Environment news

• Mathias Cormann wants to be a chameleon on climate change when we've got a bin fire instead of a plan | Katharine Murphy

  23-10-2020 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Does a late conversion somehow void the finance minister’s previous statements and the Coalition’s decade of shame?The window for attaining net zero emissions by 2050 and holding temperature increases to safe levels is “rapidly closing”. Evidence is mounting that the world is closer to abrupt and irreversible changes, “so-called tipping points”, than previously thought. Without further action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, “the planet is on course t
  
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• The Guardian view on the pleasures of autumn

  23-10-2020 19:25 via theguardian.com
  
  It will be a difficult winter, but the natural world brings small, precious consolationsAs different parts of the UK find themselves under varying degrees of restriction, as indoor pleasures dwindle for many, the outdoors may provide some shred of solace, some healing connection to nature. Impervious to human travails, autumn happens to be putting on a particularly spectacular extended show this year, thanks to a damp August and sunny September. In some parts of the UK acers, or Japanese maples,
  
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• Campaigners criticise global deal on carbon emissions from shipping

  23-10-2020 18:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Green groups say agreement will allow emissions to continue to rise in the next decadeGovernments have rejected calls for tougher regulation of international shipping, settling instead for new rules on reducing greenhouse gas emissions that campaigners say will imperil the Paris climate goals.The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN body that regulates international shipping, agreed on Friday after a week-long online meeting to make legally binding an existing target of reducing the
  
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• After a category 5 hurricane, nature saved me. It has the power to save us all | Michael Lees

  23-10-2020 15:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Maria devastated Dominica. But the islanders’ connection to the natural world gave them a resilience the west can’t matchIn June 2017, I packed up some basic tools, religious texts and my camera gear, and headed back home to the Caribbean island of Dominica. A year earlier, while living in New York, a simple question had started to dominate my thinking: what if the life we humans were happiest in was back in the so-called ‘“Garden of Eden?’” When we lived in s
  
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• Sustainability Leaders Awards entries are closing Friday 30 October

  23-10-2020 13:15
  
  edie readers have until next Friday (30 October) to enter the UK's largest and most prestigious sustainable business awards scheme, which gives organisations and individuals the opportunity to be recognised and celebrated for leading on sustainability, energy and climate action.
  
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• Burger King teams up with TerraCycle for reusable packaging pilot

  23-10-2020 12:57
  
  Burger King will bring reusable coffee cups, soft drinks cups and burger boxes to restaurants in the US and Japan early next year as part of a partnership with TerraCycle.
  
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• Your polyester sweater is destroying the environment. Here's why | Adrienne Matei

  23-10-2020 12:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Boycotting polyester would reduce microfiber pollution. But the larger problem is the sheer volume of clothing we buy and discard
  Last week, an exclusive Guardian report revealed that a mind-boggling 13.3 quadrillion microfibers (infinitesimal strands of fabric) were released into the California environment in 2019. Related: Bottle-fed babies swallow millions of microplastics a day, study findsContinue reading...
  
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• Net-zero by 2030: Lime becomes first micro-mobility firm to pledge to science-based targets

  23-10-2020 12:18
  
  E-scooter and e-bike giant Lime has set a 2030 net-zero target and said it will develop science-based emissions reductions targets in the coming months.
  
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• 'Kills all the birds': Trump and Biden spar over climate stance in TV debate – video

  23-10-2020 12:01 via theguardian.com
  
  The closing moments of the final presidential debate focused on climate change. Joe Biden stressed the need to expand sources of renewable energy while again disputing Donald Trump’s claim that he intended to ban fracking, which he does not. 'I know more about wind than you do,' Trump retorted, drawing an exasperated laugh from Biden. 'It’s extremely expensive. Kills all the birds'Humanity has eight years to get climate crisis under control – and Trump's plan won't fix it
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• 'Kills all the birds': Trump and Biden spar over climate in TV debate – video

  23-10-2020 12:01 via theguardian.com
  
  The closing moments of the final presidential debate focused on climate change. Joe Biden stressed the need to expand sources of renewable energy while again disputing Donald Trump’s claim that he intended to ban fracking, which he does not. 'I know more about wind than you do,' Trump retorted, drawing an exasperated laugh from Biden. 'It’s extremely expensive. Kills all the birds'Humanity has eight years to get climate crisis under control – and Trump's plan won't fix it
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• 'Kills all the birds': Trump and Biden row over opposite climate stance in TV debate – video

