Guardian: Shell Cynically Blocking Action on Climate Change, Says Ex-Diplomat

Shell and its oil and gas peers are narcissistic, paranoid and psychopathic, and engaged in a cynical attempt to block action on global warming, according to the U.K.’s former climate change envoy.

In an open letter to Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden, John Ashton said the company’s promised transformation in response to climate change is in reality “a manifesto for the oil and gas status quo.” The companies justified their strategy, he said, with the unsupported claim that the economic and moral benefits of providing cheap energy to the world’s poor exceeds the risks to the same people from climate change.

New York Times: Obama’s Strategy on Climate Change, Part of Global Deal, Is Revealed

The White House on Tuesday introduced President Obama’s blueprint for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by nearly a third over the next decade.

Mr. Obama’s plan, part of a formal written submission to the United Nations ahead of efforts to forge a global climate change accord in Paris in December, detailed the United States’ part of an ambitious joint pledge made by Mr. Obama and President Xi Jinping of China in November.

The United States and China are the world’s two largest greenhouse gas polluters. Mr. Obama said the United States would cut its emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, while Mr. Xi said that China’s emissions would drop after 2030.

Palm Beach New Times: Florida Supreme Court to Review Solar Ballot Initiative

The statewide push to get a solar power proposal on the 2016 ballot recently hit a milestone. Backers of the proposal announced last week that they'd secured enough initial signatures to send the proposal to the Florida Supreme Court.

In a release last week, Floridians for Solar Choice announced they had secured 72,000 verified signatures for their proposal. Under state law, the language of the ballot proposal will now be shipped off to the State Attorney's office. The office will then request an "advisory opinion" from the state Supreme Court to verify the legal language of the proposal.

Boston Globe: Mass. Solar Projects Could Soon Reach a Limit

Solar energy projects across much of Massachusetts could hit a stumbling block because of faster-than-expected growth since last summer.

Under state law, utilities can only hook up so many solar energy projects to their systems under the so-called “net metering” cap, which limits the amount of excess power utilities have to buy back from solar installations. In the part of the state served by National Grid, that limit may be hit today or tomorrow, which would force companies in the solar industry to rapidly readjust.

Automotive News: Tesla Presses Japanese Battery Suppliers to Innovate, Take Risks

A Tesla Motors Inc. battery executive courted partners in Japan for its so-called Giga factory, praising local companies for top-notch quality and technology while cautioning against slow decision-making and risk aversion.

Japan ranks behind only North America as a source of parts for the maker of the Model S electric sedan, Kurt Kelty, Tesla's director of battery technology, said Friday in Osaka.

While he said that Tesla looks to Japan for the world's most advanced technology, including electric components and displays, he also alluded to weaknesses, without naming specific companies.