By John Parnell
– The day’s top climate change stories as chosen by RTCC
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– Updated from 0830-1700 BST (GMT+1)
Latest news: Monday 24 September
Last updated: 1700 BST
EU: The EU has responded to the bill passed in Washington to stop US airlines from participating in the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). An EU spokesperson said that while the decision was regrettable, it could concentrate minds in talks for a globally acceptable deal on aviation emissions. (Platts)
UN: The United Nations has launched a new sustainable development website bring together resources from a number of UN sources and a “Rio+20 Follow-up” portal, tracking post-summit progress. (UN)
Denmark: The Danish government has announced that it will hit its 2020 solar energy goal later this year. The target of 200MW is being eaten up by a monthly install rate of 36MW. It now expects to install 1000MW by 2020, the equivalent of an average fossil fuel power station. (Danish Government)
US: The Senate voted unanimously for a bill to stop US airlines from taking part in the EU Emissions Trading Platform. The EU announcement that all countries using its airports would be included in the scheme has angered China, Russia, India and the US in particular. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia: The Mayor of Mecca is looking to put his city at the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s $109bn solar energy investment. Osama bin Fadl Aidarous Albar said he wants his city to be the first in the country to own its power plants and has begun a bidding process for 100MW of solar capacity. (EAEM)
UK: Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey has warned that the Conservative coalition partners that his minority Liber Democrat party governs with has a “rightwing Tea Party tendency taking over”. He called for a more certain environment for investors to help the UK’s ageing electricity set-up. (Recharge)
US: Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project has announced this year’s “24 Hours of Reality” event will focus on the links between extreme weather and “dirty energy”. The Dirty Weather Report will take place on 14-15 November. “This crisis has to be understood in order to be stopped,” said Gore. (The Hill)
The Tropics: A new study has estimated the link between rising global temperatures and rainfall in the tropics, already hit by extreme flooding in recent years. The MIT research states that each degree of temperature rises, increases the extent of extreme rainfall by 10%. (The Times of India)
Canada: Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent has said that carbon trading and taxes have “got all sorts of negatives”. He proposed that enforcing environmental regulation was a better way to ensure emissions reductions. (The StarPhoenix)
Middle East: A new report by the campaign group Oceana has warned that as much as half of the region’s fish stocks could be at risk from climate change. Ocean acidification in the Gulf will create food security problems for the biggest buyers of Middle East fish, namely Pakistan, Indonesia and the South Pacific. (The Guardian)
Greenland: Much is written on the result of Arctic thawing on the region’s animals. Melting ice in Greenland is also having a devastating effect on the human population. Shifting fisheries are making economic survival in some times impossible with many villages halving in size. (The New York Times)