  23-10-2020 12:01 via theguardian.com
  
  The closing moments of the final presidential debate focused on climate change. Joe Biden stressed the need to expand sources of renewable energy while again disputing Donald Trump’s claim that he intended to ban fracking, which he does not. 'I know more about wind than you do,' Trump retorted, drawing an exasperated laugh from Biden. 'It’s extremely expensive. Kills all the birds'Humanity has eight years to get climate crisis under control – and Trump's plan won't fix it
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• Supermarket and packaging giants call for UK-wide ban on degradable plastics

  23-10-2020 11:47
  
  Representatives from the likes of Tesco, Waitrose, Aldi and the Co-op have signed an open letter to Ministers calling for a ban on plastics which are only degradable in industrial conditions with chemical additives.
  
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• 2020 GDT European wildlife photographer of the year – winners

  23-10-2020 10:06 via theguardian.com
  
  The winners of the European wildlife photographer of the year have been chosen in the competition’s first virtual award ceremony. Jasper Doest’s striking shot, A Monkey’s Mask, was declared overall winner Continue reading...
  
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• New scheme to help UK's schools align with net-zero

  23-10-2020 10:02
  
  Charities including Ashden, Global Action Plans and the Fairtrade Foundation have teamed up to launch a new initiative helping UK schools transition to net-zero.
  
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• How an 'orchard renaissance' could bring nature back to UK cities

  23-10-2020 08:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Volunteers are reviving a legacy of fruit trees that stretches back to the Romans, hugely increasing biodiversity – and cider productionEvery autumn, cider maker Hawkes asks Londoners to donate apples to its cidery under the railway arches in Bermondsey, just south of Tower Bridge. In normal times, people who drop off a box of russets or royals leave with a bottle of cider from last year’s crop. But 2020 has not been a normal year.Through a trial delivery scheme to continue the excha
  
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• Cider maker swamped by apples as orchard renaissance starts to bear fruit

  23-10-2020 08:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Volunteers are reviving a legacy of fruit trees in the UK that stretches back to the Romans, hugely increasing biodiversity – and drinks productionEvery autumn, cider maker Hawkes asks Londoners to donate apples to its cidery under the railway arches in Bermondsey, just south of Tower Bridge. In normal times, people who drop off a box of russets or royals leave with a bottle of cider from last year’s crop. But 2020 has not been a normal year.Through a trial delivery scheme to continu
  
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• Cider brewery swamped by apples as orchard renaissance starts to bear fruit

  23-10-2020 08:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Volunteers are reviving a legacy of fruit trees that stretches back to the Romans, hugely increasing biodiversity – and drinks productionEvery autumn, cider maker Hawkes asks Londoners to donate apples to its cidery under the railway arches in Bermondsey, just south of Tower Bridge. In normal times, people who drop off a box of russets or royals leave with a bottle of cider from last year’s crop. But 2020 has not been a normal year.Through a trial delivery scheme to continue the exch
  
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• Green groups condemn proposals to cut shipping emissions

  23-10-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners urge governments to walk away from current talks and set tougher targetsGovernments from around the world meeting online to forge a new deal on greenhouse gas emissions from shipping have been urged to walk away from the talks, as green campaigners say the proposals on the table are too weak to lead to any meaningful regulation of the sector.Civil society groups want the UN to lead a complete rethink of shipping regulation, charging that current plans fall far short of the goals of t
  
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• Country diary: curiosity and the crows

  23-10-2020 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Wardlow, Derbyshire: The birds’ intelligence and aerial harmonising add to their appeal Cycling up from Monsal Head, I crested a ridge, and soon after turned down the quiet lane that separates Longstone Moor from rough pasture east of Wardlow. On two wheels, this is among the most glorious stretches in the Peak District, a spin downhill with wide views of high grassland plateau and the even higher mass of Kinder Scout behind it. The day’s billowing white cloud and shafts of sunlight
  
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• HS2: Moving ancient woodland habitat for rail line flawed, ecologists say

  23-10-2020 05:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Soil is being "translocated" to new sites but ecologists question whether the process is effective.
  
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