Photo: ©Mny-Jhee / Shutterstock.com

More vegetarian options increase sales

Increasing the share of vegetarian meals on the menu seems to be an effective way to nudge diners to choose a vegetarian option. In a British study, sales at three university cafeterias were studied. Sales of vegetarian meals increased during days when more vegetarian options were available. The statistics suggest that doubling the share of vegetarian meals on the menu from 25 to 50 per cent increases sales of the vegetarian lunches by 40–80 per cent.

Serving more vegetarian options had little impact on overall sales and no other rebound effects (such as lower vegetarian meal sales at other mealtimes such as evening meals). The results suggest that this could be a simple way to achieve more sustainable diets.

Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336145612_Impact_of_increasing_...

Photo: © Lars-Erik Håkansson

The ten best climate measures

NGOs from northern Europe propose which climate policy measures to present for national climate plans.

Photo: Flickr.com / Elias Tsolis Public Domain

Editorial: The fossil fuel industry must be shut down

Annual global emissions of carbon dioxide are still more than 40 billion tonnes. To stay within a 1.5 °C global temperature rise with a 50 per cent chance ...

The Dutch nitrogen crisis

A court ruling has forced the Netherlands to promptly deal with its high nitrogen emissions. The government has decided to cut speed limits and farmers have rallied in the streets to protest against reducing livestock numbers.

Farmers have been protesting against proposed measures to deal with nitrogen pollution. Photo: Flickr.com / Hans Splinter CC BY-ND
Shipping accounts for an increasing proportion of emissions of SO2 and NOx. Photo: © Canetti / Shutterstock.com

European transboundary air pollution is slowly shrinking

For most European countries the biggest share of depositions of sulphur and nitrogen emanate from outside their own territory, and a significant share of the depositions originate from international shipping.

Solar PV will account for 60 per cent of the growth of renewable power in the coming years. Photo: © Ampol Kaenchaiyaphoom / Shutterstock.com

Global solar PV market set for dramatic growth over next 5 years

The installation of solar PV systems on homes, commercial buildings and industrial facilities is set to take off over the next five years ...

LNG no solution for truck emissions

Heavy goods vehicles running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) can emit up to five times as much nitrogen oxides as the latest diesel models ...

LNG trucks emit more than twice as much NOx and a similar level of particles as new diesel trucks. Photo: © MakDill / Shutterstock.com
Photo: © Zdenek Sasek / Shutterstock.com

Post-Euro 6 car emissions standards

A new ICCT report highlights the limitations of current EU car emissions standards and provides detailed recommendations for how to overcome them.

Polar bear populations have declined by 40 per cent in a decade in the Beaufort Sea region north of Alaska. Photo: Flickr.com / Naql CC BY

The Cry of the Cryosphere

Summer snow cover in the Arctic has decreased by 2.5 million km2 in fifty years. The changes for animals and human livelihoods in the affected regions are dramatic.

Modelling a shift to sustainable diets

Peer pressure was found to be the most important driver for people to adopt a plant-based diet, when researchers integrated psychological theories into a computer model.

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Money quarrels delay a CAP with diluted climate ambition

EU member states have deeply divided opinions on the CAP budget, but agree on weakening the environmental and climate baseline.

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Climate change threat to European farming

Yields from non-irrigated crops, such as wheat, corn and sugar beet, are projected to decrease in southern Europe by up to 50 per cent by 2050 ...

Deforestation must decrease by 95 per cent in a 1.5 °C world

Measures within the land sector could contribute about 30 per cent, or 15 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) per year ...

Afforestation and reforestation will also be important. Photo: © Cat_arch_angel / Shutterstock.com
Italy is one of the European countries with most years of life lost due to NO2 and ozone. Photo: © FREEDOMPIC / Shutterstock.com

Cutting air pollution will save lives

Europe’s air is slowly getting cleaner, but air pollution remains the largest environmental health risk and is still responsible for about 400,000 premature deaths every year.

Krk LNG terminal, one of several examples of fossil fuel projects backed by the EU. Photo: © xbrchx / Shutterstock.com

EU climate policies reviewed

EU reduces CO2 emissions by 2 per cent, risks failing to meet sustainable energy targets, and gives green light to new fossil gas projects.

40 years of partnership for clean air

The Air Convention has developed and applied new tools resulting in cost-effective, effect-based strategies to tackle air pollution.

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WEO has consistently under-estimated the development of solar PV. Photo: © Ermolaev Alexander / Shutterstock.com

World Energy Outlook faces increasing criticism

The World Energy Outlook (WEO) from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the self-acclaimed “gold standard of long-term energy analysis”, is increasingly being questioned for pointing in the wrong direction.

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Backlash for US air pollution levels

After a seven-year stretch of improvement, between 2016 and 2018 the amount of particulate matter air pollution rose ...

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New Delhi declares public health emergency

Authorities in the Indian capital New Delhi declared a public health emergency on 1 November and closed schools and all construction activity for a week ...

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New Clean Air Fund launched

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France found guilty of breaching NO2 limits

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Death of corals on the Great Barrier Reef

Increasingly frequent marine heatwaves can lead to the almost instant death of corals, scientists working on the Great Barrier Reef have found.

