Daily Digest for

California’s cap-and-trade program disrupts supplier networks, reducing competitiveness, profitability, and customer relationships.

The UK government announces major railway reforms including the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill and establishment of Great British Railways (GBR) to improve railway services. The reforms have already shown improvements with LNER showing reduced cancellations, £15 million higher revenue, and increased train services.

Great British Nuclear (GBN) has shortlisted four companies - GE Hitachi, Holtec, Rolls Royce SMR and Westinghouse - for the UK’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) program following detailed technical assessment. GBN will proceed with negotiations with all four companies before final tender decisions in spring, evaluating aspects including safety, deliverability, and fleet development capability.

COP29 opens in Baku, Azerbaijan with UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell calling for a new global climate finance target to replace the existing $100 billion pledge that expires in 2025. The World Meteorological Organization releases data showing 2015-2024 as the hottest decade on record, with global mean surface air temperature 1.54°C above pre-industrial average from January to September 2024.

Natural England’s Thames Solent team has created six shingle islands at North Solent NNR to support breeding seabirds, particularly terns, as part of the Solent Seascape Project. The project, led by Blue Marine Foundation, aims to restore four vulnerable marine habitats including seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, saltmarsh, and seabird nesting habitat across the Solent region.