Environment news

• Insect populations suffering death by 1,000 cuts, say scientists

  11-01-2021 21:00
  
  ‘Frightening’ global decline is ‘tearing apart tapestry of life’, with climate crisis a critical concernInsect populations are suffering “death by a thousand cuts”, with many falling at “frightening” rates that are “tearing apart the tapestry of life”, according to scientists behind a new volume of studies.The insects face multiple, overlapping threats including the destruction of wild habitats for farming, urbanisation, pesticides and
  
  Read more

• Chinese nuclear firm told it must resolve Bradwell safety issues

  11-01-2021 19:43
  
  Disposal of radioactive waste is one of six issues to be addressed before plant in Essex can go aheadThe Environment Agency has told the Chinese nuclear developer behind plans to build a new reactor in Essex that it must resolve at least six safety issues before it can move forward.The issues identified by the environment watchdog in its early assessments of the plans for the site in Bradwell include concerns over how China General Nuclear Group (CGN) will dispose of radioactive waste. Continue
  
  Read more

• More than 50 countries commit to protection of 30% of Earth's land and oceans

  11-01-2021 18:44
  
  Coalition says promise is key to preventing mass extinctions and ensuring clean air and waterA coalition of more than 50 countries has committed to protect almost a third of the planet by 2030 to halt the destruction of the natural world and slow extinctions of wildlife.The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which includes the UK and countries from six continents, made the pledge to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans before the One Planet summit in Paris
  
  Read more

• Climate change: Africa's green energy transition 'unlikely' this decade

  11-01-2021 17:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hopes that Africa could "leapfrog" fossil fuels and move to renewables are not being realised.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• £3bn UK climate finance to be spent on supporting nature

  11-01-2021 16:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The PM says investment is needed to protect marine life, forests and sustainable food production.
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson promises £3bn of climate finance for nature by 2026

  11-01-2021 16:51
  
  Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined plans to allocate at least £3bn of the international climate finance that the UK will spend through to 2026 on nature-based solutions.
  
  Read more

• UK allows emergency use of bee-harming pesticide

  11-01-2021 16:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In 2018, the EU and UK imposed an almost-total ban because of the serious damage it could cause.
  
  Read more

• Macron tells Idris Elba he will invite young Africans to summit, not leaders

  11-01-2021 15:35
  
  French president tells actor Idris Elba he will overhaul France-Africa event to help mobilise Africa’s young peopleThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has pledged to invite young Africans rather than their political leaders to a key France-Africa summit in a video call with the actor Idris Elba.The Élysée Palace said Elba, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations’ international fund for agricultural development, had asked to speak to the French leader. The Guardi
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Governments urged to redirect $1trn of 'planet-wrecking' subsidies to nature conservation and restoration

  11-01-2021 14:41
  
  Governments collectively funnel more than $1trn of subsidies into businesses that harm nature, including fossil fuel majors, mining giants and industrial agriculture, every year.
  
  Read more

• 50 countries commit to protection of 30% of Earth's land and oceans

  11-01-2021 14:28
  
  Coalition says promise is key to preventing mass extinctions and ensuring clean air and waterA coalition of 50 countries have committed to protect almost a third of the planet by 2030 to halt the destruction of the natural world and slow extinctions of wildlife.The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which includes the UK and countries from six continents, has pledged to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans before the One Planet summit in Paris on Monday, h
  
  Read more

• Apple links executive pay to performance against ESG targets

  11-01-2021 13:40
  
  Apple has confirmed plans to modify the bonuses its executives receive depending on how much progress the business makes towards key environmental and social targets.
  
  Read more

• Prince Charles launches 'earth charter' for businesses tackling nature and climate crises

  11-01-2021 13:13
  
  The Prince of Wales is hoping to get major businesses to commit to "accelerating and mainstreaming sustainability", by signing a new charter on the green recovery.
  
