At the end of December Chris Huhne released figures which appeared to show evidence of the economic benefits of renewable energy and reaffirmed the coalition’s commitment to meeting EU renewable energy targets. This came as the UK published an update on progress to source 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020. read more...

With the cooperation of politicians and grassroots organizations, Bolivia is set to pass the Law of Mother Earth which will grant nature the same rights and protections as humans. The piece of legislation, called la Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra, is intended to encourage a radical shift in conservation attitudes and actions, to enforce new control measures on industry, and to reduce environmental destruction. read more...

Plastic bags became almost a national symbol of waste and decadence thanks to BBC camerawoman Rebecca Hosking, who travelled to the remote Pacific island of Midway to film a nature documentary, the Guardian reports. read more...

The government's much vaunted programme to transform the energy efficiency of 14m homes over the next decade will fail and only reach around 2-3m households, according to a document originating with their own climate advisers. read more...

Ministers must resolve confusion surrounding the government’s fiercely debated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), said the BPF, after an influential committee of cross-party MPs called for ‘significant changes’. In their newly published report, the CLG Committee suggested government reinstate the brownfield first policy and amend the contentious presumption in favour of sustainable development. read more...

The High Court has ordered a judicial review of the government's proposals to cut feed-in tariff payments for solar photovoltaic installations. Following a legal challenge by Friends of the Earth and two solar firms, Solarcentury and HomeSun, the High Court agreed that proposals to cut feed-in tariff payments for any solar scheme completed after 12 December, eleven days before the current consultation closes tomorrow, were unlawful. read more...

Concerns have been expressed about the effect that government directives which encourage the burning of wood are likely to have on British manufacturing. Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) and the British Furniture Confederation (BFC) held a meeting at the House of Lords this week to launch a report commissioned by FIRA. read more...

At a meeting with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) this morning solar industry members were told that there is a “high level of certainty” that the proposed feed-in tariff rates of 21p and below will remain unchanged until April 2012. read more...