The UK's Ruling Conservatives Abandon Climate Change Leadership

Despite recent historic flooding in the UK, the British government's March 19 budget confirmed that it is all but abandoning efforts to combat climate change. The writing was on the wall with the appointment of Owen Paterson as environment secretary in 2012.

Owen Paterson

UK Conservatives sent a powerful message when Owen William Paterson was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2012. Despite his moderate climate change voting record, he is a climate change skeptic, who is resistant to the science. He ignored David MacKay's offer of a briefing on climate change science.

Video - The Late Margaret Thatcher's Views on Global Warming

Margaret Thatcher, died on Monday April 8th 2013 at the age of 87 and while she was widely maligned for her economic and social policies, she was a surprisingly ardent supporter of action on global warming. This view was on display in a speech she gave in 1990 at the second World Climate Conference, in Geneva, Not only did she believe that climate science was credible, she acknowledged that global warming was threat to the UK and the world and she applauded the work of groups like the UN's IPCC.

Related Article
Margaret Thatcher was a Supporter of Climate Science and an Advocate of Global Emissions Reductions

Margaret Thatcher was a Supporter of Climate Science and an Advocate of Global Emissions Reductions

Margaret Thatcher, the UK's Iron Lady, supported climate science and called for global action on emissions reductions. Thatcher, who died on Monday April 8th at the age of 87 was widely maligned for her economic and social policies, but she was a surprisingly ardent supporter of action on climate change. The former Prime Minister of the UK ruled Britain with an iron fist for more than a decade. She was a visionary and a pragmatic ideologue who believed in the veracity of climate science long before her contemporaries.

Thatcher was a climate pioneer who was one of the first world leaders to voice concerns about climate change. The late Prime Minister's support for climate science was in evidence in a speech she gave in 1990 at the second World Climate Conference, in Geneva. Not only did she believe that climate science was credible, she acknowledged that global warming was a serious threat and she urged the world to act.

The UK is Depriving Children of a Climate Change Education

In the UK the government wants to remove climate change from geography lessons for students under 14 years of age. This move is highly controversial as climate change is a serious threat to societal well being in Britain. Environmental problems are only going to intensify going forward. The next generation is going to inherit a world that will demand educated people capable of understanding and addressing these threats.

Ignorance is the single greatest impediment to environmental action. Education plays a fundamental role in dispelling ignorance and improving the ways we interact with the environment.

Those under 14 are the leaders of tomorrow, depriving them of a solid education regarding the science of climate change is a handicap that the nation simply can't afford.  It is the older generation who created the problems we face and they are not only failing to act on climate change themselves, but they are seeking to deprive young people of the education they need to have a fighting chance of improving our world.

Climate Week is Britain’s Biggest Climate Change Campaign

Britain's Climate Week is inspiring a new wave of action to create a sustainable future. Culminating in a week of activities, it showcases practical solutions from every sector of society.

Each year, half a million people attend 3,000 events in Britain’s biggest ever environmental occasion. Events are run by schools, businesses, charities, councils and many others.

Event - Feed-in Tariffs Policy: Market Certainty, Diversity and Growth

This event will take place on February, 5th 2013, in the UK. This seminar will review Feed-in Tariffs: findings from the Comprehensive Review and the way forward. This event will be a timely opportunity to assess the next steps for small-scale low-carbon electricity generation in the UK following a year of uncertainty. Guest of Honour: Thomas Buss, Head of Microgeneration, E.ON Sustainable Energy.

US Climate Change Policy: Hurricane Sandy, Drought and Rising Sea Levels (Video)

Hurricanes and drought in the US this year make it difficult for Americans to ignore the costs of climate change. It is hoped that President Barack Obama will elevate the national climate change conversation, but he is constrained by a Congress that is resistant to the idea of making climate change a national priority.

Related Articles
Hurricane Sandy, Climate Change and the Upcoming Election
The Staggering Costs of Ignoring Climate Change
Tornadoes and Floods Underscore the Costs of Global Warming
Insurance Company Acknowledges that Extreme Weather is Caused by Climate Change
Hurricane Sandy is a Powerful Reminder for those who Ignore Climate Change
Hurricane Sandy is a "Wake-up Call" for those who Doubt Climate Change (Video)
Meteorologist Discusses Relationship Between Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change (Video)
Extreme Weather and the Costs of Climate
The Costs of Global Warming
Extreme Weather Makes a Convincing Case for Climate Change
Extreme Weather
The World “Connects the Dots” Between Extreme Weather & Climate Change
Bill McKibben on Connect the Dots
Deadly Tornadoes in Massachusetts
Floods in the Philipines Underscore the Deadly Toll from Climate Change
24 Hours of Reality

Transforming the UK's Electricity Market (Event)

The event Transforming the UK's electricity market deals with the situation one year on from the Reform White Paper and the Ofgem Review. It will take place on July 12, 2012. Delegates will assess the ongoing transformation of the UK's electricity system. Planned sessions focus on the progress that is being made, and the next steps in delivering the key elements of the market reform package including discussion on taking forward the Emissions Performance Standard and Carbon Price Floor for decarbonising electricity, and the proposed Capacity Mechanism for ensuring the future security of electricity supplies. In the context of market regulation, the agenda also includes discussion on the extent to which the regulatory environment has been strengthened since the Ofgem Review, as well as the further work that is required to ensure the protection of consumers and that investment in the energy sector is cost-effective.

