Solar panels must be fitted on all new homes from 2027 in net zero push May 1, 2025 New rules will mandate that housebuilders fit solar panels on the roofs of almost every new-build home from 2027, in a move slammed as an “ideological crusade”. According to a report in The Times, the policy change would add around £3,300 to the cost of building a semi-detached or terraced house, with a £4,000 premium [...]
Tony Blair calls for Net Zero ‘reset’ in break with Miliband April 30, 2025 Sir Tony Blair has called for a reset of “irrational” Net Zero plans, with an extended critique of the current state of the climate debate that has been seen as a direct rebuke to the energy secretary Ed Miliband. Blair, the last Labour leader to win an election before Sir Keir Starmer, cautioned in a [...]
BP shares plummet as firm chops buyback amid weakened oil market April 29, 2025 British energy giant BP chopped its quarterly share buyback after President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff agenda sent the price of oil tumbling. BP cuts its buyback to $750m (£559m), compared to $1.75bn the previous quarter. The firm’s shares dropped nearly four per cent in early trading on Tuesday. This comes after the cost of a [...]
Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Businesses can’t afford ‘heavy blow’ of net zero taxes April 29, 2025 INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has slammed UK net zero policies as unaffordable and claimed carbon taxes are “killing manufacturing”. The Manchester United co-owner described payments to be made by INEOS’ Grangemouth as part of the UK Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), which puts a financial cost on carbon emissions, as “yet another tax bill” that [...]
Spain power outage: British tennis ace Fearnley’s Madrid match abandoned April 28, 2025 British tennis player Jacob Fearnley was forced off court at a crucial stage of his match at the Madrid Open due to the huge power outage that hit Spain on Monday. Fearnley was trailing Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 5-4, having just saved match point and broken the former world No3 to stay in the third-round contest, [...]
ITM Power: Shares in green hydrogen specialist skyrocket April 22, 2025 Shares in ITM Power soared on Tuesday after the green hydrogen specialist hiked full-year guidance for revenue and cash generation. The London-listed firm said it expects annual revenue of between £25.5m and £26.5m, a 30 per cent increase on its prior forecast of £18m and £22m. It also lifted forecasts for cash generation to between [...]
Grid connection for clean energy firms to be fast-tracked, ministers say April 15, 2025 Grid connections for businesses delivering clean energy are to be prioritised, ministers have said. The government has said so-called ‘zombie projects’ which hold up the queue for National Grid connectivity are set to be axed from the waiting list. While industries including data centres and AI, wind energy and solar projects will be accelerated for [...]
Net zero no longer a priority for SMEs April 8, 2025 The majority of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) have sidelined net zero practices, according to a survey of around 500 business owners, in signs that net zero policies are increasingly falling out of fashion. President Donald Trump’s abandonment of Biden-era green policies has driven a global trend that is seeing firms and governments move away [...]
Planning application for Cumbria coal mine dropped after legal setbacks April 5, 2025 The company behind a proposed development for the UK’s first coal mine in 30 years has withdrawn its planning application. The government confirmed on Friday that West Cumbria Mining (WCM) withdrew its application for the site near Whitehaven after years of legal and regulatory setbacks. Then-housing secretary Michael Gove first granted planning permission for the [...]
Oil prices plummet as Saudis lead supply drive April 4, 2025 Oil prices are falling to their lowest close since 2021 as eight countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia surprised market leaders by announcing an increase to production. The shock decision by the OPEC+ alliance, delivered via a video conference on Thursday, came less than 24 hours after President Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements intensified global [...]