Articles

Military carbon emissions are among the highest in the world and account for up to five per cent of global emissions. Military carbon emissions of climate-disrupting greenhouse gases contribute to military carbon footprints including equipment used in exercises, patrols and fighting wars, along with management of military bases and supplies such as food and fuel. Environmental science reports estimate that the world’s combined militaries and their supporting industries produce more global emissions than civilian aviation and shipping combined. According to the US Department of Energy, since 2001 the US military has produced more than...

After 20 years of talks UN member states have agreed a High Seas Treaty to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans. But it could be another decade before any real action is taken to implement the treaty. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (High Seas Treaty) sets out a range of legally-binding principles to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity, pledges more money for marine conservation and establishes new rules for mining at sea. Two thirds of the world’s oceans are...

Nuclear fusion regulation planned by the UK government is set to accelerate the development and deployment of fusion energy technology. Nuclear fusion regulation is needed as development of this potential renewable energy source is moving at pace and it could be a major leap forward on the road to net zero. Here, environmental lawyers at Burges Salmon respond to the government’s plans. In October 2021 the Government published its Green Paper ‘Towards Fusion Energy’ in which it sought input from stakeholders on the future regulation of nuclear fusion. The focus...

Indigenous representation is essential in moving world leaders to take immediate action on climate change and the Cultural Survival delegation is joining the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus and other Indigenous and allied leaders in pushing policymakers for urgent and holistic responses to climate chaos. Cultural Survival is calling for proactive efforts to centre, resource, and respect Indigenous rights, leadership, and stewardship must be prioritised in all layers of decision-making as we engage to combat climate change. To ensure Indigenous Peoples’ rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled in the Just Transition to...

Climate change adaptation is one six core objectives of the EU Taxonomy regulation that is set to change the way business and industry operates. The new regulation is aimed at altering behaviour, systems and ways of life to protect the environment from the impacts of climate change caused by human activity. What is business and industry doing to adapt their commercial activities, operations and objectives to comply with the new EU taxonomy? And if it hasn’t already started, what can a company do to make the required adaptations? The EU taxonomy,...

Carbon dioxide levels are now more than 50 per cent higher than they were before the onset of the industrial era, scientists say. Carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory peaked at 424 parts per million in May, continuing a steady climb further into territory not seen for millions of years, say scientists from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.  Measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) obtained by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory averaged 424.0 parts per million (ppm) in May, the month when...

A detailed plan to transform product packaging and significantly cut plastic production and pollution has been developed by researchers. The study comes as government representatives meet in Paris to negotiate a legally binding global plastics treaty with a mandate to end plastic pollution.  The research, published by the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre, commissioned by the Break Free From Plastic movement, consolidates 320 articles and papers, plus 55 new interviews with reuse experts from around the world, to suggest a universal definition of reuse systems and, for the first time, assess how all nations can move away...

National Grid has detailed how industry, government and regulators can take action to enable decarbonisation of the UK power sector. The recommendations set out in ‘Delivering for 2035: Upgrading the grid for a secure, clean and affordable energy future’ are critical to realise the scale and pace of the transformation needed over the next decade. Significant progress has already been made towards transforming the UK’s power system, with a huge expansion in clean energy in recent years, as well as substantial investment in our electricity networks. But fully decarbonising the...

The G7 Hiroshima Summit ended with a series of wish-lists but no major progress on tackling climate change. The summit agenda contained a very general paragraph on climate and energy that re-affirmed a commitment to net zero but with ominous references to “different national and regional circumstances”. The meeting of world leaders was an opportunity to launch some major eco-initiatives and drive real change but, lacking in any real progress, the summit instead confined its actions to words and a series of well-worn mission statements. Following the event, the G7 Hiroshima leaders’...

Robust Scope 3 reporting tools are essential for achieving industrial sustainability objectives but firms face a range of practical challenges. Large industrial companies may find it challenging to obtain data from lower-tier suppliers that may not track their CO2 emissions. Additionally, there is no standardised methodology for Scope 3 emissions calculations and disclosures, creating difficulty in assessing the activities of a broad set of suppliers, each using different data collection and reporting methods. While some areas of industry are racing ahead with AI and machine learning, others are still using...