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Countries consider pact to reduce plastic production by 40% in 15 years

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-04-29 21:27

Motion sets out worldwide target in alignment with Paris agreement to limit global heating to 1.5C

Countries are for the first time considering restrictions on the global production of plastic – to reduce it by 40% in 15 years – in an attempt to protect human health and the environment.

As the world attempts to make a treaty to cut plastic waste at UN talks in Ottawa, Canada, two countries have put forward the first concrete proposal to limit production to reduce its harmful effects including the huge carbon emissions from producing it.

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‘Water everywhere’: Shropshire farmers race to salvage harvest after record rain

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-04-29 20:15

Some crops completely wiped out and dramatic falls in yields being predicted in county which reflects crisis in rest of UK

With his farm almost entirely surrounded by the banks of the River Severn in north Shropshire, Ed Tate is used to flooding on his land – but this year, the sheer level of rainfall is the worst he’s ever seen.

He points to a field where about 20% of wheat crops have failed as they have been covered with rainwater that has pooled in muddy puddles, in areas which would usually be a sea of green by now.

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PFAS increase likelihood of death by cardiovascular disease, study shows

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-04-29 20:00

In a first, researchers were able to compare records of people who drank polluted water in Veneto, Italy, with neighbors who did not

For the first time, researchers have formally shown that exposure to toxic PFAS increases the likelihood of death by cardiovascular disease, adding a new level of concern to the controversial chemicals’ wide use.

The findings are especially significant because proving an association with death by chemical exposure is difficult, but researchers were able to establish it by reviewing death records from northern Italy’s Veneto region, where many residents for decades drank water highly contaminated with PFAS, also called “forever chemicals”.

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The world has a chance to end plastic pollution – the petrochemical giants mustn’t spoil it | Steve Fletcher

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-04-29 20:00

The UN global plastic treaty could be as important as the 2015 Paris accords, if negotiators can stand up to industry lobbyists

Last week, in an enormous convention centre in downtown Ottawa, I joined delegates who have been negotiating over the most important environmental deal since the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change.

The global plastic treaty has a mandate to agree on a legally binding, international agreement to tackle plastic pollution across the entire plastics life cycle, from the initial extraction of fossil fuels for plastics production to the end-of-life disposal of plastic waste. The current meeting is the fourth of five scheduled negotiations and is critically important – without agreement on the objectives, structure and key measures, the prospect of agreeing on the final treaty text by the end of 2024 seems ambitious.

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China releases draft energy law, backs development of renewables and hydrogen

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 19:34
China's top legislature is reviewing a draft energy law that could give additional clout to the development of renewable energy and hydrogen in the country. 
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South Pole regional director leaves to set up own carbon specialist firm

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 19:18
A regional director at project developer South Pole has left the company to found his own carbon market firm.
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Australia’s ERAC adds senior technocrat to ranks

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 18:33
Australia’s Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) has added a new member to its ranks to better undertake its work ensuring the integrity of Australia’s carbon credit scheme, the government announced Monday.
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Australian non-profit to launch emissions accounting platform in May

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 18:22
An emissions accounting platform for Australia’s agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors is expected to go live in May, its developer announced Monday.
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INTERVIEW: Indigenous-led biodiversity units are getting market traction

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 18:02
Market interest in biodiversity projects led by Indigenous Peoples is surging as local leaders in the Amazon rainforest strive to scale up funding through voluntary credits, according to a project developer.
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New carbon signal will be required to decarbonise Australian electricity sector once coal retires, think tank warns

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 17:38
Australia’s fleet of coal-fired power stations will retire in the early 2030s, but a new signal on carbon emissions will be required for the electricity sector to reach net zero, a report published Monday said.
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Pakistan to consult provinces on draft carbon credit policy

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 17:04
The federal government of Pakistan is setting up a committee that will seek counsel from the provincial governments on the country’s draft carbon credit policy, as part of preparations for a national market launch and greater involvement in the international market.
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A cup of tea and a biscuit for the end of the world | First Dog on the Moon

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-04-29 16:52

All the trees are dying. Yet we go about our lives

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No threat to farm land: just 1,200 square kilometres can fulfil Australia’s solar and wind energy needs

The Conversation - Mon, 2024-04-29 16:50
Yes we need land for solar panels, wind farms, batteries, pumped hydro, transmission lines and so on. But the amount of land is surprisingly small, when you do the sums. Here’s why. Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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The EU’s ‘right to repair’ rule is truly radical – British builders should copy it wholesale |

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-04-29 16:00

The construction sector accounts for 62% of waste: that could be drastically cut if we chose refurbishment over demolition

My first phone was a Nokia 3210, a cute grey brick with just enough computing power to run Snake. Compared with today’s sleek 5G touchscreen devices it was pretty pants, except in one way: I could repair it. The case, keyboard and battery could, without any special tools, be disassembled and replaced when they cracked or wore out. Unlike iPhones, which arrived on the market as impressive but inscrutable hermetic black boxes – impossible for customers to fix at home – my old Nokia was designed for repair.

Today, however, many manufacturers deliberately discourage mending by making their products hard or confusing to tinker with. This inevitably means more rubbish, with the UN estimating that the volume of electronic waste is rising five times faster than recycling rates. Though on paper, the UK government has set ambitious targets to halve the amount of waste Britons produce by 2042, in practice less mending means more demand for more new products, stimulating consumption and fuelling economic growth. For politicians more anxious about growing GDP than wellbeing, repair has simply not been a priority.

Phineas Harper is a writer and curator

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Singapore creates new lab to pursue economic decarbonisation options

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-04-29 15:03
Singapore will spend S$60 million ($44 mln) on a new institute to study various decarbonisation techniques, from new fuels to carbon capture and storage, with a focus on cutting the emissions of its energy and chemical sectors.
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Rain gardens and bathwater reuse becoming trends, RHS says

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-04-29 15:00

Chelsea flower show to focus on water reuse as gardeners prepare for shortages caused by climate crisis

Rain gardens and bathwater are becoming gardening trends, the Royal Horticultural Society has said, as gardeners battle predicted water shortages caused by climate breakdown.

At the Chelsea flower show this year, many of the gardens will be focused on reducing water usage. Rain gardens will be on show, including in the Water Aid garden, which includes a rainwater harvesting pavilion designed to slow its flow, collecting and storing it for irrigation of the garden and filtering it for use as drinking water.

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