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A million animals, plants at risk of extinction due to human activities, U.N. report says

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A million animals, plants at risk of extinction due to human activities, U.N. report says

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Million animals, plants at risk of extinction due to human activities, U.N. report says

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The connection between human rights and climate change

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The connection between human rights and climate change

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Centre for International Governance Innovation

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The Connection Between Climate Change & Human Rights

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Frequently Asked Questions on Human Rights and Climate Change

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Frequently Asked Questions on Human Rights and Climate Change

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Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda investigated over eco-friendly claims

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Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda investigated over eco-friendly claims

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The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into whether eco-friendly and sustainability claims made by the fast fashion chains Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda constitute greenwashing.

Sarah Cardell, the interim CMA chief executive, said the regulator would be scrutinising green claims made by the brands and "won't hesitate to take enforcement action" if they are found to have been misleading customers over their environmental credentials.

"People who want to 'buy green' should be able to do so confident that they aren't being misled. Eco-friendly and sustainable products can play a role in tackling climate change, but only if they are genuine," she said.

"We'll be scrutinising green claims from Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda to see if they stack up. Should we find these companies are using misleading eco claims, we won't hesitate to take enforcement action - through the courts if necessary."

The CMA, which said in January it would be prioritising fashion as part of its efforts to crack down on greenwashing, has written to the three firms outlining its concerns and said it would use its information-gathering powers to obtain evidence to progress its investigation.

Cardell warned all fashion brands that this was "just the start" of a wider investigation "and all fashion companies should take note: look at your own practices and make sure they are in line with the law".

It is part of the CMA's investigation into potential greenwashing after concerns over the way the firms' products are being marketed to customers as eco-friendly.

The watchdog says entire lines of clothing are being labelled sustainable and eco-friendly, without the company having proof that the whole process - from manufacture to delivery, packaging and sale - is good for the environment.

Asos and Boohoo said on Friday that they would cooperate with the CMA's investigation. Asos said it was "committed to playing its part in making fashion more sustainable, including providing clear and accurate information about its products".

Boohoo said it was "committed to providing its customers with accurate information on the products they buy".

Asda said: "We know how important it is that our customers can trust the claims we make about our products, which is why we ensure the statements we make can be supported by industry accreditations. We are ready and willing to answer any questions the CMA have about our George for Good range and welcome further work by the CMA to ensure the sustainability claims made by the fashion industry as a whole are robust and clear."

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It is estimated that UK consumers spend £54bn annually on clothing and footwear, and this is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

According to some estimates, fashion is responsible for between 2% and 8% of global carbon emissions, as well as causing waste and pollution. About 300,000 tonnes of used clothes are burned or buried in landfill each year in the UK. The growing volume of online shopping returns has also fuelled concern among campaigners.

It is thought the global industry contributes more to the climate emergency than the aeronautical and shipping industries combined and, if trends continue, it could account for a quarter of the world's carbon budget by 2050.

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Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda investigated over eco-friendly claims

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The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into whether eco-friendly and sustainability claims made by the fast fashion chains Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda constitute greenwashing. Sarah Cardell, the interim CMA chief executive, said the regulator would be scrutinising green claims made by the brands and "won't hesitate to take enforcement action" if they are found to have been misleading customers over their environmental credentials.

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Actions for a better fashion

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Actions for a better fashion

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Actions for a better fashion

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Your climate change news

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Article by WWF: "The lifecycle of plastics"

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Article by WWF: "The lifecycle of plastics"

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Plastic. It's everywhere. It has only really existed for the last 60-70 years, but in that time plastic has transformed everything from packaging to product design and retailing.

One of the advantages of plastic is that it is designed to last, but this same blessing is a curse as nearly all the plastic ever created still exists in some form today.

Australia produces almost 3 million tonnes of plastic per annum, of which less than 12% is recycled. Alarmingly, up to 130,000 tonnes of that plastic will wind up in the ocean as plastic pollution each year. Considering each person produces (or uses) roughly 130 kg of plastic, it means that about 30 kg of each person's waste could end up in the ocean.

Not only could it end up in the ocean, but it can take hundreds of years to break down - if at all.

