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Plans unveiled for UK’s first green shipping corridor
UK port operator, Peel Ports Group, has unveiled plans to create the first green shipping corridor between the UK and Ireland that would enable an electric ship to dock at various ports and be charged with clean energy.
Peel Ports Group is partnering with NatPower Marine to establish the first “green shipping corridors” between Ireland and the UK. The project involves decarbonising maritime emissions by rolling out the UK’s first commercial electric ship along with supporting infrastructure including a charging network and clean power access.
NatPower Marine will invest an estimated £100m to develop charging infrastructure across all eight UK and Irish ports operated by Peel Ports Group. The network will support the Group’s ambition of cold ironing, which enables the ship to access clean power while docked to reduce emissions and engine pollution while at port, as well as electric propulsion.
Accelerator programme launched to grow Britain’s offshore wind supply chain
The Crown Estate, which manages much of the UK’s seabed, has launched a new multi-million-pound scheme intended to help suppliers to the offshore wind industry set up and scale their businesses.
The Supply Chain Accelerator has an initial funding round of £10m and a further £40m has been pledged for future rounds. Each business will be able to apply for a share of up to £1m at this stage.
The aim of the accelerator is to catalyse further early-stage investment in the UK’s offshore wind supply chain, thus growing the nation’s manufacturing capacity for key components.
From oil to offshore: Energy sector reveals ‘skills passport’ for seamless worker transition
Energy industry leaders have unveiled a roadmap for a prototype ‘energy skills passport’ to facilitate cross-sector recognition of expertise and training within the energy industry, as a response to the growing skills gap challenge.
The skills passport aims to help workers and employers recognise transferable skills and qualifications across sectors such as oil and gas, and offshore wind. This will enable workers to transition seamlessly between different roles within the energy industry as emissions are reduced, accelerating the UK’s energy transition.
The project will focus on aligning technical qualifications, mapping safety standards, creating career pathways, and establishing a mechanism for recognising standards.
Is sustainability a value generation opportunity for business?
New research has found that a majority of businesses globally view sustainability as an avenue for generating value, with almost a quarter indicating that climate change affects their business to the same extent as other global risks.
This is according to a recent report by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing, based on a survey of more than 300 private and public companies with annual revenues exceeding $100m, spanning North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific Countries (APAC).
As per the survey findings, approximately 85% of participants view sustainability as a means to create value within their long-term corporate strategies, with half of the companies stating it as a ‘highly significant’ factor driving their sustainability initiatives.
Reports: Climate losses could reach 7% of EU’s GDP
Europe needs smart investments to strengthen disaster resilience, adaptation and finance response to disaster and climate risks, the World Bank and the European Commission have insisted.
Europe is warming faster than any other continent and is highly vulnerable to the increasing risks associated with climate change, a new set of reports on the Economics for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness has revealed.
Over the past decades, Europe has seen overwhelming and increasing losses and destruction from climate-related disasters.
2023 was the hottest year on record with disasters across Europe costing more than €77bn. Projected costs of inaction in a high-warming scenario could reach 7% of EU GDP.
Amazon has unveiled the 15 sustainability start-up solutions that will benefit from its four-week innovation accelerator, with some UK businesses in line to trial their solutions at the e-commerce giant’s operations across Europe.
Amazon has announced the winners of the third edition of the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator. A total of 15 start-ups from across Europe will partake in a four-week programme consisting of workshops, mentorships and networking access to help grow their sustainability solutions.
The UK is represented in the latest batch. ACS Clothing, which offers clothing renewables to cut back on fashion waste through resale and returns, Cheesecake Energy, which has developed a technology that stores electricity in the form of compressed air and heat and Breathe Batteries, which can enhance the performance and lifecycle of lithium-ion batteries, have all been chosen.
US Government unveils principles to boost trust in voluntary carbon markets
The Biden-Harris Administration has introduced new principles for high-integrity voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) to restore investor confidence and ensure credit purchases result in verifiable decarbonisation.
The US Government’s ‘Principles for Responsible Participation’ aim to address integrity concerns in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) and enhance their potential to attract private capital for carbon reduction and removal projects.
These principles outline the criteria for the credibility and effectiveness of carbon credits within voluntary carbon markets, emphasising the importance of ensuring that carbon credits accurately represent genuine decarbonisation efforts while adhering to strict atmospheric integrity standards.