UK
Tory grassroots complain about fracking
The Prime Minister has been warned by a Cabinet minister’s party association president that he must quell the “nervousness and concern” among Tories living in rural areas - according to The Telegraph - which ran an editorial on the subject. The Times warns that protests could increase over the coming weeks.
The Guardian takes a very different tack, arguing that gambling on high carbon investments will be the trigger of the next crisis.
Two thirds of UK wind farms built by foreign companies
The UK has just opened the world's second largest offshore windfarm (the largest is also in the UK) but the Telegraph reports that only £500m out of the £1.6bn spent has gone to UK firms. The news comes as ministers seek assurances about 'local content' for future projects and amid continuing negotiations with Siemens to open an offshore wind farm factory in the UK.
National Grid talks up carbon capture in the North Sea
As well as being a good place to find oil the North Sea is, it turns out, a reasonable place to bury the waste product - Carbon Dioxide. Or so say the National Grid, who would very much like to build the pipes taking it there.
Parish council fight over Balcombe fracking
It turns out they didn't make any complaint about Cuadrilla's planning permission. As the Private Eye likes to put it... shurely shome mishtake.
WORLD
Japan govt. to intervene in Fukushima
The government is reportedly willing to fund an operation to 'freeze the ground' around the stricken power plant which continues to leak radioactive fluid into the Pacific Ocean.
Judge orders BP to pay more
Reuters reports that BP must pay $130 million to a court-appointed administrator overseeing payments to thousands of people who claimed they were hurt by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday, in a fresh legal setback for the oil company.
