A summary of today’s top climate and clean energy stories.
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It has been alleged German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, pressured EU countries. (Source: Medienmagazin pro)
Germany: Diplomats from several EU states have accused Germany of using threats, intimidation and blackmail to sideline green cars legislation (Euractiv)
China: Chinese government officials, environment and energy experts, and entrepreneurs have vowed to accelerate the process of building a nationwide carbon emissions trading market. (Xinhua)
US: President Obama will use his executive powers to curb pollution with 61% of people in a recent poll saying they support the president’s Climate Action Plan. (Public News Service)
UK: Britain’s dirtiest coal power stations are to be allowed to bid for hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of subsidies that could allow them to stay open well into the 2020s. (Independent)
India: Cutting across party lines, a network of parliamentarians working to promote renewable energy has asked the central government to take immediate measures for the development of wind energy in the country. (Business Standard)
Africa: Logging in one of the world’s largest rainforests has slowed, a study suggests. Satellite images of Africa’s Congo Basin reveal that deforestation has fallen by about a third since 2000. (BBC)
Africa: Deforestation in parts of Africa could be reversed with changes to land use, a study suggests. A more strategic approach to managing trees across the continent could have a positive impact on the changing climate, researchers say. (Phys.org)
Research: The last 250 remaining Iberian lynxes in the wild are likely to get extinct within 50 years, as the effects of climate change were not taken into account while drawing up the preventive measures, according to a study. (Newstrack India)
South Africa: South Africa’s main energy company Eskom is adding extensive wind and solar investments to its coal intensive portfolio. (RTCC)
US: A letter received by the US Congress this week expressed concerns based less on climate science revelations and more on the Book of Revelations. Over 200 evangelical scientists and academics wrote to the government outlining their worries that inaction over climate change was incompatible with the Christian faith. (RTCC)
Research: Scientists from the University of West England in Bristol have developed an innovative way to charge electrical appliances including a mobile phone, with urine and even poo. (RTCC)