Day: July 9, 2020

Italian firms Eni, Versalis and the COREPLA have signed an agreement to focus on non-mechanically recyclable mixed plastics.

Various organisations across the world, including the United Nations, have spoken about growing e-waste and the problems associated with it.  According to the Global E-Waste Monitor 2020, global e-waste generation will reach 74 million metric tonnes (Mt) per year by 2030 – almost double the figures reported in 2014.  This, because of the increasing demand and consumption of electric and electronic goods, shorter lifecycles and limited repair options.  When battery-powered or plug-tethered devices such as laptops, smartphones and televisions become unusable, they are discarded. Such wastes constitute e-waste.  E-waste is also a source of plastic waste, which, if not recycled, can contribute to global warming.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) emphasized the aviation industry’s commitment to its emissions reduction goals and called for the International Energy Agency (IEA) to prioritize investment in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to help power aviation’s contribution to the post-COVID-19 recovery.  IATA’s call comes on the eve of the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit which will meet virtually to debate moves toward a low-carbon future. The IEA is well placed to promote SAF production with its stakeholders both in government and in the fuel industry.

The evolution of artificial intelligence these past years has been dazzling. On the one hand, there is a permanent competition in the field of software to have leading algorithms, the most innovative and “deep” neural networks, and to see which one is the one more implemented and spread through…

Following years of collaboration, the University of Khartoum and UNDP Sudan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on a number of upcoming peace and development projects.  “Collaboration like this is essential to achieve Sudan’s development and peace goals,” said University Vice Chancellor Prof. Fadwa Abdelrahman Ali Taha. “We’re excited to start work immediately on new opportunities to deliver tangible, beneficial improvements to people’s lives.”

There is a ‘rising chance’ that the world will exceed the key 1.5°C (2.7°F) global warming limit set by the Paris Agreement in the next five years, scientists said.  The warning comes from the UK Met Office, who conducted a five-year climate assessment on behalf of the World Meteorological Organisation.  World leaders agreed in 2015 to keep warming this century under 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Amazon has announced it has secured six million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied by Shell Aviation and produced by North American biodiesel producer World Energy. The fuel includes feedstock of inedible agricultural waste fats and oil and will be used for the air operations of the logistics and retail giant. The switch is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20%. Sarah Rhoads, Vice President of Amazon Global Air.

Our latest report, commissioned from the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Building on the initial recovery measures announced by the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, this event will debate what an inclusive, resilient and sustainable growth strategy for the UK should look like after COVID19. As the UK recovers from the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, this event will look at the lessons learnt from past recoveries and will examine why and how the government can align its recovery plan with the UK’s net zero target and other environmental goals.

The Government has adopted a national strategy for a circular economy that sets out the direction and ambition for a long-term and sustainable transition of Swedish society. This is an important step towards Sweden becoming the world’s first fossil-free welfare nation.

From London, Chuck Wolfe reports in with a prequel to his pending book with Tigran Haas, Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character: Principles and Best Practices. The book–which calls for a co-created, holistic understanding of place amid today’s pandemic-influenced, global/local blends–culminates a two-year project at the Centre for the Future of Places at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

The UK Government is facing another court challenge over climate-wrecking policy decisions, with UK-based Plan B threatening legal action over the recent coronavirus recovery package, calling it a “new deal for polluters”.

DACHSER is committed to sustainable corporate policies which this family-owned enterprise pursues with great commitment and consciousness of its responsibilities. As a central pillar of DACHSER’s corporate philosophy and value system, these policies provide orientation, identification and stability both within and without.

Speaking online at the inaugural Conference of IS4CE – the International Society for Circular Economy – on 7 July 2020, Chair of the Governing Board at EIT Climate-KIC and Honorary President of Club of Rome, Anders Wijkman emphasised the important role of cities in the promotion of circularity as…