archive2023

European countries are being called to bridge the vast planning gap between their climate targets and plans, according to a report from Clean Air Task Force (CATF). The environmental non-profit organisation analysed that the national energy and climate plans (NECPs) made in 2019 by EU member states are out of date, lack crucial details, and no longer line up with long-term strategies. This comes as only half of the states have submitted a fresh proposal – two months after the EU deadline for draft plans, which passed this June, and...

The Taaleri SolarWind III Fund, which marks Taaleri Energia’s sixth renewable energy fund is classified as a “dark green” fund and exclusively invests in sustainable projects that make a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation. Furthermore, the fund places significant emphasis on reporting the sustainability impact of its investments. Key investors participating in the first...

State clampdowns on environmental protesters must stop and give way to social dialogue, says Europe’s human rights chief. Environmental pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss are the most urgent existential threats to humankind and to human rights. In response, many people have taken to the streets in peaceful protest to demand more resolute government action on issues relating to the protection of nature and the environment, health and climate change. But their legitimate demands and concerns are increasingly being met with repression, criminalisation and stigmatisation. This must stop, says Dunja...

Maritime shipping is on a voyage to net zero with battery power, bio-fuels, carbon capture and sails aiming to cut vessel’s carbon emissions. Shipping is one of the most efficient modes of transport and is responsible for moving 90 per cent of trade goods around the world. However while it is less carbon intensive than many other forms of transport it still accounts for three per cent of all global carbon emissions. The maritime industry emits over one billion tons of greenhouse gas every year and now faces a range...

Exponential growth of almost 4,000 per cent of the cleantech sector in just seven years, according to PwC, has resulted in one of the most challenging recruitment drives ever known to man. Jobs in the cleantech sector and people actually taking these jobs have been steadily increasing for decades, and media coverage on all things climate change reached an all-time high last year while the COP26 Summit in Glasgow was held. A report by research and development tax credit investment specialist, GovGrant, revealed the UK is hailed a leading nation...

Sustainable living is a reflection of how much a country cares about preserving and restoring the environment and the health of its citizens. Here are the top ten least ‘green’ countries. Sustainable living specialists GreenMatch conducted a major study to discover the most and least green countries in the world. Their study combined and compared four different reports: the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) from Yale University, a report from EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), Green Future Index (GFI) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the IQ Air information platform....

Leading companies in the packaging sector are split in their efforts, and corporate belief, in sustainability. While some major packaging companies are forging ahead with their net zero plans others lag far behind, with many yet to even start their journey. “Being a sustainably-minded company is central to everything we do,” says Leanne Osborne, managing director of BioPak UK, whose company has recently gained B Corp Certification after achieving one of the world’s highest scores by any packaging company. B Corp certification has become the recognised benchmark for measuring a...

Rooftop solar panels can pay for themselves in six years, with a lifespan of 19 years when the electricity generated is essentially free. At the same time, the cost of solar farms has reached just £54 per MWh (megawatt hour), compared to a price for gas power stations of £85 per MWh in 2025, as predicted before the current crisis. Since the crisis, commodities traders have put the cost for gas in excess of £200/MWh, in ‘day ahead’ prices. If true, recent speculation that Ministers were to curb solar deployment on poorer...

The corporate commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 has led to a surge in demand for a very specific set of skills for sustainability professionals. But with such an influx of new roles and responsibilities and so much pressure to deliver, do UK corporates have the right people, with the right skills, to meet net zero goals? We recently surveyed 250 sustainability and energy managers from FTSE 250, or equivalent sized companies, and who spend £1 million or more on energy, to find out whether they were equipped...

Net zero targets previously agreed by the UK government are under ‘dire’ threat from new plans announced by ministers. Net zero targets aimed at reducing carbon emissions to reach net zero by 2050 could be derailed by a raft of measures including allowing new oil and gas projects, ‘fracking’, a new tax on renewable energy and lower vehicle emissions rules, campaigners warn. Leading UK environmental groups including The National Trust, R.S.P.B and the Wildlife Trusts have blasted the UK government’s plans calling them ‘a full-scale attack on nature’ and accuse...