Top articles of the week: August 16

This week on Blue & Green Tomorrow, Environmental campaign group No Dash for Gas is organising a protest against energy firm Cuadrilla’s plans to drill for shale gas in the area.

We also reported on how Ofgem is being blamed for reducing the energy industry’s competition and raising energy prices. Finally, in other news, according to new figures Germany’s renewable energy sector now provides 31% of the nation’s electricity.

1. Ofgem blamed for ‘reducing competition’ and raising energy prices

Richard Heasman: Five former regulators are urging investigators to analyse energy watchdog Ofgem’s role in reducing the energy industry’s competition through badly designed regulations implemented in 2008. Read more.

2. German renewable energy sector sets new world record

Richard Heasman: Germany’s renewable energy sector now provides 31% of the nation’s electricity, producing 71 terawatts an hour (TWh), according to figures released by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). Read more.

3. Massive emission reductions needed by 2050 to limit climate change damage, reports UN

Richard Heasman: A draft analysis of three UN scientific reports regarding global warming has concluded that by the year 2050, greenhouse gas emissions must be drastically reduced in order to avoid climate catastrophe. Read more.

4. Genetically altered fruit flies could be answer to global crop problem

Richard Heasman: A genetically altered self-killing fruit fly could provide the answer to a global pest-control issue, according to new research, potentially saving over 300 crop types. Read more.

5. Thousands plan to protest against Cuadrilla fracking in Lancashire

Jemma Collins: Environmental campaign group No Dash for Gas is organising a protest against energy firm Cuadrilla’s plans to drill for shale gas in the area, with hundreds expected to attend. The organisation will be holding an action camp near Blackpool from August 14 – 20. Read more.

6. Vikram Solar to build world’s largest floating solar plant in India

Richard Heasman: Indian solar panel producer Vikram Solar has won the contract to build India’s first floating solar power plant on a lake in east India, which will be the largest in the world, dwarfing a similar development in Japan. Read more.

7. Mercury pollution in upper ocean has tripled since Industrial revolution

Tom Revell: The amount of mercury in the upper ocean has tripled since the industrial revolution, according to a new study that leaves little doubt that humans are to blame. Read more.

8. London Mayor Boris Johnson tips MP Zac Goldsmith to replace him at City Hall

Richard Heasman: Environmentalist and Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith has been urged by the outgoing Mayor of London Boris Johnson to run for the position, as Johnson bids to return to the Houses of Parliament. Read more.

9. Giant Amazon fish being fished to extinction

Jemma Collins: Arapaima, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, has been fished to extinction in some communities in South America, a new study has found. Read more.

10. Australian environment minister admits climate change threat to Great Barrier Reef

Tom Revell: Australia’s environment minister has admitted that the Great Barrier Reef is in danger, after a troubling report warned that the unique ecosystem is already being affected by climate change. Read more.

Photo: Images of Money via Flickr