Environment news

• OneWeb: Minister overrode warning about £400m investment

  22-07-2020 22:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  MPs will probe a £400m investment in the satellite firm after a top civil servant warned of financial risk.
  
  Read more

• The Green Recovery: how to fix Australia's energy inefficient homes – video

  22-07-2020 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The Australian home has a big problem: it's draughty, poorly insulated and costs a fortune to heat and cool. Most older homes have an abysmal energy efficiency rating – and we are paying the price. So what can be done to fix the problem? A lot, actually. And the government could play a role in retrofitting Australia's existing housing stock with its coronavirus stimulus spending. Here's how.  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Coronavirus cure: What progress are we making on treatments?

  22-07-2020 18:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Teams around the world are looking into medicines for Covid-19 and scientists are starting to discover what works.
  
  Read more

• Earliest evidence for humans in the Americas

  22-07-2020 17:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Humans settled in the Americas much earlier than previously thought, according to new finds from Mexico.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Coronavirus: Cracking the secrets of how bats survive viruses

  22-07-2020 17:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Bats' codes of life contain genetic clues to their "exceptional immunity", which protects them from viruses.
  
  Read more

• Global heating: study narrows range of probable temperature rises

  22-07-2020 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists predict rise of between 2.6C and 3.9C compared with earlier forecasts of 1.5C to 4.5CDoomsayers and hopemongers alike may need to revise their climate predictions after a study that almost rules out the most optimistic forecasts for global heating while downplaying the likelihood of worst-case scenarios.The international team of scientists involved in the research say they have narrowed the range of probable climate outcomes, which reduces the uncertainty that has long plagued public
  
  Read more

• Global heating: best and worst case scenarios less likely than thought

  22-07-2020 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Uncertainty over climate outcomes reduced but experts warn urgent reduction in CO2 levels is essential Doomsayers and hopemongers alike may need to revise their climate predictions after a study that almost rules out the most optimistic forecasts for global heating while downplaying the likelihood of worst-case scenarios.The international team of scientists involved in the research say they have narrowed the range of probable climate outcomes, which reduces the uncertainty that has long plagued
  
  Read more

• ESG disclosure 'firmly in the mainstream' for corporate reporting

  22-07-2020 15:53
  
  New analysis of global reporting frameworks and requirements for corporate sustainability has found that environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure is becoming a crucial aspect of corporate transparency.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 'Tired of being the canary in the mine': pressure grows to push oil and gas wells away from homes

  22-07-2020 14:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Decades of research has made it clear that current setback distances – in states where they exist – are inadequate to protect public healthAshley Hernandez was in middle school when her family moved into its first house, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington. For years, her undocumented parents had moved around in search of steady work, gone without meals, rented out too-small apartments. Finally they had a place of their own, with three bedrooms and even a yard.“My par
  
  Read more

• Student files climate change lawsuit against Australian government

  22-07-2020 14:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Katta O'Donnell is accusing Canberra of failing to disclose risks from climate change to its bonds.
  
  Read more

• Cargill pledges to restore 600 billion litres of water by 2030

  22-07-2020 13:32
  
  Food and agribusiness giant Cargill has pledged to dramatically improve water management practices across its operations and priority watersheds in its supply chain by - a move it claims will restore 600 billion litres of water within a decade.
  
  Read more

• Mexico archaeology: Pre-Hispanic ruins found on mountaintop

  22-07-2020 13:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Experts think the site, estimated to be 1,500 years old, was dedicated to the god of the underworld.
  
  Read more

• Banking giants team up for Task Force for Nature-related Financial disclosures

  22-07-2020 12:29
  
  AXA and BNP Paribas are among a group of 10 major banks backing a new initiative intended to help corporates measure, disclose and minimise their nature-related financial risks.
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson outlines £750m green spending for heavy industry and aviation

  22-07-2020 12:08
  
  Boris Johnson has unveiled a £350m funding pot for technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS), and hydrogen alongside a £400m sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) pledge, to be spent as part of the UK's Covid-19 recovery effort.
  
  Read more

• Less windy Whoppers? Low-methane Burger King still involves some hot air

  22-07-2020 11:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Lemongrass-fed cows mean more sustainable burgers, says the fast-food chain – but experts say there’s more work to be doneWhether showing off how their burgers mould due to lack of preservatives, making vegan Impossible Whoppers available across the US, or most recently using a whimsical, flatulence-focused commercial to tout new low-methane patties, Burger King’s effort to remake itself as the conscious consumer’s fast food of choice is in full swing.Meat produced from l
  
  Read more

• Morgan Stanley to disclose climate impact of investments

  22-07-2020 11:39
  
  Morgan Stanley has become the first US-based global bank to commit to measuring and disclosing the environmental impact of its investment portfolio and loan offerings and will join a global partnership to drive climate action across the global accounting sector.
  
  Read more

• £350m for decarbonising heavy industry and £400m for sustainable aviation: Boris Johnson unveils fresh green recovery spending

  22-07-2020 11:15
  
  Boris Johnson has unveiled multi-million-pound funding pots for technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), to be spent as part of the UK's Covid-19 recovery effort.
  
  Read more

• Who needs Tokyo? Meet South Africa's Olympic chameleons

  22-07-2020 10:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists are putting dwarf chameleons through their paces in a series of speed and endurance challenges to study how the species is adaptingThe tension is palpable. The first athlete is placed on the starting line and the official timer, Dr Anthony Herrel, resets the stopwatch on his smartphone. Once given the go-ahead, Dr Krystal Tolley tickles the yellowy-green chameleon’s tail and the two-inch reptile springs into action. About 10 seconds later, after reaching the end of the 1-metre d
  
  Read more

• World's largest network of AI-enabled residential batteries doubles in size

  22-07-2020 09:17
  
  Smart battery giant Moixa has doubled the number of residential battery storage units it operates in Japan to 20,000, making the network the largest of its kind in the world.
  
  Read more

• 'My personal light on the hill': Pat Dodson's eulogy to John Ah Kit

  22-07-2020 09:09 via theguardian.com
  
  The first Aboriginal minister in the Northern Territory parliament has died. This is a shortened version of the Labor senator’s tribute to himWhen announcing the death of our great friend, Jack Ah Kit, his immediate family said “this is a life that should be the focus of celebration and commemoration” – and that is indeed why we are here today.In remembering and celebrating, we are thinking of the many, many stories that made up his life – some that we shared with h
  
  Read more

• Ban new gas boilers in UK from 2025 or risk missing net zero target, says CBI

  22-07-2020 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Industry group says Britain’s climate goals may be doomed without heating overhaulThe installation of new gas boilers must be banned from 2025 or the UK’s net-zero climate target will be “doomed”, according to a high-level commission convened by the CBI.The ban would apply to conventional gas boilers, but hybrid or hydrogen-ready boilers would be allowed under the business organisation’s recommendations, which were developed in collaboration with energy industry lea
  
  Read more

• Moon bears: Korean campaigners call for farm closures

  22-07-2020 01:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Animal rights campaigners are calling for the closure of hundreds of moon bear farms.
  
  Read more

• First active leak of sea-bed methane discovered in Antarctica

  22-07-2020 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers say potent climate-heating gas almost certainly escaping into atmosphereThe first active leak of methane from the sea floor in Antarctica has been revealed by scientists.The researchers also found microbes that normally consume the potent greenhouse gas before it reaches the atmosphere had only arrived in small numbers after five years, allowing the gas to escape. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!