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12 great examples of how countries are adapting to climate change

We must invest in a massive effort to adapt to higher temperatures, rising seas, fiercer storms, more unpredictable rainfall, and more acidic oceans. Thankfully, there are many bright spots where adaptation efforts have already begun.

T he world's level of readiness for the unavoidable effects of climate change is "gravely insufficient" and trillions of dollars of investment are needed to avoid "climate apartheid", according to the Global Commission on Adaptation's flagship report, which was released last week.

The report, Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience, estimates that investing $1.8 trillion globally in five areas from 2020 to 2030 could generate $7.1 trillion in total net benefits. The greatest obstacle to this is not available funds but a lack of "political leadership that shakes people out of their collective slumber," the report said.

But some countries are already taking action, and the report also shines a light on examples of the kinds of innovative, forward-thinking solutions the world will need more of if we are to successfully adapt to this new climate reality.

Here's a closer look at some bright spots from around the world.

The Thames Barrier

Risk-pooling in Africa

Nature-based solutions

Community involvement in Indonesia

Financing nature-based solutions in Canada

'Room for the River' in the Netherlands

Building resilient homes in the Philippines

Using data to prevent bushfires in Australia

Endeavour Energy owns, manages, and operates a distribution network supplying electricity to 2.4 million people in Australia. The company uses a geographic information system (GIS) that includes the location and layout of assets and other geographic features. The GIS forms part of Endeavour Energy's maps that identify those assets in bushfire-prone areas and enables more efficient and effective management of vegetation near power lines to minimize outages.

Climate-resilient infrastructure

Protecting people from extreme heat

Early-warning systems

Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) is a partnership of several international organizations (the World Bank, World Meteorological Organization, and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) and countries (Australia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Canada) that aims to saves lives, assets, and livelihoods in least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) by increasing the capacity to generate and communicate effective, impact-based, multi-hazard, gender-informed early warnings.

Responding before disaster strikes

The ideas presented in this article aim to inspire adaptation action - they are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Center on Adaptation.

Related blog posts:

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12 great examples of how countries are adapting to climate change - Global Center on Adaptation

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12 great examples of how countries are adapting to climate change We must invest in a massive effort to adapt to higher temperatures, rising seas, fiercer storms, more unpredictable rainfall, and more acidic oceans. Thankfully, there are many bright spots where adaptation efforts have already begun.

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GCA and BRAC are piloting a process to develop locally-led town climate adaptation plans in the town of Mongla, the second largest seaport in Bangladesh, led by the Mayor and local government and developed with and validated by urban residents. Find out more

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What is climate adaptation? - Global Center on Adaptation

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Climate adaptation means taking action to prepare for and adjust to the current and projected impacts of climate change.

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Weather and climate are not the same. So, what exactly is climate and what affects it? Find out everything you need to know about our climate and how it works.

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MetLink - Royal Meteorological Society Climate Change Concept Association Tool -

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For curriculum developers and other communicators to explore the diverse range of concepts associated with climate change and the links between them.

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9 things you can do about Climate Change

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9 things you can do about Climate Change

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9 things you can do about climate change

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With so many experts on climate change here at Imperial, many people ask us what they personally can do about it?

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The UK's zero carbon schools campaign, uniting schools working to become carbon zero by 2030 and safeguard the planet for future generations.

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Act on Climate Change

A User's Guide

Take your climate action to the next level.

The scientific evidence is clear and irrefutable - human activity is causing our planet to warm at an alarming rate. International bodies of scientists have warned that we have just over a decade to halve our emissions to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change on our food supply, national security, global health, extreme weather, and more.

There is simply no time to waste. We need urgent and ambitious action at every level, from heads of state submitting increased national commitments to the Paris Agreement on climate change and cities walking the talk, to private sector leaders addressing climate change at every step of the supply chain, finance heads committing to divest from fossil fuels and green their investments and individual citizens using their unique influence to drive change and make an impact.

Everyone has the ability to do something to address our climate challenge, but we can all still do more. What will you do?

What you can do about climate changE

Get informed.
Knowledge is power - learn more about the science behind our climate challenge and the responsibility that all sectors hold in addressing the issue. Add your voice to the issues that are shaping the climate debate as well as emerging, evidence-based data that directly relates to changes in our climate.

Hold yourself accountable.
Take a personal inventory of your own personal impact on the planet - remember, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it! Click here to calculate your carbon footprint - it may surprise you. Consider offsetting carbon emissions by investing in clean and renewable energy projects around the world that support local communities, drive sustainable development, and protect our planet.

Unplug.
Can you use energy more efficiently at home? Unplug items when they aren't in use, buy goods with high energy-efficient standards, and consider making the switch to renewable energy. All of these can help to help reduce your personal impact. Record your Acts of Green here.

Travel smarter.
Transportation is now the largest source of carbon emissions in the United States. No matter where you live, travel by car or airplane contributes heavily to our shared carbon footprint. Take public transit, biking, or walking when possible - it's good for your health, your wallet, and the planet.

Climate action, one bite at a time.
Your food's carbon footprint, called its foodprint, is the greenhouse gas emissions produced by growing, harvesting, processing, transporting, cooking, and disposing of the food we eat. Research has revealed the tremendous impact that the mass production of meat, dairy, and eggs has on our planet.

Additionally, food waste is an enormous 'hidden' contributor to climate change. In fact, if global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter, behind China and the U.S. The carbon footprint of this wasted food is about 3.3 billion tons of CO2. Luckily, there has never been a better time to join efforts to reduce our carbon footprint through food choices. Enjoy more plant-based meals, reduce your food waste altogether, and compost your food scraps. To learn more check out our Foodprints for the Future campaign. Bon appétit!

Advocate for your school or company to serve plant-based meals

Want to have a major positive impact on our planet? You can fight climate change...
Take Action

Shop smarter.
Do you know where your dollar is going? Support companies driven by sustainability and committed to transparency throughout the supply chain. Your power as a consumer can be enormously impactful, so if you're in the dark or unhappy with a company's impact on the planet, make your voice known! Shop smarter with thoughtful purchasing to minimize waste, and consider reused and pre-loved items to take part in the circular economy and keep goods out from filling our already overflowing landfills.

Vote Earth
Consider climate issues on local, national and global levels - examine the climate and environmental platforms of your candidates, engage these candidates to understand their ambition, and, ultimately, vote at the ballot box for the candidates with clear, ambitious, and convincing plans to protect our planet.

Organize.
One person can make a difference, but together, we can make a movement. Consider the communities that you are a part of, whether its your neighborhood, your school or PTO, your company or organization, your faith institution or yoga group or football team. Collective action can have a major impact - and major influence - for change. Consider how you can gather support by mobilizing a larger group for action!

Join The Great Global Cleanup™

EARTHDAY.ORG is building the world's largest cleanup crew!
Sign up and Clean Up

Invest and divest.
If you are lucky enough to have investments or a pension, pledge to separate them from exposure to fossil fuel assets and increase your stake in clean energy companies. Join a movement of millions of individuals from dozens of countries representing trillions in assets who are avoiding the investment risks of climate change and lightening their carbon footprints. And it doesn't stop at your individual portfolio - ask your university, your company, and your organization how they invest their money. Because when it comes to climate change, money talks.

Show your support.
Show your support for programs and organizations including community and citywide actions that are fighting climate change, and organizations working on the ground to make a difference. Ready to take action? Support our Conservation and Restoration work through The Canopy Project, which works to plant millions of trees to revitalize communities, drive economic growth and provide a powerful natural climate solution to slow global warming.

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Take your climate action to the next level.

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There are simple and easy things that we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint and make a big difference to the natural world.

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Fridays For Future is an international climate movement active in most countries and our website offers information on who we are and what you can do.

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#FridaysForFuture is a youth-led and -organised global climate strike movement that started in August 2018, when [then] 15-year-old Greta Thunberg began a school strike for climate. To begin with, she was alone, but she was soon joined by others…

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Last year, the highly respected Climate Change Committee warned the UK government that despite global efforts and commitments, further warming of the planet was 'inevitable'.

With that in mind, the ICE's resilient infrastructure community is focused on ensuring engineering interventions not only tackle immediate needs, but also reduce further climate change and mitigate its effects.

Earlier this year, the institution collaborated with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and University College London to host an important meeting for this mission.

We convened an expert group for an online discussion on the UNDRR's freshly drafted principles for resilient infrastructure.

Abhilash Panda, deputy chief of intergovernmental processes, interagency cooperation, and partnerships at the UNDRR, and now member of the ICE resilience community, explained that in the fast-changing climate we live in, infrastructure must be able to absorb, react, recover and transform in the event of an emergency.

The principles' objectives

The global organisation has developed its principles to build awareness of the need for resilience, form a basis for planning and delivering the right kind of projects, and boost policy and investment in this area.

It also set out an ambition that all infrastructure interventions should work towards the concept of 'net resilience gain', since resilience is a critical pillar to support the more commonly cited net zero carbon target.

This means that all projects we undertake as engineers must enhance the resilience of infrastructure and the ability of the broader built environment to cope with rising temperatures.

The six principles are:

1. Resilient infrastructure must be able to adaptively transform

The first principle of a resilient asset is that it's adaptively transforming, essentially meaning it must be able to overcome unexpected events and grow into unforeseen roles.

Actions listed under this principle include designing infrastructure that can:

Fail safely,

adapt beyond its primary purpose,

operate according to unforeseen human intervention, and

handle the variability of a changing environment.

2. Resilient infrastructure must be environmentally integrated

The second principle dictates infrastructure must be environmentally integrated to qualify as resilient.

This recognises the importance of the natural environment and cautions against any move towards mitigating climate change that itself causes further damage.

Actions here include the use of nature-based solutions, integration of ecosystem data into decision making, and actively maintaining the immediate environment around a project.

3. Resilient infrastructure must be protected by design

The third principle is protection by design, which requires active up-front consideration of the hazards that could face an asset once delivered.

To do this, the UNDRR warns project teams to be pessimistic and consider the possibility of not just natural disasters, but pandemics, terrorism, cyber-attacks, and other challenges.

Critical components should exceed basic requirements, and the inter-connectivity of different infrastructure channels should be carefully considered to slash the risk of cascading failure.

Emergency management plans should be drawn up in advance.

4. Resilient infrastructure must be conducive to social engagement

The fourth principle is social engagement. Resilient infrastructure must boost people's awareness of how best to use it considering present and future challenges.

This relies on clear communication between asset managers and users about upcoming disruption, to give an example.

Similarly, by giving communities a sense of ownership of an item of infrastructure, we can reduce vandalism that might take it out of service at a critical time.

