The government has (13 March 2024) responded to the Commission’s study on reducing the risks of surface water flooding, published in November 2022. While it accepts the principles behind a number of the Commission’s recommendations, the government’s response – in the Commission’s view – makes few new commitments on steps to manage surface water flood risk more actively, […]
The UK’s plans for adapting to the effects of the climate crisis “fall far short” of what is required, the government’s statutory adviser has said. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has examined the national adaptation programme published by ministers last July, intended to set out how people, buildings and vital national infrastructure such as water, transport, energy […]
Last week’s Spring Budget was widely criticised for missed opportunities on energy efficiency and growing low-carbon industries. Key points from the useful summary by Carbon Brief UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt failed to mention the term “climate change” at all when setting out the government’s spring budget – the first since it was confirmed that 2023 was […]
The Government is consulting on the largest ever rollout of new bathing water sites. The short consultation closes on 10 March. Subject to the consultation, the Environment Agency will create 27 new designated swimming spots across England. If designated, sites will receive regular water monitoring from the Environment Agency, who will investigate pollution sources and […]
Forty projects which will use natural processes such as planting trees and creating wetlands to reduce the risk of flooding are set to benefit from a £25 million government programme, Floods Minister Robbie Moore announced today (Friday 23 February). Part of the government’s plan to increase the nation’s flood resilience, natural flood management processes protect, […]
The Environment Secretary has announced that water bosses are set to be banned from receiving bonuses if a company has committed serious criminal breaches. Ofwat will be taking forward a consultation to define the criteria for a ban. That could include successful prosecution for a Category 1 or 2 pollution incident – such as causing […]
The Guardian reports that testing by citizen scientists of a beck that feeds into Windermere has revealed a huge loss in invertebrate life in the lake in Cumbria that campaigners say is being caused by sewage discharges. Save Windermere and WildFish carried out testing for invertebrates in Cunsey Beck, a site of special scientific interest […]
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has published its annual progress report, showing the Government remains largely off track to meets its environmental ambitions and must speed up and scale up its efforts in order to achieve them. The OEP report provides an assessment of government’s progress towards legally-binding environmental targets and the goals of […]