Critics claim the technology is best suited to newbuilds – but studies reveal success with retrofits and in poorly insulated homes

• Do heat pumps work at freezing temperatures?
• Are heat pumps more expensive to run than gas boilers?

The belief that heat pumps will work only in newbuild homes is still widely held.

The number of heat pumps installed every year across the EU is expected to surge by the end of the decade as governments take aim at household carbon emissions.

Researchers say world has enough fossil fuel projects planned to meet demand forecasts to 2050 if net zero is reached

The world has enough fossil fuel projects planned to meet global energy demand forecasts to 2050 and governments should stop issuing new oil, gas and coal licences, according to a large study aimed at political leaders.

If governments deliver the changes promised in order to keep the world from breaching its climate targets no new fossil fuel projects will be needed, researchers at University College London and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) said on Thursday.

Takeover is latest by a US conglomerate gambling on fossil fuel production as profits surge on rising energy prices

ConocoPhillips is to buy Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at about $17.1bn as profits at big oil giants surge on rising energy prices.

It is the latest American energy conglomerate to place a vast bet on fossil fuel production. Oil giant ExxonMobil completed its $59.5bn acquisition of the shale group Pioneer Natural Resources earlier this month, and Chevron is vying to get its $53bn deal for the oil producer Hess Corporation across the line.

And almost half of respondents back the filing of criminal charges against oil companies that have contributed to the climate crisis

As US communities take big oil to court for allegedly deceiving the public about the climate crisis, polling shared with the Guardian shows that a majority of voters support the litigation, while almost half would back an even more aggressive legal strategy of filing criminal charges.

The poll, which comes as the world’s first-ever criminal climate lawsuit was brought in France last week, could shed light on how, if filed, similar US cases might be viewed by a jury.

Leadership now sees environment as core issue for voters and strong dividing line against the Tories

Labour is planning to make the climate a key focus for its election campaign, putting its net zero commitments “up in lights”, and drawing a clear link between the “chaos” of the Conservative government and the effects of the climate crisis.

Fears over the climate – exemplified by a sopping Rishi Sunak calling the general election in a downpour on the same day scientists warned about the increased likelihood of seemingly “never-ending” autumn and winter rain – will be tied strongly to what Labour will portray as a polluting and careless Tory vein of climate denial.

Drop from £1,690 driven by fall in wholesale gas prices but household bills still substantially higher than three years ago

• Business live – latest updates

The energy price cap in Great Britain will fall 7% to the equivalent of £1,568 a year this summer after a drop in wholesale gas prices.

Set by the energy regulator Ofgem, the cap reflects the average annual dual-fuel bill for 29m households and takes effect from July until the end of September.

The infrastructure company easily raised almost £7bn in a rights issue – because it has its balance sheet in order and plans to invest

So much for the idea that the woes of the water sector, and Thames Water in particular, would kill investors’ appetite for all British infrastructure assets. Here comes National Grid, which will probably be the UK’s biggest-spending infrastructure company over the next decade, with a mammoth fundraising that would not be possible if the stink from Thames had infected everything in the vicinity.

National Grid’s near-£7bn rights issue, to back a five-year, £60bn spending programme in the UK and US, is the biggest by a London-listed company since 2009. It is larger than expected and comes before the UK energy regulator, Ofgem, has nailed down the price control regime for the 2026-31 period. Throw in the supposed uncertainties created by Thames, plus a general election, and you might assume the safe option would have been to wait a while.

In Fort Mohave, Arizona, even Republican voters are fighting gas power plants as utilities try to lock in fossil fuels

Retirement was pretty idyllic for Mac and Debbie McKeever, who moved to Fort Mohave in Arizona for the desert views, starry nights and fresh air. The couple hosted cocktails by the pool and taco Tuesdays with their neighbors – an active bunch of Republican-voting retirees with a penchant for gas-guzzling RVs and side-by-sides, and the unlikeliest environmental activists.

However, in late November 2023, the McKeevers found out that the local government, the Mohave county board of supervisors, was about to vote on a zoning proposal for a gas-fired peaker plant less than 1,200ft (0.2 miles) from their middle-class neighborhood Sunrise Hills.

Infrastructure firm raises £6.8bn to connect homes to renewable energy sources across US and UK

National Grid has tapped shareholders for nearly £7bn to fund a £60bn spending spree to upgrade its networks to cope with the switch to low-carbon energy on either side of the Atlantic.

The energy infrastructure company announced a £6.8bn rights issue – where existing shareholders are offered new shares – to provide fresh funds for investment in thousands of miles of cables to connect homes with renewable energy projects in the UK and the US.

Charity says tech problems and poor customer service mean millions in Great Britain missing out on promised benefits

The number of gas and electricity smart meters that are not working properly is likely to be higher than government figures suggest – possibly 20% to 30% of the total – according to research from Citizens Advice.

The charity said millions of households were missing out on the promised benefits from smart meters due to “problems with technology” and poor supplier customer service.

Critics claim that the technology is not up to the job – we examine whether the facts bear this out

• Are heat pumps more expensive to run than gas boilers?

The belief that a heat pump is unable to warm a home in the depths of winter is widely held, especially in the UK.

One recent survey of more than 4,000 adults across the UK, Germany, France and the US last autumn found that 35% believed that air-source heat pumps are not up to the job.

Comments come as Commission president hints EU could impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

• Business live – latest updates

Janet Yellen, the US treasury secretary, has urged the EU to intervene urgently to dampen the growing export levels of Chinese cut-price green technology including solar panels and wind turbines, pushing European leaders to move to a full-scale trade war.

At the same time she urged German bank executives on Tuesday to step up efforts to comply with sanctions against Russia and shut down efforts to circumvent them to avoid potential penalties themselves that could see the US cut them off from dollar access.

Jobs and communities dependent on oil and gas sector must be considered in plan to ban North Sea licences, say GMB and Unite

Peace may have broken out between Labour and its union backers over workers’ rights, but shadow ministers face fierce lobbying in another key policy area: how to make the switch from fossil fuels without causing deep economic scarring.

Unions representing tens of thousands of oil and gas workers – in particular GMB and Unite – are demanding urgent answers about what will happen to members’ jobs as the UK switches to cleaner energy sources.