High Court showdown: Mercedes, Ford and Renault stand accused in Dieselgate trial Legal Car manufacturing giants, including Mercedes, Ford and Renault, are set to face a lengthy trial at the High Court over allegations they cheated emissions tests. Knicknamed Dieselgate, the largest group claim ever brought in the UK, is set to kick off at the court on Monday morning for a 10-week trial in front of Lady [...]
Net zero banking group abandons operations after member exodus Banking The global Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) has announced it will cease operations following an exodus of its membership after President Donald Trump returned to power. In a statement released on Friday, the group said following a vote it will transfer from a member-based alliance to establish its guidance as a framework. “As a result [...]
A plea from a data centre owner: Stop vilifying us! Opinion Vast, humming fortresses of silicon and steel, data centres are the unsung titans, not villains, of our digital age, writes Huw Owen Data centres are under siege – not from cyberattacks, but from headline writers. “Thirsty data centres are sucking up Britain’s scarce water supplies,” cried one recent report; another elsewhere warned that the government’s [...]
Rachel Reeves to slash environmental protections to boost builders August 18, 2025 Rachel Reeves is looking to take the axe to environmental protections blocking infrastructure projects in a bid to boost Labour’s building pledges. The Chancellor is considering reforms to prevent nature concerns from inhibiting new developments as she desperately looks to supercharge her growth agenda. Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure bill is in the committee stage at [...]
Businesses to pay £1.1bn in new packaging fees to councils July 26, 2025 Councils in England are set to receive a share of £1.1 billion in recycling funding taken from money charged to companies for the packaging they produce. Under the current system, local councils have footed the bill for disposing of items such as milk bottles, cereal boxes and soup tins using taxpayers’ money. But the new [...]
UK insurance sector calls for more adverse weather protection July 24, 2025 The UK insurance sector has called for more adverse weather protection as a “challenging new era” places increasing pressure on insurers. In the first quarter of 2025, British insurers paid out a record high of £226m in weather-related claims, surpassing the previously held record of £67m in 2022. Industry paid an eye-watering £585m for weather-related [...]
UK farmers hit by drought turn to insurance July 21, 2025 As the UK has experienced a relatively hot Summer so far, it is the farmers who are in crisis mode fearing the effects of drought
Impax’s takings slump after global retreat on sustainability May 22, 2025 Impax Asset Management recorded a slump in revenue in the first half of the year as a global retreat on green policies turned clients away from its sustainability offering. The firm cited a “challenging first half of financial year” with assets under management falling to £25.3bn. This was down from £37.2bn at the end of [...]
Ignore the climate alarmism – the biggest polluter is poverty April 22, 2025 Instead of being scared by sensationalist rhetoric into spending trillions on policies that won’t work, we should remember the remarkable progress nations have made on the environment as they have become richer, says Bjorn Lomborg As we mark Earth Day, it’s tempting to believe that the world is on the brink of environmental collapse. We [...]
The Debate: Has the plastic bag levy been a success? April 9, 2025 Ten years on, the plastic bag levy has largely been hailed a success - but has it actually helped the planet? Two experts go head to head in this week's Debate.