Environment news

• Biden urged to back AI weapons to counter China and Russia threats

  01-03-2021 18:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A long-awaited report says the US president should ignore calls for a ban on autonomous weapons.
  
  Read more

• Take a deep breath: how 'Cornish' air sells for £60 a bottle (even if it's from Devon)

  01-03-2021 18:13 via theguardian.com
  
  A firm selling air from ‘unspoiled places’ has caused a row by marketing air from Devon as being from the ‘Cornish heritage coast’. But who is selling air? Name: Bottled air.Age: Fresh as a daisy, sir, just bottled this morning. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK government confirms interim environmental watchdog and emissions trading scheme launch

  01-03-2021 18:08
  
  The UK Government has confirmed that England's post-Brexit environmental watchdog will launch in July on an interim basis and that its domestic emissions trading scheme (ETS) will launch in May.
  
  Read more

• As many corals growing in the Pacific as trees in the Amazon, new study finds

  01-03-2021 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis suggests the risk of extinction of some species may not be as high as previously thought, but researchers warn local depletion has a devastating impactA world-first estimate of the number of corals across the expanse of the Pacific Ocean has suggested there are about half a trillion of the reef-building animals.Researchers say their findings, from an analysis of more than 900 reef sites, shows the risk of extinction of individual coral species is lower than current international assessm
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 'A duty of care': Australian teenagers take their climate crisis plea to court

  01-03-2021 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Anj Sharma, 16, and her team hope to force change they say is not coming quickly enough from governmentEight teenagers and an octogenarian nun head to an Australian court on Tuesday to launch what they hope will prove to be a landmark case – one that establishes the federal government’s duty of care in protecting future generations from a worsening climate crisis.If successful, the people behind the class action believe it may set a precedent that stops the government approving new f
  
  Read more

• Budget is vital test of UK government's green credentials

  01-03-2021 15:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis: Ministers urged to show global leadership as Britain prepares to host UN Cop26 climate talksThe budget this week will be a vital test of Boris Johnson’s green credentials, with campaigners watching keenly to see whether plans match up to the government’s repeated claims to be creating a “green industrial revolution”.After this week, there are no more formal budgets to come before the UK hosts the vital UN Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow later this year. Meanwhile
  
  Read more

• Radar images capture new Antarctic mega-iceberg

  01-03-2021 14:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Spacecraft that can see through cloud get their first good look at the frozen block known as A74.
  
  Read more

• A third of top UK firms' CO2 emissions not in line with global climate goals

  01-03-2021 14:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis shows emissions from 31 FTSE 100 companies are well above what’s needed to hit Paris targetsThree out of 10 of the UK’s biggest public companies emit carbon dioxide at a rate that would contribute significantly to the climate crisis, according to analysis that shows the scale of the challenge for corporate Britain to cut emissions to zero.Thirty-one members of the FTSE 100, the index of Britain’s largest listed companies, are emitting carbon dioxide at a rate consisten
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Burger King to ditch all single-use plastic in the UK

  01-03-2021 13:21
  
  Burger King UK has made a new commitment to phase out all single-use plastic by 2025, replacing packaging with reusables and with recycled or certified plastic-free alternatives.
  
  Read more

• Cattle stranded on ship to be destroyed in port as second vessel returns to Spain

  01-03-2021 13:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Spanish officials say animals must be put down after two months at sea as owners struggled to find buyer because of disease fearsCattle stranded on ship in Spain must be destroyed, say vetsSpanish authorities are about to begin slaughtering hundreds of calves that have spent months crisscrossing the Mediterranean, said a lawyer for the cattle shippers. The 864 cattle due for slaughter are onboard the Karim Allah, which is docked in the Spanish port of Cartagena. It is one of two vessels that lef
  
  Read more

• Budget 2021: Businesses and charities make last-minute calls for green funding to Rishi Sunak

  01-03-2021 12:53
  
  With the 2021 Budget being announced on Wednesday (3 March), Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing mounting pressure over the Green Homes Grant, National Nature Service and other green policy decisions.
  
  Read more

• Budget 2021: Rishi Sunak 'set to unveil green savings bonds and net-zero innovation programmes'

  01-03-2021 12:47
  
  Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed that he will launch green savings bonds at the Budget on Wednesday. There are also media reports of a £1bn portfolio to support innovations that will accelerate the UK's net-zero transition.
  
  Read more

• How we met: ‘I told her every day I loved her, but I wonder if it was enough’

  01-03-2021 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Wilf Bishop, 78, met his wife, Janet, at a climbing club in Yorkshire in 1959. They married in 1963, had four children and loved the great outdoors Wilf Bishop discovered a passion for the outdoors as an engineering apprentice in 1959. He joined the East Yorkshire Mountaineering Club and spotted Janet Graham across the room on his first visit. “She was this tall, lovely girl with gorgeous auburn hair. I wanted to talk to her, but I had no idea how, because I was an awkward 17-year-old who
  
  Read more

• A Texas city had a bold new climate plan – until a gas company got involved

  01-03-2021 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The fossil fuel industry is using the same playbook to fight city climate plans around the countryWhen the city of Austin drafted a plan to shift away from fossil fuels, the local gas company was fast on the scene to try to scale back the ambition of the effort.Like many cities across the US, the rapidly expanding and gentrifying Texas city is looking to shrink its climate footprint. So its initial plan was to virtually eliminate gas use in new buildings by 2030 and existing ones by 2040. Homes
  
  Read more

• 'Tech Zero taskforce': UK tech firms to inform Government's net-zero approach

  01-03-2021 10:45
  
  Fast-growing UK tech firms including Bulb, Starling Bank and Olio have formed a new taskforce that will inform the government's green policymaking and garner industry support ahead of COP26.
  
