Environment news

• 'Fix your bike' vouchers launch, as doctors to prescribe bikes on NHS

  27-07-2020 23:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prime minister says GPs in areas with poor health will be encouraged to prescribe cycling.
  
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• Lake Titicaca giant frog: Scientists join forces to save species

  27-07-2020 18:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  International scientific institutions are teaming up to save the world's largest aquatic amphibian.
  
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• UN maps all land to help businesses halt habitat and biodiversity destruction

  27-07-2020 17:29
  
  Scientists have mapped the entirety of the planet's terrestrial habitat, creating a resource that will help businesses and investors measure and minimize their impacts on natural resources and biodiversity.
  
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• France to ban heated terraces in cafes and bars

  27-07-2020 16:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The new ecology minister says outside heating or air conditioning is an "ecological aberration".
  
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• Resistance to the 'environmental sect' is a cornerstone of Bolsonaro's rule

  27-07-2020 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Brazil’s populist president shows no sign of changing his policies on the climate crisis despite a backlash at home and abroadIt is not just meat companies in Brazil that are under pressure over rising deforestation and widespread fires in the Amazon. The government has been forced to react after international investors and CEOs of Brazilian companies have protested, and now its own environmental officials have joined the chorus.But its response is hobbled by a deep distrust of global heat
  
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• Coronavirus: Pet cat found to have virus in UK

  27-07-2020 15:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It is thought the animal caught the virus from its owner.
  
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• National Grid: UK's electricity system could go carbon-negative from 2033

  27-07-2020 14:58
  
  The operating firm for National Grid is predicting that the UK's electricity grid could capture, offset or absorb more carbon than it emits by as early as 2033, if efforts to scale up renewable energy generation and carbon capture technologies are accelerated.
  
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• Revealed: new evidence links Brazil meat giant JBS to Amazon deforestation

  27-07-2020 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Photographs by employee appear to show company trucks being used to transport cattle from allegedly prohibited cattle farmNew evidence appears to connect JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, to cattle supplied from a farm in the Brazilian Amazon which is under sanction for illegal deforestation.This is the fifth time in a year that allegations have surfaced connecting the company to Amazon farmers linked with illegal deforestation.Continue reading...
  
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• Nando's commits to zero-carbon direct emissions, won't rely on offsetting

  27-07-2020 12:56
  
  Nando's has unveiled a new commitment to achieving zero direct emissions and reducing the carbon footprint of its meals by almost 50% by 2030, with the company confirming that they will not rely on carbon offsetting to reach the new targets.
  
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• Iceland on track to become a net-zero business by 2042

  27-07-2020 12:56
  
  Iceland Foods has revealed that it has reduced its operational emissions footprint by 74% since 2011, despite growing the business, putting it on track to reach net-zero by 2042.
  
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• NatWest to disclose the climate impacts of projects it finances

  27-07-2020 11:43
  
  NatWest Group has pledged to halve the climate-related impacts of its financing by 2030, after becoming the first major UK bank to join the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF).
  
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• Sainsbury's granted water self-supply licence

  27-07-2020 11:07
  
  Sainsbury's has been awarded a self-supply licence for water and sewerage by regulator Ofwat, as it works to become 'water-neutral' by 2040.
  
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• Why Trump abandoning the climate fight puts the planet in even more danger – video explainer

  27-07-2020 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After decades of negotiations, all 197 nations in the world decided to voluntarily cut the heat-trapping pollution that is causing the climate crisis by signing the Paris climate agreement. Only a handful of countries have not ratified the deal.But on 4 November, in a coincidence of timing just 24 hours after its presidential election, the US will formally exit the agreement, joining Iran and Turkey as the only major countries not to participate in the pact, which is seen by many as the minimum
  
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• To save the EU, its leaders must first focus on saving the planet | Daniel Judt, Reja Wyss and Antonia Zimmermann

