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Sustainability software market tipped to top $1bn
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on September 5th, 2014
BusinessGreen: Corporate spending on environmental health and safety (EH&S) software is set to soar over the next five years, as economic recovery and tightening regulations combine to drive demand for sustainability software systems.
That is the conclusion of a new report from corporate sustainability research firm Verdantix, which predicts corporate spending on EH&S software will grow at 15 per cent a year through to 2018, creating a $1bn market across eight leading economies by 2018.
The market projections...
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US mulls methane limits for fracking operations
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on September 4th, 2014
BusinessGreen: New rules forcing oil and gas producers to cut emissions of potent greenhouse gas methane could be introduced in the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief admitted yesterday.
Gina McCarthy told a New York Forum yesterday that officials will decide this year whether to bring in regulations to cut emissions or to rely on voluntary steps by the industry, according to news agency Bloomberg.
"We are looking at what are the most cost-effective regulatory and-or voluntary efforts that...
Court stand-off over illegal Indian coal projects
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on September 2nd, 2014
BusinessGreen: The legal battle over the governance of India's coal industry has taken another twist as the government urged the Supreme Court not to revoke all of the 218 coal mining licences that it last week deemed illegal.
The court had ruled all coal mining licences awarded between 1993 and 2010 had been allocated illegally, raising the prospect of a raft of licences being revoked and mining activity suspended at key mines.
The ruling had been seen as being in line with the newly-elected Modi administration's...
United Kingdom: Poll: Half voters could switch parties based green policies
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on March 26th, 2014
BusinessGreen: Almost half of voters are prepared to switch their political allegiance based on the strength of a party's environmental policies, a new survey has revealed.
The VisionCritical poll, commissioned by WWF-UK, found 47 per cent of the 2,000 respondents were willing to shift their vote over green considerations, while the survey also highlighted a growing interest in environmental policies in the wake of the storms and severe flooding experienced at the beginning of the year.
The poll found seven...
Waste crime ‘costing UK over £800m a year’
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on March 4th, 2014
BusinessGreen: Escalating waste crime could be costing the country over £800m each year as a "culture of criminality" in parts of the waste sector forces up costs for legitimate businesses.
That is the conclusion of a new report by the Environmental Services Association Education Trust (ESAET), which added up the costs of illegal waste sites, tax evasion by waste operators deliberately misclassifying waste to avoid higher rates of landfill tax, and the clean-up costs of fly-tipping.
Its top of the range estimate...
United Kingdom: Government to review flood defence investment decisions
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on February 14th, 2014
BusinessGreen: The government will re-examine investment decisions on flood defences as part of a series of reviews of the country's resilience and response to the flooding that has devastated parts of southern England over the past two months.
David Cameron yesterday announced further reviews into transport infrastructure and the Bellwin scheme that provides financial help to local authorities in emergencies. In addition, he announced the launch of an annual resilience review to consider the local, regional,...
United Kingdom: Cuadrilla confirms plans for two fracking sites in Lancashire
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on February 4th, 2014
BusinessGreen: Shale gas company Cuadrilla intends to begin fracking at two sites near Blackpool as early as next year.
Planning consent will be sought "to drill, hydraulically fracture and test the flow of gas from up to four exploration wells on each of the sites, one at Roseacre Wood and the other at Preston New Road", the company said in a statement today.
The proposal marks the first concrete fracking plans since a ban on the controversial extraction technique was lifted at the end of 2012.
Drilling...
Ditching clean fuels law opens door to tar sands imports, warn green groups
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on January 27th, 2014
BusinessGreen: The equivalent emissions of six million cars will be added to Europe's carbon footprint unless it acts to prevent a likely flood of fossil fuel imports from Canadian tar sands if Brussels alters its clean fuel regulations as planned, a leading environmental group has warned.
Figures released by the US Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) last week show the impact of Commissioners' plans to allow the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) to expire in 2020, along with the six per cent greenhouse gas...
Europol: Environmental crime is ‘under-reported and under-investigated’
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on November 21st, 2013
BusinessGreen: Environmental crimes are posing a major threat to the health of European citizens, damaging key industries, and undermining the EU's free trade regime, according to a new study from the Europol agency.
The international policing body this week released a new Threat Assessment on Environmental Crime in the EU, which concluded that environmental crimes, such as trafficking in illegal waste and endangered species, are commonly under-reported and require a more co-ordinated response.
The report...
United Kingdom: Fresh questions raised over fracking jobs ‘boom’
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on October 16th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Projections suggesting the UK's nascent fracking industry could grow rapidly to support up to 74,000 jobs have come under fire this morning, as reports reveal that official estimates put the job creation potential of the sector at no more than 24,300 full-time posts.
This summer a report from the Institute of Directors predicted that the UK shale gas industry could support up to 74,000 direct and indirect jobs, at the same time as helping to hold down energy costs and bolstering UK energy security....