Government plans to remove existing limits on its share ownership in major water and sewerage companies in England through a strengthened Water Bill, signalling a potential shift in control over asset-heavy networks of treatment works, trunk mains and CSO infrastructure. Greater state equity stakes could influence long-term capital investment decisions on AMP-period programmes, including upgrades to ageing sewers, storm overflow capacity and resilience of potable water treatment. Designers and contractors should watch for changes in funding certainty, risk allocation and regulatory priorities on leakage, pollution events and resilience schemes.

RICS is marking 50 years of its Global Valuation Standard, the Red Book, which underpins consistent asset valuation for infrastructure, property and land across more than 140 countries. The standard sets mandatory requirements for valuation bases, reporting formats and assumptions, giving lenders, project sponsors and public authorities comparable cost and asset data for major schemes. For civil and infrastructure engineers, Red Book-compliant valuations influence project feasibility, land acquisition budgets and balance-sheet treatment of long‑life assets such as highways, rail corridors and utilities networks.

Global coal financing has held near $117 billion a year since COP26, with Urgewald tracking $467 billion in loans and underwriting from 744 banks to thermal coal companies between 2022 and 2025, 62% of it from Chinese lenders and 14% from US banks. EU-headquartered banks cut annual coal financing 46% to $2.6 billion by 2025, while UK banks increased support 17%, led by Barclays at $5.7 billion over four years and a 34% annual rise to $1.6 billion. In contrast, Chinese annual coal financing climbed to $75 billion, US banks to $16.7 billion, and South Korean banks more than doubled exposure to $1.75 billion, signalling capital is concentrating in jurisdictions with weaker coal policies.