Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Plastic packaging tax and weekly food collections in plans for government overhaul of national waste system

18.02.19: The government has launched plans to overhaul the country’s waste system, with packaging producers potentially being required to cover the full cost of dealing with their waste and also facing a new tax for plastic packaging. A series...

Tees Valley wins bid to bring hydrogen vehicles and fuelling stations to region

06.02.19: Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) has announced its £1.3m bid to bring innovative hydrogen vehicles and refuelling stations has been approved by the government. The region will benefit from a fleet of hydrogen technology cars and...

Cuts of £82m approved at Surrey County Council as plans to close children’s centres move forward

06.02.19: Surrey County Council has approved cuts of £82m in its budget plans for 2019-20 which will see 31 children centres across the county close. Councillors approved the budget yesterday as Surrey leader Tim Oliver declared that “not...

Nottingham council unveils 2028 target to become UK’s first carbon neutral city

24.01.19: Nottingham City Council has committed to becoming the first ‘net-zero carbon’ city in the UK after setting the ambitious target of 2028 to go carbon neutral. The announcement comes as the city met its energy strategy target goal...

Nottingham council to rollout ultra-low energy homes using Dutch model to half energy bills

08.01.19: Nottingham has become the first city council to pioneer the “Energiesprong” initiative which has upgraded the energy efficiency of thousands of homes in the Netherlands and will aim to cut UK tenants’ energy bills by half. ...

Fracking: divest to invest

07.01.19: Deirdre Duff, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth, takes a look at local authorities’ role in fracking. The fossil fuel industry has five times more fossil fuels than we can use if we are to prevent climate chaos. Despite th...

Greater Manchester councils to ban fracking as Burnham makes ‘radical’ statement

07.01.19: Leaders of the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester have set out plans to ban the practice the fracking across the region. Greater Manchester will effectively stop companies from extracting underground shale gas in the region, althoug...

Going electric: rolling out an EV charging network

02.01.19: Bridget Rosewell OBE, commissioner at the National Infrastructure Commission, argues that local authorities should be required to prepare for the growing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) with a government-backed roll-out of a fully visible...

Leeds sets out plan to become one of world’s first zero-carbon energy economies

17.12.18: Leeds City Region is aiming to become one of the world’s first zero-carbon regions as it sets out a new energy strategy to meet the Paris Climate Agreement and provide a boost to the region’s economy. West Yorkshire Combined Aut...

Bristol City Council declares ‘climate emergency’ and backs total carbon neutrality by 2030

15.11.18: Bristol City Council has declared a “climate emergency” and has unanimously backed a commitment to make the city carbon neutral by 2030. In its latest Full Council meeting, Green councillor Carla Denyer put forward the motion to...

‘This cannot be right’: Councils investing £9bn in fracking through pension funds

03.09.18: UK local government pension funds currently invest over £9bn in companies engaged with fracking, it has been revealed. PSE’s Jamie Bennett-Ness reports. Greater Manchester Pension Fund leads the way, investing almost &...

Stay on top of energy efficiency

03.09.18: As the grid goes green, do we still need to consider energy efficiency? The Mayor of London’s RE:FIT team investigates. According to recently published greenhouse gas emissions factors, the UK is making excellent progress towards deca...

Portsmouth wastes £2m ditching controversial energy firm amid fears of even more losses

13.08.18:   A south-coast local authority will go ahead with plans to scrap its fledgling energy company after it was deemed to be too expensive— losing at least £2.5m of public money in the process. In an announcement, Portsmou...

Stay on top of energy efficiency

06.08.18: As the grid goes green, do we still need to consider energy efficiency? The Mayor of London’s RE:FIT team investigates. According to recently published greenhouse gas emissions factors, the UK is making excellent progress towards deca...

Councils should have power over fracking plans, Tory councillors say

03.08.18: A recent survey has found that a vast majority (80%) of Conservative councillors agree that fracking firms, where they have a license to drill and explore for gas, should be made to apply for planning permission before drilling. The Campaig...