Blue & Green Daily: Thursday 20 March 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.

Why energy saving, cutting bills and reducing carbon footprint will stay centre stage

Budget 2014: Investment tax relief to boost social enterprises

Budget 2014: Osborne freezes carbon price floor and boosts North Sea oil

Human contribution to climate change ‘clear as link between cancer and smoking’

Amazon rainforest inhales more carbon than it emits, NASA study finds

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20 March headlines

England’s lights ‘would go out without Scotland’s renewable energy’

England’s lights would go out without Scotland’s large and growing supply of renewable energy, according to Scotland’s energy minister. Fergus Ewing hit back after the UK energy secretary, Ed Davey, said independence for Scotland would force up energy bills for Scottish households. Guardian.

BP on course to win first Gulf of Mexico contracts in two years

BP is on course to win its first drilling licence in the Gulf of Mexico for almost two years. Of the 31 bids the oil giant has submitted for crude oil and natural gas licences, 24 were the highest. BP’s bids come just a week after the Environmental Protection Agency lifted a ban on the company after one of its wells exploded in 2010. Telegraph.

UK urges EU to cut energy reliance on Russia

The British government is pushing EU leaders to back a new energy security plan to wean Europe off Russian energy over the next 25 years by ramping up imports from new sources, including shale gas from the US and natural gas from Iraq. Financial Times.

Steel industry urges overhaul of EU carbon-trading scheme

The European Union should consider granting more free carbon allowances to most efficient energy-intensive companies and exclude such permits for trading, according to the EU steel industry lobby Eurofer. The organisation said the EU must base the allocation of greenhouse gas quotas to manufacturers on less stringent benchmarks to keep its industry competitive. Bloomberg.

China working on uranium-free nuclear plants in attempt to combat smog

China is developing a new design of nuclear power plant in an attempt to reduce its reliance on coal and cut air pollution. In an effort to reduce the number of coal-fired plants, the Chinese government has brought forward by 15 years the deadline to develop a nuclear power plant using the radioactive element thorium. Guardian.

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Interesting picks

I live next to Google – and on top of a toxic site. Don’t let polluters be evil – Guardian

Cut emissions 50% by 2030 – Financial Times

Fickle regulators chill climate investments – Wall Street Journal

Budget 2014: welcome to the £15,000 cash ISA – Telegraph

Environmental protections are not red tape – Guardian