Sweden has called on the European Union to adopt a
greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 50 per cent by the
2030s, a full ten percentage points higher than current proposals.
The proposals could gain support from other Scandinavian countries
and the UK but are likely to be blocked by Poland, which says the
current 40 per cent goal is already too high.

The Labour party would drop its pledge to freeze energy
prices “like a hot potato” in the event of a coalition government
after the next election, said energy minister Ed Davey in a
Bloomberg debate with Labour’s Caroline Flint yesterday. Flint
insisted Labour’s policy would stick, despite criticism from Davey
that it would undermine competition and be “very bad for going
green”.

UK energy minister Davey is showing flexibility over targets
to improve energy efficiency, due to be agreed as part of a package
by EU leaders next week. Saying he prefers not to talk about “red
lines”, Davey told the Guardian, “It is important that we listen to
others and find a way forward.” Currently, the UK supports an
increase in energy efficiency of 30 per cent by 2030.

More media digestion today of ex environment minister Owen
Paterson’s speech to a climate skeptic lobby group this week, in
which he called for the UK Climate Change Act to be scrapped. The
Guardian draws on Paterson’s opinion on fracking for shale gas,
which he described as potentially “a real boon to poorly
remunerated parts of the country, you know remote parts of
Lancashire, remote parts of Shropshire.” The speech kicks off a
debate on climate policy, but not the one the public want,
saysRTCCwhile saysit will fail to win support in
the business world.

In a speech to the Global Warming Policy Foundation, former
UK environment minister Owen Paterson cited “considerable
uncertainty” over the impact of carbon emissions on global warming.
But just because some aspects of climate change are difficult to
predict, that does not negate our wider understanding of the
climate, say Richard_Pancost and Stephan_Lewandowsky.

Boarding traditional canoes, a group of South Pacific
islanders has blockaded Newcastle, one of the world’s largest coal
ports, to draw attention to global warming. The protest comes amid
bitter debate in Australia over the future of the country’s vast
coal reserves and its climate change policy, reports the FT.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the One Young World
conference in Dublin, Live Aid founder and activist Sir Bob Geldof
called on young entrepreneurs to solve the climate change problem
to create a “sustainable” future for all. Irish Premier Mary
Robinson echoed Sir Bob’s comments, warning “If we reach four
degrees, there will be an estimated 200 million migrants, climate
displaced people. We are in a precarious situation.”

The Mail looks at new research finding that while the total
number of tornadoes annually has remained steady at about 495, the
number of days with more than 20 tornadoes has more than doubled
since the 1970s. The article notes that while some experts have
attributed the shift to climate change, the study did not offer a
conclusion as to a cause. Meanwhile, Scientific Americanhas a video
explainer of how tornados form.