BBC Focus - 04.2020_

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LOW CARBON SHIPS

Nearlyhalfofcontainershipvoyages

betweenChinaandtheUScouldbemade

usinghydrogen-poweredships– without

theneedforextrafuelstops.

Hydrogenmadeusingrenewable

electricityis a zero-carbonfuel,but

less energy dense than fossil fuels. This

GREENPEACE

Betterdesignand

maintenanceofgreen

spaceshasthepotentialto

reduceviolentcrimeand

keepcommunitiessafer.

SALTOFTHEEARTH

EngineersatYalehave

developeda ‘synthetic

mangrove’thatmimics

theabilityofreal

mangrovestodesalinate

seawaterandcouldbe

usedtocleanupsaltyfloodwaterthat

candamageplantlife.

IT’S

EASY

BEING

GREEN

Fromredadmiralsto

hummingbirdhawkmoths,

peoplelovetospotbutterflies

andmothsintheirgardens.

Sadly,manyoftheUK’s

species are in decline.

Tohelptacklethis,the

WildlifeTrustsandtheRoyal

HorticulturalSociety(RHS)

areaskingpeopletoprovide

supportintheirgardens.

Makingnectar-richflowers

availablethroughouttheyear

and delaying cutting back

bordersuntillatewinteris a

goodstart.Keepinganopen

areaforwildflowersand

grasseswillattractegg-laying

females,whilehops,holly

andnettlesarea goodfood

sourceforcaterpillars.Visit

bit.ly/garden-butterfly

“It’sclearour

governmentscan’t

keepclaiming

commitmenttothe

ParisAgreement,

whiletaking

actionsthat

contradict it”

INSPIRED

EXPIRED

thegovernment’sdecisionto

accepttheruling.“Somesanity

is finallyprevailing,”saidTim

Crosland,directorofPlanB,

ina statement.“It’snowclear

thatourgovernmentscan’tkeep

claimingcommitmenttotheParis

Agreement,whilesimultaneously

takingactionsthatblatantly

contradictit.”

TheCourtofAppeal’sdecision

is thoughtto be the firstmajor

legalrulingintheworldtobe

basedontheParisAgreement.

TimJohnson,directorofnon-

profitcampaigngroupthe

AviationandEnvironment

Federation(AEF),saidthe

rulingis hugelysignificant.“It

confirmsthe relevanceof Paris

totheaviationsectorandholdsa

governmentlegallyaccountable

foritsinternationalclimate

commitmentsfor the firsttime,”

hesaid.

Followingtheruling,it emerged

thegovernmentcouldface

anotherclimatechange-based

challengeincourtoverits£29bn

roadexpansionprogrammefrom

sustainabletransportgroup

TransportActionNetwork.

“Wethinkthe[programme]

is challengeableonthesame

groundsas Heathrow,”wrote

ChrisTodd,TransportAction

Network’sdirector, on the

group’s website.

DISCOVERIES

meansshipsneedtocarrymoreofit per

kilometretravelled– a potentialproblem

forlongdistancetrips.Buta newreport

fromtheInternationalCouncilonClean

Transportation(ICCT)foundthatinreality 43

percentoftheChina-UStripscouldbemade

withhydrogenwithoutaddingextrafuel

capacity or stopping at more ports.

thesecretaryofstateinthe

preparationofthe[Heathrow

policy]but wasnot,”the rulingby

threeCourtof Appealjudgessaid.

Thechallengehadpreviously

beendismissedintheHighCourt

inMay2019.

GrantShapps,theUK’s

transportminister,statedon

Twitterthatthegovernment

wouldnotbeappealingthe

decision.Thegovernmentcould

nowdecidetodrawupa new

policydocumenttryingtobetter

addressclimatechange,ordrop

expansionplansaltogether.

However,Heathrowhassaidit

willappealtotheSupremeCourt.

LegalactiongroupPlanB,

whichbroughtthecaseagainst

the government, welcomed

PALMBIOFUELS

Biodieselmadefrom

palmoilgrownonnewly

deforestedlandresults

inmoregreenhousegas

emissionsthanburning

fossilfuels,a studycarried

outbytheAmerican

Chemical Society has found.

HOMEDELIVERY

Orderingdeliveriesviaanonline-onlyshop

hasa highercarbonfootprintthan going to

a physicalshop 81 percent

ofthetime,a studyshows.

However,emissionsare

lowestforhomedelivery

from a physical shop.

PLANT FOR BUTTERFLIES