Environment news

• Venezuela's Maduro says OPEC output pact 'imminent'

  23-11-2016 23:20
  Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday an OPEC deal to cut output and hike oil prices was "imminent," and dispatched his oil minister to Russia to help bring other producers on board. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in Algeria two months ago to limit supply, with special conditions given to Libya, Nigeria and Iran, whose output has been hit by wars and sanctions. The details are meant to be finalised when OPEC ministers meet in Vienna on Nov. 30.
  
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• French PM urges taxes on imports from countries snubbing climate pact

  23-11-2016 22:51
  Europe should impose tariffs on imports from countries that do not implement a global agreement for fighting climate change, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in an opinion piece published on Wednesday. Valls' position puts him at odds with Germany and the European Commission which rejected a call from former French president Nicolas Sarkozy for a tax on U.S. imports if a Trump administration quits the 2015 Paris Agreement. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to pull out of the P
  
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• Seaweed: marine life coming ashore

  23-11-2016 22:30
  
  Industry has long harvested some of the 700 seaweed species in British waters, but are large-scale algae farms on the horizon?British seaweeds are among our most underrated resources and hugely important for the ecology of the seas, but they get nothing like the recognition that, say, a wild meadow or ancient woodland gets. Related: Seaweed biofuels: a green alternative that might just save the planetContinue reading...
  
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• Oil prices edge down on doubts about OPEC-led cuts

  23-11-2016 21:53
  By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell slightly on Wednesday amid investor doubts that OPEC will agree to a production cut large enough to make a significant dent in the global glut of crude as U.S. drilling rises. Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet next week on Nov. 30 in Vienna to decide on the details of an agreement to cut output that the group has been trying to hammer out since September. Oil prices fluctuated throughout
  
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• OCEANIC 'HEAT SINK'

  23-11-2016 21:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new multi-institutional study of the so-called global warming “hiatus” phenomenon — the possible temporary slowdown of the global mean surface temperature (GMST) trend said to have occurred from 1998 to 2013 — concludes the hiatus simply represents a redistribution of energy within the Earth system, which includes the land, atmosphere and the ocean.In a paper published today in Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, lead author 
  
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• Odebrecht to sign $2 billion leniency deal in Brazil graft probe - source

  23-11-2016 21:39
  By Tatiana Bautzer and Leonardo Goy SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA has agreed to plea bargains and a massive leniency deal under which it would pay around 7 billion reais (1.69 billion pounds) in fines for its role in Brazil's biggest corruption scandal, a person familiar with the matter said. The deals sent shockwaves through Brazil's political establishment as they could incriminate as many as 200 lawmakers for taking graft money from Odebrecht ,
  
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• A poor choice of words to describe rich people | Brief letters

  23-11-2016 19:29
  
  Plastic packaging | The lure of London | Lewis Carroll’s Latin pun | ‘Ultra-high-net-worth individuals’ | Yugoslavia | Humanities v sciences | HyggeIf we are not recycling all our plastic waste, largely because many councils cannot deal with all the variations (Just a third of plastic is recycled, survey shows, 22 November), why are the major supermarkets allowed to keep inventing new wrappings consisting of mixed materials and marked “Not currently recyclable”?
  Jea
  
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• Huge glacier retreat triggered in 1940s

  23-11-2016 19:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The melting Antarctic glacier that now contributes more to sea-level rise than any other ice stream on the planet began its big decline in the 1940s.
  
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• Air pollution 'causes 467,000 premature deaths a year in Europe'

  23-11-2016 19:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Toxic air is causing almost half a million premature deaths in Europe every year, a new report says.
  
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• Oil prices edge higher despite doubts on OPEC-led cuts

  23-11-2016 18:55
  By Catherine Ngai NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices turned positive on Wednesday despite investor doubts that OPEC will agree to a production cut large enough to make a significant dent in the global glut of crude. Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet next week on Nov. 30 in Vienna to decide on the details of an agreement to cut output that the group has been trying to hammer out since September. Oil prices were lower in the morning but turned positive
  
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• Honour for software writer on Apollo moon mission

  23-11-2016 18:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Barack Obama awards medal to Margaret Hamilton to recognise role in sending humankind into space.
  
