05 Oct 2023

There have been numerous recent incidents of blue-green algae at the UK’s largest lake in County Armagh and elsewhere across Northern Ireland. Reported by the BBC and elsewhere, the situation at the lake, which provides 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water, has become a political issue. There have been 168 confirmed reports of toxic blue-green […]

05 Oct 2023

Last week saw the publication by Ofwat of the Water Company Performance Report 2022-23, which focused on the £114mn that companies will be forced to pay back customers for poor performance. The Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has issued a strongly worded statement, calling the “extremely disappointing”. She says: “While I acknowledge there is good work […]

05 Oct 2023

Defra has published the summary of responses and government response to the recent consultation on UK mandatory water efficiency labelling. There were a total of 98 responses to the consultation. The majority of respondents supported the introduction of a standalone mandatory water efficiency labelling to deliver the policy, with 74% of the responses agreeing or […]

05 Oct 2023

The number of people who live in urban areas in the UK is expected to increase over the next decade, while the total provision of green spaces is expected to substantially decline, as infrastructure increases to meet the needs of a growing population. The EFRA (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Committee’s inquiry will focus on […]

05 Oct 2023

Covered in Arab News RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced on Monday that the Kingdom is establishing a global water organization, which is to be based in Riyadh, to enhance efforts to address water challenges. The organization aims to integrate and aid attempts made by governments and other bodies to secure global water […]

03 Oct 2023

The development of offshore renewable energy in Europe yields ambiguous results, the European Court of Auditors warns in a new report. EU action and money have contributed to the development of ‘blue energy’ in pursuit of the bloc’s climate and energy objectives. But the EU may fall short of its ambitions, the auditors say, while […]

03 Oct 2023

The Crown Estate has set out further details on its plans for Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, which aims to establish new floating offshore wind technology off the coast of Wales and South West England. This latest update follows a period of engagement with developers and wider stakeholders on proposals set out in July over […]

03 Oct 2023

The 2023 State of Nature report shows that the abundance of species studied in the UK has declined by 19 per cent on average since records began in 1970. But while the most important natural habitats are in poor condition, work to protect landscapes has clear benefits for nature, people and climate. The State of […]