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A NEW inquiry into the energy efficiency of existing homes has been launched by the Environment Audit Committee. Around 29 million homes are considered to have the potential to improve their energy efficiency according to figures published by the committee. Making homes more energy efficient would improve household incomes, reduce fuel poverty and cut carbon emissions across the UK. Homes account for...

CITIZEN scientists across the UK are being urged to map bee-friendly plants using a Spot-a-Bee app developed in Wales and Scotland. Created by Cardiff University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the University of Glasgow, Spot-a-Bee invites users to submit photos of plants that attract bees in their garden or local area to help plot a map of plant...

SIGNIFICANT changes to the way that plastic packaging waste is recycled in England are needed in order to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2043 and meet Government ambitions. A new study from the University of Leeds and Brunel University London found that the current system of collecting and managing plastic packaging waste disadvantages local authorities and discourages efforts to invest...

THE MAYOR of London and Transport for London have announced plans to transform parts of central London into one of the largest car-free zones in any capital city in the world. The plans will create more space for social distancing when walking and cycling, ensuring that the people who have no choice but to return to work in central London...

ALMOST three-quarters of UK adults say it is important that we learn from the coronavirus pandemic to be more kind as a society, according to a new survey by the Mental Health Foundation. The survey was published to mark the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, which this year has the theme of Kindness. Two-thirds of people say that when others...

Ofwat is consulting on updating the ring-fencing provisions contained in the licences of the 17 water companies in England and Wales, which protects customers by restricting payouts to shareholders in certain circumstances, such as if the company is in financial distress. Currently, not all licences of the monopoly water companies have the same financial ring-fencing provisions in their licences. According to...

THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic risks cancelling out recent progress in transitioning to clean energy, with unprecedented falls in demand, price volatility and pressure to quickly mitigate socioeconomic costs placing the near-term trajectory of the transition in doubt. Policies, roadmaps and governance frameworks for energy transition at national, regional, and global levels need to be more robust and resilient against external shocks,...

BP has called on governments to “press ahead” with commitments to tackle climate change even if they find their budgets under strain due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Financial Times. Brian Gilvary, BP’s chief financial officer, said it was critical countries act with 'the speed we need' to avert a catastrophic rise in global temperatures but that he...

TODAY marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week and to start off our week of mental health content we spoke to Mark Knights, the founder of EnergyMind. This week EnergyMind is running a Take Ten Minutes’ initiative, which aims to encourage those working in the sector to take ten minutes to check in with a colleague, or for themselves. Mark...

A FOUL clump of wet wipes and other 'unflushables’ as heavy as a rottweiler has been dragged from a Thames Water sewer, as blockages in the region climb almost 20 per cent during lockdown.  This grim 40kg bundle had snarled up a temporary pipe in Shoppenhangers Road, Maidenhead, where Thames Water was repairing a collapsed sewer. Engineers at the scene are clearing such blockages at least once a week to prevent pollution to homes and the environment, with each operation taking two hours and using up valuable repair time.  Stephen Sanderson,...