We will be present during ITB 2018. Drop us an email to arrange a “sustainable” meeting

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Europe’s regions are facing rising sea levels and more extreme weather, such as more frequent and more intense heatwaves, flooding, droughts and storms due to climate change, according to a European Environment Agency report published today. The report assesses the latest trends and projections on climate change and its impacts across Europe and finds that better and more flexible adaptation strategies, policies and measures will be crucial to lessen these impacts.

Europe and northern hemisphere are warming at faster pace than the global average and ‘multiple climatic hazards’ are expected, says study

Humans have significantly changed the climate and increased the magnitude of many extreme weather events

Climate change is continuing globally and in Europe

Land and sea temperatures are increasing; precipitation patterns are changing, generally making wet regions in Europe wetter, particularly in winter, and dry regions drier, particularly in summer; sea ice extent, glacier volume and snow cover are decreasing; sea levels are rising; and climate-related extremes such as heat waves, heavy precipitation and droughts are increasing in frequency and intensity in many regions.

New record levels of some climatic variables have been established in recent years,

notably global and European temperature in 2014 and again in 2015, global sea level in 2015 and winter Arctic sea ice extent in 2016. Some climatic changes have accelerated in recent decades, such as global sea level rise and the decline of the polar ice sheets.

Global climate change has substantially increased the probability of various recent extreme weather and climate events in Europe

The reliability of this finding has been strengthened by recent progress in extreme weather attribution techniques.

Climate change will continue for many decades to come

Improved climate projections provide further evidence that future climate change will increase climate-related extremes (e.g. heat waves, heavy precipitation, droughts, top wind speeds and storm surges) in many European regions.

Climate change has wide-ranging impacts on ecosystems, economic sectors and human healtThe observed changes in climate are already having wide-ranging impacts on ecosystems, economic sectors and human health and well-being in Europe. Recent studies show that various observed changes in the environment and society, such as changes in forest species, the establishment of invasive alien species and disease outbreaks, have been caused or enhanced by global climate change.

Ecosystems and protected areas are under pressure from climate change and other stressors, such as land use change. The observed impacts of climate change are a threat to biodiversity in Europe, but they also affect forestry, fishery, agriculture and human health. In response to climate change, many land-based animal and plant species are changing their life cycles and are migrating northwards and to higher altitudes; regional extinctions have been observed; various invasive alien species have established themselves or have expanded their range; and various marine species, including commercially important fish stocks, are migrating northwards.

Different regions and sectors in Europe are affected differently by climate change

Most impacts of climate change across Europe have been adverse, although some impacts have been beneficial. The rise in sea level has increased flood risks and contributed to erosion along European coasts. The observed increase in heat waves has had significant effects on human health, in particular in cities. Heat waves are also increasing the risk of electricity blackouts and forest fires. Transport and tourism have also been affected by climate change, with large regional differences. Examples of beneficial impacts of climate change include a decrease in heating demand and some benefits to agriculture in northern Europe.

Climate change is affecting all regions in Europe, but the impacts are not uniform. South-eastern and southern Europe are projected to be hotspot regions, having the highest numbers of severely affected sectors and domains. Coastal areas and floodplains in the western parts of Europe are also multi-sectoral hotspots. The Alps and the Iberian Peninsula are additional hotspots for ecosystems and their services. Ecosystems and human activities in the Arctic will be strongly affected owing to the particularly fast increase in air and sea temperatures and the associated melting of land and sea ice.

Economic costs can potentially be high, even for modest levels of climate change, and these costs rise significantly for scenarios of greater levels of warming. The projected damage costs from climate change are highest in southern Europe. However, estimates of the projected economic impacts of climate change in Europe consider only some sectors and show considerable uncertainty.

Climate change impacts interact with other developments inside and outside Europe

Future climate change will interact with other socio-economic developments, including the ageing of the population and increasing urbanisation across Europe, projected decreases in population size in eastern Europe, and a narrowing economic gap between eastern and western parts of Europe. The water sector, agriculture, forestry and biodiversity show strong interdependencies, and are also related to changing land-use patterns and population change.

