Environment
England bans plastic straws:
A ban on plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds took effect Thursday in England after a six-month delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Retailers are barred from selling or supplying the disposable items as part of efforts to cut down on pollution from single-use plastics. There are exemptions for people with disabilities or medical conditions.
The ban was supposed to take effect in April but was put on hold when the country went into a lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The government has estimated that people in England use 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds a year.
Environmental activists welcomed the move but said it did not go far enough.
Tatiana Lujan, plastics lawyer at environmental law charity ClientEarth, said “these items form only a tiny fraction of single-use plastics, which litter our environment and release toxic substances and greenhouse gas emissions when incinerated — and even when they’re made.”
“Other countries like Ireland and France have shown far more ambition than the UK, with targets on reusable packaging and deposit return schemes,” she said.
Scotland has already outlawed the plastic items, and Wales and Northern Ireland have promised to ban them. (AP)
UC ends fossil fuel investments:
The University of Cambridge has said that it will kick all fossil fuel investments out of its portfolio within the next decade as part of a plan to end the emissions of greenhouse gases it’s responsible for by 2038.
The centuries-old English institution is joining a growing list of universities around the world giving in to pressure from environmental campaigners, including their own students, to act against climate change.
“The university is responding comprehensively to a pressing environmental and moral need for action with an historic announcement that demonstrates our determination to seek solutions to the climate crisis,” Vice Chancellor Stephen Toope said in his annual university address. “We will approach with renewed confidence our collaborations with government, industry and research partners around the world as together we work for a zero carbon future.”
Cambridge said its 3.5 billion pound ($4.5 billion) endowment fund will shift investment from fossil fuels toward renewable energy by 2030.
By 2038, the university aims to achieve what is known as “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions across its entire portfolio, meaning none of the businesses it invests in generate more emissions than they capture.
“We will be measuring emissions from the activities of every investment in everything from food to transport to energy and manufacturing, across asset classes, and working to reduce them progressively over the period with an aim to reach zero by 2038,” the university’s chief investment officer, Tilly Franklin, said. “The aim is to build an investment portfolio which is reflective of a future net zero economy.”
The British government has set a net zero target for the country as a whole by 2050.