A summary of today’s top climate and clean energy stories.
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Protesters gather in Balcombe to protest fracking (pic: RTCC)
UK: Thousands of people marched through the Sussex countryside on Sunday in the biggest show of strength to date for the UK’s anti-fracking movement, the start of a three-day campaign against exploratory drilling near the village of Balcombe in west Sussex. (Guardian)
India: If you generate power from a rooftop solar project, the Delhi government will soon incentivize your efforts. A new solar policy upholds “production-based subsidy” which means that the government will pay you for the units of energy you save by using solar power. (Times of India)
IPCC: Climate scientists are surer than ever that human activity is causing global warming, according to leaked drafts of the IPCC report, but they are finding it harder than expected to predict the impact in specific regions in coming decades. (Reuters)
Ireland: Average Irish August temperatures are projected to have increased by “two to three degrees celsius by 2050, and by six to seven degrees Celsius by 2100”, according to the director of NUI Galway’s centre for climate and air pollution studies. The rises predicted are significantly higher than most current forecasts. (Irish Times)
Mauritius: The island nation of Mauritius has taken another step towards energy independence as it signed agreements with international firms to supply solar and wind power. With these agreements the island now expects to have a total renewable energy capacity of 60MW connected to its grid by 2015. (Clean Technica)
Japan: Those who find satisfaction in the crunch of a hard apple have reason to be worried about climate change: a 40-year study of Japanese apple orchards has found that global warming is producing softer — but sweeter — apples. (Nature)
Sweden: Scandinavian countries are renowned for their environmental credentials, from significant renewable energy supplies to their love of cycling. So it is perhaps not so surprising to discover a new study has named Sweden the most sustainable country in the world. (Business Green)
Denmark: The Danish government has come up with 78 possible projects to help cut the country’s carbon emissions. (RTCC)
Scotland: Scotland’s red deer are breeding earlier each year, according to scientists studying the impact of climate change on the species. (BBC)