parliament

Restrictions on air pollution from combustion plants and generators have been passed by Parliament this week. Unregulated medium sized combustion plants (MCPs) and generators, commonly used to heat hospitals, hotels, offices, prisons and other large buildings as well as power some industries, are currently a significant source of pollution. The new rules are expected to […]

Parliamentary support for divestment grows as 50 MPs call for a fossil free pension fund. In recent weeks, representatives from the UK’s major political parties have demanded the £612 million Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) “uphold its fiduciary duty and take the financial risks of climate change seriously” by disclosing and limiting its investments in fossil fuels. The Divestment group Fossil […]

The UK Houses of Parliament and Big Ben will be plunged into darkness today as part of a global environmental campaign. They will join thousands of landmarks across London and the world, including the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building, in a global gesture of solidarity in the fight against climate change. WWF’s Earth […]

A cross-party group of MPs are calling for the Parliamentary Pension Fund to be divested from fossil fuels. They have launched the ‘Divest Parliament’ campaign alongside environmental group 350.org, asking for greater transparency on the Parliamentary Pension Fund’s £589 million investments and demanding a commitment to divest from fossil fuels to tackle climate change. They add […]

The Parliament of Pakistan has become the first in the world to be powered solely by solar energy. Officially termed the Majlis-e-Shoora, the nation’s seat of government in Islamabad has installed a rooftop solar array. It has so far generated 80MW of electricity, out of which 62MW is used to power the Parliament House and […]

The gap between Britain’s current share of renewables and its 2020 target is the biggest in the European Union. That’s according to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who challenged the Prime Minister on the government’s renewable energy record. Mr Cameron said: “We spent record sums helping developing countries to go green and in the next five years we are […]

Policies for energy efficiency schemes in the UK must be predictable. That’s according to Joanne Wade, Director, Association for the Conservation of Energy, who gave evidence at an energy efficiency hearing at Westminster yesterday. Speaking to the Energy and Climate Change Committee, she said: “It’s no good changing policies every year.” She added industry has “little trust” […]

The Green Deal needed “more support and trialling before hitting the mass market”. That’s according to Lawrence Slade, Energy UK CEO who gave evidence to the Energy and Climate Change Committee at Westminster today. The Green Deal, which was scrapped by DECC earlier this year, allowed householders to make their homes more energy efficient by installing technologies such as solar panels […]

The EU Parliament could the first institution in the region to become 100% carbon neutral by 2016. It set the target just weeks ahead of the COP21 conference in Paris. It is investing up to €250,000 (£175,000) to reduce its carbon footprint by making better use of energy, water and paper in line with its environmental policy […]

MPs kicked up a fuss yesterday at the “inadequate” length of time pencilled in to debate new laws for fracking. The government decides the amount of time allocated for debating bills and a window of less than three hours was scheduled for hydraulic fracturing yesterday, before MPs voted against a fracking ban. Chris Bryant, Labour MP for Rhondda complained: […]