5. Resilient infrastructure must be a shared responsibility

The fifth principle outlines the concept of collaborative data and knowledge sharing regarding an asset.

This enables the development of the best hazard-response possible.

Following common standard is a key action here, along with cultivating collaborative management.

Generating a shared understanding of resilience goals among different stakeholders is also important, as is assuring data safety, and sharing information relating to risk and return.

6. Resilient infrastructure will require continuous learning

The sixth and final principle set out by the UNDRR is continuous learning.

This means decision makers regularly devising strategies to optimise the ability of infrastructure to cope with what's ahead.

To comply with this, infrastructure planners, policy makers and scenario analysts should expose assumptions about infrastructure systems and validate them through scenario analysis.

Performance of an asset should be monitored in real time and regular stress testing should be common practice.

A shift in thinking

There can be a tendency to think we have enough on our plate trying to decarbonise without worrying about resilience - or to feel that factoring in climate change means admitting defeat against it - but we must not fall into these traps.

It's fundamental to our roles as engineers that we think broadly and understand the long-term impact of our work on the community.

This means ensuring that what we build can withstand the stresses that are coming its way, as well as doing all we can to minimise those shocks.

Our job is changing and growing so it is an exciting place to be.

Forming a global standard

The UNDRR's six principles were put out to over 100 governments from around the world at the end of March and are in the process of being agreed as a clear global definition of resilient infrastructure.

The UNDRR then hopes that in time the principles will guide formation of a global standard in delivering resilient infrastructure, allowing people at all levels of influence to work in line with this shared goal.

Beyond that, there's ambition to create a rating system that enables key parties to see the extent to which any asset conforms with the agreed principles of resilience.

This could hugely help drive the agenda forward by communicating in clear terms with investors and policy makers about the way in which infrastructure would perform in the event of greater climate change.

The role of engineers

These six principles form an incredibly useful framework for us as engineers to evaluate our work and try to make sure we are creating infrastructure that will not only reduce man's impact on the environment but help us to cope with the climate changes we know are coming.

Although there is a critical role for policy makers, investors, and clients, we, as engineers, can drive this agenda. If we can create exemplar projects in line with the UNDRR's principles, we can show the world just what can be achieved.

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6 Principles To Build Resilient Infrastructure

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Last year, the highly respected Climate Change Committee warned the UK government that despite global efforts and commitments, further warming of the planet was 'inevitable'. With that in mind, the ICE's resilient infrastructure community is focused on ensuring engineering interventions not only tackle immediate needs, but also reduce further climate change and mitigate its effects.

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About this film

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Share

Movie Resources

Credits

The Story of Stuff was written by Annie Leonard, Louis Fox, and Jonah Sachs, directed by Louis Fox and produced by Free Range Studios. Executive Producers included Tides Foundation and the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption. It was released in December 2007.

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About this film From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.

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Circular economy examples

GreenWave's polyculture ocean farming method produces a mixture of shellfish and seaweeds in a way that benefits nature.

Circular economy examples

Our mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy

We develop and promote the idea of a circular economy. We inspire and work with business, academia, policymakers, and institutions across the globe. Our vision is an economic system that's better for people and the environment.

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How to Build a Circular Economy | Ellen MacArthur Foundation

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Help build a circular economy: a better system that can help fight climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Explore the solutions for businesses today.

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The global stocktake is a critical turning point when it comes to efforts to address climate change - it's a moment to take a long, hard look at the state of our planet and chart a better course for the future.

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Eco-Schools has produced a series of resources and activity guides that will help young people to raise awareness about carbon-emissions and start reducing the carbon-footprint of their school. The activities connect to 3 areas that are having a devastating impact on our planet: clothing, energy-use, and food. All activities are free and practical to deliver in school. They're hands-on, fun, and give pupils the power to make a difference.

The campaign activities will be delivered from the 6th to the 10th of February but you can get one step ahead and check out the guides and resources now. With social media takeovers and the #CutYourCarbon hashtag, plus the launch of a new online game, we'll be forming a national movement, fighting for the future of our planet.

Additionally, action delivered as part of Cut Your Carbon will also count as evidence for your Eco-Schools Green Flag application.

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Clothes in drawers, food on plates, and bulbs in ceilings all create greenhouse gases throughout their lifecycles. In fact, it is difficult to think of an area of our everyday lives that doesn't contribute to our Carbon Footprint in one...Read more

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In this article, we explore the benefits and drawbacks of the tourism industry, explore the role of sustainable tourism and ecotourism, and offer some examples. By Rhiannon Wardle
Tourism is a huge part of our global culture, allowing us to explore different parts of the world, meet people from different walks of life, and experience new traditions and activities. Since it brings many benefits to both travellers and communities, it can generally be seen as a force for good.

In this article, we'll offer definitions of sustainable tourism and ecotourism, discuss the pros and cons of the tourism industry, explore how sustainable tourism could offer a solution to our current challenges, and finish with some examples of sustainable tourism.

What's the definition of sustainable tourism?

Sustainable tourism can be defined as a kind of tourism that has more benefits than negative impacts, especially relating to the environment, the economy and communities. Truly sustainable and responsible tourism should make destinations better for people to live in as well as visit.

The main responsibilities of sustainable tourism include:

1. Protecting the environment, natural resources, and wildlife

2. Providing socio-economic benefits for communities who live in tourist destinations

3. Conserving cultural heritage and creating authentic tourist experiences

4. Bringing tourists and local communities together for mutual benefit

5. Creating inclusive and accessible tourist opportunities.

Ecotourism vs sustainable tourism

You may have heard the terms ecotourism and sustainable tourism being used interchangeably. Although both are important, there is a slight difference between what they mean.

While sustainable tourism is about creating travel opportunities with minimal impact and positive benefits for destinations and their communities, ecotourism is more focused on educating tourists about nature and the environment, and travellers taking part in conservation and cultural activities.

While ecotourism should always be sustainable, not all examples of sustainable tourism are ecotourism. For example, you might take a train to stay in a sustainably powered lodge. While this is a sustainable option, you're not necessarily learning about nature and your local surroundings in an educational sense.

Facts about the tourism industry

Before we delve more into the impact of the tourism industry, let's explore some recent facts and figures so that we have a better sense of the current situation. On their website, Sustaining Tourism state that international tourist arrivals have increased from 25 million in 1950 to 1.32 billion in 2017.

They also state that travel and tourism made up 10% of total GDP in 2016, and the average international tourist receipt is over 700 US dollars per person. Therefore, it's clear that tourism has a huge economic impact on communities, and the industry is continuing to grow at a staggering rate.

What are the positive impacts of the tourism industry?

There are a few main ways we can look at the positive impacts of the tourism industry. We can start by looking at the social and cultural benefits , before moving on to study the environmental benefits . This will provide us with some well-rounded insights into different key areas.

Social and cultural benefits of tourism

Strengthened communities due to more money and resources

Improved infrastructure including buildings and transport systems

Higher rates of employment due to the tourism industry

Improved understanding of different cultures and traditions

Preservation of local cultures

Commercialisation of art and culture

Conservation of heritage including architecture and natural sites

Increased number of events and celebrations

Environmental benefits of tourism

Creation of natural parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Reduced numbers of animal poaching

Improved water quality

Increased funding for nature conservation and protection

What are the negative impacts of the tourism industry?

It's not all positives, unfortunately. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a need for sustainable tourism and ecotourism. Once again, we'll split these negative impacts into the social and cultural impacts and the environmental impacts of tourism.

Negative social and cultural impacts of tourism

1. Staged authenticity: This refers to when events or cultures are manufactured just to bring in tourism and money, even when they don't reflect the local culture of destination communities. This can cause bad feelings between tourists and locals, and can also lead to the eradication of local culture.

2. Standardisation: Often tourists seek familiarity even when they are visiting a foreign country, and this can lead to a loss of cultural diversity. For example, you can find McDonald's and Starbucks all around the world, and these huge companies can take business from smaller companies.

3. Commodification: In some ways, this is similar to staged authenticity, because it happens when tourism destroys the true meaning of cultural performances, events and customs. Instead, they are transformed to suit the time frames and wishes of tourists. Understandably, this can make local communities feel taken advantage of and disrespected.

Negative environmental impacts of tourism
Development of the area

Damage of wild habitats due to new infrastructure

Weakened resilience to natural disasters

Beautiful scenery ruined by hotels and car parks

Deforestation

Overuse of water due to influx of people

Behaviour of tourists

Air pollution due to traffic congestion

Destruction of nature due to littering and disregard

Wildlife relocating due to increased noise levels

Higher consumption of energy

Plastic pollution in the ocean affecting sealife

How sustainable tourism is providing a solution

It's not just local communities that live in tourist destinations that are feeling the negative effects of tourism. As tourists ourselves, many of us prefer to visit places that are clean, not too crowded, and safe. We also usually want to preserve local cultures, traditions, religions, and buildings, rather than experience an inauthentic ploy for money.

Therefore, we all have a lot to gain from alternative forms of tourism , including sustainable forms. The best places for sustainable tourism to be developed are regions with natural resources, landscapes, or cultural buildings - all features that attract tourists who might want to explore and admire local destinations and cultures in an environmentally friendly way.

The goals of sustainable tourism

1. Economic Viability: To make sure that tourism destinations and businesses are viable, competitive, and able to achieve long-term success.

2. Local Prosperity: To ensure that tourism activities help local communities thrive economically and retain a large amount of the economic contribution.

3. Employment Quality: To increase the number of local jobs created in the tourism industry and ensure that the pay and working conditions are fair, safe and offered to workers without discrimination.

4. Social Equity: To ensure that tourism increases the amount of economic and social benefits being distributed across local communities, improving all areas of life.

5. Visitor Fulfillment: To create a safe and fulfilling holiday experience for tourists without discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, disability or other.

6. To empower local communities to have a role in planning and Local Control: decision-making regarding tourism in their neighbourhoods.

7. Community Wellbeing: To improve the quality of life and wellbeing of local communities, ensuring they have access to resources and are not disrespected or exploited in the name of tourism.

8. Cultural Richness: To respect the cultural heritage, traditions, authenticity and uniqueness of host communities.

9. Physical Integrity: To look after all landscapes, whether urban or rural, and ensure that they are not degraded physically or visually as a result of tourism.

10. Biological Diversity: To conserve natural areas, wildlife, and unique habitats, protecting them and ensuring they are not damaged.

11. Resource Efficiency: To use sustainable and renewable resources when possible in the development and operation of tourism facilities and services.

