Environment news

• The Guardian view on natural history: children need to know

  15-06-2020 20:39
  
  With or without a new GCSE, pupils must be taught to think about life on EarthThe lockdown edition of the BBC’s Springwatch ended on Friday, with a series of clips sent in by viewers to illustrate their wildlife enthusiasms. But the latest stage in a campaign to extend the reach of natural history beyond television schedules has only just begun. The idea for a new GCSE in the subject came from the author Mary Colwell. A public consultation on the proposals now being developed by an English
  
  Read more

• Mars: Green glow detected on the Red Planet

  15-06-2020 19:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A joint European-Russian satellite observes a light in Mars’ atmosphere that's generated by oxygen.
  
  Read more

• Reworking our economy for a post-coronavirus society | Letters

  15-06-2020 18:57
  
  Caroline Lucas MP and Prof Richard Murphy on the need for all political parties to support green initiatives, Christopher Tanner on reimagining the idea of economic growth and Dave Young on the importance of building social infrastructureYour editorial (9 June) rightly calls for the post-coronavirus economy to be rebuilt in a fairer, labour-intensive and environmentally sustainable way. What wasn’t addressed, however, was the crucial question of how such an enormous transition could be pai
  
  Read more

• Commit to nature restoration in your green Covid-19 recovery plans, businesses urged

  15-06-2020 18:15
  
  Businesses including Danone and Unilever have pledged to work with governments to reverse nature loss as part of their Covid-19 recovery plans, following a call to action from NGOs and trade bodies.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Covid-19 pandemic is 'fire drill' for effects of climate crisis, says UN official

  15-06-2020 16:16
  
  Lise Kingo says social equality issues must be part of sustainable development agendaThe coronavirus pandemic is “just a fire drill” for what is likely to follow from the climate crisis, and the protests over racial injustice around the world show the need to tie together social equality, environmental sustainability and health, the UN’s sustainable business chief has said.“The overall problem is that we are not sustainable in the ways we are living and producing on the p
  
  Read more

• Saving Canada's wild salmon: rescuers pin hopes on fish ladder and salmon cannon

  15-06-2020 16:00
  
  Already threatened with extinction, Wild Pacific salmon about to spawn in British Columbia are facing an uphill battle in the aftermath of a landslideWhen Gord Sterritt walked to the dusty edge of a cliff in western Canada last summer, he saw a disaster unfolding in the frothy waters below. In December 2018, a natural landslide had caused large chunks of rock to fall from the steep canyon walls that hem in the northern sections of British Columbia’s Fraser River.The crashing boulders &ndas
  
  Read more

• The Body Shop owner unveils 2030 net-zero commitment

  15-06-2020 15:44
  Health and beauty giant Natura & Co - the parent firm of brands including The Body Shop and Avon - has unveiled a new package of sustainability commitments, headlined by a pledge to reach net-zero emissions within a decade.
  
  Read more

• BP forecasts $17.5bn assets hit, accelerates strategy restructure to prioritise renewables

  15-06-2020 15:44
  
  BP is preparing to reduce the value of its assets by between $13bn (£10.4bn) and $17.5bn (£14bn) over the next three months and says the impacts of the Covid-19 will spur its transition to low-carbon energy.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• UK Government mulling ban on overseas fossil fuel financing, reports

  15-06-2020 11:49
  
  Ministers are reportedly considering moves to ban the UK Government's direct lending facility from financing any new or existing fossil fuel projects overseas, following a series of high-profile exposés.
  
  Read more

• ACCC loses appeal against Kimberly-Clark ruling on 'flushability' of wipes

  15-06-2020 11:30
  
  Court backs judgement that watchdog failed to establish the company’s claim on product was false or misleadingAustralia’s consumer watchdog has lost its appeal over a ruling that Kimberly-Clark had not misled customers when it said its wipes were flushable.In its 2019 federal court lawsuit, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission contended the wipes – moist towelettes – were not suitable to be flushed because they caused harm to sewerage. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Jet Zero Council: Government unveils new collaborative initiative to decarbonise aviation

  15-06-2020 11:00
  
  The UK Government is developing a 'Jet Zero Council' - a coalition of Ministers, businesses, trade bodies and environmental groups who will collaboratively work to align the aviation sector with the 2050 net-zero target.
  
