RSS Feed
Author Archive
Greenpeace launches legal bid ban UK fracking
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on October 14th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Greenpeace has launched a landmark legal challenge to halt fracking in England, claiming drilling under people's homes without permission is unlawful.
The campaign group made the announcement at a press conference in Lancashire, which has been the front line of the UK's nascent shale gas industry.
Greenpeace now hopes thousands of people will join the legal challenge, creating a patchwork of "no go" areas for shale oil and gas developers across the country.
"Under English law, if you own...
Posted in 
France rules to retain fracking ban
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on October 14th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Green groups have praised a French court's decision to uphold a ban on fracking and urged David Cameron to halt the "hugely risky process" in the UK.
France's constitutional court ruled late last week that a 2011 law banning the controversial technique used to extract shale gas "confirms to the constitution" and is not "disproportionate".
US exploration company Schuepbach Energy had brought a complaint against the law after having two permits revoked because of the ban, arguing that no studies...
United Kingdom: Caroline Lucas set for fracking protest court hearing
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on September 25th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has defended her right to protest against shale oil and gas exploration, after she was charged over her part in protests at Balcombe, West Sussex.
The MP for Brighton Pavilion was among a group of demonstrators arrested during a day of anti-fracking protests in Balcombe, Sussex, last month.
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed yesterday that Lucas would be charged with breaching a police order on public assemblies and wilful obstruction of the highway.
She...
CEOs: environmental and social data helps companies make better decisions
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on September 24th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Chief executives acknowledge businesses will make better long term decisions if they consider their company's environmental and social footprints alongside financial impacts, but very few are using data about their total impact for this purpose. That is the conclusion of a survey of 187 chief executives from companies with turnovers larger than $100m conducted by financial services company PwC, which suggests companies are increasingly looking beyond "narrow notions of input, output and profit"...
Europe’s largest tidal power array surges forward
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on September 15th, 2013
BusinessGreen: The UK's fledgling tidal power sector is set to take a major step forward today, as the Scottish government awards planning consent to the Europe's largest tidal array, located in the Pentland Firth.
Meygen, a group led by Morgan Stanley, International Power and tidal technology provider Atlantis, is planning to deploy up to 400 tidal turbines in the Inner Sound, which is known as the "crown jewel' of the Pentland Firth for its fast flowing waters.
Today, Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing...
Blue chips named in US ‘Toxic 100’ league table
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on September 2nd, 2013
BusinessGreen: Some of the largest and most high-profile companies in the US have been named in a series of league tables designed to highlight the top 100 air polluters, greenhouse gas emitters and water polluters in America.
The fifth edition of the Toxic 100 Air Polluters index was released late last month by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, confirming that Bayer Group, Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, BASF and GE all make the top 10.
The rankings, which...
UK oil & gas investment reaches record high
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on August 21st, 2013
BusinessGreen: The UK oil and gas industry has hailed "renewed commitment" from the government after reporting record levels of investment at a time when the coalition's energy policy is facing intense scrutiny.
Trade body Oil & Gas UK, which represents offshore operators, said investment levels this year are expected to reach £13.5bn. This represents a £6bn boost on 2012, which it attributed to new tax allowances granted by Chancellor George Osborne aiding new exploration.
"The recent sharpening of focus...
United Kingdom: Councils demand higher fracking payments
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on August 19th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Fresh protests over shale gas exploration have heaped more troubles on energy company Cuadrilla, as it emerged councils want a bigger share of the incentives paid to communities hosting fracking.
This morning 20 protestors blockaded Cuadrilla's headquarters in Lichfield, Staffordshire, while a further six super-glued themselves to the London office of Bell Pottinger, the PR firm employed by Cuadrilla.
The protests come after more than 2,000 people marched through the village of Balcombe, West...
United Kingdom: Cuadrilla signals it is ‘unlikely’ to pursue Balcombe oil
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on August 14th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Cuadrilla is "unlikely" to convert its controversial oil exploration site in Balcombe into a full production site, according to BBC reports.
The broadcaster today reported the company is unconvinced by the case for developing the site, arguing that while it is "ideal" for exploration other sites in the area that boast better transport links are likely to prove better suited for full production.
Cuadrilla's planning permission for the site, which has been the subject of protests for several...
Mining and metals firms reveal multi-million dollar water risks
Posted by BusinessGreen: None Given on July 29th, 2013
BusinessGreen: Mining and metals companies that are taking steps to reduce their expose to water-related risks such as drought and flooding are already performing better financially than their peers, according to a new analysis, which urges the industry to be more open about the environmental challenges it faces.
A report issued late last week by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Eurizon Capital, analysed the the water risks of 36 of the 57 mining and metals businesses in the Global 500 index.
All except...