12. Environmental Purity: To protect the land, air and water from pollution, littering and other waste that may come as a result of tourism businesses or visitors.

What are some examples of sustainable tourism?

There are plenty of different examples of sustainable tourism, but the main thing you need to do before you plan a sustainable trip is making sure you've done your research. While one aspect of a trip may seem sustainable, it's worth considering the holiday in its entirety before you solidify any plans.

One example of sustainable tourism is the Six Senses Fiji resort, which is powered solely on solar power, recycles rainwater, runs on a low-waste model, and uses handiwork such as furnishings and artwork created by local villagers.

However, this is obviously a high-budget type of experience. For something simple, how about organising a self-sufficient camping trip, choosing sites accessible by train or bike? Or if you're looking for something more wildlife-focused, how about looking for a sustainable conservation program abroad?

Rural tourism

While rural tourism is more of a branch of ecotourism, by nature, it's normally pretty sustainable. This is because it helps to support local people, focuses on the rural environment, and doesn't involve vast numbers of tourists all being in the same place at once.

Community tourism

In a similar vein, community tourism can also be a great example of sustainable tourism. This is because it's at the opposite end of the spectrum to mass tourism. Normally, local residents and communities invite tourists to stay with them, and they may offer different events, activities and experiences.

While this could be similar to rural tourism, it doesn't have to focus on natural surroundings. Instead, the purpose of community tourism is more about empowering local communities to plan, implement and be responsible for tourism activities in their home destinations. While they will gain economic benefits, tourists will enjoy authentic experiences.

Final thoughts

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What is sustainable tourism and why is it important? - FutureLearn

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Enjoy going on holiday? Learn about the tourism industry and how sustainable tourism can provide a solution to some current challenges.

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Sustainable travel: 6 simple tips to make a positive impact on your next trip - Lonely Planet

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Here are 6 top tips to make a positive impact on your travels.

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All living things exist within their own communities, or ecosystems - oceans, forests, deserts, ice caps and even cities. All this put together is biodiversity: the volume of life on Earth as well as how different species interact with each other and with the physical world around them.

The word biodiversity is a contraction of 'biological diversity'. The concept is broad and complex, but that complexity is what makes Earth a perfect place for humans to live.

Why do we need biodiversity?

Humans rely on biodiversity to survive. We are intertwined in a big natural system, and each element supports and enables all of us to thrive.

It is easy to see why humans need nature: we need fresh water, clean air, and plants and animals for food. But what we need specifically is biodiversity. Nature around us isn't enough - we need a natural world that is complex, resilient, thriving and full of variety.

Nature needs to be able to cope with change. Different animals and plants in a habitat help to make that place stable and sustainable. Small changes will have fewer effects, allowing it to keep providing us with what we need.

Ecosystem services

The benefits biodiversity brings are called ecosystem services. Biodiversity keeps us all alive, but it also helps to make our lives healthy and safe.

Ecosystem services include forests that diminish floods, coastlines that protect us from changing sea levels, wetlands that regulate pollution and parks that ease our anxiety.

Biodiversity and species richness

When we talk about biodiversity, we often talk about species richness as well. Species richness is the number of different species in an area, a way of measuring biodiversity.

Studying species richness helps us to understand the differences between places and areas.

For example, the Amazon rainforest very species-rich as it is home to 10 million species. In contrast, the Sahara Desert is far less rich, with just a few thousand species.

About 1.5 million species have been described by scientists, and most of them are insects. But it is thought that there are millions more sharing our planet with us.

Endangered species and mass extinction

Overall biodiversity loss can speed up extinction. More and more animals and plants are facing an uncertain future.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global authority on the status of the natural world. It keeps a Red List of endangered species, an important indicator of the health of the world's biodiversity.

Currently, more than 30,000 species are listed as threatened with extinction, which is 27% of all assessed species.

We know that millions of species have already gone extinct over the long history of planet Earth. Biodiversity rates have always ebbed and flowed. In fact, at least 99% of all the organisms that have ever lived are now extinct. Researchers agree that five huge mass extinction events have already happened, i ncluding the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

However, extinction rates have been accelerating as human populations continue to grow, and many scientists argue we are living through a sixth mass extinction. This time, humans rather than natural events are to blame.

Species diversity in more than half of land ecosystems is now critically low.

A 20% drop is widely considered the threshold at which biodiversity's contribution to ecosystem services is compromised. It's estimated that over a quarter of Earth's land surface has already exceeded this.

Causes of biodiversity loss

Biodiversity is in trouble in the UK and across the globe, and its loss can refer to local and worldwide extinctions. Species and ecosystems can be fragile, so small changes can have large consequences.

The causes of biodiversity loss are complicated, but we know the human population is making the problems worse.

In the short time humans have been on the planet we have increasingly disrupted the balance of biodiversity through changing land use, overexploitation of resources and the impact we are having on climate.

We are converting natural habitats into farms, factories, roads and cities. In the ocean, we are overfishing, drilling and mining.

Cities and towns have a smoothing effect on biodiversity, tending to favour generalist species like feral pigeons. Those that require a particular habitat, or are intolerant of disturbance or pollution, often can't survive. This is called biotic homogenization.

Animals and plants that can only live in one small area of land - like unique butterflies or flowers - can go locally extinct if the city's conditions are unfavorable to them.

Biodiversity and invasive species

Animals and plants moving around the world are also big threats to biodiversity. When a new, non-native species arrives in a new area, it is often called an alien species. Mostly this movement doesn't cause a problem. However, if that species causes harm to wildlife or humans, it is called an invasive alien species.

Invasive species are often introduced through human activity, either deliberately or accidentally. One example is rabbits in Australia, which were brought to Australia by human colonisers in the eighteenth century to be bred for food. Their population soon exploded and quickly caused devastation because of the huge amount of plants they ate.

Even now, rabbits in Australia can kill young orchards and cause serious erosion problems by eating trees and native plants.

This story is echoed all over the world. It is an especially big problem on islands, where wildlife has evolved in isolation over millions of years, and the ecosystem can be more vulnerable to the introduction of new animals and plants.

Invasive species can reduce biodiversity and species richness, cause extinctions and dramatically change ecosystems.

Protecting the natural world

Our future rests on a biodiverse Earth, so we can no longer take it for granted. We are now in an era when humans have a huge impact on the planet's natural systems.

Biodiversity loss is just as catastrophic as climate change, but the solutions are linked. Stopping further damage to the planet requires big change, but we can do it if we act now, together.

Every species matters, and the Museum is doing its bit to fight for biodiversity. Our scientists represent one of the largest groups in the world working on natural diversity and are at the forefront of digital, analytical and genomic technologies to expand our knowledge of nature.

Projects underway at the Museum are creating datasets that help us to understand ecosystem dynamics and changing patterns of biodiversity. The scientific research collections are crucial to managing the unprecedented period of environmental change we're currently experiencing. They provide global information on 4.5 billion years of natural history on our planet and the last 300 years of environmental change.

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All living things exist within their own communities, or ecosystems - oceans, forests, deserts, ice caps and even cities. All this put together is biodiversity: the volume of life on Earth as well as how different species interact with each other and with the physical world around them.

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The Earth, our blue planet, gets its name from the oceans that cover most of its surface giving it a humbling blue appearance. Our oceans produce the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat, and it is home to some of the most unique, enigmatic, and fascinating marine life on the planet.

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Keep it on Repeat

The Three Rs saves money and energy and reduces landfill.

The 3 'R's

Reduce, Reuse, R ecycle - these three 'R' words are an important part of sustainable living, as they help to cut down on the amount of waste we have to throw away.

It's R eally simple!

1. Reduce the amount of waste you produce.

2. Reuse items as much as you can before replacing them.

3. Recycle items wherever possible.

Using the 3 'R's also helps to minimise the amount of space needed for landfill sites, where waste materials are disposed of.

Water is a precious resource. How can you use less of it?

R1: How can I reduce the amount of waste I produce?

The first 'R' is all about creating less waste. Here are some of the ways you can do this:

1. Only buy what you need

2. Choose products with less packaging

3. Buy in bulk

4. Look for items that you can re-use

Reducing the amount of waste we all generate is a great way to benefit the environment.

Recycling old items helps to reduce waste sent to landfill.

R2: How can I reuse what I have?

The second 'R' looks at how you can use certain items again (ideally multiple times) before replacing them. Here are some ideas:

Refill a water bottle with water from home instead of buying a new one

Update your computer rather than throwing it out and getting a replacement

Ditch plastic bags and choose reusable, environmentally-friendly bags instead

A bonus of reusing? As well as helping the environment, you could save money too!

R3: How can I recycle the products I use?

The third 'R' is about making sure you separate items that can be recycled, meaning they can be used for a new purpose.

Materials that can be recycled include:

Glass

Cardboard

Aluminium

Lead batteries

Before you throw something away, think about whether all or part of it could be recycled.

For example, did you know the components of your old computer can be recycled to make new components?

Are there any more 'R's?

Sometimes, two more 'R's can be added to the three basic ones.

Rethink can be added to the start of the list. It means we should think about the way our actions impact the environment.

Recover is sometimes added to the end of the list. It refers to the act of putting waste products to use. For example, decomposing garbage produces methane gas, which can be recovered and burnt to produce energy.

Recycling uses old products in new ways.

Reduce means to minimise the amount of waste we create.

Reuse refers to using items more than once.

Recycle means putting a product to a new use instead of throwing it away.

Rethink is about considering how our actions affect the environment.

Recover refers to the practice of putting waste products to use.

Landfill is a site where waste materials are disposed of.

On average, every person in Australia generates more than 2000kg of rubbish each a year!

The energy saved by recycling one plastic drink bottle is enough to power a computer for 25 minutes.

For every tonne of paper that is recycled, 13 trees are saved.

Artists recycle to create something new from something old.

The 3 'R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - are all about minimising the amount of waste we produce, reusing products as much as we can, and remembering to recycle any materials that can be used for a new purpose.

Take this to the classroom!
Curriculum ready content.

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Keep it on Repeat The Three Rs saves money and energy and reduces landfill. Reduce, Reuse, R ecycle - these three 'R' words are an important part of sustainable living, as they help to cut down on the amount of waste we have to throw away. It's R eally simple!

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If Keep Britain Tidy is to achieve its aim of eliminating litter and ending waste for now and for future generations, we need your help.

Our campaigns need your support, whether it's signing up to a waste challenge, taking part in an litter-picking event or even organising your own, your efforts help us make a big difference every day, all across the country.

