnewswire and use #RTCCLive hashtag
– Send your thoughts to [email protected]
– Updated from 0900-1700 BST (GMT+1)
Latest news: Tuesday 11 September
UK: To frack or not to frack? UK energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey has warned that shale gas is not the magic formula to energy security and price concerns. “Unconventional gas can make a difference,” he said, “but not as much of a difference as some sections of the press would have me believe.” (FT)
Arctic: Shell has halted drilling in the Arctic after just one day. Sea ice was reported to be too close to the rig – drilling is expected to resume later this week (Reuters)
Arctic: Journalist John Vidal is sending reports from the North Pole – his latest is worth a read. Vidal writes that the sea ice is “far further north than expected, at around 82 deg N, but the annual sea ice retreat here has been nowhere near as great as on the Alaskan side of the ice cap, where it has dramatically pulled back hundreds of miles further than usual”. (Guardian)
Bangkok: Global carbon trading has effectively collapsed, according to a new report. A UN report has revealed that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is in dire need of aid, and needs to ‘adapt to new political and market conditions’. Lack of government guarantees to extend the Kyoto Protocol and a spiralling price for CDM credits were given as two of the reasons for this situation.
UK: A series of hitherto confidential briefings on climate science from Department of Energy and Climate Change have been obtained by journalist Leo Hickman. They range from official reports on the 2009 climategate saga to advice for ministers on what to say during TV interviews. Well worth a read! Links can be found via Hickman’s Twitter account.
USA: How can we effectively communicate climate change? It’s a question that continues to puzzle politicians, journalists and activists – but a new guide says three core values are key: Accountability, responsibility and patriotic pride. Find out more at the Grist.
UK: Climate change may increase the number of heat-related deaths in the UK by 540%, experts from the Health Protection Agency predict. Rising temperatures could also mean that British people may contract exotic illnesses at home as mosquitos carrying tropical diseases, such as dengue fever and chikungunya, could migrate to the UK. (Huffington Post)