  27-07-2020 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  European countries are spending big to revive their economies, but they will have no legitimacy with young people if they ignore the climateThe future of Europe depends on climate action. This is the resounding message that young Europeans have delivered to their leaders over the past two years. To be sure, the wave of young climate activists across the continent, from Fridays for Future to Extinction Rebellion, is part of a global response to the climate crisis. But for the EU in particular, it
  
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• The US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord will hurt people of color most | Adrienne Hollis

  27-07-2020 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Paris agreement threw a lifeline to millions of people of color facing a premature death. Trump is tearing that awayIt’s official – in 100 days the United States will formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The impact of Donald Trump’s decision, taken three years ago, is already being felt by environmental justice communities.Racism is the driving force behind why certain people and places face disproportionate environmental exposure to toxic substances, adverse
  
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• The US withdrawal from the Paris climate accord is a racist act | Adrienne Hollis

  27-07-2020 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Paris agreement threw a lifeline to millions of people of color facing a premature death. Trump is tearing that awayIt’s official – in 100 days the United States will formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The impact of Donald Trump’s decision, taken three years ago, is already being felt by environmental justice communities.Racism is the driving force behind why certain people and places face disproportionate environmental exposure to toxic substances, adverse
  
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• In 100 days, the climate emergency may be even more serious. That's why we’re launching this series | John Mulholland

  27-07-2020 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The day after the election, the US is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The Guardian believes the climate emergency is the defining issue of our time. Make a contribution today to support our journalism.On 4 November, the day after the presidential election, the US is poised to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. The agreement, which came together after years of diplomacy by the Obama administration and other global leaders, commits 200 countries to chart a new course i
  
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• UK electricity grid's carbon emissions could turn negative by 2033, says National Grid

  27-07-2020 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Operator says UK can tap carbon capture and renewables to help meet UK’s targetsCarbon emissions from Britain’s electricity system could turn negative by as early as 2033 if the UK uses carbon capture technology alongside more renewable energy to reach its climate targets, according to a report from National Grid.The electricity network operator on Monday set out its vision for an “emissions negative” grid that would include 30m electric vehicles on UK roads, and 8m heat
  
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• The land as an open-air factory: Country diary, 1 August 1970

  27-07-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  1 August 1970 The northern stretch of the Wolds and the level acres of the Marsh show the development of agribusiness – an ugly term but appropriate LINCOLNSHIRE: This county at harvest time is an abrupt corrective to those who would still see farming through romantic eyes. Arable lands lend themselves readily to large scale production and it is the northern stretch of the Wolds and the level acres of the Marsh that show the development of agribusiness – an ugly term but appropriate,
  
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• 'E-highways' could slash UK road freight emissions, says study

  27-07-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  System of overhead cables and adapted lorries could pay for itself within 15 yearsThe UK could eliminate the majority of the carbon dioxide emissions from road freight by installing overhead charging cables for electric lorries on “e-highways” across the country, a report by government-funded academics suggests.The plan for a so-called electric road system would cost £19.3bn and put all but the most remote parts of the UK within reach of the trucks by the late 2030s, with the p
  
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• Country diary: an ancient organism rises from the grass

  27-07-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: Dragonflies have a family history dating back hundreds of millions of years, almost as old as the Silurian rocks beneath my feetMy route home was badly overgrown and I made slow progress, looking down at the rocky, uneven ground and concentrating on keeping a good foothold. Bees and small moths swirled up from around the wild flowers and long grass at the base of the hedge, then something much bigger blundered away from under my feet.The abrupt, jerky flight was a surpri
  
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• Coronavirus doctor's diary: Will vaccine sceptics make trials a headache?

  27-07-2020 02:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The NHS soon needs to start flu vaccinations and Covid vaccine trials - but anti-vax attitudes seem to be spreading.
  
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• Coronavirus: How bad will winter really be?

  27-07-2020 02:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Could we be heading for a double whammy of flu and coronavirus?
  
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