You can get involved by signing up, joining in the conversation on social media and getting out there and doing something. By supporting our campaigns you will be helping to care for the environment on your doorstep.

Get involved

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If Keep Britain Tidy is to achieve its aim of eliminating litter and ending waste for now and for future generations, we need your help. Our campaigns need your support, whether it's signing up to a waste challenge, taking part in an litter-picking event or even organising your own, your efforts help us make a big difference every day, all across the country.

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Clean Air Day is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign. Clean Air Day has helped increase levels of air pollution busting behaviours.

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Discover our resources for KS3-4 students to explore climate change and the built environment.

In this project pack, you will find:

some key information for teachers to help deliver learning activities focusing on sustainable architecture

creative activities for young people to complete that will help them to learn about sustainable architecture

This resource focuses on the DT, Science and Geography curriculum for key stages three and four.

Lessons can be condensed or expanded if you have more or less time. Extension activities are included.

We offer a free national schools programme for all key stages. Explore climate change and the built environment in school with professional architects through creative and practical workshops. Register your school to take part.

Students making models during a National Schools Programme workshop © Maria Alejandra Huicho Rivera

Special thanks and credit to Anja Grossmann and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Mint Cake Productions, Madeline Toy, and Lionheart.
Find out more about what the RIBA is doing to tackle the climate emergency.

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Key Stage 3 and 4 Sustainable Architecture resource

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Discover our resources for KS3-4 students to explore climate change and the built environment. In this project pack, you will find: some key information for teachers to help deliver learning activities focusing on sustainable architecture creative activities for young people to complete that will help them to learn about sustainable architecture This resource focuses on the DT, Science and Geography curriculum for key stages three and four.

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Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.

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This resource provides a series of four lessons in which children work in teams to design a sustainable city. They explore examples of sustainability in existing cities around the world and consider the needs of citizens and the challenges of supporting a growing urban population.

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Access to green spaces | Planning your world

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Green spaces in Great Britain provide £16.5 billion in environmental, health and amenity value per year, with planning playing a direct role in delivering that value. Of course, there is always a balance between providing access to green spaces and building new housing, but that’s exactly why planni…

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home / RHS Campaign for School Gardening

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Inspiration and support from the RHS for schools, providing children with gardening opportunities to enhance their skills and boost their development.

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Plastic Free Schools - Surfers Against Sewage

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Pupil Power - Plastic Free Schools - Surfers Against Sewage

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Plastic Free Schools is a pupil-led education programme to empower young activists to help stop the use of single-use plastics in UK schools.

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Democratising our green spaces

Right now, however, accessing to green spaces isn't universal - what's more, it can be a driver of inequality in our societies.

In 2008, a Lancet study by Dr Richard Mitchell and Frank Popham of 40 million British people found a link between income inequality, access to green spaces and life expectancy.

The study revealed that in rural areas with plenty of access to green spaces, the life expectancy of those on the highest and lowest incomes was roughly the same.

However, in urban environments, the gap in life expectancy was staggering. People on the lowest incomes living in cities are expected to live 10 years less than those on the highest incomes. This is due in part to the green spaces available to the richest people, who often live in open, leafy areas, while the poorest are often left living in overcrowded, heavily concreted areas.

Mitchell and Popham's results showed that as you move along an axis of increasing access to green spaces, the difference in life expectancy decreases. But the problem can't be solved just by creating green spaces in poorer areas.

Dr Matilda van den Bosch is a physician and an assistant professor at UBC, with a PhD in landscape planning and public health.

She says, 'It's not as simple as just creating green spaces in certain areas. The situation we have at the moment is that high-quality urban areas, with good access to nature, are more expensive to live in.'

'What's happening is that green spaces are being created, but suddenly those areas become more desirable and housing costs go up - often pricing out the people currently living there. It's a kind of green gentrification.'

'What we need is for there to be an effort to recognise that green spaces are vital for everyone, and that everyone should feel the benefit. Parks should be easily accessible, democratic spaces - somewhere you can go without the pressure to spend money, and meet people from all walks of life within your community.'

It will take some effort to truly bring nature into the heart of our cities, especially to sprawling urban jungles.

But there is plenty that all of us can do right now to protect what we have and encourage nature to flourish. By caring for and using the parks and green spaces near us, we show councils that these precious places are cherished.

You can also use your voice. Talk or write to those who oversee the public green spaces in your area - in the UK, this would be your local council and MP - about the changes you'd like to see. We all need to work together to create real change for people and the planet.

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City life: Why are green spaces important?

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Green cities keep us cool, help us to breathe, and de-stress us. Two experts discuss the importance of green spaces in urban areas.

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Ditch the Dirt is an exciting STEM challenge for pupils aged 8-14 years.

This classroom activity enables pupils to investigate ways of making dirty water cleaner through sieving and filtering and can also be used to explore ways of making water safe to drink.

Set in Turkana in Kenya where for two out of three people do not have access to clean drinking water, Ditch the Dirt offers a;

Real life global context to explore water quality, sieving and filtering investigations

Perfect challenge to deliver parts of the science, D&T & maths curricula

Great activity for a science or STEM club, transition or enrichment day

This challenge is perfect to reinforce a lesson on separating mixtures, contaminants or as a STEM club, transition or British Science Week activity. It is accredited for the CREST award scheme and can be used as a project for the Big Bang Competition.

Immerse yourself in the search for water in Turkana 360°

360° experience video showing the daily challenges of finding water in Turkana, a semi-arid region of northern Kenya. See for yourself the lengths people go to to find water and how there is a better way.

Get our email updates

Stay updated on the big issues and how our innovative work is helping people to tackled some of the world's toughest challenges.

Practical Action

The Robbins Building
25 Albert Street
Rugby, CV21 2SD
United Kingdom

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Ditch the Dirt is an exciting STEM challenge for pupils aged 8-14 years. This classroom activity enables pupils to investigate ways of making dirty water

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Research shows that the Five Ways to Wellbeing can really boost our mental wellbeing as well as eating healthily and sleeping well. They are:

Connect - 'connect' with people you know: family, friends and neighbours. Spend time developing these relationships but remember to keep to the Government guidelines on social distancing.

Be Active - take a walk, jog or cycle or find another activity that you enjoy while also keeping to the Government guidelines on social distancing.

Keep learning - learning new skills can give you a sense of achievement and increased confidence.

Give to others - even the smallest act can count, whether it's a smile, a thank-you or a kind word.

Take notice - be more aware of the present moment, including your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.

You can read more about the Five Ways on the NHS website here.

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Wellbeing activities for schools | Charlie Waller Wellbeing Challenge

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Research shows that the Five Ways to Wellbeing can really boost our mental wellbeing as well as eating healthily and sleeping well. They are: Connect - 'connect' with people you know: family, friends and neighbours. Spend time developing these relationships but remember to keep to the Government guidelines on social distancing.

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Objective of 5 to 10,000 tonnes per year.

The Manta extracts both floating macro-waste and smaller debris from 10 millimetres upwards and up to one metre deep.

Depending on the density and closeness of the layers of waste, the Manta can collect between 1 to 3 tonnes of waste per hour, with the objective of collecting 5 to 10,000 tonnes per year. It can operate for up to 20 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Manta is equipped with four complementary collection systems:

- Waste-collecting conveyors, which bring the waste on board.
- Three floatable collection systems, which have a collection span of 66 metres, and pick up surface waste.
- Two small, multi-purpose collection boats, or "Mobulas," which can pick up both micro- and macro-plastic waste from the shallowest and narrowest parts of the ocean that the Manta can't get to.
- Two lateral cranes, which pull out the largest pieces of floating debris from the water.

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The Manta: the plastic removal factory boat

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The Manta, a unique boat to collect, treat and recycle plastic waste, has the mission to clean up the pollution of the seas and oceans

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Materials are updated as needed. The Vaccine Education Center staff regularly reviews materials for accuracy. You should not consider the information in this site to be specific, professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family’s personal health. You should not use it to repla…

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Farmvention (when farming meets invention) is a national STEM competition run by NFU Education and aimed at primary school children in England and Wales.

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Wellbeing activities for school from the Red Cross

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Wellbeing activities for school from the Red Cross

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Explore loneliness and anxiety through wellbeing activities that help children and young people be kind to themselves

Children and young people experience feelings of anxiety, stress and loneliness. Whether it's caused by what's going on in the world like the Coronavirus pandemic or something they experience personally, it's important to they feel supported and able to manage them.

These activities help learners to be kind to themselves and look after their own wellbeing in order to build resilience and coping mechanisms.

Adult wellbeing support

This educational resource is suitable for primary and secondary school aged students, 7 to 18. If you're over the age of 19 try our wellbeing activities for adults. Here you can explore ideas and advice to help manage your own wellbeing, cope with difficulties, and build life skills.

> Wellbeing activities for adults

Learning objectives

Learners will:

build resilience, empathy and kindness

reflect on the importance of wellbeing

learn some coping techniques to support with loneliness and anxiety

develop self-awareness and empower themselves to help with their own wellbeing

think about other people's needs and experiences.

Resource overview

There are different activities for primary and secondary learners and two different document downloads - being kind to yourself and web of connections.

This resource was developed by the British Red Cross in July 2020.

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Wellbeing activities for schools | British Red Cross

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Explore loneliness and anxiety through wellbeing activities that help children and young people be kind to themselves Children and young people experience feelings of anxiety, stress and loneliness. Whether it's caused by what's going on in the world like the Coronavirus pandemic or something they experience personally, it's important to they feel supported and able to manage them.

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From Field to Fork exhibition

This educational resource was originally produced as part of a public exhibition, providing an overview of the food security challenge and how scientific research is being used to help address the issues.

Food security activities

Activities at home

Activities at school

Public panel stimulus material

Background image copyright: warrengoldswain/iStock/Thinkstock

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Educational resources - Global Food Security

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This educational resource was originally produced as part of a public exhibition, providing an overview of the food security challenge and how scientific research is being used to help address the issues. Background image copyright: warrengoldswain/iStock/Thinkstock

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Our Zero Hunger template project will help you to support the development of your pupils' core skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and collaboration.

Zero Hunger is the second United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, focusing on the causes and potential solutions to hunger across the world.

These materials can be used either with or without a partner school, and instructions are provided on how to best use the resources.

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Our Zero Hunger template project will help you to support the development of your pupils' core skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and collaboration. Zero Hunger is the second United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, focusing on the causes and potential solutions to hunger across the world.

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2024 sustainable transport challenge (2)

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7 New Technologies That Create Clean Water for a Thirsty World - Goodnet

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Water is essential for human life. So much so that the UN considers access to water a fundamental right. Part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a better future for all is the call for universal access to clean water.

