DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Just Stop Oil: UK court sentences climate activists to prison for 4-5 years over highway protest
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Sharon Braithwaite | Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Five activists of the Just Stop Oil environmental campaign have been handed prison sentences for their involvement in organizing protests that blocked a major London highway in 2022, PA media reported, sparking a wave of criticism from climate advocates. Hallam was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment while the remaining four defendants were each handed four years in prison each. ‘Obscene perversion of justice’The sentences have drawn criticism from environmental agencies and scientists. The judge’s characterisation of climate breakdown as a matter of opinion and belief is completely nonsensical and demonstrates extraordinary ignorance. The judge’s characterisation of climate breakdown as a matter of opinion and belief is completely nonsensical and demonstrates extraordinary ignorance.

Persons: Roger Hallam, Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, Cressida Gethin, Christopher Hehir, Hallam, “, ”, Jocelyn Ledward KC, Bill McGuire, Amy Cameron, Sir David King Organizations: CNN —, Prosecutors, Metropolitan Police, University College London, Greenpeace UK’s, Geophysical Locations: London

☆ Greenpeace loses legal challenge to UK's new North Sea oil and gas licences
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Vessels that are used for towing oil rigs in the North Sea are moored up at William Wright docks in Hull, Britain November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Britain's decision to authorise new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea was lawful, London's High Court ruled on Thursday, dismissing a legal challenge by Greenpeace. Judge David Holgate rejected Greenpeace's case on Thursday, saying in a written ruling that the decision not to assess end-use emissions was not irrational. A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson welcomed the decision. Britain says domestic oil and gas production is key to its plan to improve energy security and that doing so is consistent with its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Persons: William, Russell Boyce, David Holgate, Greenpeace's, Philip Evans, Tessa Khan, Sam Tobin, William James, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Greenpeace, Britain's Department for Energy Security, Department for Energy Security, Thomson Locations: William Wright, Hull, Britain, North, Europe

That has drawn fury from climate protesters who have stepped up their campaigns, disrupting high-profile sporting events, classical music concerts and political speeches. loadingPictures posted online by Greenpeace UK on Thursday showed four protesters atop the property in Yorkshire, northern England, covering it in swathes of black fabric, while a banner read "RISHI SUNAK - OIL PROFITS OR OUR FUTURE?" Around two hours later at 11:00 BST (1000 GMT), four protesters were still on the roof with a sign saying "NO NEW OIL." Greenpeace said they were protesting the government's backing for new North Sea oil and gas licences and a proposed development of Equinor's (EQNR.OL) Rosebank oilfield, which is subject to a final investment decision. "We desperately need our prime minister to be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist," Greenpeace UK said.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Rishi, Read, Sunak, YouGov, Vladimir, Putin, William James, Farouq Suleiman, Kate Holton, Giles Elgood Organizations: Greenpeace, British, Greenpeace UK, Wednesday . Police, Sunak's Conservative, Thomson Locations: Yorkshire, England, Britain, California, Ukraine, Sunak's

☆ Activists cover Rishi Sunak’s mansion in black cloth after climbing onto the roof with ropes and ladders
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Martin Goillandeau Chris Liakos Laura Paddison | Martin Goillandeau | Chris Liakos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Climate activists draped black cloth over British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s private mansion in northern England on Thursday, in a protest against his policy to “max out” the UK’s oil and gas resources in the North Sea. Four demonstrators from the environmental group Greenpeace managed to climb onto the Conservative party leader’s manor house in his North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond early Thursday. They used ladders and climbing ropes to access the roof, where they unraveled 200 square meters of “oil-black fabric” to cover part of the mansion, Greenpeace said in a statement. Greenpeace said Sunak’s announcement is a blow to the UK’s environmental goals. “We desperately need our prime minister to be a climate leader, not a climate arsonist,” said Philip Evans, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner.

