To help you keep up to date with this week’s events we’ve gathered together some of the top energy related news stories. You can follow us on twitter too.

•    The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been dogged by allegations and accusations in the past weeks concerning the scientific basis of climate change and inaccuracies in their Fourth Assessment. Claims that the IPCC is misleading people about climate change – largely due to the Panel’s mistaken statement that the Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 - sparked a review of their processes by the InterAcadamy Council. IPCC chair, Rajendra Pachauri, is now coming under pressure to step aside after the report from the independent team of scientists has called for tighter term limits for its senior executives. However the review concludes that the IPCC has, overall, “served society well”. Read more here. While the controversy surrounding the IPCC needs to be addressed, at Good Energy we feel the confusion around the facts is clouding the bigger issue and may become an excuse for inactivity. Climate change is still a very real problem that is affecting us all and needs to be tackled.
                                                     

•    This view is now supported by the most high-profile climate sceptic, Bjørn Lomborg, who has made a monumental U-turn by claiming that $100bn a year is needed to fight climate change. Lomborg, the self-styled "sceptical environmentalist" famous for attacking climate scientists, campaigners, the media and others for exaggerating the rate of global warming, has now declared in his new book to be published next month, the need to invest billions of dollars in tackling the problem. This change in tune comes at an extremely vital time amid the controversy surrounding the IPCC and a resurgence in scepticism over the reliability of the evidence for climate change. We are glad to see an individual previously known for his attacks on companies, like Good Energy, that invest in renewables now supporting the fight against climate change whole heartedly.

•    This August has seen a record rise in the number of solar panels fitted in UK homes according to energy regulator Ofgem. More than 6,688 homes have had solar panels fitted since April, when the Feed-in Tariff was introduced. Good Energy’s CEO, Juliet Davenport said: “Good Energy has been a long standing supporter of driving forward small scale renewable electricity generation, and empowering individuals, households and businesses to do more to reduce their emissions through small scale wind, hydro and solar power. These latest figures are proof that this is really catching peoples’ imagination and Feed-in Tariffs are helping to drive this.”

•    Npower, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy, and EDF Energy have been accused of mis-selling to customers over face-to-face and telephone sales of energy contracts, Ofgem has announced. The energy regulator found that many who switched following doorstep sales ended up on a more expensive tariff because they were misled, or found it difficult to compare bills. Mis-selling in the energy industry is not new. Transparency is crucial to buying confidence which is why at Good Energy our electricity tariff is certified by the Green Energy Supply Scheme, which ensures that renewable energy products deliver a real, measurable environmental difference.

•    Ellen MacArthur, now retired from racing yachts, has committed herself to changing attitudes towards the planet's finite natural resources. 2nd September saw the launch of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation created to promote sustainability. Good Energy CEO, Juliet Davenport, was at the event and tweeted: “Amazing woman whose new take on sustainability could inspire millions”. It is great to see such a well known and inspirational figure getting on board the fight against climate change.