Environmental Jobs From IEMA

Northern Ireland to charge for carriers
Shoppers in Northern Ireland will have to pay 5p for single-use carrier bags from April 2013, the devolved government has announced. The charge forms part of the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment’s (DOE) bid to cut the number of disposable carrier bags used in the province each year, which now totals 250 milli Sarah-Jayne Russell 31 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Single Use Carrier Bags Act (NI) 2011 read more

Case Law >> Rigging rumours blown out
LexisPSL's Colleen Theron and Deirdre Lyons detail a case that confirms local authorities and developers must continue to consider regional strategies in planning applications In May 2011, the Court of Session (CoS) in Scotland decided that the planning consent granted for a major wind farm at Fallago Rig in the Scottish Borders should stand. January 2012 Deirdre Lyons Colleen Theron 17 January 2012 read more

Flooding presents £12bn climate change risk
The damage caused by more frequent and heavier floods could cost the UK economy £12 billion by 2080, warns Defra In the government's first assessment of the risks posed to the UK economy by climate change, Defra reveals that a failure to adapt to hotter summers, more frequent floods and restricted access Sarah-Jayne Russell 30 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: UK infrastructure must adapt to climate change EA to advise on climate-change adaptation read more

UK rivers healthier, but more must be done
Tougher rules on the amount of water businesses can take from UK rivers have improved the flow of 590 miles of waterways, but greater efficiency is needed, warns the Environment Agency (EA) The agency’s Restoring Sustainable Abstraction programme investigates abstraction licenses granted to businesses in previous decades and which are enabling unsustainable and damaging levels o Sarah-Jayne Russell 31 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Water lags behind CO2 in boardrooms Water efficiency crucial to UK’s future Flooding presents £12bn climate change risk read more

Carbon price bad for business and environment
Introducing an independent carbon price floor could devastate UK industry’s ability to compete in Europe and harm the bloc’s efforts to cut emissions, warn MPs The Treasury’s plans to set a price for a tonne of carbon above that set by the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) have been labeled a revenue-raising exercise that will not help to encourage Sarah-Jayne Russell 27 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Price fall triggers call to halt ETS permits Budget special: Carbon floor price set at £16 a tonne Industry floored by carbon price Updated: Heavy industry to make millions from EU ETS read more

BSI launches sustainable communities standard
Local authorities and community groups are being offered new guidance on how to improve sustainability in their area through the new British standard, BS 8904 Developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI), 8904 aims to help bodies working in local communities to ensure “sustainable development activities” are cost-effective and engage Sarah-Jayne Russell 18 January 2012 read more

Environment Agency civil sanctions raise £200k
Local environment charities and projects have benefited from more than £200,000 in donations as a result of civil sanctions imposed by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2011. Leisure firm Fitness First, facilities management company MITIE and biscuit manufacturer Rivington Foods were among 26 businesses that donated cash to make amends for breaching environmental regula Sarah-Jayne Russell 25 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Environment Agency civil sanctions Environment Agency first to use civil sanctions read more

In Parliament >> Durban - just another event?
Alan Whitehead MP gives his opinion on the Durban climate talks The crashing of successive waves of “events” on the shore of the UK’s body politic in the past year makes divining what is significant and what is not very difficult. January 2012 Alan Whitehead 17 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Durban – above and beyond all expectations Durban:a positive step towards global CO2 cuts read more

Environment Agency civil sanctions raise £200k
Local environment charities and projects have benefited from more than £200,000 in donations as a result of civil sanctions imposed by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2011. Leisure firm Fitness First, facilities management company MITIE and biscuit manufacturer Rivington Foods were among 26 businesses that donated cash to make amends for breaching environmental regula Sarah-Jayne Russell 25 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Environment Agency civil sanctions Environment Agency first to use civil sanctions read more

Flooding presents £12bn climate change risk
The damage caused by more frequent and heavier floods could cost the UK economy £12 billion by 2080, warns Defra In the government's first assessment of the risks posed to the UK economy by climate change, Defra reveals that a failure to adapt to hotter summers, more frequent floods and restricted access Sarah-Jayne Russell 30 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: UK infrastructure must adapt to climate change EA to advise on climate-change adaptation read more

In Parliament >> Durban - just another event?
Alan Whitehead MP gives his opinion on the Durban climate talks The crashing of successive waves of “events” on the shore of the UK’s body politic in the past year makes divining what is significant and what is not very difficult. January 2012 Alan Whitehead 17 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Durban – above and beyond all expectations Durban:a positive step towards global CO2 cuts read more

Flooding presents £12bn climate change risk
The damage caused by more frequent and heavier floods could cost the UK economy £12 billion by 2080, warns Defra In the government's first assessment of the risks posed to the UK economy by climate change, Defra reveals that a failure to adapt to hotter summers, more frequent floods and restricted access Sarah-Jayne Russell 30 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: UK infrastructure must adapt to climate change EA to advise on climate-change adaptation read more

Government loses FITs appeal
DECC will not be able to halve the feed-in tariff (FIT) for solar installations fitted last year, the Court of Appeal has decided. In a unanimous decision, the judges upheld the High Court ruling in December, that to impose the lower tariffs proposed in a DECC consultation to arrays fitted ahead of that consultation’s cl Sarah-Jayne Russell 25 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: New FITs tariffs could be postponed until March Updated: DECC to fight solar case verdict Solar threatened by speed of FIT changes read more

New FITs tariffs could be postponed until March
Reduced payments for small-scale solar under the feed-in tariff (FIT) will only affect panels installed from 3 March if the government loses its legal battle to implement changes earlier. In a bid to provide greater clarity over subsidies for home-scale solar power, energy secretary Chris Huhne has confirmed the new lower tariffs to be applied from 1 April and Sarah-Jayne Russell 20 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Updated: DECC to fight solar case verdict Solar sector slams halving of FITs read more

Environment Agency civil sanctions raise £200k
Local environment charities and projects have benefited from more than £200,000 in donations as a result of civil sanctions imposed by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2011. Leisure firm Fitness First, facilities management company MITIE and biscuit manufacturer Rivington Foods were among 26 businesses that donated cash to make amends for breaching environmental regula Sarah-Jayne Russell 25 January 2012 Related Articles Related article: Environment Agency civil sanctions Environment Agency first to use civil sanctions read more

Case Law >> Rigging rumours blown out
LexisPSL's Colleen Theron and Deirdre Lyons detail a case that confirms local authorities and developers must continue to consider regional strategies in planning applications In May 2011, the Court of Session (CoS) in Scotland decided that the planning consent granted for a major wind farm at Fallago Rig in the Scottish Borders should stand. January 2012 Deirdre Lyons Colleen Theron 17 January 2012 read more

UK examines viability of hydrogen cars
Car manufacturers and utilities firms are joining forces in a new government task force to assess whether widespread adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles is a realistic prospect. Launched by the business department (BIS), the UKH2Mobility project is aimed at examining the potential role of hydrogen fuel-cell technology in