Environment news

• Fossil fuel divestment is worth $7tn globally yet Australia still clings to coal | Blair Palese

  12-12-2016 23:21 via theguardian.com
  
  While the Australian government lags behind on climate change action, consumers, local councils and energy companies lead the way to clean energyThe Turnbull government has been an utter disappointment on so many things but nowhere as much as on the biggest issue of our time: climate change. Unable to shrug off the legacy of the climate-denying Abbott government, it has been bullied out of any climate change ambition by science-denying fringe elements on the right. Continue reading...
  
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• Why Britain could face an exceptionally cold winter

  12-12-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Long-term forecasting is fraught with difficulty, but some scientists believe the warm Arctic autumn may portend a severe winter in northern EuropeThis year winter arrived early in the UK, with temperatures plunging well below freezing before November was even out. So is an extra cold winter on the cards? Forecasting months ahead is fraught with difficulty, but some scientists believe that the warm autumn in the Arctic may portend a cold winter for North America and northern Europe. Continue rea
  
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• Oil hits highest since mid-2015 on non-OPEC cut agreement

  12-12-2016 21:40
  By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose to an 18-month high on Monday after OPEC and some of its rivals reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly reduce output to tackle global oversupply, though prices slipped late in the day. Crude futures have rallied sharply, with U.S. oil futures gaining 23 percent since the middle of November as optimism that an agreement would be reached started to grow. "Right now the market is kind of feeding on itself," said Gene McGillian, manager of market
  
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• Brazil prosecutor brings new graft charges against Senate head

  12-12-2016 20:53
  Brazil's top prosecutor brought new charges against Senate President Renan Calheiros on Monday, accusing him of taking part in corruption at state oil company Petrobras and asking the Supreme Court to remove him from office. Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot's request comes just a week after Calheiros was nearly removed in a separate embezzlement case. Janot alleges that Calheiros received part of a donation of 800,000 reais (£188,894) in 2010 from an oil and gas contractor in return for ke
  
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• Father Christmas far from being fake news | Brief letters

  12-12-2016 20:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Exile to the north | Father Christmas | Trousersgate | Ancestry tracing | Warm DecemberYour choice of verb (NHS crisis exiles children to Scotland for specialist care, 12 December) must have made many Scottish readers sigh. “Exile” is an emotive way to describe a journey to the top third of our island. It shows an attitude all too commonly found in articles about anything from national house prices to public transport, where “the north” turns out to mean nothing furt
  
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• The Guardian view on Planet Earth: its life in our hands | Editorial

  12-12-2016 20:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Sir David Attenborough’s latest, maybe last, series put the responsibility for the future of the world with us – where it belongs
  Planet Earth II has been a triumph. More people tuned in to last night’s sixth and last episode than watched the X Factor final on ITV an hour later. Occasionally, the series strayed into the anthropomorphic, but it was endlessly surprising, often astonishing, as technological advance brought intimacy to the struggle for life. Heartstopping sequences
  
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• Planet Earth II showed that wild animals are the true metropolitan elites | Patrick Barkham

  12-12-2016 19:20 via theguardian.com
  
  At a time of conservation bad news stories, cities have become havens for many species – as evidenced by the BBC’s extraordinary wildlife showA low hee-hee-hee and the soft clack of hyena claw on the cobbles of Harar. The surrealism of a leopard in Mumbai. The tragedy of the turtle plodding the wrong way up the beach in Florida. Each episode of Planet Earth II seems more marvellous than the last, but this weekend’s Cities must be the best yet.The series is a superlative monumen
  
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• Eni spreads Egypt gas field risk with Rosneft stake sale

  12-12-2016 19:19
  By Stephen Jewkes and Valentina Za MILAN (Reuters) - Italian energy company Eni will sell a 30 percent stake in its giant Egyptian offshore gas field Zohr to Russia's Rosneft for $1.575 billion (1.24 billion pounds) , pressing ahead with asset sales to fund investments and offset weak oil prices. Eni, which owns 90 percent of the Shorouk concession containing Zohr, said on Monday that Rosneft would pay $1.125 billion and reimburse around $450 million for investments already carried out by Eni. T
  
