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Solar farms shelved following government contract controversy
Two solar projects that recently won support under the government's Contracts for Difference scheme will now no longer go ahead. A register of projects just released confirms Wick Farm Solar Park in Somerset and Royston Solar Farm in Hertfordshire have been scrapped, with developers saying they couldn't operate commercially with such a low guaranteed price per unit of electricity generated. Both projects agreed strike prices of £50/MWh in the first CfD auction last month. BusinessGreen

Climate and energy news

Top academics ask world's universities to divest from fossil fuels
Academics Stand Against Poverty (Asap) - a global group of about 2,000 researchers who study poverty and development - are urging top universities to follow the lead of Stanford, Syracuse and Glasgow in committing to divesting from fossil fuel holdings. Institutions that seek to educate the young in order to better the future while simultaneously profiting from the destruction of said future is "neither tenable nor ethical", a statement from the group reads. The Guardian

'Climate change has arrived' warns Marshall Islands foreign minister
Marshall Islands foreign minister, Tony de Blum, has said intense tropical storms in the Pacific are 'the new norm' and evidence of climate change is affecting weather patterns. Typhoon Maysak passed across the North Pacific last week before making landfall in the Philippines. A few weeks before, Cyclone Pam tore through the island nation of Vanuatu. RTCC

Norwegian green energy to power UK homes
Green power from Norway will soon be powering hundreds of thousands of homes in Britain, National Grid says. The £1.4 billion North Sea Network (NSN) interconnector project aims to import enough hydro-power from Norway to provide 14% of yearly household electricity needs in the UK. BBC News

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Marshall Islands, Shutterstock

Climate and energy comment

10 questions Wellcome should answer on the Guardian's climate campaign
The second biggest health charity in the world has so far declined to join The Guardian's campaign to persuade big companies to show leadership on climate change and divest from fossil fuels. This raises questions about the trust;s investment decisions, says Damian Carrington. He lists 10 questions The Guardian has put to director, Jeremy Farrar, who has so far declined to answer them. Damian Carrington, The Guardian

Can the world economy survive without fossil fuels?
After decades of fossil fuel driven growth, those in power are slowly beginning to understand what is at stake, says The Guardian's economics editor, Larry Elliott. But can we imagine a future that is cleaner, greener and sustainable without abandoning the idea of growth? The answer is that it will be hellishly difficult, but it is just about feasible if we make the right choices now, he says. Larry Elliot, The Guardian

Climatologists to physicists: your planet needs you
In a bid to get young students turning to climate science rather than astronomy or astrophysics, scientists are highlighting one of the biggest unsolved mysteries - the role of clouds in climate change. Piers Forster, a climate modeller at the University of Leeds, says: "The perception that climate science is 'solved' is an inadvertent result of pressure on climatologists to convey a simple message to the public...That has made the science "sound somewhat dull." In fact, many physical details of climate change are still poorly understood, say the researchers. Quirin Schiermeier, Nature

New climate science

Sustainability of Rooftop Technologies in Cold Climates: Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of White Roofs, Green Roofs, and Photovoltaic Panels
A new study shows that photovoltaic panels (PV) demonstrate the highest environmental performance in a test of sustainable rooftop technologies in cold climates. Green roofs also have environmental benefits, as they are the only rooftop technology that reduces both heating and cooling energy use, but they are less significant than PV, the researchers say. And although white roofs are the best option in warmer climates, they are less suitable for cold ones. Journal of Industrial Ecology

Modern inhalation anesthetics: Potent greenhouse gases in the global atmosphere
Gases used to knock out surgery patients are making a small contribution to climate change, a new study finds. Over the past decade, concentrations of desflurane, isoflurane and sevoflurane have been rising globally. The gases have a more potent warming effect than carbon dioxide, but are much less abundant in the atmosphere, the researchers say. Combined emissions of these gases in 2014 were equivalent to around three million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the study finds. Geophysical Research Letters

Virus disease in wheat predicted to increase with a changing climate
Barley yellow dwarf virus, spread by aphids, reduces the yield and quality of important crops such as wheat, barley and oats. A new experiment found that infection of wheat increased by 37% under elevated carbon dioxide levels in the air, compared to present day levels. As carbon emissions continue, the combined impact of yield reduction and increased risk of the further spread of the virus could negatively impact food production worldwide, the researchers say. Global Change Biology

The Frequency and Duration of US Hurricane Droughts
The last major hurricane to make landfall on mainland US was Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Researchers use a tropical cyclone model to estimate the probability of a major landfall in the next year is 39%. They also calculate that a nine-year gap between land-falling hurricanes would happen every 177 years. Geophysical Research Letters

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