Why renewable energy could gain from the green hydrogen trend February 1, 2021 What effect will net zero have? One of the most notable features of climate policy over the last couple of years has been the rise of national and supranational “net zero” targets. Countries and regions adopting these targets include Europe, the UK, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, South Africa and a handful of US states. [...]
Renewable energy production surpasses fossil fuels in 2020 January 28, 2021 Renewable energy sources surpassed fossil fuel energy production in the UK for the first time ever in 2020, led by wind power generation. According to analysis by think tank Ember, renewable sources provided 42 per cent of the UK’s energy, while fossil fuel sources like gas produced 41 per cent. The remaining 17 per cent [...]
Best of travel: A food odyssey across the South China Sea January 16, 2021 Throughout January we’re remembering better times and sunnier climes by reposting some of our favourite travel stories from the last decade. In this instalment, our Life&Style editor Steve Dinneen eats a path across the South China Sea. ••• Hong Kong’s most celebrated restaurants are the kind of Michelin-rated palaces to gastronomy that you can find [...]
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 [...]
Will Europe’s smaller companies deliver big returns? January 7, 2021 European equities have been largely unloved by investors for some time, having lagged their global peers over the past decade: the MSCI Europe ex UK Index has grown by circa 6% pa whilst the MSCI World Index is up circa 11% pa. European smaller companies have fared markedly better than their large cap counterparts however, [...]
Wanted: A minister for hospitality December 22, 2020 The hospitality industry — which provided work to more than 3.2m people before the pandemic struck — has been hit harder than virtually any other sector by Covid-19. But while the latest ONS figures show that a staggering 78 per cent of businesses in the accommodation and food services industry have been impacted, there is [...]
‘I just feel like crying’ – chefs react to ‘cruel’ Tier 3 restrictions December 14, 2020 London restaurateurs and chefs reacted with frustration and despair at the “cruel” news London will enter Tier 3, a period of virtual lockdown that will see bars and restaurants closed until the new year. Unlike the first lockdown, Tier 3 allows non-essential shops to remain open, adding to criticism from the hospitality sector that it [...]
Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut November 25, 2020 Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut
Energy firms call on government to embrace emissions trading after Brexit transition ends November 24, 2020 Leading energy companies have urged the UK to embrace carbon trading after the Brexit transition period concludes and not adopt a carbon tax instead. In a letter to Boris Johnson, the group, which includes firms such as RWE and Uniper, said that tradable carbon credits remain the best way of cutting emissions. At the moment, [...]
Don’t bid farewell to all the Brexit fish just yet November 24, 2020 So long, and thanks for all the fish. Not only book four in the Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (“in five parts”) by Douglas Adams, but also, apparently, a negotiating strategy. The UK-EU trade talks are said to be trapped on a handful of unresolved issues, and one of them swims. We could be [...]