Plastic bag - 20 years

Plastic bags pose one of the greatest impacts to ocean wildlife. Even though they only make up a small percentage of our litter, they can break up into smaller and smaller pieces - having devastating impacts on our wildlife.

Takeaway coffee cups - 30 years

Did you know that if we lined up all the takeaway coffee cups used each year in Australia they would stretch around the world... twice! That's a lot of coffee cups. Unfortunately, many of these cups are not recyclable due to the plastic membrane that lines them, and can take up to 30 years to degrade.

Plastic straws - 200 years

Plastic straws can take up to 200 years to decompose. Choose a paper straw or ditch them altogether and try the age-old sipping technique.

6 pack plastic rings - 400 years

When these plastic rings end up in the ocean, they can be devastating to our marine wildlife who get entangled.

Plastic bottles - 450 years

The energy required to produce and transport plastic water bottles could fuel an estimated 1.5 million cars for a year, yet approximately 75% of water bottles are not recycled - they end up in landfills, litter roadsides, and pollute waterways and oceans.

Plastic cups - 450 years

The chemical bonds of plastic cups make them durable, but also resistant to breaking down. Overtime, these cups release toxic chemicals into the environment and are more likely to be ingested by vulnerable marine wildlife.

Disposable diapers - 500 years

Disposable diapers need to be exposed to oxygen and sunlight in order to decompose, and they don't decompose well in landfill. Once in landfill, they can contaminate groundwater, posing serious threats to the environment. Opt for reusable cloth diapers or eco-friendly alternatives.

Coffee pods - 500 years

The plastic in coffee pods takes more than 500 years to break down, releasing harmful amounts of methane gas as it does so. Steer clear of pod coffee machines. Or use recycled pods.

Plastic toothbrush - 500 years

3.5 billion toothbrushes are sold worldwide each year. Most get lost in the recycling process and end up in landfill or make their way into rivers and oceans. These toothbrushes are made from polypropylene plastic and nylon and can take up to 500 years or more to decompose.

The good news is that we can fight back against plastic pollution. Every little action we take to reduce our consumption of plastic is a big step in protecting the future of our planet and our precious wildlife.

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Plastic. It's everywhere. It has only really existed for the last 60-70 years, but in that time plastic has transformed everything from packaging to product design and retailing. One of the advantages of plastic is that it is designed to last, but this same blessing is a curse as nearly all the plastic ever created still exists in some form today.

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Article by City, University of London: "One hamburger takes 2,400 litres of 'hidden' water to make"

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Article by City, University of London: "One hamburger takes 2,400 litres of 'hidden' water to make"

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Recently appearing on Netflix, The Game Changers is a 2018 documentary outlining an argument for adopting a plant-based diet, based upon its benefits both in terms of athletic performance and overall health to the human body, and to our global climate.

Executively produced by James Cameron (The Terminator, Titanic), the documentary follows presenter and former mixed martial artist, James Wilks, who takes the audience on his personal journey of injury and investigation of the research supporting the benefits of a plant-based diet.

On the way, he shares a wider critique of the environmental damage caused by the meat industry and how society moving toward a plant-based diet could alleviate this.

Interviews include athletes and celebrities espousing the benefits of going plant-based, including British Formula One driver, Lewis Hamilton, and actor, former body-builder and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

One of a number of academic experts also interviewed in the documentary, Professor Tim Lang, of City, University of London's Centre for Food Policy, was asked his view of the agricultural impact of the meat industry, and the potential effects of society moving toward a more plant-based diet.

Professor Lang said,

'Water has been fed into the grain that's been fed to the cattle, the cattle's been made into beef. One Hamburger is 2,400 litres of embedded water. That's a heck of a lot of water.'

The documentary also shared statistics suggesting that 27% of humanity's freshwater consumption goes to produce animal food, and that the livestock sector is responsible for about 15% of all human made emissions globally, which is equivalent to the emissions from all the forms of transport in the world, including the cumulative emissions of planes, trains, cars and ships.

Professor Lang later concluded,

"The message is overwhelming both for public health and environmental reasons. The more plants you can eat, and the less meat and dairy you can consume, the better."

