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Type of microplastics used in skin exfoliators and banned in UK and US found in 45% of Indian products studied

India should consider a ban on microbeads in personal care products, in line with many other countries in the world, say researchers.

Microbeads are a type of microplastic used in cosmetic products to exfoliate the skin. After a public uproar when the plastics were highlighted in Europe a decade ago, they were banned in the Netherlands in 2014, with many other countries following, including the US in 2015 and the UK in 2018.

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For all the initial noise against low-traffic neighbourhoods, most people like them and they can benefit the public purse

Here are four words you might not expect from me, as a former Conservative aide, so make the most of them: Louise Haigh is right. Half right, anyway. Labour’s new transport secretary has taken some flak – though not, interestingly, a vast amount - for interviews this week stating that councils that create low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), 20mph zones and bike lanes on their roads “will have my full support”.

“An abdication of responsibility,” huffed the Sun. “Labour declares war on drivers,” announced GB News, though no one was actually quoted to this effect – the shadow transport spokesperson, Helen Whately, said only that Labour “seems unable to take a common sense approach”.

Andrew Gilligan was transport adviser to Boris Johnson in Downing Street, and cycling commissioner for London 2013-16.

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Government stakeholders and private sector representatives met in Harare, Zimbabwe this week to discuss strategies to generate carbon credits from hemp production, according to local media.

Plastic credits can support the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), according to a new report by carbon standard Verra.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has stepped back from plans to auction oil concessions on protected areas in the Congo Basin with carbon project potential, according to a press release.

China has begun accepting applications for carbon projects under the national offset programme, with participants expecting new credits to be issued by the end of the year.

European carbon allowance prices headed for their fourth decline in a row on Friday morning as selling interest continued to out-muscle buyers with the market continuing to shadow movements in natural gas.

Turnout gear sold in Massachusetts and Connecticut must be free of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ by 2027 and 2028

Massachusetts and Connecticut are the first two states in the US to ban the use of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” in protective gear worn by firefighters.

Turnout gear, including jackets, pants, boots, gloves and other protective equipment that firefighters wear is treated heavily with PFAS that makes it resistant to water and heat, and helps the textiles breathe.

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Sweden has launched its bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) auction, allocating 36 billion SEK ($3.4 bln) in grants over 15 years of storage.

A Mexican non-profit has partnered with a France-based environmental company to launch a biodiversity and carbon credit project aimed at reintroducing spider monkeys on a 600-hectare area in Mexico, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Permits in China’s national emissions trading scheme (ETS) fell below the 90 yuan ($12.61) mark over the past week, hitting their lowest level in a month, though trading activity picked up significantly to end the week with more than 2 million units changing hands.

The Australian government will spend an additional A$192 million ($129 mln) to improve and protect the Great Barrier Reef’s water quality in order to prevent bleaching events and aid recovery when they do occur.

The rules for buying offsite units to comply with England’s Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements aren’t clear enough for developers currently, with some local authorities better equipped to advise on the market than others, according to a sustainability consultancy working with large building clients.

Carbon pricing is a key policy tool to ensure climate success, especially when combined with subsidies for clean energy and effective regulation such as state-induced coal phaseout, according to an international report published this week.

A volcano in south-west Iceland has erupted for the sixth time since December, spraying red-hot lava and smoke. The eruptions show the challenge faced by the island country of nearly 400,000 people, as scientists warn that the Reykjanes peninsula could face repeated events for decades or even centuries

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China's industry ministry has instructed all regions to cease issuing new steel capacity replacement plans, a move that could change the dynamics in the oversupplied and ETS-destined market.

Schools and university shut down in Tripura state after persistent heavy rain, and situation expected to worsen

Incessant rain across Tripura, a state in north-east India, has created what has been described as the state’s worst flood situation in the last three decades. Persistent heavy rain from Monday to Wednesday resulted in several rivers exceeding danger and extreme danger marks, leading to widespread flooding that has caused the deaths of 10 people as well as displacing more than 34,000.

The southern Tripura districts had the worst of the floods and the 34,000 displaced people were being sheltered in the north of the region. There were 24-hour rainfall totals on Wednesday of 375.8mm recorded in Bagafa and 324.4mm in Belonia. The flooding and heavy rain led schools to shut down on Wednesday and Thursday, while Tripura University suspended all regular classes on Wednesday. The heavy rain was caused by a low pressure system situated over Bangladesh that is slowly moving westwards into north-east India. The situation is therefore only expected to worsen, with a further 100-150mm falling through Thursday and Friday as rivers continue to remain at breaking point.

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Taiwan should make it mandatory for public funds to consider climate risks in their investment and financing decision-making and include a timeline for their divestment from fossil fuels, an environmental group has urged. 

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

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Campaigners denounce ‘pure slaughter’, which could threaten survival of entire Scandinavian population

More than 150 brown bears have been killed in the opening days of Sweden’s annual bear hunt, as controversy mounts over what conservationists have called “pure slaughter”.

The Swedish government issued 486 licences to shoot bears in this year’s hunt, equivalent to about 20% of the remaining brown bear population. This follows a record-breaking cull of 722 bears last year. By Thursday afternoon – the second day of the hunt – 152 bears had already been shot, according to Sweden’s Environmental Protection Agency.

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