  Read more

• Prince Charles urges businesses to sign Terra Carta pledge to put planet first

  11-01-2021 12:03
  
  Magna Carta-style project aims to raise £7bn to ‘bring prosperity into harmony with nature’Prince Charles is urging businesses to invest in the health of the planet and people at the launch of a sustainable finance charter backed by several international institutions.Evoking the history of Magna Carta, the Prince of Wales is launching the Terra Carta – the Earth charter – that will ask signatories to agree to almost 100 actions to become more sustainable by 2030. Co
  
  Read more

• Prince Charles urges businesses put planet and people first

  11-01-2021 12:03
  
  Magna Carta-style project aims to raise £7bn to ‘bring prosperity into harmony with nature’Prince Charles is urging businesses to invest in the health of the planet and people at the launch of a sustainable finance charter backed by several international institutions.Evoking the history of the Magna Carta, the Prince of Wales is launching the Terra Carta – the Earth charter – that will ask signatories to agree to almost 100 actions to become more sustainable by 2030
  
  Read more

• All at sea: half a million seafarers stranded by the pandemic – in pictures

  11-01-2021 11:00
  
  Up to 400,000 seafarers have been trapped on board cargo ships during the Covid pandemic, some for more than 18 months• Chosen from among 3,000 images submitted to a photography competition run by ITF Seafarers’ Trust Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Nigeria cattle crisis: how drought and urbanisation led to deadly land grabs

  11-01-2021 08:00
  
  The death toll of animals and humans is mounting as herders seeking dwindling reserves of pasture clash with farmersIn February last year, Sunday Ikenna’s fields were green and lush. Then, one evening, a herd of cattle led into the farm by roving pastoralists crushed, ate, and uprooted the crops. “I lost everything. The situation was sorrowful, watching another human being destroy your farm,” says Ikenna, a father of 10 who farms in Ukpabi-Nimbo in Enugu state, southern Nigeria
  
  Read more

• Hardy coltsfoot adorns barren waste grounds: Country diary, 11 January 1921

  11-01-2021 07:00
  
  11 January 1921 The changing face of nature gives a soothing, mental rest when we are wearied by the perplexing whirl of commerce and politicsIn spring, and more noticeably in that part of winter which is really spring, when days are lengthening and buds forming, every common, insignificant flower has its value. The primrose in the garden, though a true flower of spring, has less value in the eyes of the outdoor naturalist than the brave and hardy coltsfoot, which is now announced. The first new
  
  Read more

• Country diary: going with the flow through the Debatable Lands

  11-01-2021 06:30
  
  Warksburn, Northumberland: The river twists and loops through a landscape steeped in historyPerched on a tussocky slope, we eat our sandwiches in the winter sun, sit-mats sinking into damp moss among leaves of betony and St John’s wort. Heather stems nudge against my knees. Young hawthorns make a spiky canopy above my head. Through backlit stalks of knapweed, a field lies way below us, held in a crook of the Warksburn. The far side of the river is bordered by a cliff seen through a lattice
  
  Read more

• Baby shark! Newborn megalodons larger than humans, scientists say

  11-01-2021 06:00
  
  Creatures that patrolled the oceans 3m years ago were about two metres long at birth, researchers findEnormous megatooth sharks, or megalodons, which patrolled the world’s oceans more than three million years ago, gave birth to babies larger than most adult humans, scientists say.Researchers made the unsettling discovery when they X-rayed the vertebra of a fossilised megalodon and found that it must have been about two metres (6.5 ft) long when it was born. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Covid vaccine: How does a vaccine get approved?

  11-01-2021 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The NHS is carrying out the biggest vaccination campaign in its history - what safety checks were made?
  
  Read more

• Investors file climate resolution at HSBC

  11-01-2021 01:01
  
  Investors with a combined $2.4trn in assets under management have filed a resolution at HSBC, calling on the bank to publish a strategy that outlines efforts to reduce exposure to fossil fuel assets.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!