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Budget seeks to reduce non-recycled plastics but resists call for levy on coffee cups

The government is to introduce a new tax on plastic packaging as it seeks to ramp up efforts to tackle the scourge of litter and waste from single-use plastics, it was confirmed in the budget.

Food and drink companies will be taxed on plastic packaging that does not include at least 30% recycled content, in a drive to reduce dependence on “virgin plastics” that are difficult or impossible to recycle, such as black food trays and plastic straws.

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The UK plans to replace its participation in the EU ETS with a £16/tonne (€18, $20.50) domestic carbon tax under a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario, charging it on top of its existing Carbon Price Support emissions levy, the government announced during its autumn budget on Monday.

Conservationists say money is step in the right direction in tackling climate change

More than 10m trees will be planted across England with the injection of £60m of new funding over five years, as part of what the government billed as its “drive to preserve the country’s greenery”.

The bulk of the money, £50m, will pay landowners for planting trees that lock up carbon, which observers said raised questions over how accessible those woodlands would be to the public. That fund, the Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme, should pay for 10m trees.

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Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, Caroline Lucas, John Sauven, Craig Bennett, Ann Pettifor and Leo Murray add their voices to calls for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. Plus letters from John Huggins and John Ranken

We, the undersigned, support the call for the UK and other OECD governments to negotiate a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to complement the Paris agreement on climate change, as proposed in your article “We need a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty – and we need it now” (theguardian.com, 23 October).

The latest report from the IPCC shows we cannot afford to burn the vast majority of remaining reserves of fossil fuels if we are to keep warming below 1.5 or even 2 degrees. A new line in the sand is needed. We support an agreement with a moratorium on any further expansion of the fossil fuel industry in rich countries, together with a fund to support renewable energy development in poorer countries to reduce the need for fossil fuels, paid for by redirecting the staggering $10m per minute that governments currently spend on fossil fuel subsidies. The best way to mark the 50th anniversary of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty would be to begin negotiation of its fossil fuel equivalent.
Bill McKibben Founder, 350.org
Naomi Klein Writer and activist
Caroline Lucas MP Green party
John Sauven Executive director, Greenpeace
Craig Bennett CEO, Friends of the Earth
Ann Pettifor Prime Economics
Leo Murray 10:10

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In your role as Account Manager Reporter Services, you will accelerate our mission and motivate global multinationals with expertise, enthusiasm and endurance on the strategic journey to limiting climate change, improving water stewardship and banning deforestation from direct corporate business practices.

The next CEO of Point Blue Conservation Science has a tremendous opportunity to advance nature-based solutions to climate change and other environmental threats.

CEEweb for Biodiversity is a network of non-governmental organizations in the Central and Eastern European region. Our mission is the conservation of biodiversity through the promotion of sustainable development. CEEweb is a registered public benefit organisation in Hungary.

The Policy Advisor will work as a member of the NAP Global Network Secretariat. In particular, they will oversee the development, implementation and management of programs of work to advance the NAP processes in Colombia and Peru, as well as lead related knowledge management and communications activities. The successful candidate may provide support to other related Resilience projects, as time permits. The Policy Advisor, Adaptation reports to the Director, Resilience or their designate.

The Climate Change research group is looking for two highly skilled individuals to develop and lead a research and outreach portfolio.

The Senior Analyst undertakes robust and careful analysis, applying the established Lab methodology, drawing on fields that may include public policy, regulatory economics, finance, risk management, statistics, and other academic and commercial disciplines.

Contribute to the collaborative development of a Paris Agreement compatible energy scenario supported by both the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and Gas (ENTSO-G), and European NGOs.

Urban areas need to cherish wetlands as a natural defence against flooding, experts warn.

Report says air pollution is having a devastating impact on children worldwide, storing up a public health time bomb

Poisonous air is having a devastating impact on billions of children around the world, damaging their intelligence and leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths, according to a report from the World Health Organization.

The study found that more than 90% of the world’s young people – 1.8 billion children – are breathing toxic air, storing up a public health time bomb for the next generation.

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Australian state governments should work together to develop a mechanism to drive crucial carbon emission cuts in the absence of a federal climate policy, a report said Monday.

Efforts to end a 15-year old practise of giving some of Europe’s most polluting steel plants free carbon allowances hang in the balance as big-emitting businesses fight to keep climate protection rules that have earned them hundreds of millions of euros.

Madrid to implement plan to replace ICE cars with EVs on its central city streets – from late next month.

The post Madrid bans ICE cars in favour of EVs – starting next month appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New-build, off-grid school north of Perth becomes first in Australia to be powered completely by rooftop solar and battery storage.

The post WA off-grid school runs 100% on solar and battery appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Bloomberg Philanthropies to launch major grant for coastal communities to improve the health of oceans

Millions of pounds’ worth of funding to tackle global overfishing and protect coral reefs will be announced at a major conference in Indonesia this week.

Politicians, marine experts and philanthropists will convene in Bali at the Our Ocean conference on Monday to agree commitments on how to address the pressures facing our oceans, including rising sea temperatures, unsustainable fishing practices, marine pollution and coral bleaching.

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Owners planning to install ‘emissions cheat’ systems to avoid having to buy cleaner, more expensive fuel

Thousands of ships are set to install “emissions cheat” systems that pump pollutants into the ocean to beat new international rules banning dirty fuel.

The global shipping fleet is rushing to meet a 2020 deadline imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce air pollution by forcing vessels to use cleaner fuel with a lower sulphur content of 0.5%, compared with 3.5% as currently used.

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Trains that emit pure water could be in the UK by the "early 2020s", according to the government.