Last fur farm in Germany shuts down
The country introduced a ban on all fur farming in 2017, with a deadline for closures required by 2022 to allow farmers to transition into new, less cruel industries.
Europe
Swiss startup Innolith claims 1000 Wh/kg battery technology breakthrough
1000 Wh/kg batteries would theoretically allow an electric car to travel 600 miles or more on a single charge.
HPV vaccine linked to ‘dramatic’ drop in cervical disease in Scotland
Researchers said the vaccine has nearly wiped out cases of cervical pre-cancer in young women since an immunization programme was introduced 10 years ago.
70% of the materials used to make IKEA products during 2018 were either renewable or recycled
IKEA claims it is “on track” to achieve 100% by 2030 but will need to work with industry to spur the creation of larger supply chains for recycled materials such as wood, plastic and fabrics.
Germany awards 505 MW in first ever large-scale solar PV tender
Germany’s Federal Network Agency has announced the winners of its first special tender for large-scale solar PV, in which 121 contracts were awarded totaling 505 megawatts (MW) of capacity at an average price of €0.065 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
U.K. greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3% in 2018
Greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 3 per cent in the UK, finds provisional statistics released by the Government.
England’s Chester becomes the world’s first ‘Sustainable Palm Oil City’
More than 50 organisations in the city have revolutionised their supply chains and committed to sourcing palm oil — a vegetable oil used in thousands of household products from food items to cleaning materials and cosmetics — from entirely sustainable sources.
Finnish innovation boosts EV battery recycling rate to over 80%
Present recycling solutions for EV batteries are not able to recover these scarce metals. To combat this, Fortum has a unique recovery process, involving chemical precipitation methodology that allows these minerals to be recovered and delivered to battery manufacturers to be reused in producing new batteries.
The European Investment Bank and Palestine Investment Fund offer $18 million for school solar projects in Palestine
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) revealed the signing of a loan agreement worth $18 million which will finance the installation of 35 megawatts (MW) of solar PV systems on 500 public schools in the West Bank.
U.K. Government announces end of fossil fuel heating systems in new houses from 2025
To ensure homes are better for the environment, they will introduce a Future Homes Standard by 2025, so that new build homes are future-proofed with low-carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency.