01 Jul 2017

This is the same piece as above but it focuses on the marine litter and plastics elements. In particular the commitments UK Government has made to work with international bodies on this. I have added links to these programmes which are not the original. UK takes centre stage in global marine protection – the litter […]

01 Jul 2017

Introduction to the Intermediate Assessment 2017 Welcome to OSPAR’s Intermediate Assessment (IA) 2017. This assessment, covering both status and trends across the North-East Atlantic, presents a picture of this important marine area and includes consideration of biological diversity, eutrophication, hazardous substances, radioactive substances, offshore oil and gas industries, a range of other human pressures, ocean […]

01 Jul 2017

Arctic European Report A new report from the European Environment Agency shows how Europe affects the Arctic environment, which is warming at a rate of almost twice the global average, and how changes in the region impact Europe in return.  Arctic heavy fuel oil to be discussed at International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting The International […]

01 Jul 2017

  David Barnes, British Antarctic Survey:   Last week we have put out two new papers about blue carbon ecosystem services on polar continental shelves.  Unlike elsewhere there is evidence that some ecosystem services in polar seabeds are actually increasing with sea ice losses providing a powerful feedback against climate change.  I hope these abstracts at least […]

28 Jun 2017

  The election and Grenfell have changed the mood. First it was Corbyn’s plan to renationalise water, then his relative success at the election, then another monster fine for Thames for failed leakage targets, the scandal of Australian investment bank Macquarie’s exploitation, and then Grenfell where profit lead deregulation was and will be fully exposed […]

28 Jun 2017

  Beware the press and I’ve been caught like this before but the scale of response from many different sources suggests this may be the case.  Michael Gove could use Brexit to shelve key plan to protect the environment, critics fear Officials tell The Independent they cannot guarantee strategy will be published this year, following delays. Green […]

28 Jun 2017

  Freedom-of-information data reveals threat of drought that would devastate wildlife, with government slow to act on water management. WWF & Guardian A quarter of England’s rivers are at risk of running dry, with devastating consequences for wildlife, according to data obtained by WWF under freedom of information rules. Fish are most obviously affected when rivers slow […]

28 Jun 2017

  Business Green on the Queen’s Speech The assertion of support for the Paris Agreement was welcome, the paucity of the government’s wider green programme was anything but First, the good news. The Queen’s unequivocal assertion that her government “will continue to support international action against climate change, including the implementation of the Paris Agreement” is hugely […]