Results tagged “environment” from Birmingham Post - News Blog

In the run up to The Big Debate: Are our young leaders our green saviours?, Professor Richard Green - director of the Institute for Energy Research and Policy at the University of Birmingham - discusses the challenges faced by those which aim to keep energy supplies secure and limit the damage we do to the environment

Energy has been in the news a lot recently - price rises, climate change and power cuts have all featured, along with wind farms and nuclear power.

No consumer wants high energy prices, nobody wants to damage the environment, and no one wants to turn a switch and find that there's no power, but there are few decisions we can make about energy that do not run the risk of making one of these things worse.

Local newspaper hacks at Westminster are gearing up for the big announcement tomorrow, Thursday, when the Government will publish a shortlist of proposed eco-towns.

Ministers have left it to the last minute, as the Commons breaks up for the Easter recess tomorrow afternoon and most MPs will already have begun the journey back to their constituencies.

It means there will be little opportunity for Ministers to be questioned in the Commons.

But Housing Minister Caroline Flint has written to MPs explaining what happens next.

Of 57 proposals received by developers, 15 will be shortlisted tomorrow. Ten of these will eventually go ahead.

In the West Midlands, proposed eco-towns near Stratford, Warwickshire, and Lichfield, Staffordshire, are thought to be contenders. Another proposed development near Evesham, Worcestershire, is thought less likely to get the green light.

But the speculation will end tomorrow when the shortlist is published. Whatever Ministers decide, it's sure to be controversial.