Blue & Green Daily: Friday 4 April 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.

Digital energy: how can web technology be used for energy behaviour change?

Unprecedented pollution, fines and wind farms

Wales proposes e-cigarette ban in public places

Economic growth ‘not automatically’ linked with social progress

Arctic sea ice peak falls to fifth lowest level on record

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4 April headlines

Energy industry told to face reality of global warming

The United Nation’s top climate change official has issued an unusually blunt message to the oil and gas industry that it must radically overhaul its business model to meet the realities of global warming. Christiana Figueres added that three quarters of fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground if the world is to stop global temperatures rising above 2C. Financial Times.

Climate change will ‘lead to battles for food’, says head of World Bank

Battles over water and food will erupt within the next five to ten years as a result of climate change, the president of the World Bank has said as he urged those campaigning against global warming to learn the lessons of how protesters and scientists joined forces in the battle against HIV. Guardian.

EU backs compromise on plane CO2 emissions

The EU will not levy a carbon emission tax on airlines when their planes are outside of European airspace, the European Parliament has decided. The exemption for airlines will apply until 2017, by which time a global deal on aviation emissions may be in place. BBC.

Shell ‘should face possible penalties over Kulluk oil rig grounding’

A US Coast Guard report has concluded that authorities should consider hitting Shell with penalties over the grounding of an oil rig in the Gulf of Alaska in 2012. The report blames poor risk assessment and management as reasons why the Kulluk broke away from its tow vessel and ran aground. Telegraph.

Gas company special payments dwarf constraint payments to windfarms

National Grid made special payments of £300 million over the last 12 months to big energy companies – sometimes for switching off their power station in an attempt to “balance” the system. The huge payout dwarfs the £37 million paid to windfarms to remain offline over the same period. Guardian.

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Interesting picks

Europe’s dangerous addiction to Russian gas needs a radical cure – Financial Times

Will fracking come to the UK? – Telegraph

Earth has a fever, but the heat is sloshing into the oceans – Guardian

Does climate change mean investment change? – Every Investor

Photo: Sanja gjenero via stock.xchng