Pakistan
Pakistan’s foreign minister said China has signed an agreement with the energy-starved Islamic nation to help it build two more nuclear power plants.
Channel 4 News 18th Oct 2008 more >>
Renewables
A major threat to Britain’s ambitions for renewable energy will emerge this week when wind industry leaders admit that targets set for 2020 are looking increasingly unrealistic. They will use a high-profile conference in London to warn Gordon Brown that there is little chance of achieving the government’s goal – of wind generating one third of all UK electricity within 12 years – without a huge injection of public money.
Observer 19th Oct 2008 more >>
Energy Efficiency
Ed Miliband is drawing up plans for a “big shift” in the way Britons heat and power their homes. The plans – which are scheduled to be published at the end of next month – are expected to include tough targets for cutting energy use in the country’s 26 million homes, notoriously the worst insulated in Europe, and generous incentives to make it easy for householders to meet them. The drive has the full backing of the Prime Minister, who has decided that promoting energy saving should be a top priority for the Government because it will create employment, save families money as fuel prices rise, combat climate change and make it easier for Britain to achieve energy security.
Independent on Sunday 19th Oct 2008 more >>
Green New Deal
Developing a new green economy is our most promising path out of the present crisis. It is the best available new engine of growth, with the best chance of creating the tens of millions of jobs that will soon be desperately needed. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will launche a new campaign in London – its Green Economy Initiative – already being funded by the German and Norwegian governments and the European Commission. It aims to convince the world, that, far from restricting growth, tackling the growing planetary environmental crisis would accelerate it. A Green New Deal would create jobs, revive the international economy, slash poverty and head off environmental disaster.
Independent on Sunday 19th Oct 2008 more >>
Coal
Britain’s electricity generators are planning to build several coal-fired power stations despite the controversy over the greenhouse gas emissions that they would produce. The firms say they need to replace existing coal-fired stations because so many are being closed by European directives aimed at cutting pollution.
Sunday Times 19th Oct 2008 more >>
Faslane
Two workers were exposed to excess radiation after equipment failure at the Faslane nuclear submarine base on the Clyde earlier this month, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. The workers had to shut the doors on a radiation source by hand after a jammed wire prevented the usual closing mechanism from operating. The source was being used to x-ray pipes for flaws.
Sunday Herald 19th Oct 2008 more >>
