Firms to face 17 per cent hike in energy bills by 2020

Low-carbon transition plan will hit businesses harder than domestic customers, making the case for energy efficiency clearer still. Business Green

Walmart Unveils Sustainability Index

Wal-Mart is introducing its Sustainability Index, an emerging tool intended to elicit information from the company's tens of thousands of suppliers about their environmental performance. GreenBiz.com

Nasa satellites reveal extent of Arctic sea ice loss

A new study has revealed that the Arctic Ocean's permanent blanket of ice around the North Pole has thinned by more than 40% since 2004. Scientists said the rapid loss was "remarkable" and said it could force experts to reassess how quickly the Arctic ice in the summer may disappear completely. Guardian

Coral condemned to extinction by CO2 levels, warns Attenborough

David Attenborough joined scientists yesterday to warn that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is already above the level which condemns coral reefs to extinction in the future, with catastrophic effects for the oceans and the people who depend upon them.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is around 387ppm today. Environmentalists say that the world could be heading for 550ppm or even 650ppm.

"When we get up to and above 450ppm, that really means we're into the realms of catastrophic destruction of coral reefs and we'll be moving into a planetary-wide global extinction," said Rogers.

"The only way to get to 350ppm or below is not only to have major cuts in CO2 emissions but also to draw CO2 out of the atmosphere through measures such as geo-engineering."
Guardian

Scottish Climate Change Bill to target 42% emissions cut following international deal

Scottish climate change minister Stewart Stevenson lodged an amendment on Tuesday 23 June to the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Bill that will set the interim target for greenhouse gas emissions at 42%. The amendment reinforces the Bill's commitment to reduce emissions by 42% subject to international agreement that is already part of the Bill. Scottish Government

Scottish Government proposes five Rocs per MWh for marine

On Friday 19 September, the Scottish Government issued a statutory consultation in support of proposals to band the Renewables Obligation Scotland. It proposes to introduce the same changes as proposed in the Berr Renewable Obligation consultation but discontinue its current Marine Supply Obligation and replace it with an equivalent of five Rocs per MWh for wave generation and three for tidal generation. Berr has proposed these two technologies receive two Rocs per MWh.

Report questions environmental benefits of electric vehicles

The amount of energy used by coal-fired power stations to create electricity to recharge electric vehicles makes them half as efficient as diesel cars, according to research from Transport Watch, as reported in the Telegraph on Saturday 18 April. It questioned the Government’s support for the vehicles and said emissions could actually rise. Telegraph

Scottish Government strengthens Climate Change Bill

Scottish climate change minister Stewart Stevenson said on Tuesday 5 May that targets in the Scottish Climate Change Bill to reduce greenhouse gases would now include a new interim target to cut emissions by 34% by 2020. But ministers intend to introduce an amendment to the Bill to ensure this rises to at least 42% as soon as the EU agrees to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2020.
Scottish Government

Scottish CO2 emissions rising, report to claim

A report from the Stockholm Environment Institute this week will show Scotland's carbon emissions actually increased by 11% to 85mn tonnes between 1995 and 2004, the Herald said on Sunday 5 April. This contrasts with Scottish Government claims that territorial emissions have fallen by 13% to 57mn tonnes over the same period. Herald