Europe is vulnerable to climate change impacts outside Europe through six major pathways: the trade of agricultural commodities, the trade of non-agricultural commodities, infrastructure and transport, geopolitics and security risks, human mobility related to migration and finance. The strongest evidence for Europe’s vulnerability to cross–border impacts are the economic effects seen as a result of climate-related global price volatilities and disruptions to transportation networks. The Mediterranean area is most vulnerable to shocks in the flow of agricultural commodities, while small, open and highly developed European economies are particularly vulnerable to shocks in the flow of non-agricultural commodities. European vulnerability to cross-border effects is expected to increase in the coming decades, but quantitative projections are not available.

Mitigation of climate change is required to limit the long-term risks from climate change

The magnitude of future climate change and its impacts from the middle of the century onwards depend on the effectiveness of global climate mitigation efforts. The magnitude of climate change and its impacts can be substantially reduced by an ambitious global mitigation policy compatible with the mitigation goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels.

Adaptation to climate change is necessary to reduce short- and long-term risks from climate change

Climate change adaptation strategies, policies and actions, including the mainstreaming of them into other policies, are progressing at all governance levels (European Union (EU), transnational, national and local levels). Further actions could include enhancing policy coherence across EU environmental and sectoral policies; effective and efficient action across all levels of governance, through multi-level governance and transnational cooperation platforms; enhancing flexible ‘adaptive management’ approaches; combining technological solutions, ecosystem-based approaches and ‘soft’ measures; involving the private sector; and more emphasis on ‘transformational’ adaptation actions as a complement to ‘incremental’ adaptation.

Better monitoring, research and information exchange can improve the knowledge base for adaptation

The knowledge base regarding climate change impacts, vulnerability, risk and adaptation assessments in Europe could be enhanced, e.g. through improved monitoring and reporting of climate-related extremes and the associated damage, enhanced national and sectoral assessments and their reporting, and further monitoring, reporting and evaluation of adaptation actions at the national level. More knowledge would also be useful on the costs and benefits of adaptation options and on interdependencies, synergies and trade-offs between adaptation policies and other policies and actions. EU-funded and national research can address adaptation knowledge gaps and stimulate innovation.

The use of European, transnational and national climate change and adaptation services by stakeholders could be further improved. The European Commission’s ‘adaptation preparedness scoreboard’, which assesses the progress of Member States using process-based indicators could be complemented by quantitative information. The indicators of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction for weather- and climate-related hazards are expected to be relevant for climate change adaptation.

SOURCE: http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/climate-change-impacts-and-vulnerability-2016/key-findings

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Targets or pricing

In particular, the text now requires Member States to choose between two obligations: either to adopt measures ensuring that the annual consumption level does not exceed, on average, 90 lightweight plastic carrier bags per person by the end of 2019, and not more than 40 lightweight plastic carrier bags per person by 2025; or alternatively, to ensure that, by the end of 2018, they are no longer provided free of charge at the point of sale of goods or products, unless equally effective instruments are applied.

Annual reporting on consumption

In order to assess the effectiveness of reduction measures the text introduces specific provisions on monitoring, requiring the Member States, as from 36 months after the entry into force of the legislation, to report annually on the annual consumption of plastic carrier bags according to a common methodology to be adopted by the Commission within 12 months after the entry into force of the legislation. This builds on existing reporting obligations. As such, the benefits in terms of having concrete tools that allow Member States to control the effectiveness of the measures taken far outweigh the extra administrative work.

