Boris Johnson has said that he will create green jobs as one of his key priorities during his second term in office as the Mayor of London, while also increasing the amount of green building retrofit programmes around the capital. Johnson, who saw off competition from Ken Livingstone to reseal his spot as the Mayor of London earlier this month, has said that he plans to shift the green programmes he started at the end of his first term into the spotlight over course of the next four years. One of the key priorities for Johnson will be guaranteeing that buildings ... Full Story

Cross-Channel rail operator Eurostar is now looking to seal its reputation as Europe's greenest short-haul option through the introduction of 10 new destinations. The company is aiming to develop services from its London St Pancras base to stations across the Netherlands, the south of France, Germany, and Switzerland - as alleged by a report printed in a leading British financial newspaper. The new routes are to be finished before 2018 and will compete with airlines currently operating in the markets of the already-mentioned countries. Nicolas Petrovic, Eurostar's chief executive, told the paper that by 2016 or 2017, it is hoped that people ... Full Story

The Green Deal and similar initiatives aimed at getting the public to reduce its use of energy will fail without any sort of national communications strategies backed by Britain's central government, the Green Alliance has warned. With fewer than six months left until the Green Deal's launch, research conducted by the Green Alliance has called into question the government’s present "dispersed communications" stance on its flagship energy efficiency plan and various other green energy policies, including smart meters. Drawing on feedback received from the private sector, which is inclusive of Britain's energy companies, local councils, and civil society groups, while using ... Full Story

Leading British anaerobic digestion outfit Biogen has been hit with a fin of £5,000 for the pollution of a part of a stream in Bedfordshire. Bedford's Magistrates’ Court found that Biogen was guilty of a breach of its environmental permit at Clapham Biogas Plant back in November 2010, which is when liquid digestate that came from one of its tanks entered a tributary of Ravensden Brook. This incident was triggered  by one of the pumps on an anaerobic digester being left on overnight, which lead to a considerably large quantity of digestate overflowing into a nearby field, as alleged by the ... Full Story

The government is to introduce legislation aimed at reforming the electricity market so that cleaner, more affordable energy can be delivered, announced the Queen in her widely-anticipated speech yesterday. The government is to also pass legislation that will establish the Green Investment Bank while a draft bill is introduced to reform the English and Welsh water industry, it was confirmed. The Queen, announcing the government's programme for Parliament's next session, said that the government will put forward reforms of the electricity market with the hope that secure, cleaner, and more affordable electricity can be delivered at fair prices. There was speculation ahead ... Full Story

Microsoft has made a commitment to going carbon neutral by joining a growing list of giants attempting to reduce their current environmental footprint. It was a blog post on Microsoft's website that told of how the company would commit to ensuring that its offices, buildings, air travel, datacentres, and software labs are all carbon neutral by the start of July, which also marks the beginning of the financial year. Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer, said that  working on issues of energy use or environmental change will provide another opportunity to start making a difference, which is the right thing for the company to ... Full Story

The UK’s leading paid for tourist attraction, the iconic London Eye, completed a £12.5 million facelift yesterday that will see its big wheel’s energy consumption slashed by over a quarter. Last night, the last of the London Eye's 32 capsules was placed back on the observation wheel, ending a three-year-long revamp of the landmark. The attraction's overhaul, scheduled to be finished before the start of this year's summer Olympics, means that the London Eye's overall carbon footprint has been slashed by 33 per cent. As well as this, electricity consumption has also been reduced by at least 30 per cent, which smashed the ... Full Story

Ex-Energy Secretary Chris Huhne warned on a news website last week that Britain's economy risks sliding deeper into recession if it doesn't invest in green growth. Huhne's comments, which were published on the Guardian's website, see him arguing that Britain has been left with no other choice than to go green - simply due to commodity price rises that he says are stalling "resource-hungry" growth. Huhne wrote that economic debates imply that the government must make a choice between either going green or going for growth. The intervention comes after recent figures showed how Britain has fallen back into its recession, while at the ... Full Story

A green trade mission that was organised by the British government will head to southern US states and try to and drum up new business for a group of British firms while encouraging US green investment in the UK. Greg Barker, the energy and Climate Change Minister, is to lead a four-day-long green trade mission focusing on green energy, as well as energy efficiency. He will leave Britain on Sunday and visit the southern US states of Texas and Georgia. At least five British companies will join the mission. This includes blue-chip firm Rolls-Royce, Jupiter Asset Management, the leading fund manager, Kiwi ... Full Story

The Department of Energy and Climate Change yesterday strongly denied reports that the long-awaited legislation that aims to deliver greener energy, while ensuring that the "lights are kept on", will be delayed. EMR - the Electricity Market Reform Bill – has been touted as critical if new investment is to be attracted and varied combinations of electricity sources are to be insured, which includes renewables, gas, new nuclear, and other types of the energy. The bill is scheduled to be announced during the Queen’s Speech next week, paving the way for new legislation in a forthcoming session of Parliament. According to a ... Full Story

The amount of solar panels that have been installed ever since the subsidy for small-scale PV, or photovoltaic, systems has fallen dramatically - as highlighted by official figures. DECC - the Department of Energy and Climate Change has released statistics that show how in  April's first three weeks, the amount of solar PV installations meant for systems lower than four kilowatt in size reached just over 1500. While figures for the whole month of April are yet to be released, 25,500 installations were completed per month over the previous nine months that have been studied. April's figures thus far suggest that the ... Full Story

Householders across North East Lincolnshire were told to begin recycling their rubbish this week, in an attempt to slash current costs of sending the area's waste to landfill. According to North East Lincolnshire council, over £10m was spent just collecting and then disposing of household waste ever year prior to 2012. Apparently, over 60 per cent of residents that have dedicated sorting bins aren't currently recycling any waste at all. The council is tightening up its measures on bin collections, with fines issued to people who repeatedly fail at recycling. Tony Neul, the head of the neighbourhood services  department at North East Lincolnshire ... Full Story