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The Guardian view on low-traffic neighbourhoods: streets ahead | Editorial
Cleaner, safer cities are one good thing that could come out of the pandemic – if politicians hold their nerve
Some good can come of even the worst disaster. Amid all the suffering and difficulty of the pandemic, environmentally minded people spied a chance. Could the enforced immobility of life under Covid-19, the rediscovery of neighbourhood shops, parks and walks brought about by the closure of workplaces and schools, lead to a longer-term adjustment – a new car/life balance?
For decades, green thinkers and politicians have advocated for a less automobile-centric culture. Transport policy unites two big themes of environmental politics: the idea that many people need to be reconnected with local geographies, both physical and human; and opposition to pollution. This means greenhouse gases, of course, but also particulate matter and noise. An altered transport hierarchy, it has long been argued, is beneficial to health, since more walking and cycling means less obesity, respiratory illness and heart disease; reduced road traffic also means fewer injuries and deaths caused by collisions.
Continue reading...Ships moved more than 11 billion tonnes of our stuff around the globe last year, and it’s killing the climate. This week is a chance to change
Forest and Climate Campaigner, Fern – Brussels
Pacific Islands pin hopes on carbon pricing as ‘weak’ shipping emissions deal looms
RFS Market: RIN prices dive amid EPA chief comments, quota uncertainty
Global net zero commitments may render EU carbon border levy “less” necessary -Commission climate chief
EU plans to increase offshore windfarm capacity by 250%
Proposal would create 62,000 jobs and help towards carbon neutrality, says commission
The capacity of the EU’s offshore windfarms in the North Sea, the Baltic, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea will be increased by 250%, under a draft plan drawn up by the European commission.
The move follows Boris Johnson’s announcement this year of his intention to generate enough electricity to power every home in the UK within a decade from the country’s offshore sites.
Continue reading...EU Market: EUAs leap to 6-wk high on second batch of positive COVID jab results
Launching the search for the Gretas of the future
Covid: Will there be more than one coronavirus vaccine?
Swiss emissions trading registry, market to close for the holidays
Summit aims for clean-up of shipping industry
Moderna: Covid vaccine shows nearly 95% protection
Shocking footage of ‘severely injured’ pigs on Spanish farms released
Calls for EU animal welfare rules to be enforced as country set to overtake Germany as Europe’s biggest pork producer
Footage that appears to show newborn piglets lying in faeces, pigs with pus-covered wounds and pig carcasses in varying states of decomposition has been published by animal welfare campaigners in Spain.
Spain is expected to overtake Germany this year as the EU’s biggest pork producer. In 2019, a record 53 million pigs were slaughtered across the country, fuelling demand for products such as chorizo, tenderloin and lard across the EU and around the world.
The photos and videos, recorded during undercover visits in 2019 and 2020 to more than 30 pigs farms across Spain, were published by Tras los Muros, which translates as Behind the Walls, a personal project launched by Spanish photojournalist Aitor Garmendia. Tras los Muros said the farms were in the Spanish regions of Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León, home to around 17% of the country’s more than 86,000 pig farms.
Some of the pigs they found appeared to be “severely injured”, said Garmendia, who led the undercover team, and were thought to be showing signs of issues such as “hernias, abscesses, prolapses, arthritis or necrotic tissue”.
WE DECLARE!... Now What?
Recorded on 04.11.2020
Climate scientists have been warning us for decades that we face a climate emergency, and that we are traveling toward catastrophic tipping points. In the past couple of years, more and more local, state and national governments across the globe made climate emergency declarations to acknowledge the action which is required to be taken. This momentum has carried over into built environment industries, with Architects, Engineers, Planners, and Builders Declare programs formalising a collective commitment and pledge working practices which drives positive impact through the buildings, infrastructure and cities we create.
Many have now ‘DECLARED’, but now what? What actions and approaches must organisations execute to ensure they meet this commitment toward climate action? How can these organisations keep themselves and their fellow signatories accountable to ensure this is not an empty promise?
Please join the ASBN and South Australians committed to address our climate emergency in a discussion to progress the built environment Declare movements in our state.
Our distinguished panel includes:
// Cary Duffield - Director Troppo Architects – Australian Architects Declare SA Representative
// Cathy Chesson - Technical Lead Sustainability at Mott MacDonald – Australian Engineers Declare signatory
// Michael McKeown - Director at JensenPLUS
// Jackson Digney - Director of Enduro Builders - Australian Builders Declare signatory
// Amanda Balmer - Director at WAX Design
NZ Market: NZUs extend record highs amid bullish momentum, supply dearth
Low-traffic schemes benefit everyone, not just better-off, finds study
Exclusive: authors find ‘no clear social equity problem related to low-traffic neighbourhoods’ after studying slew of projects sparked by Covid restrictions
- ‘I got it wrong. Since the changes it’s become more vibrant’: life in an LTN
- Mythbusters: eight common objections to LTNs – and why they are wrong
- Read more in our Green streets series
There is no evidence schemes that try to limit “rat-running” traffic along residential streets disproportionately benefit better-off households, research has concluded, contradicting a common view cited by objectors.
A study of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), which have mushroomed as part of efforts to boost walking and cycling amid coronavirus, found that the vast majority of people lived on streets that could be part of such schemes.
Continue reading...Increase in burning of plastic 'driving up emissions from waste disposal'
Expansion of energy-from-waste incineration could stop UK hitting its net zero carbon target, campaigners warn
Carbon emissions from waste disposal are increasing because of the expansion of energy-from-waste incineration plants, a coalition of campaigners has warned.
By 2030 the government’s push to increase incineration of waste will increase CO2 emissions by 10m tonnes a year, mostly from the burning of plastics, the groups said. They argue that the growth in energy-from-waste incineration means the UK will not be able to meet its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Continue reading...Ministers accused of using pandemic as excuse to delay food waste reporting
Consultation with firms in England on mandatory reporting deferred to 2021
A government consultation that could force companies to publish details of how much food they waste has been delayed until next year, triggering criticism by campaigners that ministers are using the pandemic as an excuse to stall efforts to drive down the amount thrown away.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had this month been due to consult on mandatory food waste reporting in England, but has put the exercise on hold because of the disruption caused to the food and drink industry by Covid-19.
Continue reading...US and UK yet to show support for global treaty to tackle plastic pollution
More than two-thirds of UN member states have declared they are open to a new agreement to stem the rising tide of plastic waste
Support is growing internationally for a new global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, it has emerged, though so far without the two biggest per capita waste producers – the US and the UK – which have yet to signal their participation.
A UN working group on marine litter and microplastics met at a virtual conference last week to discuss the issue. More than two-thirds of UN member states, including African, Baltic, Caribbean, Nordic and Pacific states, as well as the EU, have declared they are open to considering the option of a new agreement.
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