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• Iraq willing to cut oil output in OPEC's plan to boost prices - PM

  23-11-2016 17:15
  By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is willing to cut its crude oil output as part of OPEC's plan to reduce global supply and boost crude prices, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters on Wednesday in Baghdad. "What we lose in lowering production we will gain in oil revenues," he said. "Iraq will shoulder part of the production reduction".
  
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• Drive, baby, drive: Hammond's autumn statement is more grey than green

  23-11-2016 16:39
  
  The money for new roads and freezing fuel tax overwhelms support for electric cars, further fuelling the nation’s air pollution crisisDrive, baby, drive - that was the message from chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn budget statement, with more money paving the way to new roads and a freeze on fuel tax.The problem is the UK already has an air pollution crisis that causes tens of thousands of early deaths – more traffic will only make it worse. Furthermore, rising transport emiss
  
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• Autumn Statement 2016: The green business reaction

  23-11-2016 15:57
  
  Did new Chancellor Philip Hammond provide a Christmas cracker of an Autumn Statement that delivered on the Government's green promises? Or was this another cold turkey that once again failed to provide the green pledges we were all hoping for? Here's the full industry reaction, as it comes in...
  
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• Schiaparelli: Esa gives update on Mars crash investigation

  23-11-2016 15:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Space Agency's preliminary report into the Schiaparelli crash on Mars confirms the probe became confused about its altitude.
  
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• Future PM2.5 air pollution over China

  23-11-2016 15:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  With rapid industrialization and urbanization over the past decades, China has experienced widespread air pollution induced by fine particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5). To protect human health and meet the newly implemented annual PM2.5 target (less than 35 µg m-3), great efforts are needed to reduce emissions effectively. It is, therefore, essential to understand how future PM2.5 concentrations are affected by changes in anthropogenic emissions.&nb
  
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• Britain maintains carbon tax freeze until April 2021

  23-11-2016 15:15
  Britain's carbon tax will continue to be frozen at 2015 levels of 18 pounds per tonne until April 2021, Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Wednesday, while presenting the government's Autumn Statement. Britain introduced the tax in April 2013 as a part of its efforts to reduce emissions and meet its climate targets, by making polluting fossil fuel power production more expensive. There had been speculation prior to the statement that the chancellor could scrap the tax, which think tank the Policy
  
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• Autumn Statement 2016: Chancellor confirms carbon price floor freeze and low-carbon transport funding

  23-11-2016 14:55
  
  Philip Hammond has confirmed that the UK's carbon price floor will be capped through to 2020, and announced £390m of new funding for low-carbon transport, as the Chancellor delivered his first - and last - Autumn Statement on behalf of the UK Government.
  
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• Oil prices ease on doubts OPEC-led cut will end glut

  23-11-2016 14:37
  By Julia Payne LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday on investors' doubts that OPEC would agree a large enough production cut to significantly reduce the global surplus when it meets next week. Reuters commodities analyst Wang Tao said Brent could rise to $49.85 per barrel, a level marked by several technical resistance factors. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 12 cents to $47.91 a barrel after rising to $48.30 earlier on Wednesday.
  