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Marine Power Systems is revolutionising the way in which we harvest energy from the world's oceans. Our flexible ocean energy technology can be configured to deliver wave power (WaveSub), floating wind power (WindSub) or a combination of both (DualSub).

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1. Taking the wastewater away

Whenever you flush the toilet or empty the sink, the wastewater goes down the drain and into a pipe, which takes it to a larger sewer pipe under the road. The sewer then joins our network of other sewers and takes the wastewater to a sewage treatment works.

At the sewage works, we pass the wastewater through several cleaning and filtering processes so that we can return it safely into rivers.

Did you know?

In London, our team of sewer flushers regularly inspect the large Victorian sewers to help keep our capital's waste moving.

2. Screening the wastewater

First, we remove large objects that may block or damage equipment or pollute our rivers. This includes items that should never have been put down the drain in the first place, such as nappies, wet wipes, sanitary items and cotton buds, and sometimes even things like bricks, bottles and rags.

We then use special equipment to filter out grit, as this often washes into the sewer with wastewater.

Did you know?

Every year, people putting the wrong things down the drain causes over 65,000 blockages, which flood thousands of homes and gardens. That's why we say bin it - don't block it.

3. Carrying out primary treatment

Wastewater still contains organic solid matter - otherwise known as human waste. We separate the waste from the water by putting it into large settlement tanks, where solids sink to the bottom. We call the settled solids 'sludge'. Large arms or scrapers help to push the sludge towards the centre, where it's then pumped away for further treatment.

The cleaner water passes over a wall near the top of the tank ready for the next stage of the treatment process.

Did you know?

We use sludge to generate renewable energy, which powers our sites. In 2019 we self-generated over 23% of our electricity needs, the equivalent of £37 million in electricity.

4. Secondary treatment

Although we've removed the visible bits of sludge, we need to take out some of the smaller and sometimes invisible organisms as well.

At our larger sewage treatment works, we put the wastewater into rectangular tanks called 'aeration lanes', which pump air into the water. This encourages the useful bacteria to break down and eat the harmful bacteria. The more the useful bacteria eat, the more they grow and multiply, until all the nasty bugs have gone.

Did you know?

At over 350 sewage treatment works, we treat 4,600 million litres of sewage from our 15 million customers, every single day.

5. Carrying out final treatment

We pass the treated wastewater through a final settlement tank, where the useful bacteria sink to the bottom. This forms more sludge, which we recycle back to the secondary treatment stage.

The clean water then passes over a wall near the top of the tank.

At this point, we may need to carry out one additional treatment - filtering the water slowly through a bed of sand, which catches any remaining particles.

6. Generating power

We treat the sludge we collect at the start of the process so that we can put it to good use. We recycle most of it to agricultural land for farmers to use as fertiliser, but we also use it to generate energy. We do this in several different ways:

1. 1. Combined heat and power: We treat the sludge using a process called 'anaerobic digestion'. This heats the sludge up to high temperatures, encouraging the bacteria inside to break down the waste. This creates biogas that we can then burn to create heat, which in turn creates electricity.

2. 2. Thermal destruction: We dry the sludge into blocks called 'cake', which are then burned to generate heat. We capture this heat and turn it into electricity.

Did you know?

We've been generating electricity from waste for more than 50 years.

7. Returning water to the river and solids to land.

Once the wastewater is clean, we can return it safely to local rivers and streams. Putting clean water back into the river is very important, as it helps to keep water flowing and wildlife thriving.

The Environment Agency strictly regulates the quality of the cleaned wastewater, and we test it to make sure that it meets their high-quality standards.

The 'sludge cake' which remains after the energy production is put to good use. We recycle it to agricultural land for farmers to use as fertiliser.

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The sewage treatment process | Education | Responsibility | About us | Thames Water

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Whenever you flush the toilet or empty the sink, the wastewater goes down the drain and into a pipe, which takes it to a larger sewer pipe under the road. The sewer then joins our network of other sewers and takes the wastewater to a sewage treatment works.

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10 Scientific Solutions to Plastic Pollution | Earth.Org

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Scientists have pioneered technology to help collect and prevent plastic pollution. Here are 10 scientific solutions to plastic pollution.

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We must change how we design, use, and reuse plastics. We cannot simply recycle or reduce our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. If we don't act now, by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans.

A circular economy for plastic

The circular economy circular economy A systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. considers every stage of a product's journey - before and after it reaches the customer. This approach is not only vital to stop plastic pollution, it also offers strong economic, social, and climate benefits. By 2040 a circular economy has the potential to:

reduce the annual volume of plastics entering our oceans by 80%

reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%

generate savings of USD 200 bn per year

create 700,000 net additional jobs

The circular economy considers every stage of a product's journey - before and after it reaches the customer.

To create a circular economy for plastic we must take three actions:

Eliminate

Eliminate all problematic and unnecessary plastic items

Innovate

Innovate to ensure that the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

Circulate

Circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment
Explore the vision for a circular economy for plastic

From voluntary actions to a legally-binding global treaty

Through the Global Commitment and Plastics Pact Network more than 1,000 organisations, including businesses and governments, have united behind this vision and 2025 targets for a circular economy for plastic.

While voluntary action is important, it is not sufficient by itself.

A UN treaty based on legally-binding global rules and comprehensive circular economy measures is a unique opportunity to accelerate systems change and end plastic pollution.

Policymakers have a critical role to play in creating the right conditions and incentivising progress. A (UN treaty) is the next necessary step, if we are to scale the successful voluntary agreements already in place. It's not an either / or situation - we need common, urgent action that builds on this momentum to amplify current efforts and level the playing field.

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Discover our resources about the circular plastic economy and the vital approach to stop plastic pollution focusing on how we design, use, and reuse plastics.

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The production and consumption of sufficient, affordable and nutritious food, while conserving the natural resources and ecosystems on which food systems depend, is vital. Food systems play a central role in all societies and are fundamental to ensuring sustainable development. Sustainable food systems are critical to resolving issues of food security, poverty alleviation and adequate nutrition, and they play an important role in building resilience in communities responding to a rapidly changing global environment.

However, our food systems are under increasing pressure to respond to numerous and complex challenges. These include:

Increasing demands - for greater quantity, quality and diversity of food -the world population is predicted to grow from 7.2 billion in 2010 to over 9 billion in 2050 with corresponding food demand predicted to increase by 60 per cent.

Food loss and waste - roughly 30 per cent of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted every year.

Chronic hunger worldwide - 12.9 per cent of the population in developing regions suffer from hunger

Obesity related health conditions - globally over 30 per cent of adults are estimated to be overweight or obese.

Food price impacts on food security and wellbeing - in poorer areas people spend 50-80 per cent of their income on food and are highly exposed to price volatility.

Climate change - food systems rely on natural resources, which are extremely vulnerable to rapidly changing climatic conditions.

Wide-scale ecosystem change - food production itself has caused wide-scale changes in ecosystems, being responsible for 70 per cent of water withdrawals and a significant driver of deforestation and loss of biodiversity. It is also heavily dependent on these natural resources.

What is a sustainable food system?
'A sustainable food system (SFS) is a food system that delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases to generate food security and nutrition for (current and) future generations are not compromised.'

'A food system gathers all the elements (environment, people, inputs, processes, infrastructures, institutions, etc.) and activities that relate to the production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food, and the outputs of these activities, including socio-economic and environmental outcomes.'
UNEP Sustainable Food Systems Programme
Moving towards more sustainable food systems is critical. Urgent attention is required to address existing challenges, as well as new and evolving demands on our food systems. UNEP is committed to accelerating action through its Sustainable Food Systems programme of activities which aim to raise awareness as well as catalyse action at local, regional and international level.

We are doing this through 4 main focus areas:

National Round-Tables on Sustainable Food Systems

Climate Change, Urbanisation and Food Systems

Sustainable Food System Thinking (interconnected policy making on food and agriculture)

Watch this short and fact-filled movie that explains why action is needed now to ensure urban populations can access sufficient, sustainably produced, affordable, safe and nutritious food in a changing climate. You can also watch it in French here.

We are always looking for good opportunities to collaborate and partner with interested stakeholders to help accelerate the shift to more sustainable food systems.

Our main focus in this area is through the 10YFP Sustainable Food Systems Programme in which UNEP with FAO has played an instrumental role in it is development. UNEP and FAO now serve in the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Committee (MAC).

For more information and background go to the website at 10YFP Sustainable Food Systems Programme

Contacts
James Lomax
Programme Officer (food systems and agriculture)
James.lomax@unep.org
See also

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Sustainable Food Systems The production and consumption of sufficient, affordable and nutritious food, while conserving the natural resources and ecosystems on which food systems depend, is vital. Food systems play a central role in all societies and are fundamental to ensuring sustainable development.

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The food we choose to produce and consume not only affects our wellbeing but it also reshapes the health of the planet. Our food system is perhaps one of the most significant contributors to producing greenhouses gases. We work with business leaders and policy-makers to transform our food system and…

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Find resources for teaching about food and food Issues.

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Approximately 60% of all plastics produced worldwide are used for food packaging ().

That means that of the 380 million metric tons of plastics produced in 2015, 228 million metric tons were food packaging alone (, ).

Due to the environmental and human health effects of nondegradable plastic packaging, many people are fighting to drastically reduce plastic production and increase recycling - as well as promote more sustainable food packaging.

This article explains the need for eco-friendly food packaging, lists 5 types to try, and tells you a few to avoid.

Particular concerns surrounding plastics include their accumulation in the oceans and landfills, the generation of micro- and nanoplastics, and human exposure to toxins when chemicals in food packaging transfer to foods (, ).

In addition to the chemicals that are intentionally used to produce plastics, many non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) are found in food packages. These chemicals pose toxicity and endocrine-disrupting risks in humans (, ).

Yet, environmentally friendly packaging alternatives are becoming ever more widespread.

These eco-friendly food packages often use sustainable bioplastics and plant-based extracts, such as wheat, wood, and bamboo, that are biodegradable, reusable, and free of hazardous chemicals (, , , ).

While they've also been shown to contain chemicals and NIAS, studies demonstrate that the movement of chemicals into food and your body is much lower with eco-friendly packaging than it is with plastics, making them safer for the environment and human health (, , ).

Exposure to chemicals in food packaging is unavoidable, but efforts to reduce the transfer of these chemicals into food are vital for human health ().

summary
Plastic food packaging poses innumerable environmental and public health risks, including accumulation in the oceans and disruption to your endocrine system. Thankfully, eco-friendly alternatives are on the rise.

