UK greenhouse gas emissions fell nearly a tenth in 2020 March 25, 2021 The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell nearly 10 per cent in 2020 as the pandemic saw energy usage from transport use tumble. Overall emissions fell 8.9 per cent over the course of the year, one of the largest falls on record. It is the eighth straight year in which total emissions have fallen. As a [...]
Crown Estate to launch new large-scale floating wind farm leasing round March 24, 2021 The Crown Estate has today announced that it is beginning work on a new leasing round for floating wind power projects in the Celtic Sea. Floating turbines are still an emerging technology, but if successful could enable wind farms to be built much further offshore. In December the UK announced that it would seek to [...]
Government agrees £16bn North Sea transition deal for oil industry March 24, 2021 The government and private sector will pour £16bn into the North Sea oil industry over the next decade in a bid to reduce carbon emissions, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced today. Under the new “North Sea Transition Deal”, ministers will be able to block future oil and gas exploration on the continental shelf if it [...]
Banking giants pour $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels since Paris agreement March 24, 2021 Since 2016, the world’s 60 largest banks have poured more than $3.8 trillion into the fossil fuel industry, a new report released today has shown. Despite the signing of the Paris climate accords in 2015, lenders have continued to provide hundreds of billions in financing for polluting industries such as tar sands oil, coal, and [...]
Bulb calls on Treasury to scrap VAT on green products ahead of ‘tax day’ March 22, 2021 Challenger energy brand Bulb has today called on the Treasury to scrap VAT on green products in a bid to encourage more households to “go green”. According to the firm, which now supplies energy to 1.7m households, scrapping the duty on such items could save the average family £5,500. As a result of the UK’s [...]
The greatest space mission will be tackling climate change and protecting our planet March 21, 2021 Efforts around the world are focused on making businesses more sustainable, with ever greater emphasis on innovative technology to help solve the climate crisis we face. There was a dearth of climate-related announcements in Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech earlier this month. Sunak did, however, reiterate the Government’s plan to establish the UK as a “science [...]
Financial services firms admit they do not have carbon neutral targets in place March 19, 2021 Financial services firms are struggling with net zero targets, with more than half (51%) of firms saying they do not yet have a target in place to achieve carbon neutral status. Just 18 per cent of financial services firms have a plan to achieve carbon neutral status by 2025, and 16 per cent claim they [...]
World must invest $131 trillion in clean energy to hit Paris targets March 16, 2021 The world must invest $131 trillion (£94 trillion) in clean energy resources over the next 30 years in order to hit the climate targets set out in 2015’s Paris accords. A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that investment must increase $33 trillion from current plans over the coming decades if [...]
Central banks must play ‘clear role’ in greening financial system, argues think tank March 15, 2021 Central Banks, including the Bank of England, must have a strategy for helping countries achieve net zero emissions, according to a report published today. The report, funded by the European Climate Foundation, argues that achieving a net zero economy is the best way of minimising the risks of climate change. It calls for central banks [...]
HSBC concedes to investor pressure over climate change March 11, 2021 HSBC has given in to investor pressure by tabling plans to phase out its financing of coal power by 2040, staving off backlash over the bank not being aligned with its climate ‘ambitions’. The bankin giant said today it will retire from funding both coal-fired power and thermal coal mining across the EU by 2030, and [...]