The government has admitted breaching European Union pollution legislation, during a High Court battle with environmental campaign group. Lawyers for Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman made the admission following action by ClientEarth.
The government has admitted breaching European Union pollution legislation, during a High Court battle with environmental campaign group. Lawyers for Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman made the admission following action by ClientEarth.
The European Commission has confirmed that the UK could face legal action over its plans to more than halve subsidies for solar on December 12.
Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, submitted a Priority Question to the commission, who confirmed that legal proceedings will be taken if the current proposals significantly impact the UK’s progress toward the binding EU target on renewable energy.
Climate change commitment
The Government must come up with new policies to drive the step change needed to cut carbon emissions, David Kennedy, the CEO of the Climate Change Committee [1] will tell members of the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) this Thursday (December 1st).
An IMO-commissioned study into the impact of mandatory energy efficiency measures for international shipping shows that implementation of the measures will lead to significant reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, specifically reductions of carbon dioxide (CO2), resulting from enhanced fuel efficiency.
The study found that, by 2020, an average of 151.5 million tonnes of annual CO2 reductions are estimated from the introduction of the measures, a figure that by 2030, will increase to an average of 330 million tonnes annually. CO2 reduction measures will result in a significant reduction in fuel consumption, leading to a significant saving in fuel costs to the shipping industry
CIWEM’s Contaminated Land Network has expressed relief that Greg Clark MP has confirmed that the Government will not do away with the current, forward thinking and sustainable policy of building on brownfield sites before open greenfield land.
In the draft National Planning Policy Framework, currently being consulted on, the intention is to remove detailed planning guidance and withdraw and replace PPS23 (and its Annex 2) on Planning and Pollution Control by a short and focussed note. This direction aroused suspicion that the NPPF is a sop to the development lobby who can profit more from greenfield sites and to lawyers who will pounce on the lack of clarity for more appeals, challenges and inquiries.