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• Exclusive - Sonangol delays payments as it battles to reform

  23-11-2016 14:36
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Angola's state oil company Sonangol has amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in debts and deferred payments to oil majors and contractors while its new chief, Isabel dos Santos, attempts to reform its operations. Contractors say they have waited months even for small payments from Sonangol, which handles the oil and gas reserves of Africa's second-largest oil exporter. The delays began following the appointment of dos Santos, the daughter President Jose Edua
  
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• What businesses want Trump to know about climate change

  23-11-2016 14:00
  
  Nearly 400 companies and nonprofits signed a letter to express support for Paris climate agreement. We asked a handful to tell us whyMany businesses that supply the goods and services we use every day understand that they have a role to play in keeping global warming in check. Their profits depend on it. The long term rise in global temperatures will change where and how we extract raw materials and produce the many things we take for granted, from the grapes crushed to make wine to the cotton s
  
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• Thanksgiving Dinner's Carbon Footprint: A State-by-State Comparison

  23-11-2016 13:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  The environmental impact of your Thanksgiving dinner depends on where the meal is prepared.Carnegie Mellon University researchers calculated the carbon footprint of a typical Thanksgiving feast – roasted turkey stuffed with sausage and apples, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie – for each state. The team based their calculations on the way the meal is cooked (gas versus electric range), the specific state’s predominant power source and how the food is produced in each area.Th
  
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• Autumn colors across North America – in pictures

  23-11-2016 13:15
  
  As winter finally arrives across the US, we take a look back at the annual dazzling display of color across the continent Continue reading...
  
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• Europe's New Mars Orbiter Begins Testing Science Gear

  23-11-2016 13:00
  
  The Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) arrived at Mars on Oct. 19 and is currently circling the planet once every 4.2 days. TGO was scheduled to begin testing and calibrating its four instrument suites on Sunday (Nov. 20), and this work should continue through next Monday (Nov. 28), European Space Agency (ESA) officials said late last week. "We’re excited we will finally see the instruments perform in the environment for which they were designed, and to see the first data coming back from Mars," H&ar
  
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• UK has second-highest number of deaths from NO2 pollution in Europe

  23-11-2016 12:56
  
  Only Italy has more annual deaths from nitrogen dioxide, according to a report by the European Environment Agency The UK is second only to Italy in Europe for the highest number of annual deaths from a major air pollutant, a report has found just days after a court gave UK ministers a deadline for drawing up a stronger air quality plan.
  The European Environment Agency said the UK had 11,940 premature deaths from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2013. This is down from 14,100 in 2012, but still the seco
  
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• Grosvenor achieves first ever BREEAM Outstanding rating for a listed building

  23-11-2016 12:55
  
  International development and management company Grosvenor's retrofit project at 119 Ebury Street in London's Belgravia has become the first ever listed residential building to achieve a BREEAM 'Outstanding' rating for its strong environmental credentials.
  
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• Thanksgiving: What US astronauts will be eating in space

  23-11-2016 12:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nasa astronaut Shane Kimbrough has been showing off the specialties he'll be preparing for the crew's Thanksgiving meal aboard the ISS this year.
  
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• Autumn Statement 2016 Live: The green business reaction

  23-11-2016 12:17
  
  Did new Chancellor Philip Hammond provide a Christmas cracker of an Autumn Statement that delivered on the Government's green promises? Or was this another cold turkey that once again failed to provide the green pledges we were all hoping for? Follow our live Autumn Statement blog below...
  
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• Autumn Statement 2016 live: Green business updates

  23-11-2016 12:17
  
  Will new Chancellor Philip Hammond deliver a Christmas cracker of an Autumn Statement that delivers on the Government's green promises? Or will this be another cold turkey that leaves edie readers once again left with more questions than answers? Follow our live Autumn Statement blog below...
  
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• The simple, cheap instruments measuring global warming in the oceans | John Abraham

  23-11-2016 12:00
  
  They may be cheap and expendable, but XBTs provide crucial data about the oceans
  Earth is warming due to the release of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Scientists are working hard to measure how fast the planet is warming, how much warming has occurred over the past few decades, and how this is affecting coastal areas, ecosystems, and fisheries. By understanding these factors, scientists can better project future climate impacts.A large component of Earth’s warming involves the oceans, whi
  
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• Lack of funding blamed for poor university sustainability results

  23-11-2016 11:51
  
  A lack of Government funding to support sustainability in Britain's higher education establishments has led to a year-on-year fall in carbon emission reductions across the sector since 2013, according to new research from a student campaign network.
  
