targets | Common News Update

Aug262022 by adminNo Comments

Strictest targets pledged to tackle England sewage discharges

Science

The government has published a plan to reduce sewage discharges into England's rivers and the sea, promising the "strictest targets ever".Water firms will have to deliver the "largest infrastructure programme in water company history", it says.Last week pollution warnings were in place on nearly 50 beaches after heavy rainfall led to water companies discharging untreated sewage.The Liberal Democrats branded the new plan a "cruel joke".They said consumers would pay for "the mess made by water companies".Water companies discharged untreated sewage into rivers in England more than 400,000 times in 2020, according to official figures.The Liberal Democrats called the government's targets "flimsy", predicting they would still allow 325,000 sewage dumps a year in 2030. French anger at UK sewage d...

Nov102021 by adminNo Comments

COP26: Draft deal calls for stronger carbon cutting targets by end of 2022

Science

Getty ImagesCountries are being urged to strengthen their carbon-cutting targets by the end of 2022 in a draft agreement published at the COP26 Glasgow climate summit.The document says vulnerable nations must get more help to cope with the deadly impacts of global warming.It also says countries should submit long-term strategies for reaching net-zero by the end of next year. Critics have said the draft pact does not go far enough but others welcomed its focus on the 1.5C target.The document, which has been published by the UK COP26 presidency, will have to be negotiated and agreed by countries attending the talks. COP26 president Alok Sharma said he expected "near final texts" to be published overnight, adding that the agreement that comes out of the conference would "set the future for ou...

Mar182021 by adminNo Comments

National Grid’s ‘transformational’ pivot to electricity targets net zero ambitions

Business

National Grid is buying the UK's largest electricity distribution business for £7.8bn and plans to sell its gas transmission arm in a switch it says will enhance its role in delivering "net zero".The group has agreed to acquire Western Power Distribution (WPD) from America's PPL corporation in the latest transformation of the utility business responsible for keeping the UK's lights on. Buying WPD will give National Grid control over an electricity distribution network serving 7.9 million customers in the Midlands, the South West and Wales, with more than 6,500 staff. Image: National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew said the transactions would be transformational Meanwhile it plans to offload a majority stake in National Grid Gas (N...

Mar52021 by adminNo Comments

Israeli miniser says has list of Iran-backed targets

World

Israel's defense minister says his country has a bluprint for strikes against Iranian targets if the country shows signs of nuclear escalationByThe Associated PressMarch 5, 2021, 9:59 AM• 1 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleTEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel’s defense minister says his country has drawn up plans to strike Iranian targets if Tehran shows signs of nuclear escalation.Benny Gantz told Fox News that Israel is still working on its plans, but “we have them in our hands of course.”He showed a map of Lebanon that he said includes ground forces, missiles and launching sites set up by Iranian proxy forces along the border.“This is a target map. Each one of them has been checked legally, operationally, intelligence-wise and we are ready to fight,” Gantz said.The remar...

Feb262021 by adminNo Comments

‘Red alert for our planet’: UN report warns governments ‘nowhere close’ to climate targets

World

A UN climate change report has found that global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions "fall far short of what is required" and that nations must "step up" to fulfil promises made under the Paris agreement. In a stark warning ahead of a make or break COP26 climate conference in Glasgow later this year, countries were criticised over their emission reduction plans - known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - and urged to make "more ambitious" commitments. Following a legally binding international treaty on climate change signed in Paris in 2015, almost 200 countries set a goal of limiting global temperature rise by 2C - or ideally 1.5C - by the end of the century. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ...