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Greenhouse gas emissions in the 27 European Union member countries decreased by 3.7 % year-on-year, while GDP grew by 1.5%. The emissions have now been reduced by 24% compared to 1990 levels, new report by the European Commission reveals. The Climate Action Progress Report 'Kick-Starting the Journey Towards A Climate Neutral Europe' describes progress made by the EU and its member...

A new database that contains information on trace chemicals found in treated wastewater in the last five years has gone live and, in a water industry first, is being made publicly available for anyone to access. The Chemical Investigations Programme database by UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) contains final effluent data from 600 wastewater treatment works in England and Wales,...

The water industry is not making the most of opportunities to learn from its complaints data, a new report by Ofwat and Consumer Council for Water (CCW) suggests. Earlier this year, CCW and Ofwat issued a ‘request for information’ and the report paints a picture of how complaints are being dealt with across England and Wales. The report shows that most...

The government is seeking views on how the proposed £270m Green Heat Network Fund scheme, which is expected to be a focal point of the forthcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy, should be designed. The Green Heat Network Fund is a capital grant funding programme which is intended to help new and existing heat networks to move to low and zero...

The management and renewal of Wales’ peatlands has been outlined in a new programme published by the Welsh Government. The National Peatlands Action Programme seeks to ensure the nationwide delivery of existing peatland policies devised by the Welsh Government, providing a single set of guidelines and advice for partners and land managers. The programme was launched by Lesley Griffiths, the Minister...

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation considering whether regulations are needed for electricians to give greater protection to the public and reduce the level of poor electrical workmanship by rogue traders. At the moment anyone can call themselves an electrician, without the need for any qualifications or competency. This can lead to customers, especially domestic consumers, hiring unqualified or less...

Shell UK has an average gender pay gap of 18% in 2020, down from 18.7% in 2019, the Shell Group of Companies in the UK (Shell UK) has revealed in its first diversity pay gap report. Men have traditionally made up the majority of the workforce in the oil and gas sector, which is reflected across each of the Shell...

Large parts of the UK water and wastewater supplier community have seen a fall in business turnover during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new impact survey by British Water. While the decrease had been slight for 41% of supply chain respondents, for nearly 30% it had been significant, with a third of businesses furloughing “many” employees. Looking ahead, 32% of...

There is currently 17GW of technologies likely to be eligible to bid in the fourth allocation round of Contract for Difference, Cornwall Insight has revealed. This analysis is based on the consultancy's Renewables Pipeline Tracker service, which assesses viability based on a range of criteria across planning and grid connection status, project sizing, route to market confirmations and ongoing project...

Even though continuing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was a central theme of Rishi Sunak's Spending Review, it also unveiled measures for UK to continue its transition towards net zero and green recovery for businesses. Mr Sunak also announced the National Infrastructure Strategy, which was delayed to give the Treasury a chance to introduce new net-zero requirements. As part of this...