Action on climate emergency
Google’s huge new datacentre to emit massive tonnes of CO2 a year. Google has applied for planning permission for yet another enormous data centre in Thurrock, Essex. It will emit 570,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year equivalent to about 500 short-haul flights a week, planning documents show. Spread across 52 hectares (128 acres), the …
Biggest increase in carbon emissions in 2024 has been confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with 2024 showing a record rise of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. From 2023 to 2024, the global average concentration of CO2 rose by 3.5 parts per million – the largest increase since modern measurements started in 1957, …
Failures in energy efficiency schemes has been reported in The Guardian today. The report reveals that following an investigation almost all the external insulation fitted under the previous government’s energy efficiency scheme was installed so poorly it will have to be repaired or replaced. Thousands of homeowners who took advantage of the home insulation schemes …
Is AI a silver bullet? Lots of media coverage from the recent Labour Party Conference about the big gains (as yet unproven) to be made for the UK with the expansion of AI and data centres, would suggest so. Take, for example, the PM’s enthusiasm. In his conference speech, Keir Starmer talked up AI as …
Drax protestors freed – fifteen people appeared before Leeds Magistrates Court on 22 September following their pre-emptive arrest last summer, amid plans to hold a climate change camp near Drax power station. By the end of the day they walked free as charges were thrown out after their lawyers argued there was insufficient evidence against …
A deep peat burning ban is coming into force attendees of Saturday’s ACE Green Café meeting in Settle learnt. The meeting heard that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will ban the burning on England’s deep peat so as to restore habitats for rare wildlife and reduce air pollution and flooding. England’s …
Ed Miliband survives reshuffle – for now at least. A number of national newspapers have claimed that Sir Keir Starmer tried to move Ed Miliband out of his energy brief and into the housing department in the recent Government reshuffle, but the former Labour leader refused – insisting he wanted to keep overseeing the climate …
Shares drop as Drax investigated by the City watchdog over “historical statements” made about the sourcing of wood pellets for its Yorkshire biomass power station. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed the investigation which will cover a period of more than two years from January 2022 to March 2024, and will examine whether the company …
Global plastic talks fail in Geneva to develop a landmark treaty to end plastic pollution. The UN negotiations, the sixth round of talks in just under three years, remained divided between a group of about 100 nations calling for curbs on production of plastic, and oil states pushing for a focus on recycling. An opposing …
Cumbria mine developers seek compensation when we all thought the Woodhouse coalmine near Whitehaven had been confined to the dustbin of history. Well not quite, as on 11 August The Guardian reported that the government is being sued in a secretive “corporate court” despite the proposed new coalmine in Cumbria being quashed by the high …