London Cleantech Cluster (Event)

London Cleantech Cluster is produced by Rushlight Events. It will take place in London, UK. This event will provide a platform to bring together all the various initiatives, activities and programmes undertaken by organisations throughout the region to support the development of cleantech businesses and to facilitate the deployment of sustainable alternatives.

Four Training Events From the Green Power Academy

Here are four events taking place in London UK produced by the Green Power Academy. They will be taking place between the 13th and the 18th of July 2012. These four events involve renewable technologies, economics and financing. For more information and registration information see below:

International Conference on Waste Management and the Environment 2012 (Event)

On the 4th to the 6th of July in New Forest, UK, an event will take place titled the International Conference on Waste Management and the Environment. The event is organised every two years by the Wessex Institute of Technology in collaboration with other renown institutions. Waste management is becoming one of the key problems of the modern world, an issue that is intensified by the volume and complexity of waste discarded by society's domestic and industrial activities. Unfortunately, many of the practices adopted in the past were aimed at short-term solutions without sufficient regard or knowledge for long term implications on health, the environment or sustainability and this, in many cases, leads to the need to take difficult and expensive remedial action.

Mandatory Emissions Reporting on the UK Stock Exchange

Starting in 2013, UK companies will have to report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the Rio+20 conference in Rio, UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that starting next April, companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchange will be required to publish their GHG emissions in corporate earnings reports. The rule affects about 1.800 businesses and in 2015, it will apply to all 24.000 large corporations based in the UK. Companies will be required to publish annual GHG emissions, measured in tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

3 Events with an Environmental Theme in London (July)

Here are three upcoming training courses taking place in London, UK, early in July 2012. The first is an introduction to carbon footprint accounting, the second is about carbon finance for renewable projects and the third is a condensed series of courses known as a "mini-MBA". These training courses are staged boy Green Power Academy.  

The Growth of London's Green Economy

London’s green economy is growing fast and with ambitious green initiatives from the UK government it will keep growing. According to an Innovas report commissioned by mayor of London Boris Johnson, areas like renewable energy and low carbon building technologies are growing the economy and creating jobs. Despite difficult economic headwinds in Europe, the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector grew by more than four per cent during 2009-2010. Some 160,000 people were employed by the sector across 9,000 companies.

Scottish Wind Energy Can Power Europe

Scotland's massive wind energy capacity is capable of producing vast amounts of clean, sustainable energy to the rest of Europe. Due to Scotland's strong winds, skilled workforce, well-developed energy infrastructure and welcoming investment environment, the country has attracted overseas companies like Doosan, Gamesa and Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe. With over 25 percent of Europe’s wind resource Scotland has the potential to generate 159 GW of power which is almost 15 times Scotland's own peak requirement (10.5 GW).

UK Renewable Energy 2011 Overview

According to statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change the renewable energy sector contributed to a record breaking 9.6 percent of the electricity supplied by the UK grid in 2011. This is an encouraging 50 percent increase on the figures from 2010. Yorkshire and the Humber have the most renewable energy sites followed by the North West and the South West.

Cuts to UK Wind Power ROCs & FiTs

Under pressure from Conservative MPs the UK Government appears poised to reduce its committment to wind projects. The Government has proposed a 10% cut to the financial support available to onshore wind generation projects as part of its review of renewables obligation certificates (ROCs). This has prompted some of the world's biggest wind companies to tell the Guardian newspaper that they were reviewing potential projects in the UK because of the Government's perceived lack of commitment to renewables. The government has already stated that it is considering reducing feed-in tariffs (FiT) for small wind turbines between 1.5 and 15KW by 25 percent. This would cost rural businesses up to £70,000 over the lifetime of a turbine on their land.

UK Wind Energy

The UK has ideal off shore wind conditions which are capable of supplying the island nations energy requirements. According to German government research only Denmark can produce wind energy cheaper than the UK. At the beginning of 2012, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.9 gigawatts which ranked the UK as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than 2 GW of capacity will be deployed per year for the next five years.

Cuts to UK Solar FiTs Could Prove Deadly

On October 31st 2011, Greg Barker, Minister of State at DECC, announced a controversial proposal to halve the feed-in tariff (FiT) rates for solar installations in each band up to 50kW, with smaller cuts in the bands from 50kW to 250kW. These cuts to FiTs are jeopardizing the UK solar industry. A FiT is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. It achieves this by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, typically based on the cost of generation of each technology. Cuts to homeowners solar power could prove deadly to the fledgling UK industry in addition to threatening tens of thousands of jobs.

UK Government Investments in Efficiency and Renewable Energy

The UK government is making massive investments in the green economy. Firms in the UK cleantech sector are benefiting tremendously from the government's investments in areas like efficiency and renewable energy.