Entries for December 2009

US work on “urban morphology” suggests carbon benefits of high-density go far beyond reduced motoring, reports Jon Reeds

A performing arts centre for Cheltenham Ladies College has combined a new building with a refurbished Grade II* listed villa to provide a sustainable space that combines elements of both periods, discovers Ella Taylor

Early this year DECC and DEFRA initiated a major new research programme – AVOID

Among the many announcements made in Alistair Darling’s pre-Budget speech last month, one was the confirmation of the roll-out of smart and advanced metering across the country

Conservative leader David Cameron has said that, if elected, his government would “from day one” invest in energy efficiency home refurbishments, following a partnership with Tesco and Marks & Spencer

The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) has published its First Report for the 2009-10 Parliament

Communities minister Ian Austin has released details of the number of homes built in each English region, and estimates of those built in areas of high flood risk in each region, for the past 10 years

At their meeting in early December, energy ministers discussed the low carbon technologies plan proposed by the European Commission, following a presentation energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs.

The Council of Ministers and the European Parliament have reached agreement on a revised energy labelling directive

Over 120 MPs are supporting an Early Day Motion drawing attention to an important manifesto on microgeneration

The Norwegian government, which launched its Building for the future environmental action plan for the housing and building sector in September, has now made it available in English.

Over Christmas time, thousands upon thousands (probably millions) of energy hungry fairy lights decorate homes across Europe

The Government chose what was possibly the wettest day ever recorded in England to launch its Flood and Water Management Bill

The consultation on feed-in tariffs for small-scale renewable energy “elicited over 700 replies which are currently being analysed in line with the proposal to introduce a scheme by April 2010,”

Former RIBA president Maxwell Hutchinson has praised the humble brick as a sustainable and versatile material