The biggest environmental news stories of 2020

We’ve got a special edition this week, we’re rounding up the biggest environmental stories of 2020! All stories are from The Guardian, only because that's the publication I'm best at saving articles from.

Coronavirus pandemic prompts record drop in global emissions, study finds

The coronavirus pandemic has led to the largest drop in heat-trapping emissions in human history, according to a new study. Lockdowns, travel bans and closed manufacturing sites have caused global emissions to drop by 4.6%, or 2.5 gigatonnes, according to a University of Sydney review of 38 regions and 26 sectors published in the journal Plos One. Fine particle pollution decreased by 3.8% and two other types of air pollution declined 2.9%: sulfur dioxide – which is linked to a number of respiratory issues, and nitrogen oxide, which leads to smog. The largest emissions drops occurred in the United States and China, largely due to grounded air travel and a decrease in power, water and gas use, but they come with a large economic cost. From late February to May, the study found the pandemic caused 147 million people, or 4.2% of the global workforce, to lose full-time jobs and triggered a $3.8tn drop in consumption, making it the worst economic shock since the Great Depression, according to co-author Arunima Malik.”

Pandemics result from destruction of nature, say UN and WHO

“Pandemics such as coronavirus are the result of humanity’s destruction of nature, according to leaders at the UN, WHO and WWF International, and the world has been ignoring this stark reality for decades. The illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade as well as the devastation of forests and other wild places were still the driving forces behind the increasing number of diseases leaping from wildlife to humans, the leaders told the Guardian. They are calling for a green and healthy recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular by reforming destructive farming and unsustainable diets. A WWF report, also published on Wednesday, warns: “The risk of a new [wildlife-to-human] disease emerging in the future is higher than ever, with the potential to wreak havoc on health, economies and global security.” WWF’s head in the UK said post-Brexit trade deals that fail to protect nature would leave Britain “complicit in increasing the risk of the next pandemic”. High-level figures have issued a series of warnings since March, with the world’s leading biodiversity experts saying even more deadly disease outbreaks are likely in future unless the rampant destruction of the natural world is rapidly halted.”

‘It’s all on hold’: how Covid-19 derailed the fight against plastic waste

“2020 was supposed to be the year America revolted against plastic. Consumers were refusing straws and toting their own coffee mugs. Legislators had proposed an unprecedented wave of laws to ban single-use plastics. Even companies like Coke and Pepsi were opening up to the idea plastic might not be the future. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic. Now activists worry the anti-plastic movement is once again back in the trenches. The fight has stalled on a number of fronts across the US. Fears about the virus spreading on surfaces prompted several states to temporarily ban reusable grocery bags, sending single-use bags flooding back into the marketplace. Major legislation aimed at reducing plastics packaging has stalled as lawmakers’ priorities shifted elsewhere. Disposable masks and gloves have become the harbingers of pandemic life, along with plastic take-out food containers and the debris of Amazon packages. Meanwhile the plastics industry ramped up its lobbying, urging federal agencies to declare the sanitary benefits of disposable plastics, and arguing that plastic bag bans went against public health.”

Death Valley temperature rises to 129.9F – possibly the hottest ever reliably recorded

“A temperature of 54.4C – or 129.9F – has been recorded in Death Valley, California, in what some extreme weather watchers believe could be the hottest reading ever reliably recorded on the planet. The United States National Weather Service’s automated weather station at Furnace Creek near the border with Nevada hit the extreme high at 3:41pm on Sunday afternoon, a statement said.”

World's richest 1% cause double CO2 emissions of poorest 50%, says Oxfam

“The wealthiest 1% of the world’s population were responsible for the emission of more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorer half of the world from 1990 to 2015, according to new research. Carbon dioxide emissions rose by 60% over the 25-year period, but the increase in emissions from the richest 1% was three times greater than the increase in emissions from the poorest half. The report, compiled by Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute, warned that rampant overconsumption and the rich world’s addiction to high-carbon transport are exhausting the world’s “carbon budget”. Such a concentration of carbon emissions in the hands of the rich means that despite taking the world to the brink of climate catastrophe, through burning fossil fuels, we have still failed to improve the lives of billions, said Tim Gore, head of policy, advocacy and research at Oxfam International.”

Grass growing around Mount Everest as global heating intensifies

“Shrubs and grasses are springing up around Mount Everest and across the Himalayas, one of the most rapidly heating regions of the planet. The impact on water supplies of the small but significant increase in vegetation between the treeline and snowline is not yet known but could increase flooding in the vast Hindu Kush Himalayan region, which covers 4.2msq km(1.6m sq miles), feeds Asia’s 10 largest river systems and supplies 1.4 billion people with water. Scientists used satellite data to identify increases in vegetation in the inaccessible subnival (the highest zone allowing plant growth) ecosystem, made up of grasses and dwarf shrubs with seasonal snow. This ecosystem is known but could play a crucial role in the region’s hydrology, covering between five and 15 times the area of permanent glaciers and snow in the region.”

Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestlé named top plastic polluters for third year in a row

“Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé have been accused of “zero progress” on reducing plastic waste, after being named the world’s top plastic polluters for the third year in a row. Coca-Cola was ranked the world’s No 1 plastic polluter by Break Free From Plastic in its annual audit, after its beverage bottles were the most frequently found discarded on beaches, rivers, parks and other litter sites in 51 of 55 nations surveyed. Last year it was the most frequently littered bottle in 37 countries, out of 51 surveyed. It was found to be worse than PepsiCo and Nestlé combined: Coca-Cola branding was found on 13,834 pieces of plastic, with PepsiCo branding on 5,155 and Nestlé branding on 8,633. The annual audit, undertaken by 15,000 volunteers around the world, identifies the largest number of plastic products from global brands found in the highest number of countries. This year they collected 346,494 pieces of plastic waste, 63% of which was marked clearly with a consumer brand.”

Microplastics revealed in the placentas of unborn babies

“Microplastic particles have been revealed in the placentas of unborn babies for the first time, which the researchers said was “a matter of great concern”. The health impact of microplastics in the body is as yet unknown. But the scientists said they could carry chemicals that could cause long-term damage or upset the foetus’s developing immune system. The particles are likely to have been consumed or breathed in by the mothers. The particles were found in the placentas from four healthy women who had normal pregnancies and births. Microplastics were detected on both the foetal and maternal sides of the placenta and in the membrane within which the foetus develops. A dozen plastic particles were found. Only about 4% of each placenta was analysed, however, suggesting the total number of microplastics was much higher. All the particles analysed were plastics that had been dyed blue, red, orange or pink and may have originally come from packaging, paints or cosmetics and personal care products.”

Heathrow runway ruling prioritises planet over needs of UK plc

“The legal case against Heathrow airport expansion pitted the need to tackle the climate crisis against economic arguments on behalf of UK plc, and for the first time in any major infrastructure project, the planet won. John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of the airport, made a last-minute PR push on Radio 4’s Today programme on the eve of the appeal court decision, claiming expansion was the “key to delivering the prime minister’s vision of a global Britain” after Brexit. But the impact on the climate of emissions from a third runway’s 260,000 extra flights a year ultimately held sway in the appeal court.”

Coal - free first for electricity in Great Britain

“Great Britain’s electricity system recorded its “greenest” ever month in May after running without coal-fired electricity for a full calendar month. The National Grid, the energy system operator, said the country’s sunniest spring on record helped generate enough solar power to reduce the carbon intensity of the grid to its lowest level ever recorded. The bright and breezy weather helped wind and solar power make up about 28% of Great Britain’s electricity last month, narrowly behind gas-fired power generation, which made up 30% of the energy mix. Meanwhile, the record low demand for electricity during the coronavirus lockdown has left little room for Great Britain’s last remaining coal power plants to play a role.”

No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time

“Cultured meat, produced in bioreactors without the slaughter of an animal, has been approved for sale by a regulatory authority for the first time. The development has been hailed as a landmark moment across the meat industry. The “chicken bites”, produced by the US company Eat Just, have passed a safety review by the Singapore Food Agency and the approval could open the door to a future when all meat is produced without the killing of livestock, the company said. Dozens of firms are developing cultivated chicken, beef and pork, with a view to slashing the impact of industrial livestock production on the climate and nature crises, as well as providing cleaner, drug-free and cruelty-free meat. Currently, about 130 million chickens are slaughtered every day for meat, and 4 million pigs. By weight, 60% of the mammals on earth are livestock, 36% are humans and only 4% are wild. The cells for Eat Just’s product are grown in a 1,200-litre bioreactor and then combined with plant-based ingredients. Initial availability would be limited, the company said, and the bites would be sold in a restaurant in Singapore. The product would be significantly more expensive than conventional chicken until production was scaled up, but Eat Just said it would ultimately be cheaper.”

Edible insects set to be approved by EU in 'breakthrough moment'

“It is being billed as the long-awaited breakthrough moment in European gastronomy for mealworm burgers, locust aperitifs and cricket granola. Within weeks the EU’s European Food Safety Authority is expected by the insect industry to endorse whole or ground mealworms, lesser mealworms, locusts, crickets and grasshoppers as being safe for human consumption. The ruling is likely to lead to the final authorisation of their sale across the EU as a “novel food” by as soon as the autumn, opening up opportunities for mass production of a range of insect dishes to be sold across Europe for the first time. “These have a good chance of being given the green light in the coming few weeks,” said Christophe Derrien, the secretary general of the industry organisation International Platform of Insects for Food and Feed.”