climate and energy links 150213

• 15 Feb 2013, 09:30
• Carbon Brief Staff

Secret funding helped build vast network of climate denial thinktanks
Conservative billionaires used a secretive funding route to channel nearly $120 million to more than 100 groups casting doubt about the science behind climate change, according to the Guardian. The funds helped build a network of thinktanks and activist groups working to redefine climate change as a "wedge issue" for hardcore conservatives, it says.
Guardian?

News:

Norway bank chief warns on oil reliance
Norway's central bank governor has warned that the country needs to prepare for its post-oil future and stop taking high oil prices for granted. Norway is currently a net oil exporter.
Finanacial Times

Wind farm with 96 turbines given planning approval
The Kilgallioch windfarm in Scotland, which could power the equivalent of more than 130,000 homes. has been given planning permission. The plant is expected to have 96 turbines and have a generating capacity of up to 288MW. The farm is hoped to create 200 to 250 jobs over three years during construction and 13 full-time jobs afterwards.
The Times

Senators propose first US carbon tax
Two days after President Barack Obama urged Congress to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, two senators laid out a plan that would for the first time set a price on carbon throughout the United States. The plan by Barbara Boxer and Bernie Sanders would charge $20 per ton of carbon from major polluters such as coal mines and oil refineries, rising 5.6 percent annually over 10 years.
PhysOrg

Climate change could burn a hole in the government's finances, GAO says
The US Government Accountability Office has warned the government is poorly positioned to address the financial risks of more extreme weather as the climate warms. It calls for a "more strategic and centralised approach" to the problem.
Washington Post

Commentary:

The UK needs a serious debate on shale gas
MP Dan Byles has helped set up an all-party parliamentary group with the aim of cutting through the rhetoric on both sides about shale gas and "get to the facts". He argues the economic benefits the US has gained from its new gas source are undeniable - but that the UK must be aware of the environmental impacts of the technology.
The Spectator

Obama plans to bypass Congress to combat climate change
If Barack Obama is to bypass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, he will have to appoint a tough candidate to head up the US Environmental Protection Agency. This article argues that while this may be a difficult task, it is encouraging that Obama is talking so seriously about climate action.
The Telegraph

Peer-Reviewed Survey Finds Majority Of Scientists Skeptical Of Global Warming Crisis
Forbes suggests a new study finds there may be a "scientific consensus" that global warming will not be a "serious problem". According to the study only 36 per cent of geoscientists and engineers believe humans are creating a global warming crisis.
Forbes

Strike a blow against wind-farm bullies
Columnist Richard Morrison draws attention to a coming High Court decision that could set a precedent for whether wind turbines may be erected near grade one listed buildings.
The Times

Science:

Thinning Ice Is Turning Arctic into an Algae Hotspot
Shrinking, thinning Arctic sea ice appears to be accelerating the growth of algae in polar waters, a new study finds, a development that could alter the region's ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Scientists cruising central Arctic waters last summer aboard the research ship Polarstern were stunned to discover dense, shaggy deposits of the algae Melosira arctica clinging to the bottom of sea ice.
Climate Central

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