Persons: Rishi, Sunak, greenlighting Rosebank, “, ”, Philip Evans, ” Evans, Downing, Putin, Kirby Sigston Organizations: CNN —, British, ., Greenpeace, Conservative, Richmond, International Energy Agency, Downing Street, CNN, Downing, North Yorkshire Police Locations: England, North, North Yorkshire, Europe, Southeast Asia, greenlighting, Kirby

☆ The UK will drill for more oil and gas in the North Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The UK government has announced plans to allow a big expansion of drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea in a move that environmental activists have described as a taking a “wrecking ball” to the country’s climate commitments. “Even when we’ve reached net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas. He also announced plans to build two new carbon capture and storage sites in the North Sea, to be completed by 2030, which would take the country’s total to four. The licensing process, overseen by the North Sea Transition Authority, will be more flexible to allow companies to drill near currently licensed areas, “unlocking vital reserves which can be brought online faster,” Sunak’s office said in a statement. “[The project] is a central part of plans to decarbonize North Sea operations, and to store emissions from other parts of Scottish industry,” he said.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, we’ve, ” Sunak, Simon Roddy, ”, ” Lyndsay Walsh, Philip Evans, “, ” Evans Organizations: London CNN, International Energy Agency, Transition, Shell, ”, Greenpeace UK, Conservative, Labour Party Locations: North, Scotland, loggerheads

☆ Britain puts coal plant on standby as warm temperatures ramp up demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Susanna Twidale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Steam and smoke billow from the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired power station near Nottingham, Britain, December 1, 2017. Britain has a target to close its coal-fired power plants by October 2024 as part of efforts to cut fossil fuel emissions and meet its 2050 net-zero target. A market notice, published by the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) showed it has asked for the unit to be ready on Monday afternoon. National Grid ESO did not comment on why the notification had been issued. Gas-fired power plants were providing around 41% of the country’s electricity on Monday, with wind power lower than usual, providing just 7%.

Persons: Ratcliffe, Hannah McKay, Uniper, Ami McCarthy, Statnett, Susanna Twidale, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, National Grid Electricity, Grid ESO, country's Met, Grid, Greenpeace, Thomson Locations: Nottingham, Britain, Ratcliffe, Norway, Norwegian

☆ Electric car sales surged by 55% last year to surpass 10 million, and China led the way: IEA
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Electric vehicles from Tesla photographed in China. The world's second largest economy is a major player when it comes to the sale of electric vehicles. "Electric car sales — including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) — exceeded 10 million last year, up 55% relative to 2021," the IEA's report said. In total, it said more than 26 million electric cars were on the world's roads in 2022, which represents a 60% increase relative to 2021. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, have an internal combustion engine as well as a battery-powered electric motor.

☆ Activists gather for Earth Day, urge action to avoid 'dystopian' future
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Climate impacts are here," Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said on Friday as climate change activists walked down the street outside parliament, some dressed in green costumes and green paint. Activists led by the Extinction Rebellion group have gathered in London to kick off a four-day action, billed "The Big One", to coincide with Earth Day. [1/5] Peru's shamans perform a traditional ritual and make an offer to "Pachamama" (Mother Earth) on the eve of "Earth Day", in Lima, Peru April 21, 2023. In Peru, shamans on Friday made an offering to the "Pachamama", or Mother Earth. Holding yellow flowers and rattles, the shamans walked around a papier-mache globe as they performed a cleansing ritual.

☆ UK sets out energy plans, critics bemoan lack of clean tech boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A survey vessel sails past wind turbines at the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm near New Brighton, Britain, January 23, 2023. REUTERS/Phil NobleLONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Britain set out plans to boost energy security and tackle emissions on Thursday, but critics said a lack of new investment and incentives meant it failed to provide any new boost for the country's green energy sector. Energy security minister Grant Shapps said the 1,000 pages of documents published on Thursday were focused on energy security, a major focus since the war in Ukraine. There were also further details on a raft of previously announced schemes such as funding for offshore wind, carbon capture, speeding up planning processes for solar and offshore wind projects, rolling out more electric vehicle charging points and encouraging heat pumps in homes. Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said the government's energy plans were not going far or fast enough to tackle climate change.

