by #SarahGeorge in #Edie:

"This report criticizes the Government’s failure to join up policymaking across departments and its lack of planning to align the net-zero transition with its levelling up agenda and ambitions to grow the economy.

"Also documented in the report are a string of sector-specific policy gaps. In energy, for example, the CCC is warning that climate stress tests for new oil and gas fields remain insufficient. The report also outlines gaps in plans to plant trees, deploy heat pumps and make buildings more energy efficient.

"Leaders from across the UK’s green economy have been quick to react to the report, imploring Rishi Sunak’s government to respond as a matter of urgency."

https://www.edie.net/a-wake-up-call-for-ministers-uks-green-economy-reacts-to-new-ccc-net-zero-progress-report/

#UK #CCC #NetZero #climate #sustainability #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ClimateEmergency #environment #pollution #HeatPumps #energy #RishiSunak

by #SarahGeorge in #Edie:

"While the NAO acknowledges that the Government 'cannot plan every step in detail now' to deliver ambitions of halving waste by 2042, it concludes that the continued delays are leaving businesses ill-prepared for future changes – and deterring potential investment in sectors such as reusable packaging and next-generation recycling technologies.

"The NAO’s conclusion is that the Government’s delivery plans for the strategy remain 'ineffective' and 'not as developed as we would expect'. Its report expresses concern that the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) is far from ending its culture of delay."

https://www.edie.net/defras-waste-policy-delays-discouraging-businesses-from-making-vital-investments/

#NAO #waste #recycling #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #climate #environment #pollution

by #SarahGeorge in #Edie:

"Academics at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change in London are warning businesses to prepare for the 'explosion' of litigation if they have not already.

"They are also warning that, even if a business is not taken to court, consumers and campaign groups may look to take action through other channels, like complaints to consumer protection agencies and advertising watchdogs.

"Their new report details the 26 'climate-washing' legal cases that made it into courts across the world in 2022 against players in the private sector. More than 180 other cases were filed but did not make it into court.

"Most commonly, these cases challenge disconnects between businesses’ stated climate targets and strategies, plus their investments and other actions."

https://www.edie.net/legal-challenges-on-greenwashing-grounds-rising-steeply/

#greenwashing #litigation #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #climate #GlobalWarming #environment #pollution

by #SarahGeorge in #Edie:

"The 20 single-decker fuel cell buses have been ordered from Wrightbus and will be added to routes across Crawley and Horley in the coming weeks. These routes are run by MetroBus as an operating company of Go-Ahead.

"A further 34 of the same vehicles will then be rolled out across Go-Ahead bus routes in south east England over the next 18 months.

"Delivering the buses and the refuelling infrastructure has required an investment of around £30m. Some £4.3m of this funding has been provided by the UK Government under the Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, while the private sector and local authorities have collaborated to cover the remaining investment needs."

https://www.edie.net/dozens-of-hydrogen-buses-set-to-serve-gatwick-airport-routes/

#hydrogen #buses #GoAhead #MetroBus #emissions #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #climate #GlobalWarming #environment #sustainability

by #SarahGeorge in #Edie:

"The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has this week published a new manifesto for growing the EV industry rapidly in the coming years, delivering a tenfold increase in EV production to more than 750,000 vehicles per year by 2030.

"This level of increase is consistent with the UK’s legally binding climate commitments and its ban on new diesel and petrol car and van sales from 2030. It would, the SMMT states, deliver some £106bn of economic benefit to scale EV manufacturing this rapidly.

"This manifesto is, in part, intended to serve as a call to action for policymakers. The UK Government has been accused of squandering the EV opportunity by delaying the launch of subsidy packages to rival the US and EU; failing to guarantee affordable energy for manufacturers and not easing post-Brexit supply chain tensions."

https://www.edie.net/ev-manufacturing-uk-risks-squandering-106bn-opportunity/

#EV #UK #SMMT #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #climate #GlobalWarming #environment

by #SarahGeorge in #Edie

"Under the CCUS Innovation Competition, the government is backing two innovations that could capture CO2 in concrete and other construction projects. It is also supporting next-generation methods for capturing carbon from industrial processes using metal organic frameworks – materials with a highly porous structure that can capture CO2 and then be densified into crystal."

https://www.edie.net/hydrogen-electric-heat-and-carbon-capture-uk-government-invests-80m-in-energy-tech/

#UK #construction #CarbonCapture #emissions #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #climate #environment #GlobalWarming

by #SarahGeorge in #Edie:

"More than half of the pension schemes assessed by Make my Money Matter have both Shell and BP within their top holdings. Shell rolled back its targets to decrease fossil fuel production earlier this month, with new chief executive Wael Sawan positioning the decision as necessary to deliver value to shareholders.

"Earlier this year, BP stated that it is no longer likely to meet a previous pledge to reduce oil and gas production by 40% by 2030 against a 2020 baseline. BP argued that near-term demand for oil and gas is higher than it previously expected and stated that additional fossil fuel earnings can 'support investment' in the energy transition."

https://www.edie.net/uk-pension-funds-still-holding-88bn-in-fossil-fuels-despite-increased-climate-commitments/

#pension #investment #BP #Shell #FossilFuels #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #climate #pollution #environment #MakeMyMoneyMatter

by #SarahGeorge in #Edie:

"The CCC is warning that the UK cannot afford to wait until after the next general election to bring forward new and improved plans to meet its 2030 climate goal. It also sets out how, in doing so, Ministers have an opportunity to gain public support, developing plans that also contribute to levelling up and lowering energy bills."

https://www.edie.net/ccc-uks-progress-towards-net-zero-worryingly-slow-despite-deluge-of-policy-promises/

#UK #ParisAgreement #NetZero #CCC #CleanEnergy #energy #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #climate

by #SarahGeorge in #edie:

"Almost one-quarter of humanity will be living under dangerously hot conditions unless governments improve their climate policies and deliver them in full."

https://www.edie.net/report-22-of-population-to-suffer-under-dangerous-heat-under-climate-policies/

#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ClimatePolicy