News bites: Scientists fear global temperature goal becoming unattainable

Scientists fear current greenhouse gas emission rates are accelerating too fast to maintain an international goal of keeping global temperatures from rising 3.6 F, The New York Times reports.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg Businessweek takes a look at the pieces President Obama has put in place for a possible climate deal.

The Obama administration opened up the nation’s first offshore wind leases last week, The Guardian reports.

Wealthy nations spend five times the amount on fossil-fuel subsidies than they do on foreign aid for climate change, Bloomberg notes, citing an Oil Change International report.

Regulators will issue a final decision Monday on whether electric utility Duke Energy misled the utility commission before it merged with Progress Energy, according to The Associated Press.

Duke had said it would install Progress CEO Bill Johnson as the head of the new company. But hours after the merger was finalized in July, a group of Duke Energy board members ousted Johnson in favor of Duke CEO Jim Rogers.

Rogers said last week he would retire when his contract runs out at the end of next year.