A summary of today’s top climate and clean energy stories.
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Source: Flickr / Shalom Tesciuba
UK: The chief executive of the energy company putting up its prices by up to 10% has said the rise would be “helpful” if it focused the nation on its spending priorities. SSE’s Alistair Phillips-Davies called for a debate on the “green agenda” he claims will lead to more bill hikes in the future. (Energy Voice)
China: Australian research suggests China will have introduced a nationwide emissions trading scheme and a carbon tax by the end of the decade. A team from the Australian National University surveyed nearly 100 China-based carbon pricing experts about the likelihood of the world’s biggest emitter implementing an economy-wide scheme. (Business Spectator)
US: Republicans who are eager to point fingers at the Obama administration for obstructing oil and gas production can blame their engineered shutdown for slowing down small to mid-sized oil companies. With the Bureau of Land Management closed, permits cannot be processed and auctions must be canceled, which could slow down drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. (Think Progress)
Abu Dhabi: Masdar Energy U.K., a unit of Abu Dhabi’s state renewable energy developer, secured 266 million pounds ($424 million) in loans to finance its share of London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm. (Bloomberg)
Conservation: WWF launched a new initiative to save and protect nature across 12 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The Green Heart of Europe aims to protect the five natural riches of the region: forests, wilderness, large carnivores, rivers and wetlands, and the Danube sturgeon. (WWF)
Netherlands: Setting up an impartial platform for the science of food security could be an important step towards improving the weak link between researchers and policymakers, an international meeting has heard. The need for better engagement was a prevalent theme among researchers who attended the First International Conference on Global Food Security in Noordwijkerhout last week, said co-chair Martin van Ittersum during his concluding address. (SciDev)
UK: Reducing green levies on energy companies to reduce household bills would land the Government in court, David Cameron has been warned. (Times)
Scotland: Salmond revealed at a Climate Justice Forum that Scotland was doubling its Climate Justice Fund to £6 million. They money will go to increasing community resilience in developing countries to the impacts of global warming. (RTCC)
Poland: Concerns are being raised over Poland’s suitability to host UN climate talks in a month, after a government-run blog appeared to suggest melting ice in the Arctic could benefit the world. The article, which is on the official COP19 website, hails the huge “savings of time and energy” from using a shorter sea-route across the North Pole. (RTCC)