Towards the end of this summer’s little heatwave, I popped into the Sydney Street Sainsbury’s hoping to restock with ice cream. But I was out of luck. Their refrigeration system had failed, and the staff were hard at work removing all the chilled and frozen foods. The shelves were bare. This is a distressing waste […]
Anglian Water are one of the largest users of power in the East of England, so I was pleased to see that they have set themselves a target of being Net Zero Carbon by 2030. As construction accounts for about 15% of their carbon footprint, it’s also good that they’re being thorough by including both […]
I was pleased to see that in their recently published Climate Strategy, South Cambs will be enforcing the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard on rented homes. This makes it an offence for landlords to rent out properties with a dreadful Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F&G, unless they have registered with the Council for an […]
In what we think is the largest ever group to meet with a single MP, 139 constituents met online with Daniel Zeichner MP on 30th June 2020 to call for a fairer greener recovery. As one participant said “This is a great way to interact with our MP. I hope this can be done more […]
During the first quarter of 2020, for the first time ever, UK electricity became lower carbon than gas. Since 2013, dirty coal fired power stations have steadily been phased out in the UK, with electricity generated instead by renewables such as solar, wind and hydro. This has reduced the carbon intensity of electricity by a […]
Coronavirus is having an astonishing impact on how we live our lives, and is likely to be around for a long time. So what should policy makers do, so that we can Build Back Better? One big area to address is “Working From Home”. A recent big poll for the AA found that most respondents […]
With the UK in lockdown, our immediate focus is rightly on tackling the Coronavirus emergency. However there are things we should be doing now so that when we emerge from this crisis, the world will be on track to tackle the climate crisis too. This can help make the emerging world a better place, in […]
As the coronavirus virus spreads worryingly from China into Europe, it is a useful reminder for those responding to the Climate Emergency of what the word “emergency” really implies. It touches everything. Firstly when something is genuinely seen as an emergency, things that were previously seen as “impossible”, rapidly become possible. Governments and authorities discover […]
This is the full text of Meredith Bowles’ excellent call for leadership and action at the “Big Debate” on the Local Plan, held by Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service on 18/2/20
The legally binding Climate Act requires the UK to have Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and Cambridge City Council and South Cambs councils have both signed up to this. “Net Zero” is a big challenge, because it’s not just about using renewables for electricity generation: it means that all the greenhouse gas emissions […]