Sam Baker

Scotland’s space sector reaches a key milestone today as Skyrora Ltd, with its headquarters in Scotland, becomes the first UK-based business to get a launch licence from the Civil Aviation Authority.      This brings the prospect of a Scottish built rocket launching from a Scottish spaceport one step closer, with preparations continuing at pace for take-off.     Scottish Enterprise has helped support Skyrora’s international growth plans over the years as part of a growing number of over 200 space companies in Scotland. The fast pace of the space sector offers huge potential for businesses to scale, innovate and enter international markets. Scotland’s ambition is to capture a £4 billion global market share by 2030 across areas from data to manufacturing, ultimately creating new high-quality jobs and economic prosperity for communities across the country.     We’re working closely with the The Scottish Government and Space Scotland, as well as Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to make sure the space ecosystem is ready for this landmark first launch. When the first vehicle lifts off from Scotland it will demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities we have for satellite design, manufacture, launch and data exploitation.     It’s an exciting prospect to have the first licenced Scottish rocket manufacturing company with the ability to launch from Scotland. It also marks a significant step in our innovation ambition to be a leading space nation.     We back ambition.   

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Is the UK Paying Too Much for a Greener Future? It seems I’m always discussing this subject, but I want to be clear: I am in favour of reducing the use of hydrocarbons, just not at any cost and not without a coherent plan. I support doing so in a sensible, sustainable way. But what I am not in favour of is making decisions that have little to no meaningful global impact, while sacrificing UK jobs, UK economic value, UK regional energy security, and the UK ending up reliant on third-party hydrocarbons that are more carbon-intensive, less regulated, and often more expensive. All while UK costs at home continue to rise. Reuters reported this week that the UK government has increased the price it will pay for fixed-bottom offshore wind by 11 percent, to £81 per megawatt-hour. For floating offshore wind, the price rises to £194. These figures aren’t the result of competitive bidding but have been set to encourage companies to participate in the next auction. Last year’s round failed to attract any offshore wind bids, which made clear that previous pricing was just not attractive. The government has also extended the length of these contracts from 15 to 20 years, and the payments will rise with inflation. According to The Financial Times, this reflects rising costs, supply chain issues, and higher interest rates affecting developers. In the short term, these changes may help get projects moving. But there’s a cost. The current wholesale electricity price is about £70 to £75 per megawatt-hour. The government’s new offer is well above that. It’s also far higher than the Climate Change Committee’s 2030 projection of £38 per megawatt-hour, according to FOI requests published on WhatDoTheyKnow. Meanwhile, Ofgem estimates the UK will need to invest £80 billion to upgrade the grid, which could increase household bills by over £100 a year. At the same time, global demand for oil and gas remains strong. Many countries continue to generate revenue from hydrocarbons. The UK, in contrast, is winding down its domestic industry without an obvious replacement strategy. This is striking given the UK has historically led the world in offshore and subsea energy production. Yet now, as that sector is constrained, emerging regions are filling the gap, often with less regulated, more polluting methods. The irony IMHO is that the UK increasingly buys energy back from those same regions, undermining both climate goals and economic resilience. The journey towards ‘Net Zero’ to our leaders in the UK has become so focused on appearing virtuous that any fair or balanced transition is hard to see. We are committing billions to a mainly international based manufacturing industry, to long-term contracts with rising costs and uncertain outcomes. The hope is cleaner, cheaper energy. But for now, the risks are real, the benefits distant, and the public is picking up the bill. Is that just or just plain wrong? #NetZero #EnergyPolicy #OffshoreWind #EnergySecurity #CostOfLiving

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𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗣𝗜𝘀: 𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 Every now and then, you come across a document that balances rigour with relevance but this one nails it. 🫡 The Environmental Key Performance Indicators (EKPIs): Reporting Guidelines for UK Business, developed by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), remains a cornerstone for environmental reporting. Though developed for the UK, its value extends far beyond. It offers a pragmatic, structured approach for businesses to understand, measure, and report environmental performance in a way that’s both meaningful and manageable. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹: ✅ It identifies 22 environmental KPIs and guides companies to focus on the 5 most material ones for their sector. ✅It clearly differentiates direct and indirect impacts—and encourages firms to look beyond their operational boundaries (supply chains, product life cycles). ✅It links KPIs directly to business outcomes like cost savings, reputation, regulatory compliance, and investor confidence. ✅It outlines principles of good reporting: transparency, credibility, comparability—no greenwashing here. ✅And perhaps most importantly, it recognises that one-size-fits-all doesn't work. Instead, it offers sector-based relevance without being prescriptive. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸? ▪️ Companies beginning their reporting journey and looking for a no-nonsense guide. ▪️ESG consultants and sustainability practitioners refining KPI strategies. ▪️SMEs needing a cost-effective framework that satisfies increasing due diligence from larger buyers. ▪️And yes, policymakers and regulators seeking to harmonize environmental disclosure without overwhelming the market. This is more than just a guide but it’s a free strategic toolkit. Worth bookmarking. Worth applying. Even if you're outside the UK. #planetaryhealth #planetaryboundaries #sustainability #ClimateAction #carbonfootprint #NetZero #ClimateEmergency #SDG #ESG #GHG #netzero #EnvironmentalKPIs #CorporateReporting #SustainabilityStrategy #SustainableBusiness #ReportingFramework #climateimpact

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I recently sat down with Genevieve Redgrave at Environmental Finance to discuss the expansion of the UK’s emissions trading scheme and how this is a strong compliance signal that can unlock finance for carbon removal technologies. With widespread removals being recognised by science as necessary to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, growing demand and building a high-integrity market is key. Here is where carbon markets play a key role, supporting nature-based methods for immediate action whilst accelerating emerging CDR technology innovation - complementary solutions we need to scale to reach global net-zero. Read the full article here https://lnkd.in/eEEBigyS #CDR #UKETS #Decarbonisation #NetZero #ClimateAction #CarbonMarkets thanks to Valentina Ortis for the amazing work

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Friday long post… Who is in control of flexibility markets…? We’re all agreed that to meet Net Zero we are going to need a lot more flexibility on the electricity system. This flexibility must take place at all levels – internationally, nationally, at distribution level, and within our homes and businesses. Interconnectors and batteries will play a key role in this, but we’ll also need markets and digital solutions. Currently, the UK’s system works on a Merit Order, meaning that the cheapest forms of electricity get used first. But this system was designed for a different era - when most our electricity came from coal and power flowed outwards from the central transmission system to our homes and businesses. Today, electricity flows in both ways and users can be paid to flex their usage. There are several overlapping markets that each player can participate in, flexibility markets at national and local levels, capacity markets, and services such as frequency control. We need to be clearer on who controls what, we need some primacy principles. Transmission operators could lead on frequency services, distribution operators on local constraints, and a market or technology platform could mediate. How this fits with the balancing mechanism and capacity markets also needs to be worked through. This means we’ll also need metering that’s more advanced and closer to real time. All of this comes with the risk of gaming and market manipulation, so strong and near real time regulation with a clear rulebook will be essential. There’s a lot of work ahead to work through who takes primacy in our future markets. If you've made it this far, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please connect with me, leave a reaction, or share your comments – they often spark more interesting discussions than my original post!

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