Private sector innovation — with powerful profit opportunities — is the only national and international driving force that can deliver affordable decarbonisation successfully, says Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Amber Rudd. Jon Herbert considers the implications. With a series of deep environmental spending cuts announced hot on the heels of May’s general election, as well Read More …
So it will be Heathrow, or maybe it won’t. With no clear airport expansion solution in sight, a pragmatic answer is needed urgently. The Airports Commission recommends a controversial £17 billion third runway west of London but other developments could affect the UK’s crowded airspace. Jon Herbert reports. The Battle for Britain’s skies promises many Read More …
Business sustainability brings benefits, and roadmaps have been produced showing how to get there. Companies have good reasons to pursue such goals. But there are also challenges. Jon Herbert looks at costs, hurdles and possibilities. Sustainability is a journey involving the entire supply chain. For most organisations, it is a path-finding exercise of learning, changing Read More …
Not so very long ago, primitive tracks joined up ancient Britain through post-Ice Age forests. Today, change is in the fast lane. Highways Agency is now Highways England, an autonomous state-owned company driving a £15 billion road-building programme with technology at its core. Jon Herbert reports. Hard to believe, perhaps, how muddy forest trails used Read More …
One the UK’s oldest — and currently cleanest — forms of renewable energy is making a modern high-tech comeback on a local scale across Britain. Hydropower is providing energy and income for communities but also causing controversy. Jon Herbert reports. Old mill ponds are being pressed back into service along some of Britain’s fast moving Read More …
The tide is rising for a new generation of maritime sea-power. Tidal energy schemes harness gravitational effects of the moon and sun to generate sustainable energy. Jon Herbert looks at the current and proposed massive energy infrastructure projects around the UK coast. Taking power from the predictable ebb and flow of the tides makes sense. Read More …
More than 800 UK properties will be lost to coastal erosion in the next 20 years, at a cost of more than £1 billion. But the material that makes up beaches is commanding a high worldwide price-tag, to the point where it is becoming a scarce commodity linked to criminality. Jon Herbert looks at the Read More …
Is it possible to use green energy cheaply? Jon Herbert considers the factors involved. In a truly sustainable economy, energy shouldn’t be expensive. However, we all know that renewables are currently costly — a primary argument for those who believe that sticking with fossil fuels in some form or other is unavoidable and inevitable. So Read More …
China, cradle of one of the world’s first great urban civilisations, is now taking lessons from the UK on developing cities that are set to become the primary environment of modern man. Jon Herbert considers the issues. By 2050, it is estimated that more than 70% of the world’s burgeoning population will live in cities. Read More …
Connecting up Britain’s cities will create new economic powerhouses and a very different urban living experience in the built and digital environment. Jon Herbert considers what might be involved. Size is important for cities. It means that partners, spouses and people living together under the same roof can all expect to find suitable employment within Read More …