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Paris climate deal must be legally binding, EU tells John Kerry

US warned that any agreement in Paris will be enshrined in law after secretary of state said it would ‘definitively’ not be a treaty

The EU has warned the Obama administration that a global climate deal at the Paris summit must be legally binding, after the US secretary of state John Kerry said that it “definitively” would not be a treaty.

“The Paris agreement must be an international legally binding agreement,” a spokeswoman for the EU’s climate commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete , told the Guardian. “The title of the agreement is yet to be decided but it will not affect its legally binding form.”

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Source: Guardian Environment

Cities must take lead role in tackling climate change, says Mexico City mayor

Ahead of the Paris climate talks, Mancera says countries should change direction and look to cities for inspiration – while revealing plans for a new water fund to address his city’s major shortages

Once notorious for air pollution, Mexico City’s ability to clean its skies has shown it can also be a leader in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, according to the city’s mayor, Miguel Angel Mancera.

Speaking at the signing of a new pledge to commit the equivalent of 10% of the city’s discretionary budget to “defined resilience goals” – many of which are environment-related – Mancera stressed the role that megacities will have to play in tackling global warming.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Airbnb for supper clubs: why chefs are upset about meal-sharing websites

With the rise of platforms that allow dinner party hosts to connect with chefs, debates around regulation are surfacing

The traditional choice between restaurants, takeaways and home-cooking is being disrupted by the sharing economy. Think Airbnb, but for food.

Take, for example, platforms like La Belle Assiette, which connects personal chefs with people who want to host a dinner party in their own home, and others like ShareYourMeal, founded in the Netherlands, which allows people to sell portions of their home-cooked meals to neighbours.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Science Museum ends sponsorship deal with Shell

Arrangement with oil company will not be renewed when it lapses in December, but museum refuses to rule out future partnership

The Science Museum will not renew a controversial sponsorship deal with Shell in which the oil company provided significant funding for its high-profile climate change exhibition.

The museum in London answered a freedom of information request saying: “No, the Science Museum Group [formerly the National Museum of Science & Industry] does not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shell.”

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Source: Guardian Environment

“Achieving a Circular Economy”: U.S. Focused Report Released

There is a growing momentum behind the idea that the circular economy model represents a positive way forward for the global economy. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Towards the Circular Economy reports (vol. 1-3) found a $1 trillion opportunity for businesses moving to circular models. The more recent Growth Within, found that combining a transition to circular economy models with the benefits of the impending technology revolution could create a net benefits of €1.8tr in Europe by 2030, more than twice the calculated benefits on the current development path.

In addition to the facts and figures, there are also a growing number of case studies and examples of companies, start-ups and governmental initiatives applying the circular economy model successfully in their spheres of operation.

A new report released this week by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) and titled, “Achieving the Circular Economy: How the Private Sector Is Reimagining the Future of Business”, explores a combination of the latest circular economy thinking and some of the most pertinent examples in the U.S. market. The report was support by Veolia North America and DOW and produced in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

At its core, “Achieving the Circular Economy” is about demonstrating just how successful the circular economy is today, as well as pointing towards the potential opportunities in the future. The report covers a range activities from different companies across a number of sectors. Electronics and technology, plastics and packaging, manufacturing and finance are all explored.

The intention is to be deliberately discursive and the authors of the report will take part in two webinars next week to dig deeper into the circular economy strategies featured.

On November 17, Ellen MacArthur Foundation CEO, Andrew Morlet will feature as part of a panel discussion hosted by GreenBiz. On November 20, Scott O’Connell, director of environmental affairs at Dell, and Ed Pinero, senior vice-president for sustainability, Veolia North America, will take part in a Disruptive Innovation Festival session.

Details of the two webinars and how to access the report:

Download the report

GreenBiz webinar – November 17, 18:00 GMT

Disruptive Innovation Festival webinar – November 20, 16:00 GMT

The post “Achieving a Circular Economy”: U.S. Focused Report Released appeared first on Circulate.

Source: Circulate News RSS

'Waterless' washing machine group raising £40m for expansion

Xeros planning to roll out plastic bead technology in the Americas and Europe

Xeros, a British technology group that specialises in “waterless” washing machines, has announced plans to raise £40m from shareholders for its further development.

The group, which floated on London’s Aim market in March 2014 when it raised £27.6m, said the funds will help it maintain momentum as it rolls out its commercial laundry business in the Americas and Europe.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Peabody strikes deal with New York attorney general over climate risk filings

Coal mining company denies issuing misleading statements but agrees to amend future risk reports, following eight-year investigation, reports Business Green

Coal giant Peabody Energy has agreed to change the way it reports the risks posed to investors by climate change, ending an eight-year investigation by the New York attorney general.

Peabody and attorney general Eric Schneiderman confirmed they had reached an agreement on Monday, after the company was accused of issuing misleading statements on the risks it could face from tightening climate change laws.

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Source: Guardian Environment

Toothless Environment Agency is allowing the living world to be wrecked with impunity | George Monbiot

The farcical investigation of the pollution case I exposed in a Devon river highlights how budget cuts have left the agency incapable of enforcement

It could scarcely have been a starker case. The river I came across in Devon six weeks ago, and described in the Guardian, was so polluted that I could smell it from 50 metres away. Farm slurry pouring into the water, from a pipe that I traced back to a dairy farm, had wiped out almost all the life in the stretch of River Culm I explored.

All that now grew on the riverbed were long, feathery growths of sewage fungus. An expert on freshwater pollution I consulted told me that the extent of these growths showed the poisoning of the river was “chronic and severe”.

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Source: Guardian Environment

WRAP Argues For More Flexible and Intelligent Food Sector

In their most recent “Food Futures’ report, a study that assessed 15 topics in the UK food system “from farm to fork”, WRAP argue that there is a significant opportunity for the food sector to take advantage of 21st century trends to become a more effective, healthy, environmentally secure and profitable sector.

WRAP’s chief executive, Liz Goodwin, was quoted as saying “In the next 10 years, we will be faced with challenges around feeding a growing population and nutritional system. Our ‘Food Futures’ report highlights how governments, businesses and we, as consumers, can turn these challenges into opportunities”.

The report’s recommendations include:

  • Creating more diverse, and consequently more resilient, supply chains.
  • Reduce pre-retail food waste.
  • Drive product and supply chain innovation through big data strategies.

The future of the food system in the UK, Europe and globally is a hot topic. In the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s recent Growth Within report, food was one of three sectors analysed in detail. Last week, at the Disruptive Innovation Festival, the report’s project lead, Ashima Sukhdev, presented key findings and answered questions for a live online audience. The recording of that event is available for a limited time.

Source: Food Futures

Licensed under CC – credit Flickr user: 16:9clue

The post WRAP Argues For More Flexible and Intelligent Food Sector appeared first on Circulate.

Source: Circulate News RSS

Cockroaches grind jaws five times stronger than humans, says research

Insect can bite with 50 times more force than its body weight, helping it to chew through tough materials such as wood

The cockroach packs a powerful bite, thanks to jaws that can grind five times stronger than a human, or with 50 times more force than its body weight, researchers said.

Faced with tough materials such as wood, they activate muscle fibres in their jaw to boost their bite to cope with repetitive, heavy-duty tasks, a study in the journal Plos One said on Wednesday.

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Source: Guardian Environment