22 Jan 2025

According to reports in the media, the Treasury is seeking to keep water firm fines earmarked for sewage cleanups. Reported in The Guardian, the Treasury is in discussions about keeping the money to use it for unrelated purposes at a time of huge pressure on the public finances and rising debt interest costs.   Photo […]

22 Jan 2025

The Environment Agency Chief Regulator, Dr Jo Nettleton, has called for the environmental regulation framework to be reformed in order to help better protect people and the environment and enable businesses to grow. The Chief Regulator’s newly-created role is to hold the Environment Agency to account in delivering its regulatory activities and to champion best […]

22 Jan 2025

Progress towards improving the environment has slowed with government still largely off track in achieving its legal environmental commitments, the latest annual assessment by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has found. The OEP report provides an assessment of progress towards legally-binding environment targets, commitments and goals. The report covers the period 1 April 2023 […]

22 Jan 2025

A cross-border investigation by Unearthed into forever chemicals was released this week, turning up a number of interesting findings into a toxic chemicals crisis we’re only beginning to understand. The reporting effort – 46 journalists and 18 experts across 16 countries – has so far detailed the jaw-dropping cost of cleaning up these toxic forever […]

22 Jan 2025

A new analysis of 625 studies from 63 countries shows that the global expansion of built-up areas has fundamentally degraded water quality across the globe and suggests increases in forest cover can help reduce water pollution risks.   Photo credit: Adam Sondel   In recent decades the world’s landscapes have experienced profound changes, mainly due […]

16 Jan 2025

A new report demonstrates how the UK’s unique network of historic canals, a legacy of the Industrial Revolution, are being repurposed to address some of the greatest challenges facing society. The report by the Canal & River Trust charity found canals could play a “critical role” in biodiversity, decarbonisation and climate adaptation.   Photo credit: Malcolm Stirling […]

16 Jan 2025

The climate crisis is “wreaking havoc” on the planet’s water cycle, with ferocious floods and crippling droughts affecting billions of people, a report has found. The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report was produced by an international team of researchers from universities in Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany and elsewhere. The team used data from thousands of ground […]

16 Jan 2025

The Guardian reports that Downing Street has blocked plans to release wild beavers in England because officials view it as a “Tory legacy”, the Guardian can reveal.   Photo credit: Pierre Miyamoto   Natural England, the government’s nature watchdog, has drawn up a plan for reintroductions of the rodent, which until about 20 years ago had been […]