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Wales has joined forces with other UK nations to introduce new ‘polluter pays’ rules to make businesses which place packaged goods onto the market pay for their waste to be recycled. Alongside Scotland, Wales is going one step further by committing to ensuring companies responsible for the most commonly-littered items cover the clean-up costs. Under the new rules, a standard recycling...

A £1.25m project is tackling the lack of diversity in energy research by harnessing the talents of researchers from all backgrounds. Led by University of Strathclyde, IGNITE Network+ brings together partners University of Nottingham, Imperial College London, the University of Manchester, the University of Bristol, Queen’s University Belfast and Brunel University London. The 'Innovation and Growth Needs Inclusion and engagement of...

Future private investment in Scotland’s natural capital, such as peatlands and woodlands, will be subject to a set of principles to help ensure it delivers social, environmental and economic benefit, the Scottish Government has announced. During COP26 the Scottish Government committed to develop a 'values-led and high-integrity market for natural capital'. Now, six interim principles have been published, setting out the...

National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) has signed innovation partnerships with six UK universities that are set to help decarbonise the electricity system in Great Britain and accelerate progress towards net zero. Researchers, analysts and academics from Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Manchester, Southampton and Strathclyde Universities will partner with NGET colleagues on projects across a wide range of areas related to NGET’s...

An advisory group will be formed in Scotland to shape plans for mandatory charges on coffee cups and other single-use disposable beverage containers, Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater has announced. Work to tackle single-use cup waste is re-starting, having been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The charge is expected to come into effect during the course of this parliament. The...

The European Commission has presented a package of European Green Deal proposals to make sustainable products the norm in the EU. As announced in their Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission is proposing new rules to make almost all physical goods on the EU market more friendly to the environment, circular, and energy efficient throughout their whole lifecycle from the...

Almost 1,000 green buses are set to be rolled out with the backing of nearly £200 million in government funding. Twelve areas in England will receive grants from the multimillion-pound package to deliver electric or hydrogen-powered buses, as well as charging or fuelling infrastructure, to their region. The funding comes from the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme, which was...

A new body is to be created to support Welsh industry decarbonise and create new jobs in the green industries of the future, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced. Net Zero Industry Wales will work with an existing group of 40 business and academic partners operating within a wide range of energy-intensive industries to help them achieve Net Zero. Minister for...

Earlier this month local authorities across England were awarded £11.6 million in Air Quality Grants to deliver projects to improve air quality. This year's funding includes over £1m towards projects that will deliver measures to improve public awareness in local communities about the risks of air pollution, following a recommendation in the Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report after the...

The Geospatial Commission has launched a discovery project to explore how location data can be better utilised to support planning and delivery of electric vehicle (EV) charge points by local authorities. Undertaken by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, the Geospatial Commission discovery project includes workshops with 10 local authorities to identify challenges and opportunities for better use of location data in the rollout...