International: United Kingdom
Cross-party MPs urge May to go carbon free
3 Aug 2018
A cross-party group of British MPs has called on the government to create a net-zero emissions target before 2050.
How Penzance became the UK's first plastics-free town
26 Jul 2018
The Cornwall community of Penzance last December became the UK's first plastics-free town. Now, 330 towns aim to follow suit.
Large chunk of supermarket plastic not recyclable
25 Jul 2018
An investigation by a consumer body has found mixed results on the levels of recyclable plastic in the UK’s largest supermarkets.
Burning of waste set to overtake recycling in England
20 Jul 2018
England is on the brink of burning more of its rubbish in incinerators than it recycles for the first time, according to a new analysis.
UK can go low-carbon at no extra cost, say advisers
16 Jul 2018
The UK can have low-carbon electricity, heat and transport in 2050 at the same cost as today’s high-carbon energy system, according to infrastructure advisers.
Church of England wields divestment axe
11 Jul 2018
The Church of England will divest from all fossil fuel companies which are not taking steps to combat climate change.
London might have found a new job for lost rivers
10 Jul 2018
Campaigners are targeting London’s lost rivers, water courses that have been gradually buried over the centuries, as a source of fossil fuel-free heat.
UK moves on e-car charging in new homes
10 Jul 2018
New homes in suburban England would need to be fitted with electric car charging points under a government proposal to cut emissions.
Energy firm launches ‘vegan electricity tariff’
9 Jul 2018
A UK energy company has launched the world’s first vegan electricity tariff in a bid to highlight the use of animal products within the energy industry.
Diesel car buyers in UK living a 'nightmare'
6 Jul 2018
Ultra-dirty new diesel engines are being sold alongside ultra-clean models in the UK, according to new data, leaving car buyers facing what experts call a nightmare.
Pensioners benefit from wind farm sell-off
5 Jul 2018
Pensioners in the UK are set to financially benefit from a fleet of wind farms.
Bikes the obvious solution to Oxbridge traffic
4 Jul 2018
UK university cities Oxford and Cambridge are seeking ways to transport expanding populations without impacting their historic centres, yet the simplest solution is staring them in the face.
Housing and car industries 'should be ashamed’
2 Jul 2018
The homebuilding and carmaking industries should be ashamed of their efforts to tackle global warming, says the UK government’s official climate change adviser.
London sets up as centre for green finance
27 Jun 2018
The UK has set up a Green Finance Institute with the aim of solidifying London’s role as the go-to destination for this new work.
SUSTAINABLE STYLE: Ten ways to make fashion world greener
27 Jun 2018
Sustainable style is back on the agenda after the UK announced an inquiry into ‘fast’ clothes. This is what a greener clothing future might look like.
Cocaine in rivers means bad trips for eels
26 Jun 2018
Tiny amounts of cocaine flushed into rivers cause eels to become not only hyperactive but to suffer from muscle wastage, impaired gills and hormonal changes, a study has found.
UK orders probe into throwaway fashion industry
25 Jun 2018
Throwaway “fast fashion” in the UK will be investigated amid growing concerns that the multi-billion pound industry is wasting valuable resources and contributing to climate change.
UK pension funds get green light to dump fossil fuels
20 Jun 2018
Managers of the £1.5tn invested in Britain’sworkplace pension schemes are to be given new powers to dump shares in oil, gas and coal companies in favour of long-term investment in green and “social impact” opportunities.
City of London commits to 100% renewable
20 Jun 2018
The City of London Corporation has announced plans to source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewables.
McDonald's bows to customer demands over straws
18 Jun 2018
McDonald’s will end the use of plastic straws in its British restaurants next year, after nearly half a million people called on the company to ditch them.
Scotland takes pride in emissions cuts
15 Jun 2018
The Scottish Government says that as of 2016 the country has managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 49 per cent compared to 1990.
Investor seeks removal of eight company chairs
13 Jun 2018
Britain’s biggest asset manager wants to remove the chairmen of the board at eight companies worldwide, which it says have failed to confront the threats posed by climate change.
Scotland wants to be among first to carbon zero
29 May 2018
New targets will set Scotland on course to become one of the first countries in the world to achieve a 100 per cent reduction in carbon emissions, the government has claimed.
Ex-coal plant to try new carbon capture system
23 May 2018
A former coal plant in the north of England will become the test site for a new way to remove carbon dioxide from electricity generation.
Brexit could wreck green agenda, says UN
22 May 2018
The United Nations has warned the UK government that the country's reputation is at risk over plans that would significantly weaken protections for the environment after Brexit.
London considering car-free days
18 May 2018
London is considering introducing car-free days in an attempt to tackle the city’s air pollution crisis that experts say is responsible for thousands of early deaths each year.
GAS BYPASS: UK could go from coal to clean
17 May 2018
The UK has been told there's no need to build large gas-fired power stations to replace the coal plants that the government has pledged to switch off by 2025.
UK proposes new law to create Green Brexit
16 May 2018
The UK Government is seeking to reassure the public that environmental laws will not be watered down after the country’s planned departure from the European Union.
Lloyds Bank pumps £2b into green projects
16 May 2018
Lloyds Bank is making an extra £2 billion available to help UK businesses implement sustainability initiatives.
Green homes earn more mortgage money
15 May 2018
Borrowers in the UK will be able to take out a bigger mortgage when buying greener properties for the first time, under a pioneering scheme to encourage energy efficiency.