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• The new climate change story must be one of rapid transition

  23-11-2016 11:26
  
  With a reality TV demagogue in power, it’s crucial that we find a story in which people can discern a better future Climate change is like the type of film director who, having already thrown the audience into seemingly inescapable peril, keeps piling on the jeopardy. The carbon budget to stay below the Paris climate accord’s target of 1.5C of warming is all but used up, and staying below even its lower goal of 2C now requires elaborate leaps of faith. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices capped by doubts OPEC-led cut will end glut

  23-11-2016 11:19
  By Julia Payne LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday but gains were capped by investors' doubts that oil cartel OPEC would agree to a large enough production cut to significantly reduce the global surplus when it meets next week. International Brent crude oil futures rose 11 cents to $49.23 a barrel at 0940 GMT after climbing to $49.42 a barrel earlier in Wednesday's session on optimism OPEC would agree to an output cut. Reuters commodities analyst Wang Tao said that Brent coul
  
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• Keep it in the ground: fossil fuel divestment leaps at universities

  23-11-2016 10:43
  
  43 UK universities have pledged to dump investments in fossil fuels, having accepted the arguments of campaigners Pretty much all we know about climate change comes from academia, which makes the news of a leap in fossil fuel divestment by universities in the UK particularly important.On so many issues over the decades, where universities lead, society follows. Now, as I report here, 43 UK universities have pledged to dump investments in fossil fuels, having accepted the arguments of campaigners
  
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• Bolivian water rationing – in pictures

  23-11-2016 10:00
  
  The worst drought in 25 years in Bolivia is affecting at least seven major cities. In La Paz alone, water rationing has hit almost half of the city’s 800,000 inhabitants while, elsewhere, peasants and miners are competing for the use of aquifers. Continue reading...
  
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• Communication skills crucial for energy managers to deliver efficiency programmes, say experts

  23-11-2016 09:00
  
  Advances in technology have created a viable and economic business case for companies to implement energy efficiency programmes, but those programmes will only be successfully delivered if the business benefits are effectively translated to the boardroom and staff.
  
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• Oil prices fall on renewed doubts over OPEC-led production cut

  23-11-2016 08:06
  By Keith Wallis Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains, as doubts re-emerged over whether OPEC would agree to a crude oil production cut at a ministerial meeting next week. International Brent crude oil futures fell 13 cents to $48.99 a barrel at 0657 GMT after climbing to $49.42 a barrel earlier in Wednesday's session on optimism OPEC would agree to an output cut. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures dropped 1
  
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• Trump’s climate denial is just one of the forces that points towards war | George Monbiot

  23-11-2016 07:30
  
  The failure to get to grips with our crises, by all mainstream political parties, is likely to lead to a war between the major powers in my lifetimeWave the magic wand and the problem goes away. Those pesky pollution laws, carbon caps and clean-power plans: swish them away and the golden age of blue-collar employment will return. This is Donald Trump’s promise, in his video message on Monday, in which the US president-elect claimed that unleashing coal and fracking would create “many
  
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• Oil prices fall on renewed doubts on OPEC-led production cut

  23-11-2016 06:52
  By Keith Wallis Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains, as doubts re-emerged over whether OPEC would agree to a crude oil production cut at a ministerial meeting next week. International Brent crude oil futures slipped 8 cents to $49.04 a barrel at 0548 GMT after climbing to $49.42 a barrel earlier in Wednesday's session on optimism OPEC would agree to an output cut. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell 8
  
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• All the colours of a November evening

  23-11-2016 06:30
  
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire There is something about the combination of sky-blue, red and black that fascinates me – I don’t understand whyFor a moment before dusk, the sky was sky-blue. Like looking into a pool, only overhead, the sky’s edges around its horizons were pale, chalky, blackbird egg blue, deepening through Wedgwood into the above as it thickened ultramarine and darkened inkily towards space.Oddly, the colour gained more substance as the atmosphere became thinnest, so
  
