Councils’ race to net zero is slow according to scoreboards produced by non-profit group
The group Climate Emergency published the second edition of its Council Climate Action Scorecards on 17 June, which attempt to assess all UK councils...
Ofwat Innovation Fund highlights nature’s role in solving water sector challenges
The £600m Ofwat Innovation Fund has published its latest learning report, From source to sea: harnessing nature and communities for whole catchment innovation.
The new...
Water sector needs “root and branch reform” says parliamentary committee
Water companies increasingly resemble financial institutions rather than “businesses servicing monopolised critical infrastructure”, warns Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in a report...
Next-generation thermal energy technology to pilot in Nigeria
A pilot project at Pan-Atlantic University (PAU) in Lagos, Nigeria, aims to replace polluting diesel generators with next-generation thermal energy storage powered by solar.
Launched...
Recycled solar panels and heat loss detecting drones among £2m Manchester Prize AI finalists
AI technologies that might transform how people heat and insulate their homes are some of the 10 clean energy innovations to have reached the...
Blockage-detecting robot ready to patrol sewers, says group behind it
A sewer robot that inspects pipework and raises blockage alerts before flooding occurs is to be deployed in a live network for the first...
Construction emerges as major source of black carbon in central London
New research has revealed that construction activity is now a dominant source of black carbon emissions in central London.
While pollution levels from road traffic...
UK tech job market rebounds with AI boom, finds Accenture
A surge in demand for AI professionals has helped tech job vacancies across the UK to grow by 21% in a year, with the...
Four in five ecologists in England feel undervalued by government, industry survey finds
An overwhelming majority of environmental practitioners in England feel grossly undervalued by politicians, the public and other professions, according to a survey conducted by...
MPs warn of dangerous delays and soaring costs at Sellafield
Efforts to retrieve radioactive waste from ageing facilities at Sellafield — the UK’s most hazardous nuclear site — are not proceeding fast enough, with...
Circular copper recovery could bridge 3.6 Mt supply gap, says McKinsey
Demand for copper is expected to spike with advances in the global energy transition, but the industry could face a 3.6 million metric tons...
York is meeting national air pollution targets for the first time
Many UK cities continue to struggle to meet the legally-defined limits for NO2, ahead of the forthcoming Clean Air Day, so City of York...
Breakthrough geopolymer turns recycled glass and construction waste into a high-performance cement replacement
Researchers in Japan have developed a seemingly more sustainable alternative to Portland cement, in the form of a geopolymer-based soil solidifier developed from Siding...
Thames Water receives £122.7m fine in reported sewage spills crackdown
Following investigations by OFWAT, Thames Water has received two penalties totalling £122.7m, in effect “the largest fine ever handed to a water company in...
Net zero report sets out path to cut carbon and costs for small firms
Small firms are keen to become more energy-efficient, says the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), but they are being held back by the high...
Scotland can reach net zero by 2045 but needs to step up the pace,...
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) published its advice on the recommended levels of Scotland’s forthcoming four carbon budgets (covering the period 2026 to 2045)...
Traffic noise: Time to get serious?
The developers of noise cameras insist there's a case for them, and the public seem to agree. So far, a number of localities worldwide...
Research will investigate risk of hidden microbial impact on CO2 storage
A new research project aims to explore how microbes in deep underground storage sites could impact the success of carbon capture and storage (CCS).
As...
AI bridges the olfactory gap: Exploring the implications of the digitization of odour
A race is on to reverse-engineer the nose, and more broadly, the entire olfactory system, which is incredibly complex, still not fully understood, and...
Enzyme discovery could revolutionize biofuel production
A research group in Brazil has identified an enzyme which introduces exciting new possibilities when it comes to the process of deconstructing cellulose, potentially...
