News round-up: Natural Capital Committee, NEA’s international impact, investment in green infrastructure…

Dieter Helm to Chair Natural Capital Committee

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced the appointment of Professor Dieter Helm as chair of the Natural Capital Committee, providing advice on the state of English Natural Capital to the Economic Affairs Cabinet Committee (chaired by the Chancellor). More from Defra’s Natural Capital Committee…

National Ecosystem Assessment achieves international impact

The UK’s National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) is continuing to generate international interest and is proving influential in the way other nations approach their own assessments. More from Living With Environmental Change…

UK Green Investments team to invest £80 million in green infrastructure

Two specialist fund managers will make and manage investments in the small scale waste infrastructure sector on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. More from BIS…

New plastics re-processing facility to double UK capacity

Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Caroline Spelman will officially open the new Coca-Cola Enterprises and Eco-Plastics re-processing facility at Hemswell, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire on 10 May. Coca-Cola Enterprises has invested £5 million in the site and committed to a 10 year multi-million pound contract, with Eco-Plastics putting in £10 million. During the 2012 Games period, the site will re-process around 80 million new bottles within 6 weeks of the closing ceremony. The new facility will double the amount of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles re-processed in Great Britain to more than 75,000 tonnes when fully operational and lead to the creation of up to 30 new jobs. The deal is a first for the British drinks manufacturing industry.

University of St Andrews and Carnegie Trust launch online archive of Sustainable Development Commission reports

An online repository housed at the University of St Andrews has been created to ensure that SDC documents continue to be freely available online. The reports have been analysed so they can be searched using key words. Access the archive…

Caroline Spelman’s speech to the Planet under Pressure conference

Addressing the Planet Under Pressure conference in London, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman spoke of the UK NEA follow-up phase and looked ahead to the Rio+20 conference. Read the full speech…

Defra appoints new chief scientist

Professor Ian Boyd has been appointed by Defra to be its new Chief Scientific Adviser, replacing Professor Sir Bob Watson, who is leaving Defra after five years in the post. Professor Boyd, the current Director of the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews and the Sea Mammal Research Unit, will join Defra in September on a three year contract. More from Defra…

Defra minister calls for radical changes to Common Fisheries Policy

Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon called for countries in Europe to be given more say in the way their fisheries are managed, when he attended the EU Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 27th April. More from Defra…

Successful trial dramatically reduces ‘discards’ from fisheries

Fishermen have radically cut the amount of fish they discard following the success of the Government’s ‘Catch Quota’ trials, introduced to reduce discards of North Sea cod and for sole in the Western Channel. Results show that those participating in the trail have been successful in reducing discards of both stocks to just 0.2%. In 2010, the average discard rates were 38% for North Sea cod trawlers and 28% for Western Channel sole beam trawlers. More from Defra…