  Read more

• BP plans for post-coronavirus low-carbon future

  15-06-2020 10:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The firm expects prices to be lower as plans to cut carbon emissions are sped up in the wake of coronavirus.
  
  Read more

• Emissions from 13 dairy firms match those of entire UK, says report

  15-06-2020 08:01
  
  Exclusive: Milk giants’ climate impact rising and production caps needed, say researchers
  The biggest dairy companies in the world have the same combined greenhouse gas emissions as the UK, the sixth biggest economy in the world, according to a new report.The analysis shows the impact of the 13 firms on the climate crisis is growing, with an 11% increase in emissions in the two years after the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, largely due to consolidation in the sector. Scientific repor
  
  Read more

• Pine martens dash hopes of curbing grey squirrels by avoiding city

  15-06-2020 08:00
  
  Belfast study finds pine martens don’t venture into urban areas, where invasive grey squirrels thriveHopes that the resurgent predatory pine marten might “biologically control” grey squirrels and benefit the UK’s native red squirrels have been dashed by a new study, which found pine martens avoided urban areas. Related: ‘Kill them, kill them, kill them’: the volunteer army plotting to wipe out Britain’s grey squirrelsContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Leading UK charities urge PM to seek green recovery from Covid-19

  15-06-2020 08:00
  
  Group of 57 organisations says bailouts must be on condition of firms reducing carbon footprint
  The chiefs of some of Britain’s leading charities have written to the prime minister to demand a “green recovery” from the coronavirus crisis, urging him to use economic rescue packages to build low-carbon infrastructure and spur the creation of long-term green jobs.The group of 57 charities representing 22 million members called for any bailouts to be subject to strict conditions so
  
  Read more

• Hopes dashed that resurgent pine martens can save UK's red squirrel

  15-06-2020 08:00
  
  Belfast study finds pine martens don’t venture into urban areas, where invasive grey squirrels thriveHopes that the resurgent predatory pine marten might “biologically control” grey squirrels and benefit the UK’s native red squirrels have been dashed by a new study, which found pine martens avoided urban areas. Related: ‘Kill them, kill them, kill them’: the volunteer army plotting to wipe out Britain’s grey squirrelsContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK economy to shrink by 8% in 2020, forecasters say

  15-06-2020 01:01
  
  EY Item Club further downgrades UK economic prospects with full recovery unlikely until 2023The British economy will shrink by 8% this year and is unlikely to recover from the damage wrought by the coronavirus crisis until 2023, according to a leading economic forecaster.After official figures showed Britain’s economy shrank by a record 20.4% in April – putting the country on course for the worst recession in more than three centuries – the EY Item Club was moved to produce its
  
  Read more

• Solar Orbiter: Europe's Sun mission makes first close pass

  15-06-2020 00:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK-built Solar Orbiter will track by our star on Monday at a distance of just over 77 million km.
  
  Read more

• Unilever launches €1bn climate and nature fund, target's net-zero emissions by 2039

  15-06-2020 00:00
  
  Consumer goods giant Unilever has today (14 June) unveiled a new set of sustainability commitments, pledging to end its contribution to deforestation, promote regenerative agriculture, transition to biodegradable ingredients and reach net-zero emissions for products by 2039 - all supported by a new €1bn Climate and Nature fund.
  
  Read more

• Unilever launches €1bn climate and nature fund, targets net-zero emissions by 2039

  15-06-2020 00:00
  
  Consumer goods giant Unilever has today (14 June) unveiled a new set of sustainability commitments, pledging to end its contribution to deforestation, promote regenerative agriculture, transition to biodegradable ingredients and reach net-zero emissions for products by 2039 - all supported by a new €1bn Climate and Nature fund.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!