Category Archives: Sustainability
Jonathon Porritt discusses “The Growth Fetish and the Death of Environmentalism”
Yesterday evening, Jonathon Porritt, founder of Forum for the Future and chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, spoke at the annual Burntwood lecture, hosted by Institution of Environmental Science. In a dynamic talk, Porritt described the so-called “growth fetish” of … Continue reading
UN climate change summit kicks off in Cancún
The latest round of UN climate change negotiations (COP16) begins today in Cancún, Mexico. Representatives from 193 countries will meet over the next fortnight, in hopes of securing an international deal on climate change. Several world leaders including the US … Continue reading
Developing the UK National Ecosystem Assessment
Last week the BES hosted a fascinating workshop on the development of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA), in conjunction with the UK Biodiversity Reseach Advisory Group (UK-BRAG). A morning of presentations and discussion were followed with lunch and an … Continue reading
Sustainable Cities Videos Now Available
Videos from last Monday’s ‘Sustainable Cities’ evening event at the British Library are now available on You Tube. Prior to the event, jointly organised by the Natural Capital Initiative, Science Council and British Library, our four speakers were asked: – … Continue reading
How do we make a city sustainable?
Last night saw the second event organised by the Natural Capital Initiative, a joint partnership between the BES, the Institute of Biology and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The topic under discussion was ‘Sustainable Cities’, with high-profile speakers presenting … Continue reading
WWF Report: Ecological Credit Crunch Officially Worse than Financial Credit Crunch
An international study by the WWF, ZSL and partners – the Living Planet Report – reveals that we will need ‘two planets’ by 2030 in order to sustain current rates of consumption. Three quarters of the world’s population are consuming … Continue reading
Global Biodiversity Loss Estimated at 14 Trillion Euros
A new report commissioned by the European Commission – ‘The Cost of Policy Inaction (COPI): The case of not meeting the 2010 biodiversity target’ – indicates that biodiversity is set to continue declining. Key drivers of biodiversity loss include overexploitation, … Continue reading
Recycling “as complicated as Sudoku”
Researchers at the University of Sussex have concluded that recycling household waste is a complicated as completing a Sudoku puzzle. The scientists conducted a study into the effort and complexity of recycling; monitoring participants’ brainwaves as they sorted their waste … Continue reading
Human Population Growth and Ecology: Jonathon Porrit at the Cheltenham Science Festival
The BES policy team attended several insightful and stimulating talks at this year’s Cheltenham Science Festival, which took place last week. In particular, Jonathon Porrit (Programme Director of Forum for the Future and Chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission) … Continue reading
Payments for Environmental Services: an Alternative to Logging in Indonesia?
A new report published in Ecological Economics suggests that payments for environmental services (PES), unless properly targeted, are ineffective at curbing forest loss. The report suggests that PES schemes will put some communities inhabiting tropical forests in a better ‘bargaining’ … Continue reading