27 Feb 2025
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has received Royal Assent, boosting the powers of water sector regulators to tackle pollution. This new legislation introduces enhanced powers for regulators to hold water companies accountable for their environmental impact, with particular focus on ensuring water company executives are penalised for failures. The Water (Special Measures) Act, which […]
27 Feb 2025
For the first time in the UK, a Council has signed up to a River Rights Charter. Whilst not yet legally binding, the Charter provides a visionary framework that reflects both the essential needs of the river in order for it to be healthy, and local communities highest aspirations for it. Photo credit: Anne […]
27 Feb 2025
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of over 10,000 highly persistent synthetic chemicals often called ‘forever chemicals’, because they do not break down easily in the environment. Exposure to some PFAS has been linked to numerous adverse health impacts, such as the promotion of certain cancers, disruption of the immune system and reduced […]
27 Feb 2025
The River Thames dataset is the world’s longest continuous water quality record, providing an invaluable historical perspective on how human activity and policy can affect rivers, and sets a new benchmark for assessing modern water quality challenges. Photo credit: Nicole Rathmayr Over the past 40 years, concerted efforts to improve wastewater treatment and […]
25 Feb 2025
The dispute over sandeel fishing in the North Sea marks the first time the UK and EU have been to court since Brexit in 2020. The outcome of the case could be hugely significant for seabird populations along the east coast and for UK-EU trade relations. A tribunal under the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) […]
25 Feb 2025
Researchers from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the University of Southampton will ‘listen’ to a UK city for the first time at scale through its network of optical fibre cables using a ground-breaking new technology. The researchers will be using a technique called distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) to capture sounds and vibrations throughout London and […]
25 Feb 2025
Bird flu has been found in two dead grey seals on the north Norfolk coast of England. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said wild birds in the area had also tested positive. The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said four seals were found dead at Blakeney Point, with two […]
25 Feb 2025
The UK government is creating a pathway for more offshore wind projects as it launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the upcoming Allocation Round 7 (AR7) Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction. The CfD scheme is the government’s main mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation, incentivising investment in renewable energy by protecting developers from volatile […]
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