30th March 2012 USA
The following is a guest post by Sangeeta Ahuja, First Secretary Energy, Environment & Resource Security at the British Embassy in Washington. Earth Hour starts at 8:30 in the evening on Saturday 31 March. In a co-ordinated gesture last year to promote environmental protection, the lights were turned off in 5,200 cities in 135 countries […]
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2nd March 2012
Click on the front door and you can enter the house. Indoors, links lead to practical tips for how people can save energy and, in doing so, save money. Welcome to the digital eco-house, a project backed by the British Embassy in Kyiv, the singer Alyosha, financially supported by SCM Capital Management and TNK-BP, and […]
24th February 2012
I blogged recently about the complexities around Ukraine’s efforts to secure cheap gas from other countries. I noted that increasing the price of gas supplies to domestic consumers could help strengthen Ukraine’s hand in those negotiations. At present, some consumers of gas in Ukraine (mostly industrial users) pay market prices. Other users pay a lower, […]
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23rd February 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
I began my career as a journalist on Egypt’s Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, spending two years living on a house-boat in the heart of Cairo and reporting on the Middle East. In 2002 I joined the UK civil service. Before the Foreign Office, I was a Senior Policy Advisor in the Cabinet Office, covering Russia, Georgia […]
15th February 2012
Gas matters. The embassy follows closely talks between Kyiv and Moscow on gas supplies; and between the Ukrainian authorities and the IMF about prices for domestic gas. We care because these talks can affect security of gas supplies to Europe; the Ukrainian economy; Ukraine’s domestic politics; and international relationships. According to the International Energy Agency, […]
25th January 2012 USA
A unique feature of the UK’s policy and political work with the US on climate change over the past several years has been the engagement of Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, our Climate and Energy Security Envoy. This first-of-its-kind role has provided the Rear Admiral and our government with new opportunities to work with a key […]
19th January 2012 Athens, Greece
When I tell those who might be interested in asking what I do for a living that I am the British Embassy’s Political Officer most people ask “so, do you think that we shall have an early election?” or “what do the British think of the latest polls?” So, they are surprised if they get […]
5th January 2012 Washington DC, USA
When I was offered the dream job of Counsellor for Global Issues at the British Embassy in Washington DC, clearly I couldn’t refuse. It’s a dream job because of the range of issues my portfolio covers—diplomacy on trade, energy, the environment, transport, science and innovation—and because of the country and context, since the US is […]
17th October 2011
This morning I attended an international symposium here in Bucharest on nuclear energy which was looking at the challenges that energy faces for the future. These are various, they relate to security and safety issues, to financing, to technological issues and also to political issues in response to public concern about nuclear safety in the […]
23rd September 2011 Toronto, Canada
Yesterday saw the signing of a joint declaration by the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Canada. As part of a wider North American trip, David Cameron made a brief visit to Ottawa yesterday and signed the Canada-UK joint declaration entitled A stronger partnership for the 21st century. Of particular interest to the Science […]
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