To watch the documentary, visit Netflix (account required). Professor Lang appears between 1hr 11min 04s and 1hr 12min 50s.

Report from EAT-Lancet Commission on Planet, Food, Health (2019)

Professor Lang and Professor Corinna Hawkes, Director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, are members of the international ' EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health ' team of 37 world leading scientists from across the globe who have collaborated to answer the question:

Can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries?

Published in January 2019, the Commission's report recommended its 'planetary food diet', a global diet that could improve health and reduce further damage to the planet.

You can read City's coverage of the report on the news section of our website.

Centre for Food Policy, City, University of London

To find out more about the Centre for Food Policy at City, visit the webpage.

You can also find a list of relevant briefings relating to global food policy from the Centre directly below:

Rethinking Food Policy briefings

The Centre publishes regular 'Rethinking Food Policy' briefings on key areas of global food policy:

4th Rethinking Food Policy Brief 'Embedding food in all policies'.

3rd Rethinking Food Policy Brief 'Integrated Food Policy: What is it, and how can it help transform food systems?'.

2nd Rethinking Food Policy Brief 'Understanding the food system: Why it matters for food policy'.

1st Rethinking Food Policy Brief 'Tackling food systems challenges: the role of food policy'.

City Food Symposium, 2018

Report of the international, 2018 City Food Symposium: How can evidence of lived experience make food policy more effective and equitable in addressing major food system challenges?

Summary document of the international, 2018 City Food Symposium: Why engage with evidence of lived experience as a means of addressing major food systems challenges?

Report from the Centre for Food Policy looking at the food systems sweet spot: Connecting food systems for co-benefits: How can food systems combine diet-related health with environmental and economic policy goals?

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One hamburger takes 2,400 litres of 'hidden' water to make | City, University of London

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Recently appearing on Netflix, The Game Changers is a 2018 documentary outlining an argument for adopting a plant-based diet, based upon its benefits both in terms of athletic performance and overall health to the human body, and to our global climate.

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Article by United Nations about fast fashion and sustainability 

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Article by United Nations about fast fashion and sustainability 

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When we think of industries that are having a harmful effect on the environment, manufacturing, energy, transport and even food production might come to mind. But the fashion industry is widely believed to be the second most polluting industry in the world.

According to UNCTAD, some 93 billion cubic metres of water - enough to meet the needs of five million people - is used by the fashion industry annually, and around half a million tons of microfibre, which is the equivalent of 3 million barrels of oil, is now being dumped into the ocean every year.

As for carbon emissions, the industry is responsible for more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.

The dominant business model in the sector is that of "fast fashion", whereby consumers are offered constantly changing collections at low prices, and encouraged to frequently buy and discard clothes. Many experts, including the UN, believe the trend is responsible for a plethora of negative social, economic and environmental impacts and, with clothing production doubling between 2000 and 2014, it is crucially important to ensure that clothes are produced as ethically and sustainably as possible.

Innovating for sustainability

Despite the grim statistics, producers and consumers of fashion are increasingly waking up to the idea that the industry needs to change. A number of companies, including large volume retailers, are integrating sustainability principles into their business strategies. Examples include the global clothing chain H&M, which has a garment collection scheme; jeans manufacturer Guess, which is involved in a wardrobe recycling programme; and outdoor clothing company Patagonia, which produces jackets using polyester from recycled bottles.

Smaller companies are also helping change the environmental landscape of fashion and building sustainability into their whole business model.

Among them are the Swiss firm Freitag, which upcycles truck tarpaulins, seat belts and seat belts to make bags and backpacks; Indosole, which makes shoes from discarded tyres; and Novel Supply, a Canadian clothing business, which has a "take-back scheme," whereby customers can return their clothes when they are no longer wearable, so that the company can reuse and recycle them.

The founder of Novel Supply, Kaya Dorey,, won a Young Champions of the Earth award, the UN's highest environmental honour, in recognition of her attempts to create a production model that involves using environmentally-friendly materials, and finding solutions for waste created during the manufacturing process.

In this video she explains how every element of her company's production process is geared towards minimising waste and damage to the environment.

