This week’s top climate change stories. Sign up to have our newsletter sent to your inbox

Wind, solar and biomass generate an increasing share of UK electricity (Pic: Flickr/steve p2008)

It’s a fresh spring day in Britain, with no whiff of coal smoke on the breeze.

Yes, the birthplace of the industrial revolution is headed for its first 24 hours without coal power since those fossil-fuelled electrons started to flow.

It is the latest sign of a rapid clean energy shift in the UK, as policy and market forces align.

The government can’t coast on the coal phase-out forever. It needs to repeat the trick in heat and transport sectors to sustain emissions cuts next decade. A long-awaited climate policy package has been delayed again by PM Theresa May’s decision to call an election.

Insulation a go-go

While Brexit is set to dominate the campaigns, clean energy issues may get an airing. The opposition Labour party is calling for a crackdown on drafty rental properties, for one.

Energy efficiency, not typically a hot political topic, even reared its head in the French presidential TV debate, reports Arthur Neslen. The four leading candidates vied to offer the cosiest future to voters in poorly-insulated housing.

Nairobi water crisis

Parts of the Kenyan capital are getting piped water for just 12 hours a week, under rationing to eke out scarce supplies. Residents have been forced to buy bottled water, at 9,000% of the city tariff.

It follows a prolonged drought that scientists have established was made worse…