Environment news

• Caught between China and the US, the pressure for HSBC to split grows | Nils Pratley

  26-01-2021 20:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Chief executive Noel Quinn opines unconvincingly about staying out of politics, but it’s not that simpleNoel Quinn, chief executive of HSBC, had his line and he stuck to it. He was just a humble banker, obeying the rules in Hong Kong, even the draconian ones imposed by Beijing that stamp out the last knockings of democracy. “It’s not my position to make moral or political judgments on these matters,” he told the foreign affairs select committee. “I have to comply wi
  
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• UK government backs birth control for grey squirrels

  26-01-2021 19:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government gives its support to a project to use oral contraceptives to control grey squirrels.
  
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• BlackRock's Larry Fink warns CEOs that 'no issue ranks higher than climate change'

  26-01-2021 15:31
  
  BlackRock's chief executive Larry Fink has written to businesses to warn them that "no issue ranks higher than climate change" and that the current coronavirus pandemic serves as a "stark reminder" of the need to drastically combat climate-related risks.
  
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• Prince Charles: Sustainable business leadership alone won't combat climate change

  26-01-2021 15:26
  
  While congratulating companies to have been named the most sustainable in the world, the Prince of Wales has warned that more must be done to deliver the global low-carbon transition in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5C trajectory.
  
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• Asset manager BlackRock threatens to sell shares in worst climate polluters

  26-01-2021 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Firm commanding £6tn in assets vows to support net-zero carbon pledge amid pressure to divest from fossil fuelsBlackRock has said it will threaten to sell its shares in the worst corporate polluters, as the world’s largest asset manager pledged to support the goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chief executive, said the coronavirus pandemic had increased focus on existential climate risks, in his annual letter to chief executives around the
  
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• Kenyan Mansur Mohamed Surur charged in US over '$7m smuggling ring'

  26-01-2021 13:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Elephant tusks and rhino horns "hidden inside African masks" were exported, US prosecutors say.
  
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• #SustyTalk: Anglian Water's Andy Brown on collaboration for a just transition to net-zero

  26-01-2021 13:22
  
  edie's #SustyTalk interview series continues with an exclusive talk with Anglian Water's head of sustainability Andy Brown.
  
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• US firm running eco grants scheme has won multiple UK government contracts

  26-01-2021 13:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Virginia-based ICF has been awarded more than 80 government contracts in the last five yearsDebt and job losses as England’s green homes grant scheme ‘in chaos’The American corporation running the UK green homes grant has been awarded multiple government contracts in the last five years.ICF, based in Fairfax, Virginia, is a global consulting business that promotes itself as “not your typical consultants”. Continue reading...
  
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• Government plans to turn England homes green 'in chaos' with debt and job losses

  26-01-2021 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: firms out of pocket and losing faith in scheme administered by US-based corporation US firm running eco grants scheme has won multiple UK government contractsEngland’s much-hyped £2bn green homes grant is in chaos, renewable energy installers say, with some owed tens of thousands of pounds and struggling to stay in business.Members of the public have been left waiting nearly four months, in some cases, to take advantage of the scheme to fit low carbon heating systems. Some
  
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• Fury as long-awaited UK environment bill is delayed for third time

  26-01-2021 12:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Green campaigners attack further delay ‘to most important piece of legislation for decades’
  The government has delayed the long-awaited environment bill, which redraws rules after the UK’s departure from the EU, provoking fury from campaigners who said it would harm action on air pollution and water quality, as well as other key issues. The proposed legislation would be the biggest shake-up of green regulation in decades. Ministers said the delay, which means the flagship bill
  
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• Fury as long-awaited UK environment bill is delayed for the third time

  26-01-2021 12:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Bill includes new rules intended to stop import of goods that come from areas of deforested landThe government has delayed the long-awaited environment bill, the biggest shake-up of green regulation in decades which redraws rules following the UK’s departure from the EU, provoking fury from campaigners who said it would harm action on air pollution and water quality, as well as other key issues.Ministers said the delay, which will mean the flagship bill is unlikely to pass before the autum
  
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• Climate: Government postpones Environment Bill again

  26-01-2021 11:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Environment Bill has been postponed again because of a lack of time for scrutiny, the government says.
  
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• EY targets carbon negativity for 2021

  26-01-2021 11:29
  
  After achieving an ambition to become carbon neutral in 2020 by upping investments in carbon offsetting, EY has committed to remove and offset more carbon than it emits globally this year.
  
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• 'Extremely disappointing news': Government delays Environment Bill's return to Parliament

  26-01-2021 10:50
  
  The Environment Bill was due to return to Parliament today (26 January), but the Government has confirmed that it will be delayed once more - much to the disappointment of green campaigners and business groups.
  
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• Report: 2 in 3 banks have no commitments to stop financing deforestation

  26-01-2021 09:19
  
  Some 95 of the world's largest 150 banks and investment firms have not published policies to prevent the companies they finance from destroying forests, with laggards including BlackRock and Wells Fargo.
  
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• ‘A remarkable phenomenon’: billions of cicadas set to emerge across eastern US

  26-01-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Last such event for 15 states including New York, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia occurred in 2004Billions of cicadas that have spent 17 years underground are set to emerge across large areas of the eastern US, bringing swarming numbers and loud mating calls to major towns and cities.The periodic cicadas – bugs with strikingly red eyes, black bodies and orange wings – burrow underground as nymphs and suck fluids from the roots of plants as they grow, eventually bursting into the open as a
  
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• China's new animal health rules alone won't stop zoonotic outbreaks, experts warn

  26-01-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Enforcement of rules and boosting numbers of vets to help with inspections, quarantines and general animal health seen as criticalChina’s attempts to prevent another zoonotic disease outbreak will fail without deep changes in enforcement, oversight, and extensive investment to ramp up veterinary capacity, say experts.China’s top lawmakers last week approved revisions to the country’s law on preventing the spread of animal diseases. Amendments to the Animal Epidemic Prevention L
  
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• Air pollution linked to higher risk of irreversible sight loss

  26-01-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Large UK study found small pollution rise associated with more cases of age-related macular degenerationSmall increases in air pollution are linked to an increased risk of irreversible sight loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a large UK study has found.Previous work had already found a link between dirty air and glaucoma and a link to cataracts is suspected. The scientists said the eyes have a particularly high flow of blood, potentially making them very vulnerable to the damage c
  
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• Covid-19: Five days that shaped the outbreak

  26-01-2021 02:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Before Wuhan was locked down in January 2020 officials said the outbreak was under control - but the virus had spread inside and outside the city.
  
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• Companies with science-based targets planning $25.9bn climate mitigation investments

  26-01-2021 01:36
  
  Major companies to have aligned their emissions reductions targets with climate science are collectively planning to invest more than $25.9bn in climate mitigation through to 2030, according to new analysis covering firms including Tesco and Mastercard.
  
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• Scientists address myths over large-scale tree planting

  26-01-2021 01:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists propose 10 golden rules for restoring forests to maximise benefits for the planet.
  
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• Waitrose Unpacked: Supermarket unveils next steps for plastic-busting refill scheme

  26-01-2021 01:06
  
  After trials of packaging-free, refillable products proved popular with shoppers and reduced the supermarket's plastic footprint, Waitrose & Partners is planning to make the format easier to use - and to roll it out to more stores in future.
  
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• Circular economy can slash global emissions by 39%, says major new report

  26-01-2021 01:01
  
  A major new report, released to coincide with the original dates for the World Economic Forum's event in Davos, has found that 39% of global annual emissions could be mitigated by changing the ways in which we use natural raw materials.
  
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