NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF Interest rates hit 5% after 13 monthly rises The Bank of England has hiked the base interest rate by 0.5%, to 5%, a bigger rise than anticipated before the announcement on 22 June. It is the 13th month in a row that rates have been increased and follows new official statistics showing inflation remained at 8.7% in May. Professor Forster takes the chair on CCC The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has appointed Piers Forster as its interim chair. The professor of physical climate change at the University of Leeds has served alongside current chair Lord Deben since 2018. He will remain in the role until a permanent chair is appointed. The CCC has also announced a new chief economist, Dr James Richardson, who has the same role at the National Infrastructure Commission. GLA launches roof retrofit strategy to keep London cool New report recommends more reflective roofs and solar PVs A cool roofs retrofit programme should be launched to minimise urban heat islands in the capital, says a new Greater London Authority (GLA) report. Recommendations in last months GLA roofs designed to cool include the establishment, by the GLA, of a Cool Roofs Retrofit Programme. There should also be a Cool Roofs Retrofit Taskforce to help deliver the long-term objective of increasing the rollout of more reflective roofs and solar photovoltaics (PVs) across the capital. In addition, this taskforce should be responsible for ensuring alignment of cool-roof activities with wider retrofitting efforts and programmes being promoted by the GLA. The report says the benefits of reflective roofs include reduced summertime overheating in London and an overall reduction in energy use in air conditioned buildings. The programme could make an important difference in city-wide efforts to reduce Londons urban heat island. It could also prioritise the rollout of cool roofs in areas where there is the greatest heat exposure and vulnerability to heat stress, ensuring that those most in need are helped. This report presents opportunity maps for where cool roofs should be installed, highlighting areas where high exposure, vulnerability and social inequalities overlap. Combined with battery storage, PVs can reduce peak strain on the grid, the report adds. It says a pilot scheme could integrate existing retrofit projects to determine whether a cool roofs component could be added, such as when comprehensive improvement and upgrade works could include improvements to the roof. Blackfriars Bridge has 6,000m2 of solar PVs UK and US engineer mutual recognition deal cibse.org/applicanthelp 10 July 2023 www.cibsejournal.com UK and US engineers look set to be able to work more easily in one anothers countries after efforts to agree a mutual recognition agreement for engineering were kickstarted by the Atlantic Declaration, signed during Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks two-day visit to Washington DC. Trade discussions between Sunak and President Joe Biden last month resulted in the Atlantic Declaration for a Twenty-First Century US-UK Economic Partnership. Following the signing of the declaration, the USs National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying and the UKs Engineering Council began work to develop a mutual recognition agreement. This will provide a more direct path for licensed engineers to practice in each others country. More information will be shared as it becomes available. Sunak made a reference to the mooted UK-US mutual recognition agreement for engineering in his speech at the White House press conference that concluded his trade discussions in Washington.