Labelling of biodegradable and compostable plastic carrier bags

Furthermore, the obligation for the Commission to set specifications on labelling on biodegradable and compostable plastic carrier bags is an important means to avoid the misleading practices of false labelling of plastic carrier bags, particularly by so called “oxo-biodegradable” plastic carrier bags. “Oxo-biodegradable” plastic bags are based on a technology where an additive is added to conventional plastic material so that the plastic eventually fragments into micro-particles (normally within two to five years). It is marketed as a solution to littering, when in fact it increases the problem of littering by leading to environmental pollution with micro-plastics. Whether or not these micro-plastics are ultimately “biodegradable” as claimed by those offering this technology is highly controversial. The fact that the term “biodegradable” is currently applied to materials with extremely widely differing rates of bio-degradation has rendered the term meaningless. The adoption of clear specifications for a label of biodegradable and compostable bags not only clarifies the situation and ends misleading claims, but can also contribute to facilitate the separate collection of bio-waste with the help of truly biodegradable and compostable plastic bags.

Assessment of impacts of “oxo-degradable” plastic carrier bags on the environment

As a label alone only addresses misleading claims by “oxo-degradable” plastic carrier bags, but does not prevent the increase in pollution potentially brought about by this technology, the agreed text obliges the Commission to examine the impact of “oxo-degradable” plastic carrier bags on the environment and present a report to the European Parliament and the Council, including, if appropriate, a set of measures to limit their consumption or to reduce any harmful impacts within 24 months of the entry into force. As “oxo-degradable” plastic materials are especially used to produce plastic carrier bags, it is fully appropriate to ensure legally binding follow-up action in the context of amending the packaging directive with regard to plastic carrier bags, rather than defer this to uncertain follow-up to the Commission Green Paper on plastic waste.

Very lightweight plastic carrier bags

In order to be able to reduce the excessive consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags, it was necessary to distinguish them from very lightweight plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness below 15 microns which are required for hygiene purposes or provided as primary packaging for loose food when this helps to prevent food wastage. As Member States may be allowed to exempt very lightweight plastic carrier bags from the measures to achieve the reduction targets or the pricing, their consumption may remain at the same levels or even increase. However, as their consumption is very high and the littering problem particularly relevant for these very lightweight plastic carrier bags, the final agreement introduced an obligation on the Commission to assess the life cycle impacts of possibilities to reduce the consumption of these bags, and present a legislative proposal, if appropriate, within 24 months.

CEN standard for home composting

Finally, the final agreement stipulates that the Commission should ask CEN to develop a standard for home-compostable packaging.

In summary, the final agreement is a major improvement in all aspects as compared to the Commission proposal. And unlike the Commission proposal, it is based on the preferred option identified in the Commission’s own impact assessment. Your rapporteur therefore recommends agreeing to the common position without any amendments.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&reference=A8-2015-0130&language=EN#title1

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Worldwide, plastics production has risen to staggeringly high levels: from 1.7 million tonnes a year in the 1950s, to 299 million tonnes in 2013. It is estimated that 5 to 13 million tonnes end up in our oceans every year, with devastating effects for marine wildlife. Many species, from mussels to turtles, may ingest fragments either accidently or because it resembles their prey.

For this study, researchers investigated the effects of microplastics — defined here as fragments smaller than 1 mm — on the lugworm (Arenicola marina) and the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis).

Lugworms are common in tidal flats where they ingest and aerate the sediment, helping maintain it for a large variety of other marine organisms. Mussels also play an important role in marine ecosystems by filtering water, which removes bacteria and toxins. They are also a source of food for a variety of birds.

The researchers first measured microplastic concentrations found in the environment. They collected lugworms, mussels, seawater and sediment from six sites along the French, Belgian and Dutch North Sea coast in 2011.

Microplastics were found in seawater at an average concentration of 0.4 particles per litre and in sediments at 6 particles per kilogram. The particles were made up of low-density polyethylene (used to make plastic bags), high-density polyethylene (used for bottle tops and pipes) and polystyrene (used for packaging).

All lugworms and mussels contained microplastics. Mussels contained, on average, 0.2 particles per gram of tissue. Lugworms contained a higher amount, at 1.2 particles per gram on average, with a maximum of 11 particles per gram. The researchers note, however, that they did not count microplastic fibres because they could not rule out contamination with airborne fibres in the lab. Therefore the concentrations recorded may be underestimates.

