– A round-up of the day’s top climate change stories
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UK: The government’s chief scientist has said that there is already enough CO2 in the atmosphere for there to be more floods and droughts over the next 25 years. Prof Sir John Beddington said there was a “need for urgency” in tackling climate change. (BBC)
Drought has hit large parts of the USA, Australia and East Africa, forcing thousands in Somalia and Ethiopia to leave their homes (Pic: UN)
Australia: A new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) says the military is not doing enough planning to cope with the problem of climate change. (ABC)
Earth Hour: Thousands of cities and towns across the world, including major landmarks, turned off their lights to show their concern for the environment over the weekend (Guardian)
Qatar: The UK’s initiative to put a firm floor for carbon pricing by 2015 will benefit Qatar, which is a clean gas producer, said KPMG Global Head Michiel Soeting. Once the firm floor for carbon pricing has been set, Soeting said most coal-fired plants in Europe, older ones particularly, will have to be shut as they are highly polluting in nature – and replaced with gas, which Qatar can supply. (Gulf Times)
China: Chinese authorities will need to raise an extra $243bn a year by the end of the decade in order to tackle climate change and deliver sufficient investment in low carbon development. (Business Green)