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Photo by Global Jet via Flickr

Climate change to increase number of US heat deaths, says study

Increased summer temperatures caused by global warming could see weather related deaths in eastern parts of the US shoot up by as much as 22% in the coming years. The study, led by Li Tiantian from the Institute for Environmental Health and Related Product Safety, used computer projections of...


solar farm_John Lawlor

Goldman Sachs looks at clean energy in Japan

Goldman Sachs is planning to invest 300 billion yen (£1.9 billion) in Japanese clean energy projects, in an effort to boost the renewables market post-Fukushima. The US bank has created the Japan Renewable Energy Company to plan and design new solar and wind power developments. Ankur Sahu, co-head of...


windturbine_Patrick Finnegan

Report says UK dominates offshore wind market

The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) has published its 2012 report on wind power’s growth, and says the UK currently dominates the offshore sector with a 74% stake in the market. However, the study shows that global wind power capacity’s 19.2% growth in 2012 was the lowest annual rate...


Photo: Flickr

Shortlist revealed for 2013 Observer Ethical Awards

The companies, projects, places and people shortlisted for the 2013 Observer Ethical Awards have been unveiled. Taking place in central London on June 13, the event has become colloquially known as the ‘the Green Oscars’. Now in its eighth year, Lucy Siegle, chair of the judging panel, said the...


Photo by Europhication&hypoxia via Flickr

Energy bill to be reviewed by MPs in June

The government’s energy bill will enter its report stage on June 3 and 4, with MPs given the chance to have their say on how the UK goes forward in the energy sector.  The stage will include a vote on whether to incorporate a 2030 decarbonisation target – something...


Southeastern High Speed Trains, St Pancras International

‘Still unclear’ if HS2 will be economically beneficial

The government’s plans to build a high speed rail line in England are unclear as to how it will create economic growth and new jobs, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO has “reservations” over the business plan presented by HS2 – the £32 billion project that...


Photo by Ell Brown via Flickr

Lloyds CEO says firm will review use of tax havens

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group António Horta-Osório has said the bank has begun a systematic review of its use of offshore havens in an effort to reduce its involvement in tax avoidance. Campaigners say that 259 Lloyds entities operate in tax havens, where companies can legally avoid...


Chinese-owned textile factory

Investors push retailers for better working conditions in the developing world

Investors and religious groups in the US have called for better safety in overseas factories, in the aftermath of last month’s Bangladesh tragedy. The signatories of a letter released by the Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) include, among others, Aviva Investors, EIRIS and the Socially Responsible Investment Coalition...


oil burning by DVIDS

BP calls on prime minister for help on spiralling Deepwater Horizon fees

Oil giant BP has called on David Cameron to help it get on top of the spiralling compensation costs in relation to the Deepwater Horizon spill. According to the BBC, the firm is concerned about the increasing legal fees it has been dealt for what happened in the Gulf...


Photo by Shutter Monkey via Flickr

Green deal assessments near 19,000 mark since January

A recent survey said one in five homeowners in Britain feel their homes are too cold. But an increasing number of people are looking to combat this by opting for the government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme, with nearly 19,000 green deal assessments conducted since January. The green deal, which...


Photo: Karen Roe via Flickr

DECC ‘doesn’t recognise’ figures in Civitas green subsidies study

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has criticised a publication by the Civitas thinktank, in which clean energy subsidies are blamed for “discouraging” innovation and ramping up bills. The document, which is the sixth instalment in Civitas’ Ideas for economic growth series, says that households in Britain...


Daniel Lobo

Desertec solar project to be sidelined, says German broadcaster

Plans to secure 20% of Europe’s energy needs from a huge network of solar farms across the north African desert appear to have been shelved. The Desertec Initiative, a $400 billion project to export generated solar energy from Middle Eastern and north African deserts over to Europe, was once...


gas by Jeremy Buckingham

Energy minister Michael Fallon: legislation will help ‘responsible’ fracking

The government will look to accelerate oil and shale gas development “in a responsible way”, according to energy minister Michael Fallon. He was speaking at the first meeting of the all-party parliamentary group on unconventional gas and oil, which aims to explore unconventional oil and gas exploration and development....


Photo by Wfabry via Flickr

European responsible investment grown 19% since 2010

Assets under management in European responsible investment funds now total €237.9 billion (£201 billion) – a 19% increase since 2010 – according to a survey by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI). The European Responsible Investment Fund Survey, published by accountancy giant KPMG on behalf of ALFI,...


flooded bench by Gavin Spencer

97% of scientists agree that climate change is human-caused

A survey of over 4,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers has found almost unanimous consensus that humans are responsible for rising temperatures. Skeptical Science founder John Cook led the study, called Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature, with colleagues at the University of Queensland, Australia. His...


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