Environment news

• Mini-nuclear plants may be an experiment worth exploring

  11-11-2020 20:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Roll-Royce gave an eye-catching pitch but the economics of nuclear power needs further inspection
  An energy white paper is in the offing, so consider Rolls-Royce’s pitch for the wonders of small modular reactors (SMRs) a piece of last-minute lobbying. After all, it is clear already that more nuclear, in combination with more offshore wind capacity, is likely to be judged a central way to meet the UK’s targets for cutting carbon emissions.It’s an eye-catching pitch. “A dom
  
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• Birds' genetic secrets revealed in global DNA study

  11-11-2020 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have sequenced the "code of life" of species from almost every branch of the bird family tree.
  
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• Bim Afolami MP's speech and energy efficiency post-Covid-19: What happened on Day Two of Net-Zero Live 2020?

  11-11-2020 17:20
  
  Day Two of edie's virtual Net-Zero Live on Wednesday (11 November) saw hundreds of sustainability and energy experts gathering with the shared aim of accelerating ambition and action. Here, we round up the key takeaways.
  
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• Climate change: Hurricanes get stronger on land as world warms

  11-11-2020 17:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  North Atlantic tropical storms are stronger for longer when they hit land because of global warming.
  
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• Green hydrogen and retrofitted boats: Shipping giants plot course to net-zero

  11-11-2020 14:43
  
  A coalition representing more than 120 large maritime, energy and infrastructure businesses has published a blueprint for bringing zero-emission shipping innovations to scale.
  
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• Rolls-Royce plans 16 mini-nuclear plants for UK

  11-11-2020 13:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The firm says the project will create 6,000 new jobs in the Midlands and the North of England
  
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• Ghanaians devastated by illegal fishing try hand at citizen sleuthing

  11-11-2020 12:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Crucial fish stocks could disappear within five years without urgent action, so desperate fishers are using a new smartphone app to log alleged crimes
  Illegal and destructive practices by industrial trawlers in Ghana have led to one of the worst overfishing crises in west Africa, with small pelagic species known as “the people’s fish” driven almost to the brink of collapse.Scores of small-scale fishers are now fighting back against illegal trawlers using a smartphone app that a
  
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• CDP: Companies worth half of global market cap are now disclosing environmental data

  11-11-2020 11:48
  
  Non-profit CDP has revealed that a record 10,000 companies, cities, states and regions have reported environmental data during 2020, making it a record year for disclosure.
  
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• Iberostar targets carbon neutrality by 2030, eyes nature-based insetting

  11-11-2020 11:21
  
  Spanish hotel giant Iberostar has outlined plans to become carbon neutral within a decade, underpinned by commitments to sequester carbon at its seafront locations.
  
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• Climate heroes: the countries pioneering a green future

  11-11-2020 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From Spain to South Korea, there are several global success stories in the drive to become carbon neutralWhile the world must wait to see whether US president-elect Joe Biden can fulfil his election promise of a $2tn Green New Deal, nations elsewhere in the world are setting carbon-neutral targets and pushing ahead with mega-programmes to cut emissions, create jobs and reduce energy prices. Here are some of the regional frontrunners. Continue reading...
  
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• Environment Bill: UK businesses to be banned from sourcing through deforesters overseas

  11-11-2020 10:48
  
  New measures designed to stop UK-based businesses from importing products or materials linked to deforestation abroad have been added to the Environment Bill - but some green groups argue that loopholes will remain.
  
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• Gas denied 'transition' fuel status in draft EU green finance rules

  11-11-2020 10:12
  
  Power plants fuelled by natural gas will not be classed as "sustainable" or "transition" investments in Europe unless they meet emission limits which are so low that none are currently able to comply, according to draft EU rules seen by EURACTIV.
  
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• Farage's anti-cyclist article shows car users fear loss of control

  11-11-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Bike-friendly measures introduced during lockdown have led rightwing populists to revive much-disproved mythsIf you’re a fan of the historical notion that progress doesn’t move as a straight, upward line but tends to be a bit more wiggly, then there was an article about cycling in this week’s Mail on Sunday that very much proved the point.Anti-cyclist pieces in the Mail are not exactly uncommon, but this one was notable because its key argument was that cyclists should “p
  
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• Five post-Trump obstacles to a global green recovery

  11-11-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Joe Biden’s win gives the globe a better chance of averting climate catastrophe, but major obstacles remainEnvironmentalists have been heartened by Joe Biden’s victory as, if the US rejoins the Paris agreement as expected, it will give the world a much better chance of averting climate catastrophe. However, there are still hurdles to overcome to rein in emissions and keep warming to within 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Continue reading...
  
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• Melbourne on tenterhooks as peregrine falcon chicks prepare to take flight

  11-11-2020 05:44 via theguardian.com
  
  The city, which endured one of the longest Covid lockdowns in the world, has been closely monitoring the live stream of the nesting birdsThey hatched six weeks ago, watched by thousands of Melburnians who were stuck inside under the coronavirus lockdown. Now, as life is beginning to return to the city below them, three peregrine falcon chicks roosting on a city centre skyscraper are also preparing to leave the nest.The hatchlings – all female – have been obsessively monitored by coop
  
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• Climate change: Protecting the rainforest through your shopping basket

  11-11-2020 04:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Green groups welcome the UK's plan to outlaw the import of food and other goods from protected areas.
  
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• Coronavirus: Denmark shaken by cull of millions of mink

  11-11-2020 01:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Why the "Cluster 5" coronavirus mutation in fur farms has led to a nationwide cull and a political outcry.
  
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• Newly discovered primate 'already facing extinction'

  11-11-2020 01:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Historical museum specimens have helped to solve a long standing scientific monkey puzzle.
  
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• 8 in 10 meat and dairy suppliers failing to act on climate change, investors claim

  11-11-2020 01:01
  
  An analysis of 60 of the world's biggest meat, fish and dairy suppliers has found that most have not set meaningful targets to reduce emissions - leaving the companies who buy from them at risk of missing their climate goals.
  
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