The difficulties surrounding the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant continue into another week. According to a leaked letter from Jean-Bernard Lévy, EDF’s chief executive, the company will not proceed with the project unless it wins further financial support from the French government. According to the Guardian, the letter admits a “tense” financial situation at EDF, and says that the project will not go ahead unless the conditions set before the French government are met. The BBC emphasises another part of the letter — that Lévy is confident the project will go ahead. Reuters also covers the story. France’s auditor, the Cour des Comptes, has warned that building the reactor will be potentially risky for EDF, according to another article in the Guardian. The Financial Times has an overview of the situation as it stands. French president Francois Hollande has told EDF he will not accept a U-turn on the plant, according to the Times.

A new report from the National Academy of Sciences means that scientists can now be “a little bit less conservative” about linking extreme weather events to climate change, according to an article in the Washington Post. The science has now advanced to a point where the oft-used statement “we cannot attribute any single event to climate change” is no longer true as an unqualified statement, according to the report. In fact, scientists can now assess whether the probability of a given event was increased due to climate change. The report was widely covered, including articles in the New York Times, the Hill, Inside Climate News, Reuters, Associated Press and Time. Carbon Brief also took an in-depth look at the topic.

Oil prices may have finally “bottomed out”, according to the International Energy Agency, in its monthly report. After 20 months of unusually low prices, which have forced high-cost producers to curtail output, prices may at last be recovering, it said. But the IEA’s outlook is in contrast to other forecasters, who believe that the recovery has come too soon and could delay the balancing of the market. Goldman Sachs, for instance, says the early rally in oil prices could be “self defeating”. Reuters also covers the story.

With the Budget due to be unveiled on Wednesday, Chancellor George Osborne is facing pressure from all quarters. The Guardian has research from Green Alliance which suggests that building more renewable energy capacity with public money would cost less than the current subsidy regime in the UK. The Times says that nuclear experts from Sheffield University’s nuclear advanced manufacturing research centre want the Chancellor to push ahead with next-generation small nuclear power reactors, as a potential solution to the Hinkley problem. Another article in the Times says that the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, which represents about 1,300 Scottish companies, has written to Osborn asking for an immediate reduction in the tax rate for companies working in the North Sea. Motoring groups are saying that an expected increase in fuel duty would hold back Britain’s economic recovery, according to the Financial Times. Also in the Financial Times, commentator Nick Butler outlines four energy steps the Chancellor should take on Wednesday.

A meeting of the Green Climate Fund has cleared more barriers to the operationalising of the green bank, which now has the task of allocating $2.5bn this year to projects that will help tackle climate change. The bank’s board approved 13 new agencies to carry out the projects, increased the fund’s secretariat, and adopted a strategic plan, according to Reuters. Climate Home points out that the GCF has appointed HSBC and Credit Agricole as two of its accrediting agencies, despite protests from civil society.

Global temperatures in February broke previous monthly records by an “unprecedented amount”, according to data released by Nasa. Global surface temperatures were 1.35C warmer than the average temperature for the month, compared to the period 1951-1980. The record smashes that set during the last major El Niño in 1998, says the Guardian. The Weather Underground website contains a longer analysis of the data.

Simon Taylor, an expert on infrastructure finance and international finance at Cambridge University, looks at why the Hinkley Point C project poses an enormous project to the government. The UK needs its power to meet its climate change targets, and Britain cannot cancel the project without damaging its reputation for consistent policymaking. France needs to be the one to cancel the project in order to maintain the UK’s reputation — but France also has incentives to push ahead, despite the huge risks to EDF.

An editorial in the Observer suggests that failure to get the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant off the ground would lead to the demise of Chancellor George Osborne’s hopes to get into Number 10. But ultimately the decision will be made in France, not the UK, it says. It looks at some of the alternatives to the nuclear project, including a tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay, more fossil fuels, or demand side reduction.

The UK is likely to see large reductions in the average number of days with lying snow in a future climate, a new study says. As melting snow adds to river flows during winter and spring, a reduction in snowfall could affect when annual peak flows occur, the researchers say. In northerly regions, for example, their analysis suggests river will tend to hit peak flows earlier in the year in future.