Environment news

• 'Dog kennel' satellite returns first ocean observations

  10-12-2020 19:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The new Sentinel satellite to track global sea-level rise is in excellent shape, say space officials.
  
  Read more

• Greta Thunberg dismisses 'empty words' in new climate crisis appeal – video

  10-12-2020 18:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Greta Thunberg has warned the world is failing to tackle the climate emergency and is in a ‘state of complete denial’ nearly five years after the Paris agreement.Thunberg, 17, whose solo school strike in 2018 snowballed into a global youth movement, spoke out ahead of a UN event at which national leaders have been asked to increase their pledges on emissions cuts.In a video shared exclusively with the Guardian, she calls on leaders to account for failing to reverse rising carbon emis
  
  Read more

• Greta Thunberg: 'We are speeding in the wrong direction' on climate crisis

  10-12-2020 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Climate striker speaks before UN event marking five years since the Paris accordThe world is speeding in the wrong direction in tackling the climate emergency, Greta Thunberg has said, before a UN event at which national leaders have been asked to increase their pledges for emissions cuts.Thunberg, whose solo school strike in 2018 has snowballed into a global youth movement, said there was a state of complete denial when it came to the immediate action needed, with leaders giving only
  
  Read more

• Shipping, aviation and carmakers failing to align with Paris Agreement

  10-12-2020 18:12
  
  The majority of the worlds largest automotive, shipping and aviation companies are failing to deliver emissions reduction plans in line with a pathway to keep global warming to 2°C - let alone 1.5C - new research has found.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Global citizens' assembly planned to address climate crisis

  10-12-2020 15:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Project hopes to influence policymakers at Cop26 UN climate change conference in GlasgowPeople around the world will have a chance to discuss responses to the climate crisis in a planned global citizens’ assembly to inform UN talks in Glasgow in 2021, organisers said on Thursday.The project aims to build on similar initiatives in individual countries such as Ireland, France and Canada, where citizens’ assemblies have given politicians a steer by generating ambitious proposals on divi
  
  Read more

• COP26: Ellie Goulding and Emma Watson join call for climate talks change

  10-12-2020 15:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A letter has been signed by singer Ellie Goulding and Hollywood stars Emma Watson and Emma Thompson.
  
  Read more

• Bloomberg NEF: Pandemic's effect on renewable energy investment has hit developing nations hardest

  10-12-2020 15:09
  
  Covid-19 has slowed renewable energy investment globally in 2020 - but developed nations are likely to see similar levels of investment to 2019, which was a record year, while developing nations will take a bigger hit.
  
  Read more

• Amazon reveals plans for 26 new large-scale renewable energy projects

  10-12-2020 14:26
  
  Amazon has confirmed a major renewable energy investment project that will see it finance the construction of 26 new wind and solar projects totalling 3.4GW of generation capacity.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Extinction: Conservation success set against 31 lost species

  10-12-2020 13:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  European bison take a step back from the brink, but there is bad news for other animals and plants.
  
  Read more

• UK's net-zero target should be 2045, 100 councils and mayors tell Boris Johnson

  10-12-2020 11:53
  
  English and Scottish local authorities representing one-third of the population have committed to reaching net-zero community emissions by 2045 - and are urging the UK Government to follow suit.
  
  Read more

• Starbucks outlines next steps on renewable energy and regenerative agriculture

  10-12-2020 11:12
  
  Starbucks has outlined the first steps it will take to meet the 2030 sustainability targets it launched earlier this year, headlined by commitments to halve emissions, water use and waste sent to landfill.
  
  Read more

• 13 big businesses including Unilever and Microsoft join Amazon's Climate Pledge

  10-12-2020 10:40
  
  More than a dozen large businesses including Unilever, Microsoft and Coca-Cola European Partners have signed up to Amazon's Climate Pledge, which requires signatories to reach net-zero by 2040 or sooner.
  
  Read more

• I am the world’s nicest driver – but in an SUV I am treated like a pariah | Adrian Chiles

  10-12-2020 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  I enjoy the camaraderie between motorists, so it was a nasty shock to find myself shunned when I took my friend’s BMW X5 for a spinI always need to be liked; the opposite is too difficult to bear. All the best therapists say this way of thinking is seriously suboptimal, but there you go. This feeling is so ingrained that I even take it on the road with me, literally. I am the most accommodating driver ever. I am always letting people in with a cheery wave, often to the annoyance of my pass
  
  Read more

• The climate crisis should be at the heart of the global Covid recovery | Maria Fernanda Espinosa

  10-12-2020 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Governments are pouring resources into economic recovery. It’s an opportunity for visionary climate policiesIn the early hours of 12 December, 2015, I stood together with world leaders to welcome the adoption of the Paris agreement on climate change. Years of negotiations and frustrating setbacks were capped by a two-minute round of applause for French foreign minister Laurent Fabius as he banged the gavel and ushered in an ostensibly greener, more sustainable future.Five years on, the mem
  
  Read more

• The end of dairy’s ‘dirty secret’? Farms have a year to stop killing male calves

  10-12-2020 07:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Supermarket support and rising use of sexed semen expected to help UK farmers meet new welfare rules by the end of 2021Dairy farmers have until the end of next year to prove they are no longer killing male calves on-farm under new rules which will apply to nearly all UK farms from January, the Guardian has learned.The number of male calves being killed straight after birth, known as the “dirty secret” among farmers, has prompted outrage from animal welfare groups and many within the
  
  Read more

• Air pollution roars back in parts of UK, raising Covid fears

  10-12-2020 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Air quality found to be worse than before pandemic in 80% of cities and large towns analysedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAir pollution in many towns and cities across the UK now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, exacerbating the risk of Covid-19 and putting the health of millions of people at risk.A study published on Thursday says that although air quality improved dramatically in the first half of the year as the country went into lockdown, pollution now exceeds
  
  Read more

• Facial recognition for pigs: Is it helping Chinese farmers or hurting the poorest?

  10-12-2020 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Automation is revolutionising China’s pork farms but leaving independent farmers behindA slender snout. Shapely, upright ears. Like humans, pigs have idiosyncratic faces, and new players in the Chinese pork market are taking notice, experimenting with increasingly sophisticated versions of facial recognition software for pigs.China is the world’s largest exporter of pork, and is set to increase production next year by 9%. As the nation’s pork farms grow in scale, more farmers a
  
  Read more

• Climate change: Have countries kept their promises?

  10-12-2020 01:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Five years after the Paris climate deal was agreed, we look at the promises made by key countries.
  
  Read more

• Elon Musk's Starship prototype makes a big impact

  10-12-2020 00:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US entrepreneur's latest Starship rocket prototype impresses in flight, but crashes on landing.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!