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• Shell-led consortium wins 700 MW Dutch offshore wind contract

  12-12-2016 18:39
  A consortium led by Royal Dutch Shell beat 26 other bids for a contract to build 700 megawatts of offshore wind capacity, the Dutch government said as it announced plans for a further seven wind farms to be build in the next decade. Contractors Eneco, Van Oord and Mitsubishi/DGE are Shell's partners in the consortium to build in the Borssele III and IV wind areas, which promised the Netherlands' lowest-ever strike price of 54.50 euro cents per megawatt hours. "In the future, the North Sea could
  
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• Flame Retardant Pollution in Great Lakes Is a Serious Matter, Commission Says

  12-12-2016 18:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  The International Joint Commission has developed a strategy for how U.S. and Canadian governments can address this toxic problem.
  
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• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 16 - Sharing cars and driving green innovation

  12-12-2016 17:13
  
  The countdown to Christmas has begun, and this week edie brings you a cracker of a podcast episode, featuring exclusive interviews with car sharing service Zipcar, advisory firm the Carbon Trust and green innovation group Climate-KIC.
  
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• Brain tests predict children's futures

  12-12-2016 17:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Brain tests at the age of three appear to predict a child's future success in life, according to researchers.
  
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• Fossil fuel divestment funds double to $5tn in a year

  12-12-2016 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon welcomes new total revealing concern over coal, oil and gas investments has entered financial mainstream The value of investment funds committed to selling off fossil fuel assets has jumped to $5.2tn, doubling in just over a year.The new total, published on Monday, was welcomed by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who said: “It’s clear the transition to a clean energy future is inevitable, beneficial and well underway, and that investors have a k
  
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• Scientists say reindeer may be shrinking due to warming

  12-12-2016 16:38
  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Reindeer living on the Arctic island of Svalbard are getting smaller — and scientists say climate change may be the cause.
  
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• UK heading for warmest Christmas Day ever, according to bookies

  12-12-2016 14:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Ladbrokes slashes odds of previous high being beaten after cold start to December is followed by mild weatherBookmakers have slashed the odds on the UK having the warmest Christmas Day ever after a spell of unseasonably mild weather. The previous peak is believed to have been 16C in Teignmouth, Devon, last year. Ladbrokes has shortened the odds of that being beaten from 16-1 to 8-1.Continue reading...
  
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• Rapid rise in methane emissions in 10 years surprises scientists

  12-12-2016 14:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Methane warms planet 20 times as much as similar CO2 volumes but lack of monitoring means scientists can’t be sure of sources Emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane have surged in the past decade, threatening to thwart global attempts to combat climate change.Scientists have been surprised by the surge, which began just over 10 years ago in 2007 and then was boosted even further in 2014 and 2015. Concentrations of methane in the atmosphere over those two years alone rose by more
  
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• Lack of collaboration hindering UK uptake of Sustainable Development Goals

  12-12-2016 13:32
  
  The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are increasing in prominence amongst UK businesses, although siloed working conditions are still impacting the ability for the private sector to deliver social and environmental change.
  
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• Energy thinktank cuts coal demand forecast for fifth year in row

  12-12-2016 12:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate Home: IEA says global coal use is flatlining as China continues to restructure its economyThe volume of coal used across the world fell for the second year running in 2015 and is set to stay below peak levels in 2016, reported the International Energy Agency (IEA).The influential thinktank – an autonomous Paris-based organisation – has downgraded its medium-term coal market forecast for the fifth year in a row and expects demand to plateau until 2021, but not fall fast enough
  
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• Oil hits highest since mid-2015 as global producers agree to cut

