First UK grocer to scale UV packaging traceability
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In what seems a significant milestone for packaging traceability, Ocada Retail has become the first UK grocer to roll out UV invisible tag technology at scale across its product line – starting with its full milk range (pictured). The online grocery retailer has adopted the approach via a partnership with Polytag, the firm behind a […]
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EA sets out pathway for sustainable growth in England’s industrial hubs
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The recommendations would redefine industrial clusters in areas like the Humber (pictured) as potential catalysts for decarbonisation, economic levelling-up, and place-based climate adaptation. The Environment Agency has set out key recommendations that it says will help unlock the economic and environmental benefits of industrial clusters across England. Upcoming planning reforms – including the universal coverage […]
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What are the UN negotiations on a global plastics treaty about?
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Dana Kühnel is an ecotoxicologist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Negotiations on the UN Plastics Convention start on 5 August. One of the scientific contributors, Dana Kühnel answers questions about the underlying motivations, desirable outcomes and challenges. What are the UN negotiations on a global plastics treaty about? Dana Kühnel: Through the Plastics […]
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Climate change could make ‘droughts’ for wind power 15% longer, study says
Extreme “wind droughts” that reduce power output from turbines for extended periods could become 15% longer by the end of the century across much of the northern hemisphere under a moderate warming scenario. That is according to a new study in Nature Climate Change, which explores how climate change could impact the length and frequency […]
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Rivers advocacy group and technology firm partner to strengthen river resilience
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Image credit: barnyz, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license. In the wake of the Cunliffe Review and rising demand for transparency and collaboration across the UK’s water sector, The Rivers Trust and Additive Catchments have announced a national partnership to strengthen river recovery and environmental resilience. The rivers advocacy group said the aim was to equip communities, […]
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World-first maps inform call for better protection of underground fungal networks
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The mycorrhizal mushroom Cortinarius sp. emerges from a hyper-diverse but hidden underground fungal community in Tierra de Fuego, Chile (image credit: Tomás Munita). Scientists have released the world’s first high-resolution, predictive biodiversity maps of Earth’s underground mycorrhizal fungal communities, which they explain shows that over 90% of Earth’s most diverse underground mycorrhizal fungal ecosystems remain […]
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New algorithms enable efficient machine learning with symmetric data
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If you rotate an image of a molecular structure, a human can tell the rotated image is still the same molecule, but a machine-learning model might think it is a new data point. In computer science parlance, the molecule is “symmetric,” meaning the fundamental structure of that molecule remains the same if it undergoes certain […]
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“FUTURE PHASES” showcases new frontiers in music technology and interactive performance
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Music technology took center stage at MIT during “FUTURE PHASES,” an evening of works for string orchestra and electronics, presented by the MIT Music Technology and Computation Graduate Program as part of the 2025 International Computer Music Conference (ICMC). The well-attended event was held last month in the Thomas Tull Concert Hall within the new Edward […]
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State of the climate: 2025 on track to be second or third warmest year on record
As it passes its midway point, 2025 is on track to be the second or third warmest year on record, Carbon Brief analysis shows. However, it is very unlikely to beat 2024 as the hottest year. This is not surprising, as 2024’s record temperatures were boosted by a strong El Niño event that has now […]
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World’s Highest Court Embraces the Right to a Healthy Environment
For the second time in a month, one of the world’s highest judicial authorities has issued an advisory opinion on the climate crisis that highlights the importance of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Echoing the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in its Advisory Opinion 32/25, on July 23, the International […]
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ADBA welcomes Government’s recognition of biomethane in Clean Flexibility Roadmap
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On 23 July (Wednesday), the Government released its Clean Flexibility Roadmap, in which it recognised that biomethane is currently used to decarbonise heating, but can be used flexibly across many different end-uses including industry, transport, and low carbon dispatchable power generation at gas-fired power plants. The roadmap makes 17 references to biomethane and lists actions […]
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Uncertainty on Climate Risk Disclosure as Trump’s SEC Abdicates Responsibility
For a second time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has passed the buck on its landmark climate disclosure rule, entitled The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. The rule, finalized just last year, remains in legal limbo, as neither the SEC nor the courts seem eager to decide its fate. On July […]
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UN report: Five charts explaining the rise of global food insecurity
Hunger has, on average, fallen worldwide after hitting 15-year highs in 2021 and 2022. This is one of the key findings from the latest “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” (SOFI) report, an annual assessment produced jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development, UN Children’s […]
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Group plans indoor ultra-rapid EV charging hub in Aberdeen
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EV charging operator Fastned has submitted a planning application to Aberdeen City Council for what it says will be the UK’s first indoor, ultra-rapid* EV charging hub, featuring 400kW chargers and a drive-through layout inside a converted warehouse. The location of the charging hub inside one of the city’s warehouses demonstrates what seems to be […]
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WRAP report documents the financial benefits of adopting circular economy practices
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A new report assessing 200 UK businesses and 1,500 consumers appears to show that the adoption of a growing number of circular economy practices are helping many to improve their financial performance and mitigate against future uncertainties linked to climate change. Produced by global environmental action NGO WRAP and C&C Strategy Consultants the report Are […]
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Scientists issue urgent call ahead of final plastics treaty talks
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With the final round of UN negotiations on a global plastics treaty fast approaching, a group of over 60 leading scientists from around the world has issued an urgent call for governments to agree on ambitious, enforceable action to tackle plastic pollution, such as reducing plastic production and prioritising human health. The letters, published today […]
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The Hidden Carbon Footprint of Global Trade: How China Freight Forwarding is Driving the Green Logistics Revolution
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Every product shipped from China to global markets carries more than just its manufacturing footprint—it carries the environmental weight of one of the world’s most complex logistics networks. As someone who has spent years in the China freight forwarding industry, I’ve seen both the environmental challenges and the amazing green innovations that are changing how […]
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A Single Paragraph’s Promise: The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and the Understated Question of Human Displacement
Within a single month, two groundbreaking advisory opinions on climate change have been issued, fundamentally shaking the field of international environmental and human rights law: the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the “Climate Emergency and Human Rights” and the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) Advisory Opinion on “Obligations of States […]