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INC-5
Busan summit fails to deliver global plastic treaty, talks to resume next year
Negotiators in South Korea have failed to reach an agreement on a first-ever global treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution, with countries deciding to resume talks next year due to unresolved divergences between parties.
INTERVIEW – Global criteria needed to steer shift to non-plastic substitutes
Curbing plastic production and banning chemicals of concern should go hand in hand with measures aimed at avoiding an over-reliance on non-plastic materials that are similarly harmful to the environment or human health, a scientist has told Carbon Pulse.
Indigenous Peoples claim being ‘systematically’ excluded from plastic talks
Indigenous peoples have accused countries of repeatedly and systematically excluding them from negotiations on the first-ever global plastic treaty, with some saying their voices have been silenced during the last round of talks in South Korea
Pressure mounts on ‘ambitious countries’ to trigger vote on plastic treaty
Pressure is mounting on a group of self-proclaimed high-ambition countries to trigger a two-thirds majority vote on the plastic treaty under negotiation in Busan, South Korea, to outflank opposition from nations allegedly seeking to derail a strong agreement.
MARKET
INTERVIEW: UK developer delivers 105 houses with biodiversity net gain
A residential house builder in the northwest of England has delivered 105 houses with biodiversity net gain (BNG), having started two years ago when the development requirements were in their infancy.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
IFC launches $450-mln green bond to fund biodiversity
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has issued a A$700-million ($451 mln) so-called green kangaroo bond in Australia to help close the biodiversity funding gap in emerging markets, it announced Monday.
Insurers must contribute to nature-positive future, UNEP FI says
A “first-of-its-kind” guide to try to galvanise action from insurers to engage with a nature-positive future, enabling investments in ecosystems and innovative biodiversity-linked products, was published Monday by the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
POLICY
Norway delays deep sea mining exploration after budget compromise
The Norwegian government has agreed to hold off issuing deep sea mining exploration licences for the next two years as part of a wider national budget compromise.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MARKET
BNG credits – The UK government has updated its guidance on the purchase of statutory biodiversity credits for biodiversity net gain. Developers can buy statutory biodiversity credits as a last resort if no closer off-site biodiversity units are available to building sites. Local authorities must advise developers to buy the credits if they are able to fulfil their non-BNG pre-commencement planning conditions, and they may need to advise developers on bespoke BNG compensation, the guidance said.
TOOLS & GUIDANCE
Mangrove tool – The Global Mangrove Alliance has launched the Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool for practitioners to track their restoration project metrics while ensuring best practice. Built into the Global Mangrove Watch platform, the tool aims to benefit mangrove restoration results by tracking success from restoration activities, while enabling an information exchange between practitioners.
POLICY
Wolf at the door – Wolf protection was downgraded by the Council of Europe’s Standing Committee of the Bern Convention on Tuesday. The group reclassified the wolf from “strictly protected” to “protected”. The change will enter into force in three months, unless it meets objections. The Humane Society of Europe said the move was “backwards for biodiversity and sets a worrying precedent for wildlife conservation in Europe”, in a “politically motivated decision [that] undermines decades of slow but steady progress in the recovery of the species”, in a press release.
Firmly planted – The UK government has announced the Tree Planting Taskforce to oversee the planting of millions of trees across the country. Chaired by the forestry ministers from the four UK nations, the taskforce has brought together various sector representatives. The initiative aims to drive the UK’s tree planting in order to help the country meet its net zero targets. The announcement follows a public commitment to provide up to £400 mln across the next two years for tree planting and peatland restoration in England.
Detained – South Korean police detained four Greenpeace activists on Sunday after they boarded a tanker that was reportedly due to load plastic chemicals from the Hanwha TotalEnergies complex, according to The Korea Times. The activists staged a protest calling for strong measures to cut plastic production as the fifth and last planned round of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting was underway in Busan, South Korea, to negotiate the first-ever global treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution.
PROJECTS
Thunder turtles – A Canadian region of 935 ha in Thunder Bay with forests and wetlands is now protected by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, NationTalk has reported. The Nor’Westers project, named for part of the mountain range it includes of that name, conserves mixed wood and coniferous forests, wetlands supporting moose and turtles, and peregrine falcon habitats. The purchase was funded by public, private, and non-profit sources.
SCIENCE & TECH
Cloud brightening – Australians support novel tech interventions on the Great Barrier Reef, found a study published in Ocean & Coastal Management. Drawing on surveys of over 5,000 Australian residents, conducted in 2018 and 2022, this paper investigated support for of six interventions on the reef. These included marine cloud brightening, by enhancing the clouds above the reef to provide more shade, and genetic engineering to enhance the heat resistance of corals. The survey found strong support for trials of all six ideas.
A trap for women – A study released last week and carried out by Cambridge researcher Trishant Simlai has unveiled that camera traps typically employed to monitor biodiversity are also being used to harass women in an Indian nature reserve. The women who go daily to the national park to gather firewood and herbs claim that rangers deliberately fly drones to scare them out of the forest. “A photograph of a woman going to the toilet in the forest – captured on a camera trap supposedly for wildlife monitoring – was circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp groups as a means of deliberate harassment,” said Simlai. Women reported that they felt watched and inhibited in a way that they started to talk and sing much more quietly, leading to an increased chance of surprise encounters with dangerous wildlife like elephants and tigers.
Saving wetlands – Scientists in New Zealand and China are collaborating to save coastal wetlands in the two nations. Under the New Zealand-China Strategic Research Alliance programme, the University of Auckland along with Hohai University and East China Normal University in China are cooperating to protect wetlands from erosion, provide habitats for flora and fauna, reduce flooding, and store carbon. According to a research, New Zealand has already lost more than 90% of its wetlands, due to drainage and conversion to farmland. Therefore, the three-year collaboration will see scientists use computer modelling to guide wetland management. Meanwhile, the Chinese team will stress-test some of their models in New Zealand conditions.
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