Environment news

• UK environmental protections 'being flouted'

  10-03-2021 22:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Campaigners say UK government protections on the environment are already being flouted.
  
  Read more

• How grassroots schemes across UK are tackling climate crisis

  10-03-2021 21:10
  
  Thinktank calls for more support for local initiatives ranging from heating to flood schemesCommunities across the UK are tackling the climate crisis with hundreds of local schemes ranging from neighbourhood heating to food co-ops, community land ownership projects and flood defences, according to a report.A study from the IPPR thinktank found that community projects, often set up with the primary aim of reducing poverty and improving people’s day-to-day lives, were also reducing emissions
  
  Read more

• Shipping industry proposes ‘moonshot’ fossil fuel levy

  10-03-2021 19:39
  
  Proposed levy, backed by nine governments, would raise funds for developing zero-carbon ships Shipping industry representatives, backed by several countries, have submitted a proposal to the UN to charge a climate-related levy on fossil fuels used by international shipping for the first time.However, climate campaigners are concerned that the levy is too small, and will distract from more effective ways of reducing carbon dioxide from shipping, which is a growing problem. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Fishing industry in UK shrank 'dramatically' during pandemic

  10-03-2021 19:07
  
  Activity fell sharply in Britain and China in 2020 but increased in US, Japan and South Korea, study findsThe UK suffered the largest contraction among top fishing nations during the coronavirus pandemic, according to tracking data analysed by the conservation group Global Fishing Watch. Related: EU accused of ‘neocolonial’ plundering of tuna in Indian OceanContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Governments failing to fulfil talk of green Covid recovery, UN warns

  10-03-2021 17:39
  
  Prospect of green focus for rescuing economies in danger unless swift action is taken, environment chief saysCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGovernments around the world are failing to match their green rhetoric with action in rescuing their economies from the Covid-19 pandemic, the UN has warned, with prospects for a “green recovery” in danger unless swift action is taken.Countries are spending an unprecedented $14.6tn (£10.5tn) on trying to p
  
  Read more

• Bitcoin rise could leave carbon footprint the size of London's

  10-03-2021 17:00
  
  Research estimates cryptocurrency will consume as much energy as all datecentres globallyThe surge in bitcoin’s price since the start of 2021 could result in the cryptocurrency consuming as much energy as all the data centres in the world with an associated carbon footprint the same as that of London, according to research..Alex de Vries, a Dutch economist, is the author of the research paper published in the journal Joule. De Vries created the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index , one of the
  
  Read more

• Kering and Woodlands Trust to speak at edie's nature and corporate sustainability webinar

  10-03-2021 15:51
  
  Speakers from Kering and the Woodlands Trust have been confirmed to discuss the role of biodiversity in shaping and assisting sustainability strategies on a webinar taking place on Wednesday 21 April.
  
  Read more

• Kering and Woodland Trust to speak at edie's nature and corporate sustainability webinar

  10-03-2021 15:51
  
  Speakers from Kering and the Woodland Trust have been confirmed to discuss the role of biodiversity in shaping and assisting sustainability strategies on a webinar taking place on Wednesday 21 April.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 'Boiling with activity': readers' photos of their local wildlife

  10-03-2021 15:43
  
  We asked UK and European readers to send in photos of the natural world near them from the last few weeksYou can send in your recent wildlife photos hereYou can see our previous selection of photos hereLiving with the coronavirus pandemic has meant many people are having to stay closer to home, but one benefit is having more time to take notice of the natural world around us. From adders in Aberdeenshire to wild clematis in Buckinghamshire, UK and European readers have been sharing pictures and
  
  Read more

• British American Tobacco targets carbon-neutral value chain by 2050

  10-03-2021 14:47
  
  British American Tobacco (BAT) has updated an ambition of becoming carbon neutral across its business by 2030 to now account for its entire value chain by 2050.
  
  Read more

• Animals farmed: ‘Net zero’ beef, China’s mink bonus and fake swine fever jabs

  10-03-2021 12:55
  
  Welcome to our monthly roundup of the biggest issues in farming and food production, with must-read reports from around the webWhile Europe is shutting down its mink industry in reaction to Covid outbreaks, Chinese producers could benefit from higher market prices. Before the culls, China was the second biggest producer of mink fur behind Denmark, with an estimated $50bn (£36bn) a year in sales in China alone. China has not reported coronavirus infections on any of its mink farms, but info
  
  Read more

• Two weeks left to register: edie's circular economy sessions with Ikea, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, LWARB and more

  10-03-2021 12:30
  
  Experts from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Ikea, Innovate UK and The Body Shop have been confirmed for The Circular Economy Inspiration Sessions - an afternoon of live, interactive presentations and discussions taking place virtually on Thursday 25 March.
  
  Read more

• Government confirms 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars, unveils £20m electric vehicle package

  10-03-2021 12:03
  
  The Government has officially confirmed that the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars has been moved forward to 2030, while also announcing a new £20m funding pot for electric vehicle (EV) innovation.
  
  Read more

• Pearson targets net-zero carbon by 2030

  10-03-2021 11:36
  
  Learning and education company Pearson has built on science-based targets set last year to commit to net-zero emissions in the next decade, as part of a new sustainable business plan published alongside an updated company strategy.
  
  Read more

• Can red wolves come back from the brink of extinction again?

  10-03-2021 11:30
  
  Once a US conservation success story, numbers in the wild have plummeted. Now a court has given hope for their survival There are perhaps no more than 10 red wolves left in the wild, and they are all in just one place: North Carolina.It is an astonishing statistic for a species once hailed as undergoing the most successful reintroduction programme in the US, providing the blueprint for Yellowstone national park’s much-lauded grey wolf rewilding project. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Fukushima disaster: What happened at the nuclear plant?