The researchers then studied the effects of microplastics in controlled experiments. There are concerns that ingestion of microplastics may cause stress in these creatures, with knock-on effects for their overall health. This was investigated by keeping mussels and lugworms in clean, artificial seawater for two weeks and then assigning them to one of two treatments.

Mussels were either exposed to concentrations of 110 000 particles of polystyrene per litre or placed in a control group with no plastic contamination. Lugworms were either given a treatment of 110 particles of polystyrene per gram of sediment or were again placed in an uncontaminated control group.

Mussels in the contaminated water showed higher energy consumption than those in the control group, which can be linked to increased stress and respiration rates. However, there was no significant difference in energy reserves (levels of proteins, fats or carbohydrates) between the contaminated and control groups.

For lugworms there was no significant difference in respiration rates or energy reserves between the contaminated and control groups. This is somewhat surprising, as a previous study found substantial impacts of microplastic contamination on lugworms’ energy reserves. The researchers caution, however, that their experiment was short, lasting only 14 days where the other study had lasted 28 days.

Source: Van Cauwenberghe, L., Claessens, M., Vandegehuchte , M. B. & Janssen, C. R. (2015). Microplastics are taken up by mussels (Mytilus edulis) and lugworms (Arenicola marina) living in natural habitats. Environmental Pollution 199: 10–17. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.01.008.

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Sustainable business practices and investment options are becoming increasingly important to investors, according to a survey released Friday by Morgan Stanley.

Seventy-one percent of active individual investors in the study described themselves as interested in sustainable investing, and 65% expected sustainable investing to become more prevalent over the next five years.

Total volume of sustainable investments — speaking in terms of environmental, social and governance practices — nearly doubled from 2012 to 2014, from $3.5 trillion to $6.6 trillion, according to the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment.

However, investors had yet to fully translate corporate advantages into investment action. A majority of respondents in the survey said sustainability and financial returns implied a trade-off for investors.

The Brunswick Insight team conducted the survey on Morgan Stanley’s behalf in mid-November, collecting data from 800 individual investors and from an additional oversample of 200 millennials.

The survey found that millennials and women were at the forefront of sustainable investing and sustainability.

Eighty-four percent of millennials expressed openness to the idea of sustainable investing, compared with 79% of Gen X respondents and 66% of baby boomers.

Millennials were twice as likely to invest in companies or funds that target specific social/environmental outcomes and to divest because of objectionable corporate activity.

Seventy-six percent of surveyed female investors showed interest in sustainable investing, compared with 62% of their male counterparts.

Moreover, 40% of women said they would consider both rate of return and the effect of their investment when making an allocation decision, while only 23% of men said they would do this.

The study said women’s support for sustainable investing, in particular, would have considerable influence on the broader business and investment environments.

It noted that women currently held more than half of all managerial and professional jobs in the U.S. and control 39% of the nation’s total investable assets — $11.2 trillion.

How do individual investors currently factor sustainability into their investment decisions?

The survey found that 72% of investors believed that companies with good environmental, social and governance practices could achieve higher profitability and were better long-term investments.

Respondents said that 46% of their total portfolio, on average, should be invested sustainably.

At the same time, investors were divided in their perception of sustainability and financial gains, with 54% saying there was a trade-off and 46% saying there was not.

“The survey shows that the perception of trade-off between profitable and sustainable investments is still a major barrier to the growth of the field,” Audrey Choi, managing director and chief executive of Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing said in a statement.

“We and others trying to advance sustainable investing at scale have a job to do, demonstrating that it is possible to achieve positive impact and market-rate returns.”

Why does this matter? “We believe that it is necessary to mobilize private capital at scale to address global challenges,” Choi said.

Source: http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2015/02/27/71-of-investors-seek-sustainability-morgan-stanley

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