After weeks of stalling climate talks, 194 countries finally managed to agree to sign up to Kyoto II in 2015, after agreeing a new text known as the ‘Durban Platform’. A week ago it looked likely that talks would fall apart as they did in Copenhagen , seemingly with China, India and the US all at loggerheads over signing the … Read More
China, India & the US still at loggerheads after a week at 2011 Durban Climate Conference
Representatives from 194 countries around the world have been at COP17 in climate talks for the past week trying to get Kyoto II signed, but the US, China & India are barely even talking. With global carbon emissions higher than ever before, the UNFCCC is pushing hard for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, but the two fastest growing economies … Read More
Ofgem wants ‘better protection for businesses’
In a press release on Monday, Ofgem proposed new measures designed to shake up the business energy market, and encourage energy suppliers and brokers to provide a better service.
Rising gas prices push up energy bills
Wholesale natural gas prices are 40 per cent higher than they were this time last year. Despite criticism that green taxes and subsidies are pushing up energy prices, Ofgem remain certain that it is rising wholesale electricity prices that are to blame. An Ofgem report stated that wholesale gas is now 40% costlier than it was at this time last … Read More
Chris Huhne attacks critics
The Energy & Climate Change Secretary has called renewable energy critics ‘curmudgeons and faultfinders’ and says they are ‘selling Britain’s ingenuity short’. Chris Huhne seems to never be out of the spotlight. A couple of weeks ago he was slamming those who doubt the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy sources, such as wind power, and last week he wrote a controversial … Read More
Carbon emissions up as Chinese economy booms
Global carbon emissions are up 6 per cent to 33.5 billion tonnes – the largest increase in a single year, despite low growth in developed nations. According to new figures released by the US Department of Energy, China is now the largest polluter in the world, taking the crown that the USA has worn for decades. China now accounts for … Read More
Fracking caused 50 earthquakes – report
Cuadrilla Resources, the company responsible for drilling for shale gas underneath Blackpool, has released the findings of an independent report it commissioned earlier this year. On April 1, a tremor reaching 2.3 on the richter scale was recorded, followed by another of around 1.4 on May 27th after drilling at the Preese Hall-1 well in Lancashire. The company has even … Read More
‘Keep switching’, says Huhne at Energy summit
The UK has “relatively good electricity and gas prices”, the Energy Secretary said at the Energy Summit held on 17 October 2011. Mr Huhne said on Radio 4’s Today programme, that energy companies were “not the Salvation Army”. He added “We expect them to earn respectable returns for their shareholders but they need to be operating in a fair and … Read More
Nuclear is cheapest ‘low carbon’ energy source
Energy secretary gives the green light to nuclear development, despite fears over the management of nuclear waste. In a speech to the Royal Society today, energy secretary Chris Huhne confirmed that the UK is to continue with its plan to build new nuclear power plants that was set in motion by the current Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband when he … Read More
Weightman report: nuclear power is safe
The final report by Mike Weightman commissioned after the Fukushima disaster in Japan confirms “no fundamental weaknesses” in the UK’s nuclear licensing program. The report makes 38 recommendations of lessons learned from Fukushima, but stresses that is that nuclear power is safer than it has ever been. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has said “operators should continue … Read More