The West Duddon of Sands offshore windfarm has startedgenerating electricity for the first time. Engineers have so farinstalled 42 of the 108 turbines that will complete the projectlocated off the coastline in North West England.

A proposal from Norway’s opposition party to stop itssovereign wealth fund – the world’s largest – investing in coalcompanies is gaining traction. Two minority parties have declaredtheir support for the proposal, saying they “want to have anassessment of the financial risk and the risk posed to climatechange policy by the fund being so heavily exposed to fossil fuelfirms”.

Figures released by the Department of Environment, Food andRural Affairs show annual spending on climate adaptation measuresfalling from £29.1m in 2012-13 to £17.2m in 2013-14. It showsspending has almost halved since climate skeptic minister, OwenPaterson, took office.

A waste disposal expert has told the BBC that significantinvestment is needed to deal with water used for fracking. He saysthe waste water contains low levels of radioactivity, which occursnaturally, but is subject to more stringent waste managementrules.

The Environment Agency is being heavily criticised bycommunities still suffering the effects of flooding earlier thismonth. A West Somerset MP has called the agency’s efforts toprevent flooding “pathetic”.

EnergyDesk summarises the key points from the government’snew Community Energy Strategy: From funding urban community energy,to the Green Investment Bank’s borrowing criteria.

The instigator of the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon NeutralProject gives his support for the government’s new Community EnergyStrategy. He says “[n]o Government strategy can remove the hardwork involved in grass roots action but the Strategy provides a keywith which to unlock the inherent potential in many communitiesacross the UK”.

Three climate skeptics are due to give evidence toparliament’s Energy and Climate Change committee this morning. Thefact that MPs invited them to give evidence suggests the UK’spolitical debate on climate change “is becoming as depressinglyunscientific and polarised as it is in the United States”, theGrantham Institute’s Bob Ward says.

Two energy lawyers argue that the EU’s decision to notextend its country-level renewable energy targets could harm theindustry. They say the argument that self-submitted ‘nationalplans’ can replace commission-set targets is “notcompelling”. Munir Hassan &

Researchers have devised a new global inventory of how much blackcarbon is in the atmosphere – largely a result of burning fossilfuels and wood – and which populations around the world are mostexposed. Scientists are concerned about black carbon because itabsorbs heat from the sun – raising earth’stemperature.