Action on climate emergency
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 …
From new town to power station as The Guardian reveals that one of Britain’s first all-electric towns to be built with almost no reliance on fossil fuels could soon help to power the grid with renewable energy. The developers of a new garden town in Kent, just a few miles from Folkestone and Hythe and …
World agreement vital on plastics as the scale of plastic production and its threat to public health and the environmentwas underlined once more earlier this week (Monday) when a new report warned that the world is in a “plastics crisis” which is causing disease and death from infancy to old age and is responsible for at least …
Wet wipe producer charges may happen on the ‘polluter pays’ principle for the pollution they contribute to England’s waterways, according to a recent government review focused on reforming the water sector. Sir Jon Cunliffe, the author and a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, pointed to the urgency of tackling various pollution sources …
HSBC quits net zero alliance becoming the first UK bank to leave the global banking industry’s net zero target-setting group, ascampaigners warned it was a “troubling” sign over the lender’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis. The move risks triggering further departures from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) by UK banks, in a setback …
Extreme weather is becoming normal says The Met Office as it warns that the UK is breaking heat and rainfall records increasingly frequently as its climate continues to warm. The country’s changing weather patterns mean the UK now experiences a “notably different” climate to what it was just a few decades ago, its State of …
Boost for onshore wind as the government has launched major onshore wind plan to reverse near decade of sector stagnation in England. It aims to boost its aim to become a clean energy superpower and protect households from global gas price spikes. It also introduces measures to revitalise industry by unlocking up to 45,000 jobs …
Solar panels for new homes, that is most new homes, is the objective of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband as he announces that builders will be required to fit solar panels to most newly built homes in England under changes to be published this autumn. There will, however, be a transitional period for developers to adjust …
No more licence to spill as action against water companies has stepped up with Yorkshire Water being fined £350,000 after a watercourse was polluted with sewage. The spillage happened at Foss Dike, near York, in March 2018 close to a faulty pumping station the company knew was broken, the Environment Agency has said. It was …