The UN's role in cleaning up the fashion industry

If we carry on with a business-as-usual approach, the greenhouse gas emissions from the industry are expected to rise by almost 50% by 2030 Elisa Tonda, Head of the Consumption and Production Unit at UN Environment

In a bid to halt the fashion industry's environmentally and socially destructive practices, and harness the catwalk as a driver to improve the world's ecosystems, 10 different United Nations organizations established the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, launched during the 2019 UN Environment Assembly, which took place in Nairobi in March.

Elisa Tonda, Head of the Consumption and Production Unit at the UN Environment Programme ( UNEP), one of the 10 UN bodies involved in the Alliance, explained the urgency behind its formation: "The global production of clothing and footwear generates 8% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and, with manufacturing concentrated in Asia, the industry is mainly reliant on hard coal and natural gas to generate electricity and heat. If we carry on with a business-as-usual approach, the greenhouse gas emissions from the industry are expected to rise by almost 50% by 2030."

The power of influencers

British artist and environmental activist Elle L was one of the speakers at the launch, and she told UN News that she agrees that fast-fashion was the biggest obstacle to sustainability: "there's a real pressure to buy, and there are no brake pads to slow over-production and over-consumption. We need better labelling, so that people know what they're buying; a tax or a ban on synthetic fibres which are causing serious environmental damage and contributing to a micro-plastics crisis; and a shift in mindset regarding over-production and over-consumption."

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UN launches drive to highlight environmental cost of staying fashionable

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It takes around 7,500 litres of water to make a single pair of jeans, equivalent to the amount of water the average person drinks over a period of seven years. That's just one of the many startling facts to emerge from recent environmental research, which show that the cost of staying fashionable is a lot more than just the price tag.

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Barcelona students to take mandatory climate crisis module from 2024

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Barcelona students to take mandatory climate crisis module from 2024

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All students at the University of Barcelona will have to take a mandatory course on the climate crisis after the establishment agreed to meet the demands of activists conducting a sit-in occupation.

In a move thought to be a world first, all 14,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students will have to take the course from the 2024 academic year. It will also devise a training programme on climate issues for its 6,000 academic staff.

The announcement came after a seven-day occupation by a group from the anti-fossil fuel organisation End Fossil Barcelona.

"To recognise that we all have to study this marks a change in the paradigm of university education," said Federico Demaria, an economics professor at the university and one of 200 who backed the students' demands.

"The trigger was the student occupation but it shows a general cultural change. Ten or 15 years ago the university would have sent in the police. But now you can't kick them out because you know they're right and society supports them."

"It's not just another course on sustainable development," said Lucía Muñoz Sueiro, an End Fossil activist and PhD student at the university. "It combines the social and ecological aspects of the crisis, which are interrelated."

Student and activist Lorenzo Velotti said he was disappointed that the university refused to accede to the group's other main demand, that it reject funding from the oil company Repsol and other businesses that profit from fossil fuels.

A committee of experts and academics largely nominated by the activists will meet to discuss the content of the course. They include Jofre Carnicer, who sits on the International Panel on Climate Change.

Velotti said End Fossil put forward names of professors with established reputations in the field of the social and economic consequences of climate breakdown and that the university had agreed that these nominees would make up 60% of the commission tasked with devising the course.

The course will be worth five credits. Each credit represents 25 hours of study: 15 at home and 10 in class. With 50 teaching hours in class, the university is likely to need to hire more staff.

The university said in a statement that it was "fully committed to working towards the eradication of the causes of the climate emergency and to mitigating its consequences".

The decision to launch the course came as Isabel Diáz Ayuso, the conservative president of the Madrid autonomous region, said in a speech that there had always been climate change and dismissed "apocalyptic claims" as part of a communist plot.

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Barcelona students to take mandatory climate crisis module from 2024

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Course thought to be world first agreed after university bowed to pressure from seven-day End Fossil protest

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Video by National Geographic: "Causes and Effects of Climate Change"

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Video by National Geographic: "Causes and Effects of Climate Change"

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Causes and Effects of Climate Change | National Geographic

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It is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.

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In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

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Article by National Geographic: "Planet or Plastic?"

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Article by National Geographic: "Planet or Plastic?"

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The latest stories from our Planet or Plastic? series-a multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis.