Daily Insights

Financial services firm Aegon has become the latest corporate to commit to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, targeting the decarbonisation of its pension fund ranges and main operations.

By aligning with the UN’s recommendations and committing to fully protect at least one-third of UK seas the government could catalyse a £50bn boost for the economy and unlock 100,000 jobs.

A survey of 16,000 energy professionals across 166 counties has provided a global snapshot of the ways in which the pandemic has affected salaries, industry growth and career plans.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined plans to allocate at least £3bn of the international climate finance that the UK will spend through to 2026 on nature-based solutions.

Investors with a combined $2.4trn in assets under management have filled a resolution at HSBC, calling on the bank to publish a strategy that outlines efforts to reduce exposure to fossil fuel assets.

The Chinese government is drawing up the first emissions trading scheme in the nation’s history, after it committed to carbon neutrality by 2060.

Computers capable of tracking diseases and a floating offshore wind test lab are just two of the technologies to benefit to benefit from a new £213m government investment pot that aims to upgrade scientific approaches to combatting Covid-19 and the climate crisis. 

More than 650 households and commercial properties in a village near Gateshead  will trial the use of blended green hydrogen to be used for heating.

At last, 2020 has drawn to a close and while the first parts of a new year might not create a respite from a global pandemic and an economic crash, it does create the ideal opportunity to look at the climate crisis with a reinvigorated approach.

Here at Energy Management, we would like to wish all of our clients a Healthy and successful 2021! We look forward to continuing to support you as we step into the new year.

Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain have issued a joint letter calling on the EU to clearly prioritise renewable energies under an EU -led project aiming to accelerate hydrogen deployment, research and infrastructure.

MPs, trade bodies and the UN’s Environment Programme are urging banks to unify their response to the net-zero transition ahead of COP26 next November and commit to time-bound phase-outs for fossil fuel finance.

We’ve seen unprecedented climate strikes which were disruptive. It pushed climate change into the mainstream in a way that pictures of polar bears and melting ice caps and stark warnings from scientists couldn’t. From the IPCC’s special report to the UK and other nations setting net-zero targets and the birth of numerous business collectives aligning to limit global temperature increase to no more than 1.5C.

Metals form the backbone of today’s industrialised world – from the steel in our buildings and aluminium in our cars, to the copper in our mobile phones. The same metals are also the building blocks of the green economy. As the demand for metals increases, so will expectations on how metals are produced and sourced.

More than a third of councils in the UK are not confident that they’ll be able to meet public commitments to reaching net-zero emissions, with a “black hole” of data hindering efforts on energy efficiency plans.

The UK Government has finally released its Energy White Paper, detailing steps to deliver “overwhelming decarbonised power in the 2030s”, with a new £6.7bn support scheme to be set up to tackle fuel poverty and a UK variant of the Emissions Trading Scheme to be introduced.

Energy Networks Association – the industry body representing all major energy network operators in the UK – has published a routemap outlining how they will align with net-zero and support the transition to green electricity, heat, transport and industry.

Fashion giant Gap inc has pledged to only source cotton which is certified as sustainable within five years, through the US Cotton Trust Protocol.

Green groups and trade bodies have broadly welcomed the Climate Change Committee’s Sixth Carbon Budget, headlined by a recommendation to cut annual emissions by 78% by 2035. But they want to see the Government act rapidly and boldly to prove it can deliver.

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has committed to reducing net emissions across its value chain by 30% by 2030, before bringing them to net-zero by 2040.

Marks and Spencer (M&S) has launched its packaging-free refill offering for dried, ambient and frozen foods in a third store due to growing customer demand.