The Environmental Audit Committee has recommended increasing the amount of wood used in construction and expanding productive forestry in the UK to meet the 2050 target. In his latest report, “ Seeing the wood for the trees: the contribution of the forestry and timber sector to biodiversity and the net zero goals' – The Environmental Audit Committee has recommended increasing the amount of wood in construction and expanding productive forestry in the UK to help achieve net zero by 2050.   Over the past year, MPs have heard from a range of industry experts on the best ways to grow a sustainable and resilient domestic timber sector. The inquiry comes after the Committee on Climate Change recognized wood as key to decarbonising the built environment. 

Britain will struggle to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the next three decades unless consumers are prepared to change their spending behaviour, according to the latest study by electricity system operator National Grid (ESO). In a new report, Future Energy Scenarios 2023, ESO suggests low-carbon boilers or heat pumps, conversion to electric vehicles and periods of demand flexibility where energy consumption is reduced could all be needed for the country to meet the government's climate targets. (NICHOLAS EARL)

National energy and climate plan so that the country achieves carbon neutrality by 2050 and fulfills the requirements of the European Green Deal. This is claimed by a group of organizations and experts under the umbrella of the Slovak Climate Initiative (SKI) in a joint appeal addressed to government officials. In addition to SKI, the signatories of the call are the Buildings for the Future platform, the Slovak Green Building Council (SKGBC), the Slovak Association of Photovoltaic Industry and Renewable Energy (SAPI), the Association of Solar Electricity Producers (AVES), Greenpeace, the Institute of Circular Economy (ICIEN), the Slovak Biogas Association, communication agency GreenTalk, but also companies such as PW Energy and Knauf Insulation. (Radovan Potočár, energie-portál.sk)

Being carbon conscious is hard. Our biggest CO2 emissions may come from everyday activities we least suspect. Awareness the impact that our lifestyle has on our planet is the first step towards it reduction . Creating zero CO2 emissions is unrealistic for most of us, but there is a way to give back. With Carbon/Neutral you can compensate its remaining emissions by supporting environmental projects whose mission is to have a net positive ecological impact. We can be together carbon/neutral .

Sweden's parliament this week formally abandoned its goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 using only renewable energy. The country is now trying to build more nuclear reactors. This choice, according to observers, indirectly accepts the poor quality of unreliable wind and solar power. It shows a general loss of faith in the Nordic countries, which were pioneers in the field of renewable energy sources. It also reveals that Western countries' plans to achieve net zero are unsustainable. (HALED ABOU ZAHR, ARABNEWS)

With climate awareness and the pursuit of net zero emissions now firmly entrenched as an ESG aspect, law firms are now undergoing the same scrutiny that their multinational clients face. For most, if not all, law firms, the stance on climate change is now a hygiene factor. Across all sectors, adapting businesses and business models to thrive in (and survive the transition to) the 'zero' economy is a critical commercial imperative. It is also, especially in the transition period we are currently in, a communication imperative. Reputational risk is great. At first glance, however, it may seem that the legal sector has nothing to fear from the reputational point of view.

Next week during the plenary session, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution asking the EU to commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This is part of the effort to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. The vote is being held ahead of December's COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid. The goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and continue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Otherwise, we will not avoid the catastrophic scenarios that climate change will bring. A total of 194 countries signed the agreement. Among its signatories are the EU member states and the Union as a whole. They coordinate with each other and have set common goals for reducing emissions.