  12-12-2016 12:38
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose by as much as 6.5 percent on Monday to an 18-month high after OPEC and some of its rivals reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly reduce output to try to tackle global oversupply and boost prices. Brent crude futures were up $2.21 at $56.54 per barrel by 1125 GMT, having hit a session peak of $57.89, the highest since July 2015. "OPEC have taken a very important step towards stopping the relentless build up in global stock levels and speeding u
  
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• Jane Fonda targets Trump over climate and inequality: 'A boy in the bully pulpit'

  12-12-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Actor says her biggest fear about the incoming administration is Trump’s pick to lead the EPA – and she is ready to do ‘whatever it takes’ to fight backThe screen legend and activist Jane Fonda said she’s prepared to do “whatever I need to do” to counter a Donald Trump administration, and called the president-elect a sexist “boy in a bully pulpit” who is missing an opportunity to be an eco-hero.The actor let loose on Trump’s choice to h
  
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• On climate change, angels and demons are battling over Trump’s soul | Dana Nuccitelli

  12-12-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Trump is filling his administration with fossil fuel industry puppets; only Ivanka has a chance to preserve the climateThere are signs that a war may be brewing over President-elect Donald Trump’s climate legacy, and the bad guys are winning.Continue reading...
  
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• Eni to sell 30 percent stake in Egyptian gas field to Rosneft

  12-12-2016 11:52
  Italian energy company Eni has agreed to sell a 30 percent stake in a giant Egyptian offshore gas field to Russia's Rosneft for $1.575 billion (1.25 billion pound), pressing ahead with asset sales to fund investment amid weak oil prices. Eni, which currently owns 90 percent of the Shorouk concession containing the giant Zohr gas field, said Rosneft would pay $1.125 billion cash for the stake and would reimburse investments already carried out by Eni for around $450 million. Rosneft also has an o
  
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• Wind power key to curbing greenhouse emissions, study finds

  12-12-2016 11:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Edinburgh University researchers say windfarm energy prevented 36m tonnes of harmful coal and gas emissions in six yearsWind power plays a key role in curbing greenhouse emissions from other energy sources such as coal and gas, a new study has shown.
  Energy from windfarms in the UK prevented almost 36m tonnes of harmful carbon emissions in six years, equivalent to taking 2.3m cars off the road, the analysis found. Continue reading...
  
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• Imaging sensor maker E2V Tech agrees to 620 mln stg offer from Teledyne

  12-12-2016 11:19
  (Reuters) - British imaging sensor maker E2V Technologies Plc said on Monday it had agreed to an all-cash takeover offer worth about 620 million pounds (around $780 million) from Teledyne Technologies Inc. Teledyne is expected to expand its product basket, which include monitoring and control systems for industries such as oil and gas exploration and marine research, after the acquisition. E2V, which makes sensors for cameras and radio frequency generators for various industries, said Teledyne h
  
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• Oil hits highest since mid-2015 as OPEC and rivals agree historic deal

  12-12-2016 11:12
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose by as much as 6.5 percent on Monday to an 18-month high after OPEC and some of its rivals reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly reduce output to try to tackle global oversupply and boost prices. Brent crude futures were up $2.38 at $56.72 per barrel by 1002 GMT, having hit a session peak of $57.89, the highest since July 2015. "OPEC have taken a very important step towards stopping the relentless build up in global stock levels and speeding u
  
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• Report: British wind farms cut carbon emissions by 36 million tonnes

  12-12-2016 10:37
  
  Renewable energy generated from wind farms in Britain has prevented the creation of around 36m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the last six years, a new study from the University of Edinburgh has found.
  
