By Ed King
– The day’s top climate change stories as chosen by RTCC
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– Updated from 0900-1700 BST (GMT+1)
Latest news: Friday 14 September
US: As evidence to the correlation between warming surface waters from climate change and tropical storm intensity grows, EarthPeople’s Anna Clarke warns that this year’s US hurricane season is another warning of the economic implications of ignoring climate predictions. (Al Jazeera)
Europe: Researchers warn that the UK and Northern Europe could experience a harsh winter this year, following record ice melt in the Arctic. They say the continent has been prone to bad winters following previous years of very low sea ice. (Guardian)
Russia: Russia’s foreign ministry has announced it will not be making cuts in emissions under the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012. It means the country joins Canada and Japan in rejecting the extension, in a move that will be seen as a blow to the iconic treaty and the European Union.
USA: Are the major fossil fuel companies funding Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s campaign? With nearly two months before Election Day on Nov. 6, estimated spending on television ads promoting coal and more oil and gas drilling or criticizing clean energy has exceeded $153 million this year, according to an analysis by The New York Times of 138 ads.
USA: The latest House bill aimed at thwarting climate change regulations drops previous language that acknowledged scientific concerns about global warming and evidence of rising temperatures and sea levels. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) noted there are a “couple little differences” in the revised version of the bill. (The Hill)
EU: The EU is set to limit the use of crop-based biofuels following concerns the technology is not as effective at cutting emissions as previously thought and may conflict with food production, leaked documents suggest. (BusinessGreen)
UK: A letter from the Committee on Climate Change to the government criticises proposals to make ‘unabated gas’ a core part of the UK’s enery strategy up to and beyond 2030, saying it will ensure the country cannot meet its binding carbon budget targets. (Guardian)
UK: Documents released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change reveal departmental plans to combat climate sceptics, and also discuss the impact of the 2009 & 2011 so-called ‘Climategate’ scandals. (Carbon Brief)