Environment Secretary

The reshuffle could potentially give the green light to a ‘dash for gas’, the Global Warming Policy Foundation said today. David Cameron’s promise to be the “greenest Government ever” was questioned today after appointing MP Owen Paterson as Environment Secretary, who many say is a climate sceptic. Benny Peiser, director of the climate change sceptic […]

Owen Paterson will become Environment Secretary after the Prime Minister’s Cabinet reshuffle today. The former Northern Ireland Secretary and conservative MP  takes over from fellow Tory Caroline Spelman and will become responsible for a budget of more than £2billion at the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs. He voted moderately for policies to stop climate […]

The white paper, Water for Life, published this morning lays out plans to deregulate water markets, help customers negotiate better services and prices from suppliers, open up the sector for new entrants in the water market and encourage local organisations to get more involved in improving the water quality of rivers. Defra also wants water […]

The government is facing legal action over allegedly failing to protect people from air pollution. Environmental lawyers at ClientEarth have today filed a judicial review against the Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman, challenging Defra’s “refusal” to set out plans to bring emissions under the legal limit. Lawyers at the registered charity, which is bankrolled by grants […]

Former Conservative MP Peter Ainsworth says the new Environment Secretary faces numerous obstacles in tackling England’s waste policy. A London conference heard that while there were enormous opportunities for the waste industry in terms of creating jobs and delivering a more sustainable economy, the involvement of too many public bodies had turned it into ‘a […]