Rolls-Royce betting small is beautiful when it comes to UK nuclear power January 9, 2021 For many, nuclear power stations are eyesores – great slabs of gun-metal grey cluttering up the UK’s coastlines. But that could be about to change. Last year FTSE 100 blue-bloods Rolls-Royce announced it was planning on building a fleet of 16 so-called “small modular reactors” (SMRs) in a move that would shake up the UK’s [...]
BlackRock: Sustainable investments to accelerate in 2021 as ESG focus intensifies January 2, 2021 The global health and economic challenges of 2020 have not slowed investor demand for sustainable investing, a new BlackRock survey has found. In fact, investors plan to double their allocations to sustainable products over the next five years, and 20 per cent said that the pandemic would actually accelerate their sustainable investing allocations, according to [...]
Alok Sharma offers to resign as business minister to lead climate summit January 2, 2021 UK business minister Alok Sharma has offered to resign from his ministerial position in order to take on a full-time role preparing for the country’s chairmanship of United Nations COP26 climate change summit, according to The Times today. Sharma, who is also president of this year’s climate summit, reportedly told Prime Minister Boris Johnson that [...]
Exclusive: Enviva CEO John Keppler on green energy souces and Covid-related challenges December 21, 2020 City A.M.‘s Michiel Willems sat down with John Keppler, the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Enviva, the world’s largest producer of sustainable wood bioenergy. Some observers claim that biomass is not as green as it ought to be. What do you say to those critics? Instead of focusing on division we are focused on the consensus [...]
Global emissions cuts needed on ‘unprecedented scale’ to reach Paris Climate target December 18, 2020 If the world is to reach the Paris Climate Agreement’s target of a global temperature increase of no more than 1.5°C, we need to cut emissions five times more quickly than the current rate. This is according to PwC’s Net Zero Economy Index, which delivers a stark message to businesses and governments. The index shows [...]
UK to stop backing overseas oil and gas projects December 12, 2020 Boris Johnson will pledge to end direct government support for overseas fossil fuel projects at a U.N. summit on Saturday, aiming to spur similar moves by other countries to help tackle climate change, his office said. Britain, which is co-hosting the virtual summit ahead of climate negotiations in Glasgow next year, has faced accusations of [...]
EU confirms Brexit-adjusted carbon market permit removals for 2021 December 12, 2020 The European Commission confirmed late on Friday how many pollution permits will be removed from the European Union carbon market in 2021 due to the UK’s departure from the scheme at the end of this year. The carbon market is the EU’s flagship climate policy, forcing power plants, industry and airlines running intra-EU flights to [...]
EU agrees deal to cut carbon emissions 55 per cent by 2030 December 11, 2020 EU leaders have agreed to set an ambitious target of slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent over the next decade. The figure marks a significant increase on a target to reduce emissions by 40 per cent set in September. The deal comes after more than 10 hours of intense discussions overnight, as several [...]
UK must cut emissions 78 per cent by 2035 to hit 2050 net zero target December 9, 2020 The UK must cut emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 in order to hit its target of being net zero by 2050, a new report by the government’s climate advisers has found. Such a cut effectively brings forward the country’s former target of reaching an 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050 by [...]
Government calls on banks to advise on first green gilt December 8, 2020 The UK government has asked banks to bid for contracts to advise on the launch of the country’s first green gilt. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled plans last month to issue climate-focused securities for the first time. He said the bonds would contribute to a “new chapter for financial services” in the UK. Green government bonds [...]