This week’s ten biggest climate innovation stories

18th May 2018 | Commercial Energy

How are we going to reduce emissions from aluminium and steel? Can we go plastic free, and reduce waste? And, how will we sustainably re-fashion the industry?

This, and more, in the week’s ten biggest climate innovation stories

  1. No Electricity? No Problem! UK hopes to solve diesel train problem with hydrogen – Hydrogen could help the UK overcome a financial roadblock in its ambitious plans to ditch diesel in favour of an electrified rail transport system.
  2. Architects propose a giant circular park in the sky for Asti, Italy – This green-roofed car park in Italy doubles as public space. The project, designed by architects Angelo Salamone and Ilaria Filippi of AS-DOES, is an example of green social infrastructure that creates a programmatic symbiosis.
  3. EU to withhold 16 per cent of carbon permits next year to curb oversupply – Around 1.65 billion carbon permits were in circulation in Europe’s carbon market last year and almost 265 million of those will be withheld from auctions in 2019 as a step to curb oversupply, the European Commission has said.
  4. World’s first “plastic free” label unveiled – The world’s first Plastic Free Trust Mark has launched to support the growing band of companies that have committed to phasing out plastic packaging. Campaign group A Plastic Planet is to debut the new label, which will be awarded to food and drink products that are packaged without any plastic.
  5. This could be the biggest advance in aluminium production in 130 years – Apple, the largest publicly traded company in the world, joined a major collaboration last week that could change how it gets one of the key components that makes its ubiquitous gadgets look so sleek: aluminium.
  6. Carbon emissions from travel industry are 4 times higher than estimates – A study by the University of Sydney finds that carbon emissions from tourism and travel are four times greater than previously believed. With tourism growing faster than the overall world economy, those emissions are likely to increase even more.
  7. How sustainable designer Bill McDonough is re-fashioning the fashion industry – Through Fashion for Good, Bill McDonough has created a “platform for innovation” through accelerator and scaling programs, which bring together brands, manufacturers, retailers and innovators to address issues of unsustainability in supply chains.
  8. Carbon emissions could be halved by avoiding waste from food, clothing and electronics – This important report challenges us to address the less obvious, but significant opportunities that come from using less and reusing more.
  9. New electric car with tiny carbon footprint to be rolled out in Sweden next year – The car, Uniti One, needs a smaller battery because the chassis is built with carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, making it lighter and thus significantly lower carbon pollution than normal. The first models will roll out in Sweden next year, before moving into the rest of Europe, the Middle East and India.
  10. Swedish Steel boss: “Our pilot plant will only emit water vapour” – A new pilot facility under construction in northern Sweden will produce steel using hydrogen from renewable electricity.

More information available on the website below

https://theecologist.org/2018/may/18/uk-government-greenwash-fades-environmental-policy-goes-backwards-joseph-dutton-writes