Climate risk rules, plastic taxes, and heat pump grants: Businesses face April deluge of new green policies

Cecilia Keating
clock • 7 min read
The UK has pledged eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042 | Credit: iStock
Image:

The UK has pledged eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042 | Credit: iStock

A string of policy reforms, tax tweaks, and grant schemes designed to support the green economy have come into effect in the UK this month, all of which could play a sizeable role in accelerating the development of a greener economy

Today has been dubbed 'April cruel day' by The Daily Mirror as households experience a 54 per cent increase in energy bills on the same day as hikes to National Insurance payments and council taxes came...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

Cecilia Keating
Author spotlight

Cecilia Keating

View profile
More from Cecilia Keating

We need the transition to a low-carbon economy to reverse historic injustices

Why the Women in Green Business Awards is more important than ever

More on Policy

Office for Environment Protection: Planning shake-up may not deliver promised gains for nature
Policy

Office for Environment Protection: Planning shake-up may not deliver promised gains for nature

Watchdog welcomes new Environmental Development Plans, but raises concerns over lack of evidence they will deliver promised environmental outcomes

James Murray
James Murray
clock 27 October 2026 • 3 min read
Warm Homes Plan devolution: A big opportunity, but only if every region can keep up
Policy

Warm Homes Plan devolution: A big opportunity, but only if every region can keep up

The success of devolving the Warm Homes Plan rests on aligning funding with regional energy planning, giving local government a stronger voice, and ensuring every region has the tools and resources needed to succeed, writes Dr Chris Unsworth, head of...

Dr Chris Unsworth, ADE: Heat Networks
clock 27 October 2026 • 4 min read
Is UK climate policy going in circles?
Policy

Is UK climate policy going in circles?

The rumoured cut to heat pump grants is just the latest sign of short-term policy thinking that has left households facing higher energy bills, writes Leo Mercer from LSE's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

Leo Mercer, LSE's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
clock 26 October 2026 • 4 min read