Eat Just’s lab-grown chicken gets world’s first cultured meat approval
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has declared that the U.S.-based company Eat Just can sell its cultured “chicken bites” in the country, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
EcoWatch
New Zealand declares climate emergency
The government of New Zealand declared a climate emergency, a symbolic step recognizing IPCC predictions of substantial global warming if emissions do not fall. Alongside the declaration, New Zealand announced it would require its public sector to become carbon neutral by 2025.
Bank of America promises to not fund Arctic drilling
After ongoing pressure from environmental groups and Indigenous communities, Bank of America has said it will not finance any oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, making it the last major U.S. financial institution to do so.
47 faith institutions from 21 countries to divest from fossil fuels
The institutions which announced their divestment include the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, Irish religious order the Sisters of Our Lady Apostles, the American Jewish World Service, and the Claretian Missionaries in Sri Lanka. Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish organizations joined the coalition.
As U.S. election nears, polling shows 82% of voters support 100% clean energy transition
With an estimated 66 million ballots already cast, new polling released Tuesday shows the vast majority of U.S. voters support legislation to decarbonize the economy over the next few decades.
Japan pledges to be carbon neutral by 2050
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that Japan will become country carbon neutral by 2050, Bloomberg reported. As the world’s third-largest economy, this will require a “fundamental shift” away from coal, The Washington Post reported.
Australia to complete world’s new largest solar farm ever by 2027
The solar farm, which is three times larger than the world’s current largest solar farm in northern China, is also expected to provide thousands of jobs related to construction and hundreds of jobs once construction is done.
New York City begins enforcing its plastic bag ban
The statewide ban on the highly polluting items actually went into effect March 1. But enforcement, which was supposed to start a month later, was delayed by the one-two punch of a lawsuit and the coronavirus pandemic, NY1 reported.
3 major U.K. retailers are banning glitter this Christmas over environmental concerns
Morrisons, Waitrose and John Lewis have all announced that their store brand holiday products will be glitter free for 2020, BBC News reported. The festive coating and arts-and-crafts staple is actually another type of microplastic.
Investors worth $5 trillion set major emissions reduction targets
Thirty of the world’s largest investors – including Allianz, the Church of England, and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System – have now set a goal to reduce emissions by 16 to 29% of 2019 levels by 2025.