Britain's Shame: One Million Britons Dead In Winter Scandal

Winter weather has killed a million Brits since the 1980s and will kill a million more by 2050, experts have warned. Age support groups and doctors blame poor housing, high energy bills and pensioner poverty. Many killed by the cold are elderly but the ill, vulnerable and very young also die. A total of 973,000 people died due to winter weather from 1982/83 to 2011/12, Office of National Statistics data for England and Wales shows. ONS data shows another million Brits will be killed by winters by 2050, based on the average of 27,400 cold weather deaths per winter in the last five years. --Alastair Grant, Daily Star, 3 March 2013

Britain’s relentless big freeze has sparked fears of the highest winter death rate for five years. The brutal Arctic blast has seen temperatures plummet to -13C (9F) amid what could be the coldest March for almost three decades. Pensioner groups warned the death rate among Britain’s elderly has already soared this winter with fears it could hit 30,000 – 6,000 more than last year. The National Federation of Occupational Pensioners (NFOP) said deaths among its members had more than quadrupled since the end of last year. --Nathan Rao, Daily Express, 13 March 2013

Migrating birds have halted Britain’s embryonic shale gas expansion in its tracks. The company backed by Lord Browne, the former BP boss, admitted yesterday that it must delay resuming fracking near Blackpool until next year because of rules protecting thousands of birds wintering in the surrounding picturesque Fylde peninsula. --Tim Webb, The Times, 14 March 2013

European policy makers must factor in the impact of the region’s deep financial crisis and stumbling economies as they design climate and energy policies, according to a draft European Union document seen by The Wall Street Journal. The document signals that the 27-nation bloc may be reining in its ambition to lead the world in tackling climate change. --Alessandro Torello, The Wall Street Journal, 14 March 2013

The European Union is set to partially suspend its controversial airlines emissions tax scheme, officials said Tuesday, as part of a bid to push international critics into reaching a global aviation deal. After the bloc's parliament and governments struck a deal on Tuesday, the EU is now set to “stop the clock” for airlines flying intercontinental routes until the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) holds its general assembly in September. --Business Report, 14 March 2013

Eon, the German utility, has called on European governments to help operators of gas-fired power plants, who are suffering losses because wholesale prices have plummeted as renewable electricity generation has surged. “Policy makers need to act swiftly on this issue. Otherwise we are going to have to shut down power plants,” said Johannes Teyssen, Eon chief executive, stressing that gas-fired plants could guarantee supply even on cloudy and windless days. --Gerrit Wiesmann, Financial Times, 13 March 2013