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• Trump to scrap Nasa climate research in crackdown on ‘politicized science’

  23-11-2016 06:00
  
  Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding as the president-elect seeks to shift focus away from home in favor of deep space explorationDonald Trump is poised to eliminate all climate change research conducted by Nasa as part of a crackdown on “politicized science”, his senior adviser on issues relating to the space agency has said.Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding in favor of exploration of deep space, with the president-e
  
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• 'Blessings in thick disguise': Fog good for health - archive, 23 Nov 1904

  23-11-2016 06:00
  
  23 November 1904: Foggy weather is supposed to be unwholesome but some scientists claim it is conducive to health and the prolongation of lifeIf there is one point (writes a correspondent) upon which it might have been supposed that we were all agreed, it is the unwholesomeness and unhealthiness of foggy weather. In broad daylight nothing looks much clearer or more conclusive than the evidence now and again put forth from the office of the Registrar General on the subject.According to that, pers
  
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• Scientists scale trees in desperate attempt to save orange-bellied parrot

  23-11-2016 05:07
  
  Critically endangered bird – down to just 14 in the wild – not helped by being ‘morons’ with poor survival instinctsScientists are scaling trees in Tasmania in an attempt to save the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot after the wild population dropped to the “stupidly low numbers” of just 14 individuals.Three of those wild-born birds are females that have begun the process of selecting nest boxes in Melaleuca, a blustery outpost in the wilderness worl
  
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• Tasmania: scientists scale trees in desperate attempt to save orange-bellied parrot

  23-11-2016 04:54
  
  Critically endangered bird – down to just 14 in the wild – not helped by being ‘morons’ with poor survival instinctsScientists are scaling trees in Tasmania in an attempt to save the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot after the wild population dropped to the “stupidly low numbers” of just 14 individuals.Three of those wild-born birds are females that have begun the process of selecting nest boxes in Melaleuca, a blustery outpost in the wilderness worl
  
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• Oil prices edge up on anticipation of OPEC-led production cut

  23-11-2016 02:52
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Wednesday in anticipation of an OPEC-led crude production cut that is planned to be finalised by the end of the month, through trading was thin ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $46.13 at 0128 GMT, up 10 cents from their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures were at $49.22 a barrel, up 10 cents.
  
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• Climate changing "too fast" for species

  23-11-2016 02:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A study of more than 250 plants and animals suggests many will be unable to adapt quickly enough to survive predicted changes in rainfall and temperature.
  
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• Josh Frydenberg welcomes Trump's vow to lift restrictions on fossil fuel exploration

  23-11-2016 02:15
  
  ‘We need more gas,’ Australia’s environment and energy minister says, urging state governments to follow US leadAustralia’s environment and energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has welcomed Donald Trump’s commitment to lift Obama administration’s restrictions on fossil fuel exploration within his first 100 days in the White House, saying the move will be a boon for consumers.Frydenberg was asked about Trump’s declaration about various executive actions he w
  
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• Oil prices static on uncertainty over OPEC-led production cut

  23-11-2016 02:06
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices moved little early on Wednesday with traders reluctant to dive in as uncertainty loomed over a planned OPEC-led oil production cut, and volumes low ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $46.09 at 0100 GMT, up 6 cents from their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures were at $49.22 a barrel, up 10 cents. ...
  
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• Autumn Statement 2016: 10 green policy hopes for Philip Hammond's first budget announcement

  23-11-2016 00:54
  
  From unveiling a low-carbon Industrial Strategy and confirming post-Brexit support for renewables through to enabling a smart, flexible energy system and providing more expenditure to prevent flooding - will new Chancellor Philip Hammond deliver on our green policy wishlist in his first Autumn Statement?
  
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