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A US report argues that to move away from a disposable culture, businesses need robust, efficient reuse systems

For several months last year, patrons of a Seattle coffee shop called Tailwind Cafe had the option of ordering their americanos and lattes in a returnable metal to-go cup. They could borrow one from Tailwind, go on their way and then at some point – perhaps a few hours later, perhaps on another day that week – return it to the shop, which would clean it and refill it for the next person. If the cup wasn’t returned within 14 days, the customer would be charged a $15 deposit, although even that was ultimately refundable if the cup was returned by the end of 45 days.

But the system quickly ran into trouble. It was “overwhelming” trying to explain the return system to every interested customer, said Tailwind’s head chef, Kayla Tekautz. Many were hesitant to participate after learning that they could only return the cups to Tailwind or the other drop-off location, six miles away. Plus, Tailwind’s QR code reader kept malfunctioning, requiring repeated visits from a mechanic. At the end of last summer, Tailwind quietly ended the scheme. “It just didn’t work,” Tekautz said.

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

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An ESG-focused British investment group has launched a natural capital strategy that will see it acquire land in the UK.

Remaining members of the long-criticised Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) are looking to modernise the international trade agreement to better support climate action, despite the departure of a growing number of European countries citing failed attempts to revamp it.

More than 4,000 species are targeted by trafficking, with illegal trade active in 80% of countries

More than 4,000 species around the world are being targeted by wildlife traffickers, causing “untold harm upon nature”, a UN report has warned.

Wildlife crime is driven by demand for medicine, pets, bushmeat, ornamental plants and trophies. Out of all the mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians seized, 40% are on the red list of threatened or near-threatened species, the report found.

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Andrew Forrest's Squadron Energy wins planning approval for a gas firming generator near Dubbo to support its planned wind and solar projects.

The post Squadron gets approval for gas generator and electrolyser to back up Forrest’s wind and solar plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.

European carbon prices fell away on Monday morning, extending the profit-taking sell-off that began on Friday and dropping below a key level amid a pick-up in trading volume, while energy prices also retreated as renewable generation was forecast to rise strongly this week.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) has released its third World Wildlife Crime Report, unveiling that, despite some positive progress, wildlife trafficking overall has not been substantially reduced over the last two decades.

Half of UK institutional asset owners have already invested in natural capital or will do so within the next 18 months, and are far more interested in developing their own carbon or biodiversity credits than purchasing offsets in the secondary market.

The Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX) will soon auction carbon credits generated from a forestry project in the state of Sabah – the first auction of nature-based credits generated within the Malaysian territory, the exchange announced Monday.

Onshoring the electric vehicle supply chain to Europe would cut the emissions of producing a battery by at least 37% compared to a China-controlled supply chain, with potential CO2 savings as high as 62% if renewable energy is used, according to a study released on Monday.

The cement industry is currently over-investing in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and is failing to appreciate just how big the shift to low-carbon concrete will be, according to the CEO of the World Cement Association (WCA).

Phasing out coal in the world’s two most populous nations with the kind of financial support offered to coal-dependent communities in Europe and Asia would cost 10 times as much and exceed current international climate financing, a study has found.

The government of South Korea has proposed to launch a trading programme exclusively for blue carbon, following a national strategy aimed at improving the marine sector's carbon sequestration capacity.

Water campaigner Feargal Sharkey says newly designated sites will join ‘ignoble, floundering list of failure’

Twenty-seven new bathing sites will be designated in England ahead of this summer’s swimming season, the government has announced.

Giving waterways bathing status means the Environment Agency has to test them for pollution during the summer months, putting pressure on water companies to stop dumping sewage in them.

Church Cliff beach, Lyme Regis, Dorset

Coastguards beach, River Erme, Devon

Coniston boating centre, Coniston Water, Cumbria

Coniston Brown Howe, Coniston Water, Cumbria

Derwent Water at Crow Park, Keswick, Cumbria

Goring beach, Worthing, West Sussex

Littlehaven beach, Tyne and Wear

Manningtree beach, Essex

Monk Coniston, Coniston Water, Cumbria

River Avon at Fordingbridge, Hampshire

River Cam at Sheep’s Green, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

River Dart estuary at Dittisham, Devon

River Dart estuary at Steamer Quay, Totnes, Devon

River Dart estuary at Stoke Gabriel, Devon

River Dart estuary at Warfleet, Dartmouth, Devon

River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset

River Nidd at the Lido leisure park in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire

River Ribble at Edisford Bridge, Lancashire

River Severn at Ironbridge, Shropshire

River Severn at Shrewsbury, Shropshire

River Stour at Sudbury, Suffolk

River Teme at Ludlow, Shropshire

River Tone in French Weir Park, Taunton, Somerset

River Wharfe at Wetherby Riverside, High St, Wetherby, West Yorkshire

Rottingdean beach, Rottingdean, East Sussex

Wallingford beach, River Thames, Berkshire

Worthing Beach House, Worthing, West Sussex

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Japan's main trading bourse is planning to add emissions reductions issued under the GX League to its carbon trading platform, expanding the scope of units tradable beyond offsets from the national J-Credit programme.

Hadean wins a grant for a UK project backed by French nuclear giant EDF, and follows a separate demo project at Port Kembla this year.

The post French nuclear giant taps CSIRO spinout Hadean to build an electrolyser demo appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Wind, solar and hydro provide 95 per cent of Portugal's power needs in April, hailed as "historic" by the grid operator.

The post Renewable energy averages 95 per cent share in Portugal in April appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The next tender for long duration storage and the first auction of access rights to one of the state's biggest renewable energy zones will commence this month.

The post NSW seeks a gigawatt of long duration storage, and access rights to 4GW in new renewable zone appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Among world’s top 60 banks those in US are biggest fossil fuel financiers, while Barclays leads way in Europe

The world’s big banks have handed nearly $7tn (£5.6tn) in funding to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris agreement to limit carbon emissions, according to research.

In 2016, after talks in Paris, 196 countries signed an agreement to limit global heating as a result of carbon emissions to at most 2C above preindustrial levels, with an ideal limit of 1.5C to prevent the worst impacts of a drastically changed climate.

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Expensive filters imposed on wind, solar and battery projects weakened rather than strengthened the grid. Politicians want to make the same mistake with their obsession for "baseload".

The post Harmony on the grid: Wind, solar and battery projects made to pay for sins they could not commit appeared first on RenewEconomy.