Mark Carney warns financial sector over climate change December 30, 2019 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned that the financial sector must stop investing in fossil fuels faster in order to avoid irreversible global warming. Carney, who will step down from his central bank role next year, said pension fund analysis showed that “if you add up the policies of all of companies out [...]
Explainer: Our misconceptions about housing are so ingrained that councils are blocking new flats for fears of floods in 80 years June 27, 2023 In the latest example of how far the tensions in housing can reach, North Devon Council just refused to approve new flats because they might be victims of flooding in 2105. Which is in more than eighty years. The flats wouldn’t even need to be built; we’re talking about empty floors above a former hairdresser’s [...]
Labour would ban fracking ‘for good’ if Starmer gets into power October 13, 2022 Labour has committed to ban fracking “for good” if it was to get into office, while condemning a plan for a price cap on renewables. Keir Starmer’s party called of the Prime Minister to call of plans to block renewable energy projects, while calling fracking “expensive, dirty, and dangerous” Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine [...]
New hydrogen levy is ‘harmful’ and could stoke inflation, Tory MPs warn February 12, 2023 Plans for a new tax on energy bills to fund research into hydrogen have been opposed by senior Tory MPs arguing it would be “harmful."
Cleverly will not ‘shy away from tough conversations’ while in Beijing August 30, 2023 James Cleverly has met senior officials in Beijing in a visit aimed at easing tensions with China but which risks deepening divisions in the Tory party. The Foreign Secretary insisted the visit would allow him to have “tough conversations” with the Chinese on issues including repression in Hong Kong, and human rights abuses in Xinjiang [...]
Net Zero U-turn: Sunak confirms delay to petrol and diesel car ban until 2035 September 20, 2023 Rishi Sunak has confirmed the rolling back of green pledges including the delay to the petrol and diesel car sales ban until 2035 as he faces down industry backlash and Tory divisions. Speaking in Downing Street this afternoon, the Prime Minister outlined what he said was a “pragmatic, proportionate and realistic” strategy for the UK [...]
NatWest chief Rose receives Damehood in King’s first new year’s honours list December 30, 2022 The head of high street and still partly taxpayer owned NatWest Alison Rose will receive a Damehood in King Charles’s first new year’s honours list since succeeding The Queen. Rose, 53, became the first woman to head a top UK lender when she was made chief executive in November 2019. She has been awarded a [...]
Blackrock takes tougher stance on climate change after campaigner pressure January 14, 2020 Blackrock has announced it will put environmental sustainability at the core of its investment strategy, following criticism the asset management titan has failed to use its power to combat climate change. The world’s largest asset manager announced a sweeping overhaul in a bid to position itself as a sustainable investment leader, pledging to take steps [...]
What Blackrock’s climate change strategy overhaul actually means January 14, 2020 Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, today announced that it will make environmental sustainability the core goal of its investment strategy. The investment titan, which manages $7 trillion (£5.4 trillion), has pledged to overhaul its investment practices and introduce new investment products as part of what founder and chief executive Larry Fink called “a fundamental [...]
Construction in the City will be sabotaged by a skill shortage without a long-term plan July 4, 2022 Two of the biggest long-term challenges we face are climate change and the labour market. The problems are well-known: holding to 1.5 degrees increase from pre-industrial levels and a shortage of appropriately skilled labour. For too long, problems such as these have been viewed in isolation, rather than stepping back to see the bigger picture [...]