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June 29 News: Britain Coal Imports Rise 20 Percent, Bringing Its Coal Use To Highest Level Since 2006

A round-up of the top climate and energy news.

Britain is burning more now than at any time since 2006, despite official promises to move to greener fuels. [The Sun]

Imports are up 20 per cent to 18 million tons this year — with coal responsible for generating 42 per cent of all UK electricity, the Department of Energy says.

Gina Rinehart, the multi-billionaire iron ore magnate, is on the verge of becoming its newest media mogul. Ms Rinehart appears to want “to make the papers into a propaganda platform for mining companies and climate change deniers”, said David Marr, one of the Herald’s most respected writers. [The Independent]

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An historic heat wave that has helped create tinderbox conditions in Colorado and other Western states is moving east, with record-breaking temperatures expected in at least 13 states Thursday, from Oklahoma to Ohio. [Climate Central]

A Colorado-based solar panel maker that received a $400 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration said Thursday it will file for bankruptcy, the latest setback for an industry battered by the recession and stiff competition from companies in China. [Associated Press]

If the climate were neither warming nor cooling, one would expect that on average, low-temperature records would be broken as often as high-temperature ones. In the last decade, high-temperature records have outnumbered low-temperature records by a ratio of 2 to 1. [New York Times]

The government needs to multiply investment in clean energy four-fold to avoid breaking laws on renewables and climate change, official advisers say. [BBC]

European cities are planning to adapt to climate change as the risks become more severe, a report by UK-based emissions measurement organization the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and consultancy Accenture showed on Thursday. [Reuters]