The British Geological Survey has launched a multi-year programme to map and assess CO₂ storage potential in Triassic and Jurassic sandstone formations beneath the Central North Sea, using legacy hydrocarbon well logs and 3D seismic data. Geoscientists will evaluate porosity–permeability distributions, caprock integrity and pressure limits to define storage units suitable for multi-million-tonne injection linked to UK industrial clusters. Results are expected to guide site selection, well design and monitoring strategies for future offshore carbon storage licences.

Southern Water has launched a £1.3bn framework tender for sustainable drainage and habitat restoration across its catchment, targeting large-scale SuDS retrofits, nature-based flood management and river corridor enhancement. The multi-year programme will call for design-and-build teams to deliver measures such as swales, wetlands, infiltration basins and floodplain reconnection to cut surface water inflows to sewers and reduce CSO spills. Contractors will need strong geotechnical, hydrological and ecological capability, with emphasis on whole-catchment modelling and long-term asset performance.

UK tree‑planting rates are falling far short of the UK’s statutory 2050 net‑zero pathway, with the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit warning that missed planting during this Parliament could create a long‑term “carbon removal gap” and weaker natural flood defences. The analysis points to delayed woodland creation in upland catchments and along floodplains, where riparian planting and shelterbelts could slow overland flow, stabilise soils and reduce peak river levels. For infrastructure planners, this signals greater reliance on hard‑engineered flood schemes and more expensive carbon removal options later in the century.