UK faces huge bill to get rid of North Sea oil
8 May 2018
The UK’s North Sea clean-up costs – the price to be paid for decommissioning its oil and gas industry – will probably more than double, a British group says.
Starbucks customers like reusable cups
30 Apr 2018
A survey in UK Starbucks stores shows that reusable cup usage has surged by 156 per cent since the intoduction of a 5p charge.
BP chief urges Cambridge not to divest
26 Apr 2018
BP chief executive Bob Dudley has come under fire from campaigners after he urged Cambridge University not to drop its fossil fuel investments.
Tidal power comes of age with Scottish project
19 Apr 2018
The potential for the tides to generate clean, reliable electricity has taken a significant step with the completion of a flagship project in Scottish waters.
UK seeks advice on strengthening climate goal
19 Apr 2018
The UK government has announced that it wants official advice on the “implications” of aligning its climate goals with the Paris Agreement.
Abandoned collieries could be key to heating homes
10 Apr 2018
Scientists are finalising plans to exploit the vast reservoir of warm water that fills a labyrinth of disused mines and porous rock layers underneath Glasgow.
Selfridges to cut single-use plastic carbonated drinks
10 Apr 2018
The world-renowned department store Selfridges is to ditch single-use plastic carbonated drinks.
The UK needs a more ambitious Climate Change Act
6 Apr 2018
The UK Climate Change Act is a pioneering and far-sighted piece of legislation, but it is time to ask whether the central ambition of reducing carbon emissions by at least 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050 is still adequate.
UK rejects plans for new coal mine
27 Mar 2018
The UK has decided to stop plans for a new opencast coal mine because it would “adversely impact upon measures to limit climate change”.
Oil threat looms over national park land
22 Mar 2018
More than 71,000 hectares of protected countryside, including national park land, in the south-east of England are at risk from a new wave of oil drilling.
Farmers to be given first targets on soil health
20 Mar 2018
A bill will be brought before the UK parliament this year mandating, for the first time, measures and targets to preserve and improve the health of the nation's soils.
Coffee cups and food packaging could face levy
16 Mar 2018
Single-useplastic items such as disposable coffee cups, takeaway boxes and polystyrene packaging could be hit with charges in the UK akin to the 5p levy on plastic bags.
False emissions ratings cost UK more than £2b a year
12 Mar 2018
False emissions ratings for cars based on lab tests have cost the UK more than £2bn a year in lost tax revenue, according to the Green party.
UK carbon emissions at lowest level since 1890
9 Mar 2018
Fresh analysis has highlighted the dramatic fall in carbon emissions within the UK, reaching a new low unseen in normal times for 128 years.
How Scotland plans to meet climate change targets
5 Mar 2018
The Scottish government's new climate plan includes measures to significantly cut emissions from transport, buildings and industry to meet its target of a 66 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions.
Lloyd’s under pressure to get out of coal
1 Mar 2018
Lloyd’s of London, is under increasing pressure to back away from supporting the coal industry.
Scotland aims to be renewables powerhouse
20 Feb 2018
Scotland is making progress towards becoming a world leader in renewable energy.
Ammonia emissions rise in Britain
20 Feb 2018
Emissions of ammonia have been on the rise in the UK even while the amount of other pollutants entering the atmosphere has fallen.
ROYAL BAN: Queen says no more plastic in my houses
15 Feb 2018
The Queen has banned plastic straws and bottles from being used across the various Royal homes and palaces.
Pedals pump half-a-billion pounds into Scotland
13 Feb 2018
Pedal power is worth more than half-a-billion pounds to the Scottish economy, a report shows.
Forget net zero. We need ‘real zero’ – and these companies prove it’s profitable
Fri 15 Aug 2025
OPINION: Three huge global companies – IKEA, Lendlease and Fortescue Mining – are heading towards real zero. If they can do it, so can everyone.
Trump’s climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims
Fri 15 Aug 2025
A “critical assessment” report commissioned by the Trump administration to justify a rollback of US climate regulations contains at least 100 false or misleading statements, according to a Carbon Brief factcheck involving dozens of leading climate scientists.
Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
Thu 14 Aug 2025
Last year, China started construction on an estimated 95 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power capacity, enough to power the entire UK twice over.
Wildfires fanned by heatwave and strong winds rage across Europe
Fri 15 Aug 2025
Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
India misses chance to tackle UK carbon tax in trade pact
28 Jul 2025
India’s efforts to secure a concession for its small and medium enterprises under the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism did not materialise, as the text of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement made no mention of a resolution on the contentious issue.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Nordic countries hit by ‘truly unprecedented’ heatwave
5 Aug 2025
Scientists have recorded the longest streak of temperatures higher than 30C in the region in records going back to 1961.
African $60 billion high-speed rail project takes shape
Fri 15 Aug 2025
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Africa has received a new update that could see construction begin soon.
Brazil's Lula vetoes parts of environment bill pushed by the opposition that could harm the Amazon
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Brazil’s president has vetoed parts of a controversial congressional bill that sought to loosen the country’s environmental licensing rules.
How could the UN climate talks be reformed?
Wed 13 Aug 2025
This year marks a decade since nations successfully negotiated the Paris Agreement, a landmark treaty that has been the guiding force for international climate politics ever since.