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• Air quality in holy city of Varanasi 'most toxic in India'

  12-12-2016 10:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Levels of airborne pollution across north Indian plains routinely higher than in the capital, Delhi, researchers warnAir quality in the Indian holy city of Varanasi is “the most toxic in the country” according to research that reveals the extent of the pollution crisis across northern India.There has been a growing awareness of the dangers of the smog that envelopes Delhi in the winter months, but a report released on Monday by three environmental groups highlights the extent of the
  
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• Imaging sensor maker E2V Tech agrees to 620 million pound offer from Teledyne

  12-12-2016 10:22
  (Reuters) - British imaging sensor maker E2V Technologies Plc said on Monday it had agreed to an all-cash takeover offer worth about 620 million pounds from Teledyne Technologies Inc. Teledyne is expected to expand its product basket, which include monitoring and control systems for industries such as oil and gas exploration and marine research, after the acquisition. E2V, which makes sensors for cameras and radio frequency generators for various industries, said Teledyne has offered 275 pence e
  
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• Imaging sensor maker E2V Tech agrees to $780 million offer from Teledyne

  12-12-2016 10:20
  (Reuters) - British imaging sensor maker E2V Technologies Plc said on Monday it had agreed to an all-cash takeover offer worth about 620 million pounds (around $780 million) from Teledyne Technologies Inc. Teledyne is expected to expand its product basket, which include monitoring and control systems for industries such as oil and gas exploration and marine research, after the acquisition. E2V, which makes sensors for cameras and radio frequency generators for various industries, said Teledyne h
  
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• Ikea nears three-fold increase in sustainable product sales

  12-12-2016 10:20
  
  The world's biggest furniture retailer Ikea has almost trebled the sales from its 'sustainable life at home' products, while also announcing a new €1bn financial framework to promote projects that fall within its People & Planet sustainability strategy.
  
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• Ice loss spreads up Antarctic glaciers

  12-12-2016 10:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The scale and pace of change now taking place in West Antarctica is captured in a new, long-term satellite record that tracks the thinning of the region's huge glaciers.
  
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• Manufacturers call on Government to deliver low-carbon Energy Statement

  12-12-2016 09:47
  
  The UK Government must introduce reforms which increase the uptake of low-carbon technologies to restore the "tepid" confidence in Britain's future energy security, according to the manufacturers' organisation EEF.
  
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• European shares buoyed by oil rally; Lonza slumps

  12-12-2016 09:37
  MILAN (Reuters) - European shares were little changed in early trading on Monday, with gains in oil stocks to near 17-month highs offset by weaker pharma stocks. Shares in Swiss pharmaceutical firm Lonza fell 2.7 percent after it said it was in advanced talks to buy U.S. drugs capsule maker Capsugel. Sources earlier told Reuters the deal could be worth more than $5 billion. The STOXX Europe 600 was 0.07 percent lower, steadying after a rally last week brought the index to 11 month highs. The STO
  
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• Eni sells 30 percent stake in Egypt's Zohr gas field to Rosneft

  12-12-2016 08:21
  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian oil and gas group Eni agreed to sell a 30 percent stake in Egypt's offshore Shorouk concession to Russia's Rosneft for $1.125 billion (893.64 million pounds), cutting its stake in the Zohr giant gas field to 60 percent. Eni said Rosneft would reimburse pro-rata investments already carried out by the Italian group totalling around $450 million at present. Rosneft has also an option to buy a further 5 percent stake at the same conditions. Eni discovered the Zohr field - t
  
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• Squid set to top chippy menus as seawater warms up

  12-12-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Great British cod supper is under threat as cold-water fish are replaced by warm-water species, says researcherIt is the meal most associated with the UK, along with slurping tea and moaning about the weather. But the great British fish supper could be on the way out, replaced by more continental variations such as squid and chips, as seas continue to warm, the British Ecological Society will be told this week. Britons may have to adopt a more continental diet when it comes to fish, as climate c
  
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• China riot police seal off city centre after smog protesters put masks on statues

  12-12-2016 07:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Clampdown in Chengdu after protesters place masks on statues in anger at air pollution choking the cityAn environmental protest in China was aggressively put down at the weekend, with a heavy police presence continuing for days to prevent further demonstrations in an unusually heavy-handed response.
  The protests started after the south-western city of Chengdu was shrouded in thick smog, with some residents place pollution masks on statues. An unknown number were taken away by police, with securi
  
