News you might have missed: 8 June 2009

Wish there was just one place where you could catch up on all the latest cleantech and environmental news and developments? There is! Check out today’s roundup at Greenbang:

• By 2080, climate change could mean regular temperatures of 41 Celsius in London, and grape and sunflower cultivation in the south west of England, according to a report in the Telegraph;
• A special team has been brought together to produce a fully developed business case for extending high speed rail links between Scotland and England, a transport conference was told today;
• Environment Agency enforcement officers today raided two sites in east London and Essex in the most significant action to date in stopping the suspected illegal export of electrical waste from the UK;
• A one-day conference on the advantages of green fleet management is to be held in London later this month;
• A North East firm specialising in the design and manufacture of mobile communication antennas is investing in a restructure of the business as it gears up for further international growth, One North East reports;
• Some 2,000 visitors attended an Open Day at the Petten Research Park in North Holland that was sponsored by JRC’s Institute for Energy and the Dutch Energy Research Centre;
• Lufthansa has released its latest sustainability report detailing activities undertaken in 2008;
• Environmental gains delivered after massive green investment by Tesco have secured the “Carbon Trust Standard” for the UK’s greenest supermarket chain;
• Dangerous climate change will be unavoidable if the UK, EU and US succeed in increasing the use of carbon offsetting, Friends of the Earth warns in a new report that claims carbon offsetting is ineffective and damaging;
• At this year’s international conference on power distribution — CIRED — in Prague, Siemens Energy presented innovative solutions for setting up and expanding smart grids;
• The head of Royal Dutch Shell says the oil and gas industry will need increasing supplies of renewables and unconventional fuels to meet rising energy demands between now and 2030;
• The International Air Transport Association says the airline industry is committed to achieving carbon-neutral growth by 2020;
• The European Commission has granted the Swedish government approval to guarantee loans from the European Investment Bank for the Ford Motor Company unit Volvo to help co-finance the development of green cars;
• Biofuels produced from jatropha may be competing with food production for land and water, a report by Friends of the Earth reveals.