  10-03-2021 11:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A tsunami struck the Japanese plant in 2011, leading to the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
  
  Read more

• Mondelez and PepsiCo set new plastic pledges following non-profit discussions

  10-03-2021 10:20
  
  Two of the world's largest users of plastics, Mondelez International and PepsiCo have agreed to set new reduction targets following intensive discussions with the As You Sow non-profit.
  
  Read more

• Ed Miliband criticises Government decision to 'axe' Industrial Strategy

  10-03-2021 09:53
  
  Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband has criticised a decision from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to archive the flagship Industrial Strategy, joining concerns from green groups that the decision could dent business and policymaker relations.
  
  Read more

• Is this the end of forests as we've known them?

  10-03-2021 09:00
  
  Trees lost to drought and wildfires are not returning. Climate change is taking is a toll on the world’s forests - and radically changing the environment before our eyesCamille Stevens-Rumann never used to worry about seeing dead trees. As a wildland firefighter in the American west, she encountered untold numbers killed in blazes she helped to extinguish. She knew fires are integral to forests in this part of the world; they prune out smaller trees, giving room to the rest and even help t
  
  Read more

• Deadly pig disease could have led to Covid spillover to humans, analysis suggests

  10-03-2021 08:15
  
  African swine fever led to mass cull of pigs in China and may have increased human-virus contact as people turned to other meatCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAn outbreak of a deadly pig disease may have set the stage for Covid-19 to take hold in humans, a new analysis has suggested. African swine fever (ASF), which first swept through China in 2018, disrupted pork supplies increasing the potential for human-virus contact as people sought out alternative meats.
  
  Read more

• Tough new rules aim to make electrical goods last longer

  10-03-2021 07:00
  
  Government to force firms to make spare parts available and create products that are cheaper to runTougher rules are being introduced to make appliances such as fridges, washing machines and TVs cheaper to run and last longer, the government has said.New legislation aims to tackle “premature obsolescence” in electrical goods – short lifespans built into appliances by manufacturers so that customers have to buy new ones sooner – and make them more energy efficient. Continu
  
  Read more

• Major UK pension funds worth nearly £900bn commit to net zero

  10-03-2021 07:00
  
  Church of England, Lloyds and the National Grid among those pledging to meet 2050 targetMajor pension funds that own assets worth £870bn, including those of the Church of England, Lloyds Banking Group and the National Grid, have committed to cutting the carbon emissions of their portfolios to net zero by 2050 or earlier, in another sign of big investors’ increasing focus on the climate crisis.Pension providers Scottish Widows, Royal London and Nest and a clutch of public sector pensi
  
  Read more

• Birdwatch: white-tailed eagle causes stir in my quiet Somerset village

  10-03-2021 07:00
  
  Locals buzzing with arrival of mighty raptor, which perched in a tree a mile from my homeThere are some birds I would never expect to see in my Somerset village. Magnificent frigatebird. Superb bird-of-paradise. Wandering albatross. And white-tailed eagle.Except that, for a couple of days this winter, a juvenile white-tailed eagle – Britain’s biggest bird of prey – did turn up here in our quiet country parish. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Country diary: filling the fields with private sobriquets

  10-03-2021 06:30
  
  Sandy, Bedfordshire: Old places have earned new names since the pandemic began – skylark fields, partridge walk, sloe lane It has been five months since any journey was more than an hour’s walk, and in that time we have populated our circumscribed world with names. A fellow Guardian writer reminded me that in the Gaelic-speaking parts of the British Isles, every hillock, every burn, every feature was given a name. In her childhood, she tagged landmarks around her own North Yorkshire
  
  Read more

• China and Russia to build lunar space station

  10-03-2021 05:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The two countries will create research facilities on the surface and/or in the moon's orbit.
  
  Read more

• From veggie gardening to op-shopping, migrants are the quiet environmentalists | Sukhmani Khorana for The Conversation

  10-03-2021 02:05
  
  Research shows ethnic minorities are often under-represented in the urban environmental movement, yet often practice sustainability at homeThe organised environmental movement is largely a white, middle-class space. But our research shows migrants care for nature in other ways – including living sustainably in their everyday lives.This is most obvious on the domestic front. From repurposing goods to keeping vegetable gardens and being careful with electricity use, migrants are highly likel
  
  Read more

• From veggie gardening to op-shopping, migrants are the quiet environmentalists | Sukhmani Khorana

  10-03-2021 02:05
  
  Research shows ethnic minorities are often under-represented in the urban environmental movement, yet often practice sustainability at homeThe organised environmental movement is largely a white, middle-class space. But our research shows migrants care for nature in other ways – including living sustainably in their everyday lives.This is most obvious on the domestic front. From repurposing goods to keeping vegetable gardens and being careful with electricity use, migrants are highly likel
  
  Read more

• Major investors apply net-zero alignment framework to $8trn of assets

  10-03-2021 01:02
  
  A coalition of 35 big-name investors has become the first to apply a new net-zero investment framework to their portfolios, with $8trn of assets covered.
  
  Read more

• UK set to cut air passenger duty on domestic flights

  10-03-2021 01:01
  
  Green groups say move ‘beggars belief’ but cut will offer some relief to troubled aviation industryAir passenger duty is set to be cut on domestic flights after the prime minister signalled his support for reform to bolster air links around the UK.Lower rates for UK internal flights or an exemption for return legs will be considered. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Tesco to roll out UK-wide flexible plastic recycling scheme

  10-03-2021 01:01
  
  Tesco has begun introducing permanent in-store recycling points for soft and flexible plastics, which typically are not collected by councils, and is hoping to host them in all large UK stores.
  
  Read more

• 'Right to repair' law to come in this summer

  10-03-2021 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Manufacturers will be obliged to make spare parts for appliances available to consumers.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!