YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE
YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE:
- The summit is widely seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. It is the moment world leaders will discuss whether enough has been achieved since 2015’s landmark Paris climate agreement. This was the most important attempt so far to commit all the countries of the world to limit global warming. They agreed to try to keep temperature increases “well below” 2C (3.6F) and to try to limit them to 1.5C. But many scientists say efforts have fallen far short and global warming could reach 3C.
- Plans to build 20,000 low-carbon social homes for rent in Wales by 2026 have been placed by the Welsh government’s climate change minister. The hope is to tackle both a housing shortage and the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Housing associations say it could lead to thousands of jobs and training opportunities. But the Welsh government’s opponents have said they would have gone further and built more.
- Boeing’s Starliner is one of two US spacecraft tasked by Nasa with transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The vehicle is expected to help usher in a new era of private “taxi services” operating just above the Earth. When the space shuttle was retired in 2011, Nasa became reliant on Russia for transporting its astronauts to the ISS. In the meantime, Nasa worked on handing this job over to US companies. The space agency chose Boeing and SpaceX to develop new vehicles with the intention of purchasing seats on them.
- Climate change, global conflict and overpopulation are just some of the factors that are devastating the water supply in many areas around the world. It means that two billion people – one-quarter of the human population – are without access to safe drinking water. As the world’s population creeps ever closer to eight billion, attention is being focused on developing technologies that can help address this before it is too late.
- Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions are working on a plan to speed the closure of coal-fired power plants in Asia, the BBC has been told. The initiative was developed by UK insurer Prudential, is being driven by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and includes major banks HSBC and Citi. The ADB hopes the plan will be ready for the COP26 climate conference, which is being held in Scotland in November. The plan aims to tackle the biggest human-made source of carbon emissions.
- Agricultural pesticides sold to farmers ready-mixed into “cocktails” can kill twice as many bees, according to an analysis of 90 studies. Each measured the impact of environmental stresses such as pesticides and poor nutrition. Researchers used that data to quantify how combinations of those stresses affected the pollinating insects. They say commercial formulas, which contain multiple chemicals, should now require their own licences.
To apply for our tuition: click here
