The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, is to install a wind turbine at its headquarters.

An RSPB press release said the organisation believes renewable energy is an essential tool in the fight against climate change, which poses the single biggest threat to the long-term survival of birds and wildlife.

The press release said the RSPB, which has more than one million members, is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by generating energy needs from renewable sources wherever possible.

“We’ve been undertaking the appropriate environmental assessments and are confident that the wind turbine will have no major impacts on populations of birds, bats and other plants and animals,” the press release said.

The number of people working in the UK wind industry has risen to 9,900 up from 6,600 by 2010 – a climb of 70% – new research shows.

“When indirect employment is included, the report shows a total of 34,300 people rely on industries that barely existed a decade ago, a figure that researchers say could jump to 70,000 over the next decade”, said the Financial Times, reporting on the independent study, ‘Working for a Green Britain and Northern Ireland’.

More than two-thirds of UK citizens support building more wind farms in their immediate areas.

The poll, conducted by market research agency ComRes, also shows that only 33% of people support fracking in their area while just 31% of people support nuclear power.