Here are 5 eco-friendly food packaging options that are better for the planet - and your health.

1. Glass containers

Glass has a multitude of uses and benefits for daily life.

It's a reusable, recyclable, and durable material that's also easy to clean and use as transportable food packaging. Glass food and drink containers include water bottles and bento boxes ().

However, glass lids aren't leak-free, making them unideal for portable containers to take to work or school or on an outing.

Therefore, most of these transportable glass food containers use snap-locking plastic lids with a silicone seal or bamboo lids that double as portable cutting boards.

Be sure to choose lids that are free of bisphenol-A (BPA), a known endocrine disruptor shown to play a role in both male and female infertility and tumor development ().

Unless broken, these containers have a lifespan 3.5 times that of plastics and can be recycled when discarded, reducing the negative environmental impact of plastics ().

2. Stainless steel

Food-grade stainless steel is durable, rust-free, and heat resistant, making it a safe choice for food storage. It's also reusable and recyclable.

Stainless steel bento lunch boxes are widely available, but most products use silicone to make them leak-free, either via a silicone seal with lockable steel clips or colorful, BPA-free, food-safe silicone lids.

Glass storage jars with stainless steel, airtight lids for keeping bulk foods like flours, grains, and spices offer the best of both worlds.

3. Bamboo

Bamboo is biodegradable and possesses many desirable traits for food packaging, as it's durable and heat resistant ().

Bamboo-containing food packaging includes countertop glass jars with bamboo lids, portable plastic-free lunch boxes with bamboo lids, bamboo bread boxes, and bamboo serving bowls.

Keep in mind that food containers made from bamboo or other plant fibers are less durable than glass or stainless steel and wear and tear more easily.

4. Rice husk

Rice husk is a byproduct of rice farming that's low cost, renewable, and biodegradable ().

In one study, rice husk was shown to have bio-adsorbent properties, which means that it absorbs pollutants from its surrounding environment ().

Products made from this compound include sealable lunch boxes and shatterproof serving bowls.

5. Gelatin films

Gelatin films are becoming more popular for food packaging due to their nontoxic properties, low cost, and reliable film-forming capacity (, , ).

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), gelatin is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a food additive ().

Gelatin films are filled with antimicrobial cellulose, which inhibits the growth of common pathogens that cause foodborne illness, including Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli. These active fillers make gelatin films safer alternatives to conventional plastics ().

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and rosin-grafted cellulose nanocrystals (r-CNCs) are two main fillers for gelatin food packaging.

Summary
Glass containers, food-grade stainless steel, bamboo, rice husk, and cellulose-filled gelatin films are some of the most eco-friendly food packaging on the market.

Conventional plastics contain many additives, such as stabilizers, fillers, plasticizers, flame retardants, and - more recently - antimicrobials (, ).

These petroleum-based plastic products aren't biodegradable, meaning they don't decompose into natural substances.

Instead, they break down into fragments known as micro- and nanoplastics that contaminate the environment and threaten natural ecosystems and human health (, , , ).

While these additives may produce a more desirable plastic product that enables food storage and transport, the chemicals they contain lead to pollution and increase the risk of endocrine disorders and cancers in humans (, , ).

Here are 3 petroleum-based plastics that you should avoid.

1. Single-use plastics

Straws, beverage bottles, bottle caps, Styrofoam cups, and plastic bags are the most common, unsustainable, and inappropriately disposed single-use plastics.

Oceans and coastal areas are particularly prone to the damage caused by single-use plastics, as exemplified by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - an accumulation of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Hawaii.

2. Plastics with BPA

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a plasticizer additive used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a material used in many plastic products ().

BPA not only accumulates in the environment but also migrates from food packaging to the food itself. When ingested, it may increase your risk of infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and other metabolic disorders ().

3. Plastic takeout containers

The widespread use of disposable takeaway containers contributes to large amounts of waste that leads to pollution and environmental toxins ().

Summary
It's best to personally avoid - and work to phase out - single-use plastics, BPA-containing packaging, and takeaway containers due to their negative consequences for the environment and human health.

Choose reusable metal or bamboo straws in place of single-use plastic straws. Cleaning brushes for reusable straws are a must-have for the hygienic maintenance of these products. Alternatively, single-use paper straws are biodegradable and eco-friendly.

Opt for nonplastic or BPA-free reusable water bottles and consider investing in a bottle brush.

Use at-home water filters - either faucet filters or pitchers with filters - help reduce the use of single-use plastic water bottles.

Skip the utensils when you next order takeout to use less single-use plastic. Instead, use your own utensils.

When you need to replace food containers, choose glass containers rather than plastic.

Look for biodegradable, bioplastic products in place of conventional, petroleum-based plastics.

Recycle appropriate plastic food packages to reduce your carbon footprint.

Washing and reusing plastic food containers, such as Tupperware and plastic zip bags, may help reduce their environmental impact ().

Summary
To reduce your use of petroleum-based, single-use plastics, choose reusable packages and use products made with metal, glass, or plant-based materials.

The following companies produce sustainable, biodegradable food packaging.

BioPak

BioPak is an Australian company that manufactures eco-friendly, paper-based disposable food packaging from trees sourced from sustainably managed plantations.

Products include hot cups, takeaway containers, and cutlery. The company's bioplastic products are made from paper, not petroleum.

The Robinette Company

The Robinette Company specializes in post-consumer recycled film and paper that helps create a circular economy in which materials are reused rather than thrown away, and it has been approved by the FDA.

Products include stand-up pouches for snacks and grains, laminated rolls for packaging, and printed film and paper.

PrimeWare

PrimeWare is an American distributor that provides eco-friendly, disposable products to food service establishments.

Products include compostable food containers, paper straws, hot cups with lids, and tableware (plates, bowls, and trays).

PouchEco

PouchEco makes plastic-free, plant-based stand-up pouches that are compostable, which means that these food packages decompose into organic material.

This manufacturer supplies resealable pouches to food companies that sell products like gourmet veggie sausages, tofu, and gummy vitamins.

Ecologic Brands

Ecologic Brands is another American company that produces the Eco.bottle, a sustainable, compostable bottle made from recycled boxes.

summary
Several companies have taken a stance against petroleum-based plastics and provide a variety of eco-friendly, sustainable, and biodegradable food packages.

Petroleum-based food packaging accumulates in the environment and poses numerous health risks, including metabolic disorders and even cancer.

While it may be impossible to completely avoid these plastics, choosing eco-friendly food packaging that's biodegradable, less toxic, and recyclable is a great step toward mitigating plastics' harmful effects on your health and the environment.

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5 Types of Eco-Friendly Food Packaging (and 3 to Avoid)

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Approximately 60% of all plastics produced worldwide are used for food packaging (). That means that of the 380 million metric tons of plastics produced in 2015, 228 million metric tons were food packaging alone (, ).

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7 Types of Renewable Energy: The Future of Energy

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Renewable energy has many applications.Learn about the pros and cons of solar, hydroelectric, oceanic, geothermal, wind, hydrogen and biomass energy.

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An ability to transport goods and people in a relatively low cost way is particulary important to people in the developing world living in remote areas. This set of technical briefs include technical information on the use and construction of cycle trailers, improved bicycles for load carrying, and aerial ropeways.

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Practical Action

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Transport -Technical knowledge - Practical Action

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An ability to transport goods and people in a relatively low cost way is particulary important to people in the developing world living in remote areas. This set of technical briefs include technical information on the use and construction of cycle trailers, improved bicycles for load carrying, and aerial ropeways.

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Royal Academy of Engineering - Sustainable Futures: Innovation Challenge

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We work with our members to help provide them opportunities to engage with education and outreach activities, providing students of all ages an opportunity to gain inspirational experiences of practical engineering and STEM.

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STEM learning resources and activities for primary and secondary school teachers and those teaching STEM subjects to young people aged 4-19 years old.

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Tomorrow's Engineers Live 2023

Tomorrow's Engineers Live is a free conference bringing the engineering community together to collaborate, discuss challenges and share good practice.

Tomorrow's Engineers Live 2023 took place on 13 March 2023 and aimed to support delegates to get the most out of their outreach activities, with practical sessions, collaborative discussions and plenty of opportunities to share ideas.

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Inspiring Tomorrow's Engineers - Tomorrow's Engineers

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Get the most from your engineering engagement activity with guidance and information drawn from across the STEM community

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Unlock tailored content for your school

Get customised content from a wide range of organisations to help you promote engineering and technology careers across your school and local community. Find out how to get funding for activities, hear from other schools, discover new classroom resources and more. Sign up or log in to find out more.

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Neon helps primary and secondary teachers introduce their students to future STEM careers, raise their aspirations and explore excitement of engineering, through brilliant activities, inspiring case studies and supportive resources.

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Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.

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This maths-based challenge explores sustainable travel, developing student understanding of the effects that some modes of transport have on the environment and ways of reducing it. Students are asked to compare alternative methods of transport by calculating journey times and their carbon footprints. The activity requires students to solve a contextual problem using division and multiplication.

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Pioneering work

​

In 2014, Solar Transport Systems built the UK's first road-legal solar powered vehicle, SPV1. The result of a two-year proof of concept project, SPV1 demonstrated that solar power can successfully be used for commuter transport in sunny climates. Six years later we are proud to introduce the INTI, a two-seater car powered by the sun (don't worry, you can plug it in on cloudy days!). We are planning to deliver our first cars in 2023.

Why solar power?

​

Some of the world's largest cities are in developing countries where sunshine is plentiful, fossil fuels are expensive and air quality problems cause many premature deaths. Solar powered vehicles overcome the problem of a lack of charging infrastructure and provide widespread access to inexpensive clean transport. Green issues aside, we think our customers will warm to the idea of free fuel for life...

How the INTI works

The INTI's photovoltaics are continuously capturing the sun's energy and storing it in a battery which charges in a day of average sunshine. When the INTI is driven, the battery powers an electric motor which gives it a range of up to 50 miles. Average urban journeys are typically less than 10 miles so the INTI has got most of your journeys covered. If you need additional range, you can plug the INTI into a household socket and top up the battery.

​​Our vision

​The INTI is the first in a range of solar cars we plan to produce to meet the needs of urban and suburban users in sunny climates. For passenger journeys up to 50 miles or to carry light cargo, we aim to make solar power the natural choice of consumers.​

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Pioneering work ​ In 2014, Solar Transport Systems built the UK's first road-legal solar powered vehicle, SPV1. The result of a two-year proof of concept project, SPV1 demonstrated that solar power can successfully be used for commuter transport in sunny climates.

