UK energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, tells Patrick Wintour why Britain should press ahead with...

A dramatic warning that "all is lost on global warming" unless the world finds a new clean coal technology in the next few years has been made by the UK energy minister, Malcolm Wicks. He insists in a Guardian interview that "the stakes are that high", as he seeks to justify pressing ahead with a new generation of coal-fired power stations starting at Kingsnorth in Kent, currently the site of a major protest. With talk of divisions within the cabinet over the issue, the government is likely to give Kingsnorth the go-ahead, so long as it is carbon capture ready. The as yet unproven technology of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is thought to be capable of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from coal stations by 90%, but Wicks admitted the EU was well away from its target of building as many as 12 demonstration projects. Wicks... [read full story]