A temperature of 38.7C was recorded on Thursday, which – if confirmed – would be a new all-time high for the UK. Climate experts have warned the UK will suffer heatwaves like this week’s more regularly in future – with 40C becoming the “new normal”. They blame the continuing rise in emissions of damaging greenhouse
Rapid rise in renewables combined with nuclear generated 53% in 2018 A rapid rise in renewable energy, combined with low-carbon electricity from nuclear reactors, made up almost 53% of generation in 2018, the government’s annual review of energy statistics revealed. Renewable energy sources set a new record by meeting a third of the UK’s power
Do you remember the good old days when we had "12 years to save the planet"? Now it seems, there's a growing consensus that the next 18 months will be critical in dealing with the global heating crisis, among other environmental challenges. Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that to keep
Nearly 80% of cities to undergo dramatic and potentially disastrous changes, study finds London will have a similar climate in three decades’ time to that of Barcelona today, according to research – but if that seems enticing, a warning: the change could be accompanied by severe drought. Madrid will feel like present-day Marrakech by 2050,
Extensive historical data shows recent extreme warming is unprecedented in past 2,000 years The scientific consensus that humans are causing global warming is likely to have passed 99%, according to the lead author of the most authoritative study on the subject, and could rise further after separate research that clears up some of the remaining
Two years ago, battery storage enjoyed a quite different environment. National Grid was offering attractively priced, bilateral Firm Frequency Response (FFR) contracts, so anyone on the enduring market could easily capture prices between £15/MWh and £25/MWh (and sometimes even higher). The Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) tender also awarded 4-year contracts with an average price of
Renewable electricity in the UK has had a great year, but with our homes and transport still almost totally reliant on carbon the hardest part of the zero-carbon future is still ahead It’s been a bad year for fossil fuels in the UK. In May, Great Britain went two weeks without burning any coal for
We must start planning to live with the consequences of climate change Few things should make you as optimistic — or as pessimistic — as the rise of renewable energy. Optimism comes from a new sense of urgency as the UK, Germany and Spain set record highs for use of wind and solar power, and
Solar generated 9% of Britain’s electricity on 30 June as carbon emissions dropped to a record-low of 97g/kWh, according to data from Drax. High levels of both solar and wind were credited with enabling the record, with renewables providing more than half (55.3%) of Britain’s electricity that day. Solar made up 9% of Britain’s electricity
Government’s official climate advisers say there is no proper preparation to cope with heatwaves and flash floods The government’s own advisers have declared themselves shocked that the UK has no proper plans for protecting people from heatwaves, flash flooding and other impacts of the climate crisis. The Committee on Climate Change said the UK’s climate