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We can even divide the renewable resources into two categories. First, the renewable resources that require expensive technology to exploit them. Second, the renewable resources, which are readily available and which you can easily exploit. At present, both solar and wind energy lie in the first category. Nevertheless, there are resources like human power, which lie in the second category and which we can readily exploit. Therefore, here in this article, we would discuss 10 of the most amazing human powered cars, which help you go green in style.

10 Best human powered cars

The image of bicycle instantly comes to our mind when we talk of a human-powered vehicle. The power generated by the movement of human muscles moves the bicycle. The invention of bicycle has prompted many to think of ways to make maximum use of the human muscle power. Now, many innovative designers are building human powered cars. Below is the list of 10 most amazing human powered cars.

1. Human-powered vehicle by Todd Dawson

Eco Factor: Pedal-powered vehicle concept.

The rising fuel prices and eco consciousness has prompted many to build electric cars with zero emissions. Designer Todd Dawson is one among those who has developed a green car powered by energy generated from human muscle. The concept car can be used for transportation of both people and cargo. Todd has designed two models of the cars: a one-seater and a four-seater.

In a bid to create a 100 percent zero-emission vehicle, several designers are coming up with unique vehicles that are powered by pedals. Though slow, these vehicles are green to the core. The Human Powered Vehicle by designer Todd Dawson is another similar concept that harvests human energy for propulsion.

The concept can function as both a community car and as a tradesman's vehicle, thereby becoming highly active in community for both transportation of people and cargo. The concept has been designed in several variants ranging from a four person community vehicle to a single person utility vehicle.

2. The TW4XP

Eco Factor: Electric vehicle derives power from its electric engine combined with a pedaling mechanism.

The TW4XP is three-wheeler powered by battery. German designers have come up with car to compete for the Progressive Automotive X-Prize. The TW4XP derives energy from human power as well as electricity. The car is hundred percent green and its pedaling mechanism generates energy.

While range may be a problem with the TW4XP right now just like with every other electric vehicle, the car does promise a clean green ride. The electric vehicle derives power from its electric engine combined with a pedaling mechanism which provides it with required regenerative energy. The TW4XP surely combines fun with benefits of healthy, individual mobility.

3. Exo-Audi vehicle concept

The Exo-Audi concept is a futuristic vehicle, which is human powered vehicle. It is expected that this vehicle designed by Andrea Mocellin will be very powerful because it uses nanotechnology. The vehicle derives energy from the kinetic energy of the body of the driver. Mocellin's idea is to make the driving experience more engaging using advanced technology.

4. Antro Solo

The Antro Solo is a hybrid vehicle deriving energy from human power and solar-gas-electric engine. Hungarian designers have designed and developed this car which can go 150mph. The car worth $20,000 is expected to hit the roads in 2012. The chassis of this car is made of carbon fiber. The car is pretty light at 600lbs and the lightweight helps the car attain a high speed of 90mph. The solar panels are fitted on roof of the car.

5. GYM Concept car

The GYM concept car makes use of human power to derive energy. An electric motor and battery pack power the car. A plug-in socket charges the batteries. The car designed by Da Feng features a stepping machine and rowing machine. The one-seater GYM also features bench press, arm weights and pull up simulator. Its body is made up of carbon-fiber, which makes the car lightweight.

6. Velomobiles

Velomobile is a three-wheeled human-powered car, which are popular in Europe. Velomobiles features an electric motor also and is a one-seater. The designer has covered the vehicle from outside for safety reasons. It is worth $8000.

7. Ristretto by Francesco Russo

Designer Francesco Russo is willing to make his name as the person who has developed the fastest human powered car. Russo collaborated with fellow designers Hersteller and Farher to design and build Ristretto. The sleek looking vehicle is pedal powered but powerful and fast. The designers have made the front end very narrow to reduce the drag and allow the vehicle move at a very high speed.

8. Flux vehicle concept by Leigh Hendrik Cosentino

Leigh Hendrik Cosentino has designed the Flux vehicle concept. It moves on human power and the energy generated by electric motor. The three-wheeled Flux has a simple design and is a one-seater. The tilting mechanism allows the vehicle to remain stable during sharp maneuvers.

9. NoVelo vehicle concept

University of South Australia student named Tim Turrini-Rochford deserves credit for conceiving the NoVelo vehicle concept. Movement of human muscles and electric motor power this hybrid vehicle. Moreover, the car can touch a high speed of 50kph.

10. RHIT by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

The engineers at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology have designed and built RHIT. The human powered vehicle has won several awards. The RHIT is a three-wheeled green vehicle, which has been made manually.

11. Human Car

Human energy is most commonly used to propel bicycles, but can also be used to generate electricity and power a car. Yes, a Car, A Human Car - A zero emissions car that uses a push- pull hand mechanism to provide power to batteries that drive electric motors. Human Car is a Seattle company that would like to build a factory in Central Oregon to produce 3,000 human-powered hybrid cars a year. However, the one drawback is that the vehicle is only legal to drive in city streets with a speed limit of 35mph or less.

12. Electric-vehicle by Ivan Vela

Eco Factor: Zero-emission concept racing vehicle.

Mexican designer Ivan Vela has drawn inspiration from feathers to create a feather-light human-powered electric-assist racing vehicle for the TOUR competition. The vehicle seeks to spread sustainable culture through an electrical-assisted pedal mechanism. Moreover, it carries accumulators to store kinetic energy generated while pedaling to make it through the race. Furthermore, it also features a big sprocket measuring 40cm in diameter, enabling the vehicle to run at speeds in excess of 70kph. The single-seater vehicle comfortably seats the driver inside a cockpit. Moreover, the carving-type steering betters the riding experience.

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10 most amazing human powered cars - Ecofriend

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We can even divide the renewable resources into two categories. First, the renewable resources that require expensive technology to exploit them. Second, the renewable resources, which are readily available and which you can easily exploit. At present, both solar and wind energy lie in the first category.

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As the maritime industry marches through the era of stringent environmental regulations and increasing fuel costs, shipping companies and organizations are spending considerable amount of resources to search for viable alternative green ship technologies which would not only help in successfully powering the ships but also satisfy the growing demands of environmental protection norms.

In a recent issue of the Horizon, Lloyd's Register provided a set of projects which involved ships successfully using wind power in future. According to the test results of one of the concepts, experts believe that if wind power is utilized in the right way, then fuel savings of up to 50% are possible especially on the windy routes.

A number of projects are under development around the world to undertand the benefits of wind power for the shipping industry. Mentioned below are some of the major green ship concepts and technologies which are expected to produce favorable results to the shipping industry.
1. B9 Sail Cargo Ship
Using sails for cargo ships is a concept which has been under research for quite some time now. The B9 concept revolve around a cargo ship which uses a unique sail propulsion system utilizing wind energy to produce 60% of the power for ship propulsion and the rest from ancillary engines powered by bio-gas.

When real, the B9 ship concept with be a 100% fossile fuel-free cargo ship sailing the oceans. Know more about B9 ship concept here.
2. Eco Marine Power Wind - Solar Ship
Eco Marine Power's EnergySail technology utilizes an array of rigid sails which can utilize both wind and solar energy. The sails can be used with other green ship technologies to reduce fuel consumption and gas emissions. The technologies are expected to be to implemented on a future ship called the Aquarius Eco Ship.

The EnergySail is unlike any other sail - it can be used even when a ship is at anchor or in port and has been designed to withstand high winds or even sudden micro-bursts. It can be fitted on a wide variety of ships from large Capesize bulk ore carriers to naval and coastguard patrol ships.

Watch the video of Energysail:

3. Sky Sails / Kite Ship
The skysail technology uses towing kites to move the ship forward, reducing the load on the engine and lowering fuel consumption. This innovative use of wind energy has been implemented on several types of cargo ships with favorable results. Click here to find out how skysails work.

The kite ship or the skysail technology has been proved to reduce fuel consumption of ships when the kite is used in strong winds. Aghina Marina- The largest bulk carrier ship to use skysail technology and Belunga Skysail are some examples wherein the kite technology has been used successfully.
4. Flettner Rotor Ship
Flettner rotors are special vertical spinning cylinders which utilize the Magnus Effect for ship propulsion. This ship concept utilizing such technology are known as rotor or Flettner Ship.

Using cylindrical vertical bodies for propulsion using Magnus effect is not a new ship concept. German Engineer Anton Flettner was the first to build a ship in 1922 using Magnus effect propulsion.

Watch A Video on How Magnus Effect Works
5. NYK Super Eco-Ship 2030
With a dream to achieve a Zero Emission Ship by 2030, NYK has designed the futuristic Eco-Ship 2030.

The green ship concept has a variety of unique features such as weight reducing structure, optimized hull form for propulsion efficiency, solar and wind power harnessing equipment, and fuel cell utilization to reduce the emission of carbon-dioxide by staggering 69%.

The ship concept also utilizes new materials such as extra high tensile steel and alloys, and composites, and carries lighter containers and less fuel for a total reduction of 20% weight and 9% carbon-dioxide. Click here to know more about Ec0 ship 2030.
6. STX Eoseas
STX Eoseas is an innovative cruise ship concept developed by STX Europe. The project aims at using marine clean technologies to reduce power consumption by 50%, emissions of CO2 by 50%, SO2 by 100%, NOx by 90%, and ash by 100%.

The concept ship will be powered by four duel fuel LNG diesel electric generator sets.

The ship is equipped with an innovative sail concept patented by STX France which helps in using wind energy for propulsion.

Click here t o know more about the Eoseas project.

Watch the STX Eoseas Project
7. E/S Orcelle
Supposed to be known as the first zero-emission ship concept of the world, Wallenius Wilhelmsen's E/S Orcelle uses a variety of green technologies to form a system which doesn't release any emissions in the atmosphere.

In design, the Orcelle combines sustainable forms of energy captured through sails, solar panels and wave energy converters to generate the energy required by the vessel. This is then used to extract hydrogen from water with the aid of fuel cell technology. The resultant fuel is a clean fuel that can then be made use of. In this manner, there are zero emissions from the vessel as such. The subsequent electricity generated, can also be used immediately or stored for times of no wind, sun or waves.
Know more about E/S Orcelle here.
Watch the video of E/S Orcelle

These are some of the most famous ship concepts which use or plan to harness wind energy as propulsion power for ships.

Do you know any other ship technology which harnesses wind power for propulsion?

