Speakers announced for FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Conference
Some of the world’s biggest names in global finance and sustainability have been announced as speakers at the Sustainable Finance Conference, organised by The Financial Times (FT) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), this June. The conference, now in its seventh year, focuses on the urgent need to tackle global...
World celebrates International Workers’ Day
Today, more than 80 countries will celebrate International Workers’ Day – a campaign for workers around the world to receive fundamental human rights. The event will be observed through marches, demonstrations, concerts and festivals on every continent. In 1886, workers in Chicago were demonstrating during a general strike over...
Public will vote for candidates that support wind farms, says poll
A poll conducted by ComRes on behalf of trade body RenewableUK ahead of tomorrow’s local elections has revealed that 35% of the public are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports wind farm developments. Results from the poll of 2,019 voters suggest that parties with pro-wind policies...
UAE to sign £1bn financing deal with UK Green Investment Bank
The UK government is expected to sign an agreement with United Arab Emirates (UAE) president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan this week, that will see the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) invest collaboratively with Masdar. The GIB has up to £3 billion of investment available for energy efficiency,...
Amnesty International challenges pension fund over investment in lethal drug
Human rights group Amnesty International has questioned Sweden’s pension fund over its investment in companies that produce drugs used for executions. The organisation claims that the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP Fund) is investing in pharmaceutical companies that produce propofol, an anaesthetic drug used in the US for...
BT tops inaugural UK carbon ranking index
BT, Vodafone and biopharmaceutical firm Astrazeneca have made it into the top three of a new ranking that grades firms based on their greenhouse gas emissions, relative to their turnover. But the research, by thinktank the Environmental Investment Organisation (EIO), suggests that almost half of the UK’s biggest companies...
Increase in support for renewable energy in government poll
Public support for renewable energy in the UK has risen to 82% from 79% in the latest Public Attitudes Tracking Survey conducted by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Eighty-five per cent of respondents gave their backing to solar, while 77% said they were behind wave and...
Global CO2 levels on the brink of unwanted milestone
Data suggests that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is set to reach 400 parts per million (ppm) over the next few days – levels unseen since the Pliocene epoch three million years ago. It would be the first time in human history that CO2 had reached...
Europe urged to ‘invest in long-term transformations’ to tackle climate change
As Europe’s climate warms, cities have been warned that changes to flood defences, water supplies, infrastructure and cultivation need to be implemented in order to ensure that the continent’s economy, environment and society do not suffer. The recommendations from the European Environment Agency (EEA) appear in a report, Adaptation...
‘Growing confidence in alternative finance’ as ethical lending grows
New research shows that while bank lending may be falling in the UK, loans from Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) have doubled in two years – to the tune of almost £1 billion. A study by the Community Development Finance Association (CDFA), the trade body for CDFIs, describes community-based lending...
UN announces new measures to fight child labour
The UN International Labour Organisation (ILO) has suggested a number of important social protection measures that it hopes will decrease the number of children that are forced to work. Its World Report on Child Labour states that by introducing measures such as cash transfers to both parents and older...
£85m eco-tourism project in the pipeline for South Lanarkshire
A Scottish eco-tourism project, which developers say has the potential to bring a “significant boost” to the local economy, is set for a public consultation over its construction. The £85m attraction in South Lanarkshire comprises of three biospheres – temperate, tropical and polar – and contains plants and animals...
Charities used in offshore tax avoidance scam
A number of rich investors have been claiming to give to charities as a measure of avoiding paying tax – when in fact the charities have never received a penny. The investors used the charities to hide millions of pounds in the British Virgin Islands and other tax havens,...
EU votes to impose landmark pesticide ban to save bees
EU member states have voted to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides that studies have shown are harmful to bees. The decision means the European commission can now prevent chemical companies from using the stream – with campaigners describing it as a “victory for common sense”. The Guardian reports...
Triodos launches two new ethical funds
Offering investments linked to stock markets for the first time, Triodos Bank has developed two new ethical funds that allow investors to select which end of the green spectrum they prefer. The first of the two – Sustainable Pioneer – is a global fund designed to support small to...
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- Alex Blackburne says
Following the lead of The Independent (twice), The Week and The Sun, the Wall Street Journal has gi... - Alex Blackburne says
The nice folks at Skeptical Science have written a handy article, accompanied by an equally handy vi... - Alex Blackburne says
In a story that seems too ridiculous to be true, a senior BP executive is alleged to have looked up ... - Alex Blackburne says
A good question, and one that seems particularly apt on the eve of the presidential election. Mar... - Alex Blackburne says
It may seem like an obvious set of rules, but after uncovering some of the unusual things found in s...