06 Feb 2024

British Geological Survey (BGS) adds more than 60 new carbon dioxide storage units to its national carbon dioxide storage database and delivered the first major update to ‘CO2 Stored’. The UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) funded research by BGS and Heriot-Watt University (HWU) to update the UK’s national carbon dioxide (CO2) storage […]

06 Feb 2024

The UK government has vowed to end industrial sandeel fishing in English waters, a move conservationists say will be a “game changer” for saving the UK’s globally important seabird colonies. English waters of the North Sea will be closed for commercial sandeel fishing before the start of the season on 1 April. North Sea fishermen […]

06 Feb 2024

Fishing for sandeel is to be banned in Scottish waters ahead of the 2024 fishery season, subject to Parliamentary approval. Sandeel support the long term sustainability and resilience of the marine ecosystem and are an important food source for many species, including marine mammals, seabirds and predatory fish. Commercial fishing for sandeel is currently carried […]

06 Feb 2024

A Marine Management Organisation (MMO) byelaw to protect valuable marine habitats and species in 13 English offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) will come into force on 22 March 2024. Following formal consultation in 2023 and an official announcement on 31 January 2024 as part of Government’s 1 year on Environmental Improvement Plan progress update, management measures […]

06 Feb 2024

An £11.6m funding boost from The National Lottery Heritage Fund has been awarded to Plymouth to help deliver the UK’s first National Marine Park – a transformation programme that will help empower and engage the city in the marine environment. Previously, a grant of £9.5m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund was confirmed, and now a funding […]

30 Jan 2024

The Times reports that Defra ministers have told water company bosses they will no longer “mark their own homework” on whether they are illegally polluting rivers, in a shift in how the sector is regulated. Private water companies have to run checks to ensure they are meeting permits issued by the Environment Agency about how […]

30 Jan 2024

Households would be willing to pay up to £40 a year more on their water bill to use nature instead of man-made materials to improve river water quality and reduce the risk of flooding. A study by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) explored people’s appetite for water companies to pursue nature-based approaches to tackle some […]

30 Jan 2024

The Environment Agency (EA) has opened a consultation on charge proposals for water quality permits. It would see charges increase significantly, especially for water companies. The EA says it is seeking to recover the full cost of services through charges. The EA has our charges to address changes in the cost of delivering services, inflationary […]