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Top 7 Green Ship Concepts Using Wind Energy

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As the maritime industry marches through the era of stringent environmental regulations and increasing fuel costs, shipping companies and organizations are spending considerable amount of resources to search for viable alternative green ship technologies which would not only help in successfully powering the ships but also satisfy the growing demands of environmental protection norms. In a recent issue of the Horizon, Lloyd's Register provided a set of projects which involved ships successfully using wind power in future.

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Our story

All the things that make us Britain's greenest energy company

Ecotricity innovation

The world is facing a climate emergency. To answer this challenge, we are researching new ways of generating, distributing and using energy that reduce the amount of carbon that goes into the atmosphere. We do this valuable R&D work at our Eco Lab.

From record-breaking green vehicles to more efficient wind turbines and on to battery storage and smart grids, Ecotricity is developing smarter solutions for a greener future.

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Manifesto out now
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Zerocarbonista.com

Our founder Dale Vince shares his thoughts on the green revolution
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Don't just take our word for it...

Ecotricity is recommended by

Climate Clock

The Climate Clock is a version of the Doomsday clock that has been running since 1947 - this tracks the risk of global man-made disaster, through man made technology (like nuclear weapons) - displaying the minutes and seconds left before midnight, when disaster strikes. The climate crisis is a small part of the calculations made.

The climate clock uses a similar approach, but, focuses only on the climate crisis - which is the biggest and most urgent existential threat we face.

"The Climate Clock is a countdown to the biggest man-made disaster we face - but also a measure by which we can track our progress - moving from fossil to renewable energy. It shows we have no time to lose - the clock is ticking..." Dale Vince, OBE.

Ecotricity is a sponsor of the Glasgow Climate Clock that will run every night until COP26.

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All the things that make us Britain's greenest energy company Ecotricity innovation The world is facing a climate emergency. To answer this challenge, we are researching new ways of generating, distributing and using energy that reduce the amount of carbon that goes into the atmosphere. We do this valuable R&D work at our Eco Lab.

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Wind power has become a popular form of renewable energy, alongside solar power. Transportation and what powers it, is something that has long been in debate. There are questions about what it should run on and which fuel would be most efficient. There are some who thought that a wind powered car might be the answer to problems regarding transport and the pollution it causes.

The Ventomobile

In 2008 a group of German students built a wind powered car known as the Ventomobile. It carried a two meter wind turbine with two blades on the top for extra power. It had three wheels and a design that was more similar to a bicycle than a car. While it could not reach great speeds it worked surprisingly well. Many consider this build to be the first wind powered car as it runs soles on the energy generated by the wind.

Lotus Nemesis

Argued to be the first official wind powered car, it is actually a hybrid and uses electric power as well as a turbine that has been placed outside of the car. The turbine will produce wind energy to help supply the car with energy, especially if the battery starts to run low. It was found to be more effective when the turbine was placed on the outside as opposed to the inside of the vehicle.

In Fact, Lotus are so determined to create a more environmentally friendly world that they have started to incorporate wind power into their entire factory so that it can generate electricity to the machinery that assists in the building of the cars. Lotus have really proved themselves as a company that care about renewable energy and the environment.

At the age of 90, Tang Zhengping decided to create a car that was more environmentally friendly to help reduce the amount of smog in his country, China. The car can reach speeds of up to 90mph, and has a fan in the front of the car to help generate power. It also runs on batteries, and the wind generated from the fan helps to charge them and keep the car running.

There are also two solar panels on the little wings' on each side of the car which allows for more power to be generated and higher speeds to be reached. The batteries only need to be recharged every two or three days, which makes them very efficient. Of all the wind powered cars this one is definitely one of the more advanced, even if the Nemesis does look better.

Formula Zero

Mercedes Benz has recently come up with a prototype they call Formula Zero. A car powered by the wind and 4 electric motors on each hub. The aim of this being that the race is based upon energy efficiency and utilizing natures resources to win the race. Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design of North America has developed this lightweight racer with a huge aero-efficient fin that combines:

"the thrill of Formula One, the track dynamics of the bobsled or luge, and the grace and efficiency of yacht racing"

Either way it looks good and should prove an interesting watch, albeit a while away from mainstream development.

Are they in our future?

Wind powered cars are certainly a possibility in our future, even if they are hybrids and use electric power as a second source. Large steps in renewable energy are being made more and more frequently, and with electric cars already well established, there is no reason why we cannot have cars that implement, or even run completely on, wind power. When it comes to transportation running on renewable energy, the future is looking incredibly bright.

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Wind Powered Cars | The Renewable Energy Hub

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Wind power has become a popular form of renewable energy, alongside solar power. Transportation and what powers it, is something that has long been in debate. There are questions about what it should run on and which fuel would be most efficient.

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Engineering news

General Motors introduced the world's first solar-powered transport more than six decades ago. The 'Sunmobile', a mere 15-inch car, was showcased in Chicago at their Powerama auto show in 1955. Attempts at launching solar-powered transport slowed down over the coming decades.

Today, however, thanks to the increased demand for more eco-friendly transport the reality of experiencing solar energy in commercialised vehicles seems closer than ever before. Solar power is a leading option for this mission. Although the technology is weather dependent, and the solar panels are costly and take up significant amount of space, it has many benefits.

The sun is an infinite source of energy (for the next five billion years, at least) and can be harnessed all over the world. Fuel funds that eat up a chunk of everyone's wallets could be saved. Solar panels are also easy to maintain, only requiring occasional cleaning few times a year.

With rapid advancements in solar power technology, engineers all over the world have been testing their solar-powered transport innovations on the road, in the sky, and even out at sea.
1. Project Tejas

Naveen Rabelli, a 35-year-old Indian automotive engineer, decked out a tuk-tuk with solar panels for a world tour that may have seemed cumbersome for many. But not for Rabelli, who began his journey in February in India and ended it on 16 September 2016 in London. The trip could have ended even sooner if it weren't for a small mishap in Paris where some of his battery packs died and his passport got stolen.

For this 6,200-mile trip the tuk-tuk came equipped with a bed, a passenger seat, a cupboard for food that people donated to him on the road, and even another solar-powered invention of his- a cooker.

Rabelli states that the reason he took on this expedition was to educate and inform people of the ecological and economic benefits of solar energy. The idea came to him while he was trapped in a suffocating Mumbai traffic jam that inspired him to create a vehicle that could tackle pollution.

2. Solar Impulse 2

A significantly longer and riskier journey than the tuk-tuk, the Impulse 2 is a solar-powered plane that achieved the feat of completing a circumnavigation of the world in 505 days over 26,000 miles. Piloted by Swiss engineers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borchberg who took flight from Abu Dhabi, the plane is equipped with more than 17,000 solar panels and weighs 2.4 tons with a 72m wingspan.

While companies such as Boeing and Airbus are pursuing the technology, solar-powered planes in the commercial sector may remain a pipedream for a while, as the flight was slowed down by technical challenges, adverse weather conditions, as well as a delicate design. Nevertheless, this circumnavigation goes to show the heights solar-powered vehicles can reach if the technology is researched and developed further.

3. 'Solar Impulse of the seas'

Inspired by the Solar Impulse 2 plane, this solar-powered boat could be seen as its nautical counterpart. Made at a cost of €4.2 million, the boat that is currently docked on the French west coast will soon begin its maiden voyage spanning six years.

During this time, however, it won't harness its renewable energy solely from solar power. The boat will also be fitted with wind turbines and autonomous electrolysis equipment for the production of hydrogen, in addition to solar panels. The idea is for the hydrogen to power the boat in adverse weather conditions or night time.

The vessel is estimated to require at least €4 million a year to complete its voyage, but the team in charge are confident that funding will pour in for this ambitious project.

4. The Elf

Known as a 'velomobile', this vehicleis a crossover between a car, a motorcycle and a bicycle. It is a hybrid that can accommodate solar power, electricity and human power to run. The project was launched after a Kickstarter campaign raised $225,789 for it to be built.

The driver can choose to either peddle, or when becoming fatigued choose to turn on the motor that runs on a 480W Lithium battery. This can be fully charged in two hours or slowly throughout the day under the sun, using the solar-panelled roof.

Considered a bicycle under American federal law, it can be driven anywhere bicycles are permitted instead of being restricted to roads. It can run for 30mph for 48 miles on a fully charged motor. The frame is constructed from recycled aluminium that weighs 72.5748kg and can hold cargo weight up to 158.757kg in its rear compartment. Due to the minimalist design, The Elf can be assembled quickly and cheaply.

5. Gamera

Engineering students at the University of Maryland built a helicopter that successfully lifted off the ground with a passenger in the cockpit through solar power alone. The vehicle managed to levitate 0.3048m above the ground and stay airborne for nine seconds.

Although the helicopter may not be able to embark upon long distance flights, it has inspired and encouraged students to strive for renewable energy solutions for their engineering innovations.

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Top five solar-powered transport innovations

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Engineering news General Motors introduced the world's first solar-powered transport more than six decades ago. The 'Sunmobile', a mere 15-inch car, was showcased in Chicago at their Powerama auto show in 1955. Attempts at launching solar-powered transport slowed down over the coming decades.

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Resources to inspire children

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We promote use of the Sustainable Development Goals in learning so that children can contribute to a better future for all. From citizenship and justice to climate change and the environment, inspire children to make a difference!

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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a key element of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its aims form one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goal on education SDG 4.7 and it is considered a driver for the achievements of all 17 SDGs.

ESD empowers everyone to make informed decisions in favour of environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society for present and future generations. It aims to provide the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to address sustainable development challenges.

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Sustainable Development Goals - Resources for educators

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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a key element of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its aims form one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goal on education SDG 4.7 and it is considered a driver for the achievements of all 17 SDGs.

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Practical Action is a global innovator, inspiring people to discover and adopt ingenious, practical ways to free themselves from poverty and disadvantage.

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We develop and scale technologies to rid the oceans of plastic

Our cleaning technologies are deployed around the world as we conduct the largest cleanup in history. For over ten years, The Ocean Cleanup has been researching, extracting, and monitoring plastic pollution in oceans and rivers globally - with millions of kilograms removed to date.

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We aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. To achieve this objective, we use a dual strategy: intercepting plastic in rivers to cut the inflow of pollution, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean and won't go away by itself. When the oceans are clean, we can put ourselves out of business.

The Ocean Cleanup is cleaning up floating plastics caught swirling in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic accumulation zone with over 100,000,000 kilograms of plastic.

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The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. We aim to remove 90% of the floating plastic with the help of ocean cleanup systems and river interception technologies.

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Read our latest findings on sustainable consumer and their lifestyles among other influences, have shaped consumer behaviours on sustainability in 2023.