The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has signalled that the UK is on track to trigger Article 50 by the end of this month, following the Government’s decisive win for the ‘Brexit Bill’ in the Houses of Parliament on 13th March. There is no doubt that the process of the UK beginning to remove itself from the EU is a ‘defining
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In an article published in Geographical this month, writer Karen Lloyd reflects on the experiences of those who were hit by severe flooding in Cumbria in the winter of 2015/16. In a few weeks’ time, on 11th March, the RGS-IBG is hosting a public discussion meeting at the Rheged Centre in Penrith, bringing together for an afternoon those who have
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Alex Chisholm, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS), indicated earlier this year that the UK Government will publish its ‘Emissions Reduction Plan’ by the end of February 2017. The Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how the Government intends to meet post-2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, including the Fifth Carbon Budget, which
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The energy system is inherently geographical; the current system is dominated by centralised points of large-scale transformation, connected spatially to sites of consumption through infrastructure that transports and transmits electricity and natural gas via the National Grid and the national transmission network. Yet this system is based on fossil fuels. To meet the legally binding targets within the UK’s 2008 Climate Change
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A new guide produced by the Know Your Flood Risk campaign and co-authored by one of the speakers at the RGS-IBG’s forthcoming Policy Forum on flood risk management, encourages home owners to do more to protect themselves and their properties from flooding. The ‘Homeowners Guide to Flood Resilience‘ aims to ’empower people to be aware, prepare and take practical precautions
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The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Parliamentary Select Committee has today (2 November) released a report into flood risk management in the UK that the committee’s chair, Neil Parish MP, describes as ‘radical’ in its proposals. Setting out their view that the current systems of flood risk management (FRM) in this country are unfit for purpose, the Committee call for
Read moreAn infographic from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) provides an at-a-glance overview of current trends in the UK energy system. Published in the summer 2016 edition of the ESRC’s magazine, ‘Society Now‘, statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (now part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) provide an insight into the challenge faced
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The panel for the next in the series of 21st Century Challenges: Policy Forum events is now complete. ‘Achieving Sustainable Flood-Risk Management in the UK‘ will take place at the Society on Tuesday 8th November, chaired by BBC Environment Analyst Roger Harrabin. The panellists are: Martin Rogers, Flood Management and Access Adviser, National Farmers’ Union Carly Rose, Associate Consultant, Mary
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Are we likely to meet our targets to increase the use of renewables to 15% of our total energy use by 2020, or to decarbonise our economy by 2050? In 2040, will we as citizens and will our elected Governments prioritise reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, or material wealth for consumers, with little regard for the environment? It is of
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On 23 June, the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union. With voter turnout exceeding 70 per cent, a majority (52 per cent) elected to leave as opposed to 48 per cent who voted to remain. We’ve brought together commentary informed by geographers and the latest geographical research. Cartogram Special – Brexit, Geographical magazine, 29 June 2016 Dr Benjamin
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21st Century Challenges 