Ireland to ban plastic straws and nine other single-use items by 2021

As businesses in Victoria, B.C., await the arrival of the first cruise ship in more than two years this weekend, an environmental group is arguing the industry’s economic impact is not worth the damage to the surrounding waters and communities.  An independent report commissioned by Stand.earth and released this week shows tourists arriving in the city from cruise ships spent $137.1 million in 2019, while non-cruise tourism — including those visiting Victoria by car or plane and staying in hotels — totalled $2.94 billion.  “The cruise industry is not the boon to Victoria that they sell themselves as,” said Anna Barford, the Canada shipping campaigner at Stand.earth.  Cruise ships that stop in Victoria are often stopping over on their way to longer-term stops in Alaska, giving passengers less than a day to visit and spend money in the B.C. capital.

Commissioned by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP), which advises the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Circle Economy and Shifting Paradigms have researched how the circular economy can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in low- and middle-income countries. 
This report uncovers the range of socio-economic and environmental co-benefits that circular mitigation interventions can bring to GEF countries of operation.

The UK has a golden opportunity to develop a world-leading wind turbine blade re-manufacturing industry, argues a new report from the Energy Transition Alliance. The UK government should work with wind energy businesses to support the development of wind turbine blade recycling capacity, helping bring a circular economy approach to the offshore wind sector that…