Newly appointed energy secretary Edward Davey visited BRE’s Innovation Park in Watford today in his first official appointment since replacing Chris Huhne on Friday.

Joined by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on his tour of the Innovation Park he said ‘My priorities are very simple: green jobs, green growth and getting the best deal for energy bill payers. My department is already implementing bold and ambitious reforms – like electricity market reform and the Green Deal – to unlock private investment, drive innovation and build a resilient, green competitive economy. It’s now my job to see those through.

 
The water shortages already threatening East Anglia’s parched countryside could worsen drastically in future unless urgent action is taken to mitigate the twin threats of climate change and population growth.

That stark warning comes in an Environment Agency (EA) report which suggests river levels could plunge by as much as 80pc if rainfall dries up and demand for water continues to rise unchecked by 2050.

The spectre of the regions’s finest waterways being reduced to muddy trickles is the most pessimistic scenario among several analysed in the report, with other models predicting less severe outcomes.

Following the submission of information to the Green Deal consultation paper, Garry Worthington, Head of Green Deal at Climate Energy says:

“There are a number of challenges facing the Government if the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) are to deliver cost-effective emissions reductions and meet the carbon reduction targets which have been set.

The fifth annual edition of the State of Green Business report continues efforts to measure the environmental impacts of the emerging green economy. In addition to documenting what progress companies are making -- if any -- in improving their environmental performance, we track larger trends that will affect corporate America in 2012.