U.K. launches first research programme on greenhouse gas removal
The U.K. has launched a £8.6 million national research programme to investigate how to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, the first of its kind.
United Kingdom
U.K. achieves first coal-free day since Industrial Revolution
According to the National Grid, the U.K. did not use coal to generate electricity for a full day on Friday 21 April, the first time since the Industrial Revolution.
London’s black cabs go electric
Any motorized vehicle will have to meet strict exhaust emissions standards or pay a heavy surcharge to commute around the city center. Electric vehicles (EVs) are one way for drivers to stay compliant and move about freely on the city’s streets.
U.K. emissions fall to lowest level since 19th century
According to the Carbon Brief, CO2 emissions fell by 5.8 per cent in 2016, after coal use fell a record 52 per cent.
Supermarkets in U.K. urged to create plastic-free aisle in every store
Environmental activist organisation A Plastic Planet will lobby Britain’s major supermarkets in the coming weeks to urge them to offer food packaged only in biodegradable materials.
U.K. mass surveillance ruled illegal by E.U. court
Europe’s highest court says that the provision for mass surveillance contained in the recently-passed Investigatory Powers Act ‘cannot be considered to be justified within a democratic society’.
Scotland is set to be 100% zero-carbon by 2020
A world run completely on renewable energyit sounds to be an impossible feat, but in a some places around the world, people have stopped burning fossil fuels for electricity. Another country is about to join the club: Scotland.
Australia, France, Japan, Jamaica, the Philippines, Sweden, U.K., and U.S. found the International Coral Reef Initiative
The ICRI is an informal partnership among nations, international organizations and non-government organizations to help protect coral reefs globally. It is now the world’s largest body dedicated to coral conservation.
Stephen Hawking publishes A Brief History of Time
In A Brief History of Time, Hawking writes in non-technical terms about the structure, origin, development and eventual fate of the universe, which is the object of study of astronomy and modern physics.
Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
As prime minister, she implemented policies that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the “Iron Lady”, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.