Looney's base salary of 1.3 million pounds was topped up by retirement benefits and performance-related elements including an annual bonus and shares to 10.03 million pounds ($11.99 million), more than double the 4.46 million pounds he was awarded in 2021. The ex-CEO of energy rival Shell (SHEL.L), Ben van Beurden, saw his pay package rise 53% to 9.7 million pounds after Shell reported record profits of $40 billion. EMISSIONSBP's emissions in 2022 were broadly unchanged from the previous year at around 340 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to its annual report and Reuters calculations. Unlike Shell, BP in its figures excludes emissions from fuels it sells that are derived from crude oil it does not produce. This measure includes all energy BP sells including fuel originally produced by other companies.

☆ 'Greenwashing' is a good thing, according to one renewable energy tycoon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Greenwashing should be seen as a positive sign that companies are moving in the right direction, according to the founder of British energy firm Ecotricity. "But you know, I take it as a good thing. People say to me, 'oh, there's greenwashing, it's a bad thing'." "And I say, do you know what, it's not a bad thing because 10 years ago, these companies that are greenwashing today, didn't care, right?" I say that's progress.

☆ Exxon accurately predicted global warming from 1970s but still cast doubt on climate science, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —ExxonMobil’s own scientists accurately predicted future global warming in reports dating back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, despite the company publicly continuing for years to cast doubt on climate science and lobby against climate action, according to a new analysis. They found the company’s science was not only good enough to predict long term temperature rise, but also accurately predicted when human-caused climate change would become discernible, according to the report published Thursday in the journal Science. Between 63% to 83% of the projections were accurate in predicting subsequent global warming and their projections were also consistent with independent academic models, the report found. Exxon won the case, which alleged the company had misled over climate change. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images“We now have tight, unimpeachable evidence that ExxonMobil accurately predicted global warming years before it turned around and publicly attacked climate science,” Supran said.

"It always rains a lot here, it's very cold and it's January and it feels like summer," said Bilbao resident Eusebio Folgeira, 81. French tourist Joana Host said: "It's like nice weather for biking but we know it's like the planet is burning. Scientists have not yet analysed the specific ways in which climate change affected the recent high temperatures, but January's warm weather spell fits into the longer-term trend of rising temperatures due to human-caused climate change. "The record-breaking heat across Europe over the new year was made more likely to happen by human-caused climate change, just as climate change is now making every heatwave more likely and hotter," said Dr Friederike Otto, climate scientist at Imperial College London. French national weather agency Meteo France attributed the anomalous temperatures to a mass of warm air moving to Europe from subtropical zones.

☆ UK blackouts: Facing risk of power cuts this winter Britain is drilling for more oil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Launched Friday, the licensing round won’t lead to new UK production for several years. It said it would take steps to mitigate the risk, including bringing old coal-fired power stations back online if necessary. Climate concernsThe latest licensing round won’t improve the immediate supply picture and could face a legal challenge from environmental activists. Greenpeace said that new oil and gas licenses were “potentially unlawful” and that it would be looking for ways to act. The plan, which allows drilling for oil and gas, will also ramp up nuclear power and wind energy.

☆ Big business likes to trumpet ESG credentials. But a 'greenwashing' reckoning could be on the horizon
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Many of these claims are now viewed through the prism of ESG, or environmental, social and governance. But here's the rub: Definitions of ESG often vary and are hard to pin down. Over in the United States, scrutiny of claims about sustainability and ESG is also taking place. When contacted by CNBC, Vale — which has an "ESG Portal" on its website — referred to a statement issued on April 28. The debate surrounding greenwashing is becoming increasingly fierce, with the charge often leveled at multinational companies with vast resources and significant carbon footprints.

Search resuls for: "Greenpeace UK"

15 mentions found