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The government will review how energy retailers market ‘green’ electricity tariffs to consumers, amid concerns that some are overstating how environmentally friendly their products are, Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan has announced today. 9 million British households are reported to be on green tariffs, with over half of all new electricity tariffs launched now badged as ‘100% renewable’ or ‘green’. Minister of...

Fibre broadband cables could be fed through the country’s water pipes as part of the government’s plan to speed up the nationwide roll-out of broadband and mobile coverage in rural areas as part of a new competition, the government has announced. The competition will select a consortium, which could comprise telecoms companies, utility providers and engineering companies, to lead and...

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has said an £8m investment this year to deliver a new LED street lighting programme will deliver future energy savings and is another step forward in delivering sustainable infrastructure across the north. These lights have a predicted lifetime of approximately 25 years. Minister Mallon commented on the announcement: "Investing in our street lighting programme is very important...

The latest water industry performance data has been published by water companies for the year 2020/21, Water UK, a trade association which represents the major water companies of the United Kingdom, has announced. This is the first year that new ways of measuring performance, introduced by Ofwat as part of the 2019 Price Review, have been used. According to Water UK, this...

Ofwat has published its draft review of the 2014 price review (PR14), finding that over the PR14 period, outcomes 'generally improved' for customers and the environment. According to the regulator, this included a: 36% reduction in pollution incidents across the sector; and, 4% increase in customer satisfaction; and, decline in average customer bills of approximately 5%; In PR14, Ofwat set out...

The Royal College of Art and PA Consulting have been appointed to deliver an iconic British electric vehicle chargepoint design, the Transport Secretary has announced. The design will be unveiled at COP26 in Glasgow this November and could be seen on streets across the country from 2022. According to the government, the chargepoints will be 'functional and accessible for all users...

84% of the 1,149 participants of a Welsh government survey believe that the way the we live our lives needs to 'substantially change' to address the climate emergency. 84% of the survey respondents say they would like to see even less food being wasted, less packaging and increased recycling, while 81% reported to be already minimising their food waste or...

The UK is calling for urgent global action after a new UN report on the science of climate change states that the planet has warmed more than previously estimated. The new report, the latest contribution to the sixth assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warns that without urgent global action to limit warming, heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts,...

New £5m research programme to step up the UK’s resilience to the impacts of climate change has been announced by the government. The research programme, ‘Climate Services for a Net Zero Resilient World’, is set to help inform future climate policy and will be led by a consortium that includes University College London and the UK Centre for Ecology &...

The Scottish Government is consulting on whether to expand the Energy Efficiency Loan Pilot, which has offered energy efficient and zero emission heating solutions to eligible homeowners, as part of its draft Heat in Buildings Strategy. Scotland's long-term climate change targets will require the near complete decarbonisation of our energy system by 2045, with renewable energy meeting a very significant...