We can dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of our responsibilities.
What's in the new UK energy bill?
When the UK coalition government was first announced there were concerns that with the differences in Liberal Democrat and Conservative agendas not much would be achieved, but a whole host of green initiatives were unveiled for the country in the Queen's speech yesterday indicating common ground in terms of renewable energy. But what overhauls are to be implemented in the proposed UK energy bill?
The future of Europe's gas infrastructure
Whether the EU likes to admit it or not, the continent is reliant on external energy supplies in order to power itself. Today, almost half of the EU's natural gas imports come from Russia, along with 30 percent of its oil supplies and Russia is keen for this to continue. However, certain European governments are less sure about being reliant on a sole supplier and have sought to break Russian dependency by diversifying the continent's energy suppliers, ensuring Europe's natural gas future.
Green Infrastructure
General construction work uses an inordinate amount of energy, water and raw materials and more often than not, generates large amounts of waste and potentially harmful atmospheric emissions. As such, sustainable construction and green infrastructure projects are becoming more and more important, with designers and construction firms constantly working to find the most eco-friendly ways to make buildings.
Power struggle
Michael Lewis, European Managing Director for E.On Climate and Renewables, talks about the challenges of offshore wind, the need for new transmission infrastructure and fossil fuel’s place in the future energy mix.
Europe's solid waste management issues
Europe has a problem with waste. As Italy's waste problems highlighted last year, the EU is creating more and more rubbish and is running out of places to put it. Each year, the EU throws away 1.3 billion tonnes of waste - some 40 million tonnes of it hazardous. This amounts to about 3.5 tonnes of solid waste for every man, woman and child, according to European Environment Agency statistics.