Ban Ki-moon’s climate change envoy has accused the UK and Germany of backtracking on the spirit of the Paris climate deal by financing the fossil fuel industry through subsidies. Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and UN special envoy on climate change and El Niño, said she had to speak out after Germany promised compensation for coal power and the UK provided tax breaks for oil and gas. Governments in Paris last year not only pledged to phase out fossil fuels in the long-term but to make flows of finance consistent with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Guardian 18th July 2016 read more »
Plans to build Britain’s first opencast coalmine for three years at a coastal site in Northumberland are set to move ahead this month, despite intense local opposition to the scheme. Banks Group, a privately-owned mining company, secured planning approval from Northumberland county council on July 5 to develop the site at Highthorn, near Druridge Bay, 30 miles north of Newcastle. Banks Group claims the scheme, which it hopes will go into service by 2018, will create 100 jobs and inject £120 million into the northeast’s economy. The proposal is opposed by climate activists, local residents, and campaigners including Bill Oddie, the television wildlife expert. They claim that it will lead to increased emissions, heavy traffic, pollution and would hurt regional tourism.
Times 18th July 2016 read more »