Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Industry data shows suppliers have scaled back premium-priced deals based on renewables as demand falls The number of green energy tariffs available to British households has plummeted during the cost of living crisis as bill payers choose affordability over sustainability, according to industry data. Energy suppliers have pulled tariffs advertised as “green” from the market since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a global energy crisis that pushed gas and electricity bills to record highs. Continue reading...

Scientists record longest streak of temperatures higher than 30C in region in records going back to 1961 Cold Nordic countries are being seared by “truly unprecedented” heat, as hot weather strengthened and lengthened by carbon pollution continues to roast northern Europe. A weather station in the Norwegian part of the Arctic Circle recorded temperatures above 30C (86F) on 13 days in July, while Finland has had three straight weeks with 30C heat. Continue reading...

To counter attacks on net zero, challenges including the need for grid upgrades will have to be grasped With net zero policies under attack from elected far-right populists as well as autocratic petrostates, and another summer of record-breaking temperatures in Europe, the failure to decarbonise the world’s power supply is as gravely concerning as ever. But the UN secretary general, António Guterres, struck an optimistic note in a recent speech in New York. The world, he said, “is on the cusp of a new era … The sun is rising on a clean energy age.” Pointing to falls in the cost of onshore wind and solar, and the risk of further gas-price shocks in future, he called on big technology companies – whose datacentres are one reason for soaring energy use – to adopt a target of 100% low-carbon electricity by 2030. Given US president Donald Trump’s personal hostility to renewable energy, Mr Guterres may be right that it makes more sense to demand action from US businesses at this point. In Scotland earlier this week, Mr Trump launched his latest misleading tirade, urging European leaders to “stop the windmills”. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Experts say the report being used to justify the mass rollback of climate regulations has many claims based on long-debunked research A new Trump administration report which attempts to justify a mass rollback of environmental regulations is chock-full of climate misinformation, experts say. On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to undo the 2009 “endangerment finding”, which allows the agency to limit planet-heating pollution from cars and trucks, power plants and other industrial sources. Hours later, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a 150-page report defending the proposal, claiming scientific concern about the climate crisis is overblown. Continue reading...