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• ​‘I can’t abandon my land’: the livelihoods threatened by Kenya’s Tana river​ plans​

  12-12-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Kenya’s plans for a 3km-long dam and a £28bn transportation corridor including a new port city in Lamu have led to fears about erosion and pollution
  Should business play a greater role in the SDGs? – Send in your questions for our live Q&AIn his 49 years, Zablon Katende had never thought of leaving his hometown of Kipini in coastal Kenya. But now, looking at his dwindling mango trees, the farmer worries the harvest will not be enough to provide for his five children. &ldquo
  
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• Goldman says non-OPEC output cut deal aimed at inventory glut

  12-12-2016 06:59
  (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs said the formal agreement by non-OPEC oil producers this weekend in Vienna to help curb output was reached with a goal of "normalization" of inventories and not necessarily just at raising oil prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had previously agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), and on Saturday, 11 non-OPEC producers agreed to join the effort and reduce output by 558,000 bpd. The cut was short of an initial target
  
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• A time for dinky birds and winter-kings

  12-12-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Airedale, West Yorkshire All of these birds – none weighing more than an ounce, and the smallest of them barely tipping the scales against a 10p piece – have a crisp, spruce lookAt this time of year, it can sometimes seem as though the bare trees have been decked out with toy birds. The broad-spreading alder across the river is tinged purple-pink (the fuchsia-coloured catkins persist deep into the winter) and the branches are busy with tinkling finches: green siskins, bright motley g
  
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• Methane surge needs 'urgent attention'

  12-12-2016 03:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say they are concerned at the rapid rate at which methane is gathering in the atmosphere.
  
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• Squid may become favourite UK meal as seas become warmer.

  12-12-2016 03:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Squid may end up on the British plate in place of old favourites such as cod as UK waters warm up.
  
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• To boldly go

  12-12-2016 03:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The BBC meets three Indian female scientists who prove that rocket science is not a male preserve.
  
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• Oil prices soar on global producer deal to cut crude output

  12-12-2016 02:03
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices shot up by 4 percent to their highest level since 2015 early on Monday after OPEC and other producers over the weekend reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly reduce output in order to rein in oversupply and prop up the market. Brent crude futures , the international benchmark for oil prices, soared to $57.89 per barrel in overnight trading between Sunday and Monday, its highest level since July 2015. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
  
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• Tillerson choice raises questions of corporate vs national interest

  12-12-2016 02:01
  By Valerie Volcovici and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The central question facing Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson if he becomes U.S. secretary of state is whether a lifelong oil man with close ties to Russia can pivot from advancing corporate interests to serving the national interest. Tillerson, 64, got his start as a production engineer at Exxon in 1975 and has worked there ever since, running business units in Yemen, Thailand and Russia before being named chief execut
  
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• Starry starry nights

  12-12-2016 01:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Stunning photographs of starry nights over South East Asia
  
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• Reindeer shrink as climate change in Arctic puts their food on ice

  12-12-2016 01:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Warmer summers boost numbers but average weight falls by 7kg because winter snow turns to rain, which then freezes and locks away its foodReindeer are shrinking on an Arctic island near the north pole as a result of climate change that has curbed the amount of winter food available to the animals, scientists said on Monday.The average weight of adult reindeer on Svalbard, a chain of islands north of Norway, fell from 55kg (121lb) to 48kg (106lb) in the 1990s as part of sweeping changes to Arctic
  
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• Urban beekeeping creating a buzz

  12-12-2016 01:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  With concern about the decline of bees in the UK, the University of London has created an oasis for the insects on a rooftop.
  
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• Ofgem partner: energy users may pay across reliability tiers in future

  12-12-2016 00:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Communities may be split between those who can pay for ‘higher level’ of energy reliability and those living ‘in the dark’Britain is facing the prospect of an energy supply crisis which will see customers having to pay for a higher level of reliability, it has been reported. Continue reading...
  
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