Space tourists blast off

Amateurs in orbit

4 astronauts have blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida aboard the SpaceX Inspiration4 rocket. No biggie - except that they’re all amateurs with only 6 months training under their belts. The passenger flight was chartered by a billionaire who invited 3 others aboard, and marks a giant leap for space tourism. They’ll circle the Earth for 3 days.

Underpricing climate risk?

The Bank of England must do more to penalise banks who fund the fossil fuel industry, according to a group of 51 MPs. The group wrote to the Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, to warn him that the financial sector is underpricing climate-related risk. It also suggests providing cheaper credit to banks who fund climate-friendly projects.

Wires on fire

Wholesale energy prices have soared by 19% after an electricity cable connecting the UK and France had to be shut down. A fire broke out at a site in Kent, sending the cable offline until 25th September. It’ll then operate at half capacity - losing a gigawatt of power - until March 2022. National Grid says it expects to "continue supplying electricity safely and securely".