Blue & Green Daily: Tuesday 21 October round up

Today on Blue & Green Tomorrow, UKSIF chief executive Simon Howard explained the thinking behind Good Money Week’s major rebranding.

We also reported on the troubling news that 2014 is set to be the warmest year on record, while Green party MP Caroline Lucas called for politicians to divest their pension fund from the fossil fuel industry.  

UK and China to share expertise on sustainable cities

UK experts are to travel to China and deliver workshops on sustainable cities and regeneration strategies, as the Asian country’s huge urban population is set to grow while its pollution crises worsens.

Badger cull fails to hit target for the second year

The badger culls supported by the government to tackle bovine TB have proved unsuccessful after shooters failed to kill the minimum number of badgers required for the cull to be considered ‘effective’. Animal rights campaigners are now calling for Defra to ‘kill the cull’.

2014 set to be the warmest year ever

This year is on track to be the hottest on record, with September registering the highest temperatures ever recorded for the month, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Caroline Lucas calls for MPs’ pension fund to cut out fossil fuels

Green party MP Caroline Lucas has written a letter calling for MPs to cut fossil fuel investments out of their pension fund on ethical and financial grounds.

Good Money Week: ‘Finance affects everybody’

Simon Howard has sat at the helm of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) for 18 months. Before that he gained over twenty years of investment management experience, in a City career that took him from Liverpool Victoria to 3i Asset Management, via Friends Provident. 

Smallholder engagement needed to cut Amazon deforestation

To stop the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and curb deforestation’s contribution to climate change the Brazilian authorities must improve engagement with smallholder farmers, according to new research from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

Wind energy could generate almost 20% of the world’s electricity by 2030 – report

Global wind power capacity could reach 2,000 gigawatts by 2030, significantly reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) by more than 3 billion tonnes a year, creating millions of jobs and supplying up to 19% of global electricity, according to a new report. 

Public urges finance experts to cut the jargon

The majority of the British public believes that the government and other institutions must cut the jargon and do more to effectively communicate financial information, according to a new poll.

Good Money Week: ‘Finance affects everybody’

Simon Howard has sat at the helm of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) for 18 months. Before that he gained over twenty years of investment management experience, in a City career that took him from Liverpool Victoria to 3i Asset Management, via Friends Provident.

Europe 2030 emission targets need to go further, says IPCC vice-chair

Vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) professor Jim Skea has criticised the EU’s 2030 emission reduction target, arguing that it does not go far enough. 

El Niño worsens economic damage from flooding, study finds

Africa, Australia, western US and parts of South America are among the world’s areas most at risk of the effects of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which significantly worsens extreme weather and its economic impact.

Blue & Green holiday cottages: Old Smithy Barn, Staffordshire

Old Smithy Barn is a superb contemporary conversion with spacious beamed rooms, lots of character and a delightful enclosed garden. It is available to book now through cottages4you.

Photo: Sanja Gjenero via Free Images