Photo: ©Mny-Jhee / Shutterstock.com

More vegetarian options increase sales

Increasing the share of vegetarian meals on the menu seems to be an effective way to nudge diners to choose a vegetarian option.

Illustration: © Anton Watman / Shutterstock.com

Poland develops offshore wind energy

Poland’s ministry of energy has prepared a draft bill to support the development of offshore wind energy off the northern European country’s coast.

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Scientists calls for urgent action on nitrogen

In an open letter to UN secretary general António Guterres more than 150 scientists from 35 countries are calling for “urgent action on nitrogen pollution ...

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Record big wind turbines planned off UK coast

The largest-ever wind turbines will be used at the Dogger Bank offshore windfarm in the North Sea over the next few years ...

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Amazon rainforest “close to irreversible tipping point”

The Amazon rainforest is dangerously close to an irreversible “tipping point” within two years according to a new report, the Guardian writes.

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Ship scrubbers could render UK ports unusable

According to The Independent, the global shipping industry has spent more than USD 12bn on installing scrubbers on more than 3,700 ships worldwide ...

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Big benefits of reducing ship speeds

The large positive effect that reduced speeds can have on ship GHG emissions is well known, but less attention has been given to other positive impacts on nature and human health.

Datteln 4 coal-powered plant will go online in January 2020.

Germany starts up new 1.1 GW coal power station

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Electric cars could be charged in 10 minutes

New battery technology could give electric cars more than 200 miles of charge in as little as 10 minutes, according to new research.

When a meteorite hit Earth, the pH of the oceans dropped by 0.25 units, causing mass extinctions of marine life. Photo: © Andreas Wolochow / Shutterstock.com

Ocean acidification can cause the mass extinction

Carbon emissions make seas more acidic and wiped out 75 per cent of marine species around 66 million years ago, reports a new study according to the Guardian.

Nuclear power is dirty and expensive. Instead military interests is the drivng force behind new constructions. Photo: Flickr.com / Blake Burkhart CC BY

Nuclear power should not be part of climate-friendly energy mix

The debate on effective climate protection is heating up in Germany and the rest of the world. Nuclear energy is being touted as “clean” energy.

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UK air is cleaner but challenges remain

Policies to improve air quality in the UK over the past 40 years have led to significant reductions in pollution and associated mortality rates, a new study has found.

In brief

EU Commission promotes air pollution benefits of climate policy

The European Commission’s science and knowledge service explains on its website how climate policy improves air quality and saves lives. It says that “an integrated policy perspective will prevent technological lock-in and will maximise gains for global climate and local health. In December 2015, 196 parties gathered at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and signed the Paris Agreement, a joint commitment to address climate change.”

Concerning energy system transformation, it says “With our energy use as key driver of greenhouse gas emissions, the ambitious climate goals set forward in the Paris Agreement demand a fundamental rethink of energy systems across the world.

Climate policies also lead to cleaner air by transforming the energy systems across the world. A more efficient use of energy and a shift from fossil fuels to renewables are key elements in achieving co-benefits for climate and air quality.”

In addition to greenhouse gas emissions the Commission says that “energy is a key source of local air pollutants, such as particulate matter. Therefore, the transformation of energy systems needed to reach climate goals is a unique opportunity to improve air quality at the same time. Globally, avoided premature mortality by 2030 in a 2 °C scenario versus a reference scenario is estimated at  346,000 avoided premature deaths. By 2050, the number of avoided premature deaths in India would be 511,000 and in China 537,000. The website does not present the co-benefits of a 1.5 °C scenario.

Reinhold Pape

Link: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/geco/climate-policy-and-air-quality

 

Stop EU fossil tax subsidies to shipping

According to a new study by Transport & Environment (T&E), the EU gives more than EUR 24 billion per year in subsidies to the maritime sector in the form of fossil fuel tax exemptions under the European Energy Tax Directive (ETD) and national tax legislation. This is estimated based on national tax rates applicable to road diesel – used by trucks – in EU member states.
Including shipping in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would generate over EUR 3.6 billion/year in revenues, which can be reinvested into greening the EU economy, including the maritime sector. The price impact of the ETS on consumer goods will be insignificant, measured at a few euro cents, says T&E.

Source: T&E, 25 September 2019. The study: https://www.transportenvironment.org/publications/eu-shippings-€24bn-y...

Malaysia bans open-loop ship scrubbers

In a notice issued on 12 November to the shipping industry, Malaysia’s maritime department said ships are now prohibited from discharging wash water from open-loop scrubbers while operating in Malaysian waters.

Singapore and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, both major marine refuelling hubs, have banned the use of open-loop scrubbers from the start of next year. China is also set to extend a ban on scrubber discharge to more coastal regions.

Source: Reuters, 18 November 2019

London’s ULEZ cuts NO2

Since the introduction of an Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in April 2019, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in London have been cut by a third, according to a City Hall report. Quarterly averages reveal that levels of NO2 on roadside monitors have fallen by 36 per cent, from 89 μg/m3 in January to March 2017 to 57 μg/m3 in July to September 2019. Levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have fallen only slightly, with the report saying that over half of London’s PM2.5 is blown into the capital from outside sources.

The London Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to expand the zone’s boundary in 2021 should he be re-elected next year.

Source: Car Lines, No 9, 2019