  Read more

• Aviva Investors targets net-zero by 2040

  01-03-2021 10:26
  
  Aviva has pledged to reach net-zero across its operations, supply chain and financing activities by 2040, in what it claims is the most ambitious net-zero pledge from a large, UK-based financial services firm.
  
  Read more

• UK meteor spotted above Midsomer Norton and Bath

  01-03-2021 10:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Social media users reported seeing a 'flash' with a 'tail of orange light' in the night sky.
  
  Read more

• Letter demands action over 'UK nature in freefall'

  01-03-2021 09:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Wildlife experts urge the prime minister to step up action on the loss of species in the UK.
  
  Read more

• 'Looking for a flamingo?': bird trafficking in Iraq – photo essay

  01-03-2021 09:35 via theguardian.com
  
  When flamingos migrate to the southern Iraqi marshes in the winter months, the poachers are waiting – and so are the customers who want them to decorate their gardensPhotographs by Chloe Sharrock. Words by Quentin Müller and Sylvain Mercadier“Is it flamingos you’re looking for? Come to my place after 1pm,” whispers Mustafa Ahmed Ali from inside his small shop, which is buzzing with bird sounds of all kinds. He has been selling birds – wild and bred – at t
  
  Read more

• 'Looking for a flamingo?': bird trafficking in Iraq – in pictures

  01-03-2021 09:35 via theguardian.com
  
  When flamingos migrate to the southern Iraqi marshes in the winter months, the poachers are waiting – and so are the customers who want them to decorate their gardensPhotographs by Chloe Sharrock. Words by Quentin Müller and Sylvain Mercadier“Is it flamingos you’re looking for? Come to my place after 1pm,” whispers Mustafa Ahmed Ali from inside his small shop, which is buzzing with bird sounds of all kinds. He has been selling birds – wild and bred – at t
  
  Read more

• CDP: Water risk costs for corporates five times higher than cost of action

  01-03-2021 09:05
  
  Some $301bn of business value is at risk because of water stewardship challenges, yet it would take corporates just $55bn to deliver appropriate mitigation and adaptation initiatives.
  
  Read more

• Huge iceberg breaks off from shelf in Antarctica – video

  01-03-2021 09:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Aerial video released on 26 February reveals a huge iceberg has separated from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, almost 10 years after scientists first discovered cracks.The berg has been compared in size to the English county of Bedfordshire, measuring 1,270 sq km, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).Scientists were expecting the calving of the iceberg to happen, after daily monitoring of the area with GPS instruments and satellite imagery, the BAS's director, Prof Dame Jane Franci
  
  Read more

• A third of top UK firms emit enough CO2 to push up global warming by 2.7C

  01-03-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis shows emissions from 31 FTSE 100 companies are well above what’s needed to hit Paris targetsThree out of 10 of the UK’s biggest public companies emit carbon dioxide at a rate that would contribute significantly to the climate crisis, according to analysis that shows the scale of the challenge for corporate Britain to cut emissions to zero.Thirty-one members of the FTSE 100, the index of Britain’s largest listed companies, are emitting carbon dioxide at a rate consisten
  
  Read more

• Cumbria coal mine plan 'damaging PM's reputation'

  01-03-2021 07:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Foreign ambassadors say Boris Johnson's tacit support for the mine prompts accusations of hypocrisy.
  
  Read more

• UK scientists confirm arrival of brown marmorated stink bugs

  01-03-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Invasive bug that creates marks on fruit and vegetables probably hitched ride into Britain on packaging cratesIt is brown, stinky and will strike fear into the hearts of apple and other fruit growers.Scientists have now confirmed that the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), a small flying insect that emits an unpleasant almond-like odour, has arrived in Britain, after most probably hitching a ride on packaging crates. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Fossil fuel cars make 'hundreds of times' more waste than electric cars

  01-03-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis by transport group says battery electric vehicles are superior to their petrol and diesel counterpartsFossil fuel cars waste hundreds of times more raw material than their battery electric equivalents, according to a study that adds to evidence that the move away from petrol and diesel cars will bring large net environmental benefits.Only about 30kg of raw material will be lost over the lifecycle of a lithium ion battery used in electric cars once recycling is taken into account, compar
  
  Read more

• Country diary: spring sunshine heralds a trip to the beach

  01-03-2021 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: The tranquil sea echoes the uneven blue of the sky, and small wavelets break in elegant crescents on the shorelineA day of sunshine, after the striking reversals of the weather in recent weeks, is something to be celebrated. Turning my back on the hills, I set out to walk to the coast a few miles distant. Following days of cold, grey cloud, the injection of colour from the open sky was revelatory – the swelling buds and early catkins giving a hint that maybe, just
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!