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The government has published a new Inclusive Britain strategy, which sets out actions to tackle racial disparities, boost opportunity and promote fairness. Inclusive Britain was developed in response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ independent report which made 24 recommendations to tackle ethnic disparities. Chair of the Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities, Tony Sewell, commented: “When the Commission...

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has released the first beta version of its nature-related risk-management and disclosure framework. Described as the first integrated approach to incorporating nature-related risk and opportunity analysis into the heart of corporate and financial decision-making, the prototype framework marks the beginning of an 18-month process of consultation and development together with a broad range...

Scotland’s climate is changing but action to adapt to critical impacts such as wetter winters and rising sea levels has stalled, posing risks to people, infrastructure and business, according to a new, independent assessment by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). According to the CCC, further climate change in Scotland is now inevitable, no matter how rapidly global greenhouse gas emissions...

The destruction of unsold, durable goods could be banned as part of plans to reduce waste, Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater has announced. Proposals for a ban will be put forward in a consultation on a new Circular Economy Bill, to be opened in May. It is intended to address public concerns about unsold products being destroyed or ending up in...

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published advice on how competition and consumer laws can help meet the UK's environmental goals, and has outlined plans for a Sustainability Taskforce. In July 2021, Kwasi Kwarteng, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) wrote to the CMA asking it to provide advice to the government on how...

Renewable energy that feeds into the main power grid could destabilise the system and potentially cause power failures, according to a new study. Mathematicians from the University of Nottingham used data from smart meters to track how grid composition changes over time and found resilience varies over the course of a day and that a high uptake of solar panels...

Businesses, including water companies and farmers, must hold a licence to abstract more than 20 cubic metres of water a day from a river, stream, canal or groundwater, and pay charges for this from 1 April 2022. The new rules have been approved by government and published in the Environment Agency’s response to the review of water resources abstraction charges...

Northern Ireland’s first ever Climate Change Bill is on its way of becoming a law after passing its Final Stage in the Assembly. The Climate Change Bill (No. 2), which now seeks Royal Assent, introduces 2030, 2040 and 2050 emission targets for the country and includes provision for the appointment of a climate change commissioner. Speaking following the Bill's passing, Environment Minister...

Net zero transition plays a role in Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation. This Strategy sets out how public, private and third sector partnerships can work together to help make Scotland’s workforce more agile and support employers to invest in emerging economic opportunities. Economy Secretary Kate Forbes commented on the announcement: “The next decade will be decisive for Scotland’s economy and...

The European Commission has proposed an outline of a plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels 'well before' 2030, starting with gas, in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This plan also outlines a series of measures to respond to rising energy prices in Europe and to replenish gas stocks for next winter. REPowerEU will seek to diversify gas...