Blue & Green Daily: Friday 3 July headlines

Blue & Green Daily finds and summarises the top sustainability stories around the web every morning. We start with our own picks from Blue & Green Tomorrow.

US and China among counties unveiling climate pledges

Investors back White House and call for strong standard on methane emissions

Fracking could impact house prices and environment, admits government report

Robert Redford: climate change should transcend politics

Infographic: Securing the planet’s future with solar power

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3 July headlines

DECC faces 90% staff budget cuts that risk UK’s climate plans, say experts

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change faces cuts of 90% to its staff budget figures within three years, threatening the government’s ability to tackle climate change and move the energy supply to cleaner sources, according to expert analysis. Guardian.

CO2 emissions threaten ocean crisis

Scientists have warned that marine life will be irreversibly changed unless CO2 emissions are drastically cut. Writing in Science, experts say the oceans are heating, losing oxygen and becoming more acidic because of CO2. BBC.

BP settles 2010 Gulf oil spill claims with US states for record $18.7bn

BP will pay a record $18.7 billion to the US government and five states to settle claims arising from the worst offshore oil spill in American history. US states Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida sued BP for damages not covered in earlier settlements. Telegraph.

Prince Charles: rewire the global economy to stop climate change

Prince Charles has said that “profound changes” to the global economic system are needed in order to avert environmental catastrophe, in an uncompromising speech delivered in front of an audience of senior business leaders and politicians. Guardian.

Polar bears will die out if global warming is not reversed, US report finds

Polar bears will be wiped out if humans don’t reverse the trend of global warming, according to a blunt report by the US government. Independent.

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Interesting picks

Fossil fuel companies should be made to invest in ‘carbon capture and storage’ – Guardian

A papal call to reconcile the natural, spiritual and industrial worlds – Financial Times

Budget July 2015: BBC editors on what to expect – BBC

How and where did UK lose city-sized area of green space in six years – Guardian

Photo: Freedee via Freeimages