Tag Archives: Government

A win-win for science and innovation

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Policy_Team

Last week EU leaders put the subject of research and innovation at the top of the political agenda by dedicating one of their summit meetings specifically to the issue. Today the European Commissioner for Research Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, EU, Research, Royal Society | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Selling England’s forests: A cut too far?

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Policy_Team

At present, England’s forests are managed by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Ministers however, are now proposing to reform ownership and management of the estate by selling off large … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Conservatives, Defra, Forestry Commission, Forests, Government, Science Policy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Biodiversity offsetting: making nature economically visible

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Policy_Team

Biodiversity offsetting is a method intended to help compensate for the detrimental impacts of development on biodiversity. Such an approach is designed to work by creating a credit based market that developers could use to offset actions deemed harmful to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Biodiversity offsetting, Conservation, Defra, Government, Parliament, Science Policy, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Increasing demands threaten future food security

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Policy_Team

Today scientists warned that rising pressures on global resources threaten the future security of the planets food, after the results of the most comprehensive investigation into food security ever were published this morning. Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir John Beddington emphasised … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Climate Change, Food Security, Government | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Think-tank urges EU to plan for UK-style ‘Green Investment Bank’

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Policy_Team

Member countries of the European Union should adopt plans for their own ‘Green Investment Bank (GIB)’ in order to benefit from 30% emissions reductions, according to the independent think-tank E3G. Recommendations from the report – “Building a sustainable and low … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Economy, Emissions, Energy, EU, Green Technology, Science Policy, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Government set to sell off Britain’s forests

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Policy_Team

Up to 150,000 hectares of state-owned forests and land could be sold to private investors, under a new government strategy to raise funds towards decreasing the Budget deficit. The Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman is expected to announce details of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Defra, Environment, Forests, Government, UK | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Energy Secretary ‘scraps’ £30 billion Severn Barrage project

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Policy_Team

The Secretary of State for Energy, Chris Huhne announced on Monday that the government will abandon its plans to invest in the controversial Cardiff-Weston Barrage project, in a bid to save between £10-30 billion of taxpayers money. If the project … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon Capture, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Government, Green Technology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Third update of guidelines on scientific advice published

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Policy_Team

Following a public consultation the government’s Chief Scientific Advisor Sir John Beddington has last week published the updated guidelines on the use of scientific advice within government. The guidelines highlight key issues fed in by consultees, such as the importance … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Policy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment