Sustainability

Reducing biodiversity decline

In 2010, at the tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10), government leaders agreed to a set of targets, known as the Aichi targets, to be met by 2020. The CBD was adopted on 22 May 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993. There are currently […]

Genetic Resources for all?

On the 14th April 2014, the European Council adopted the European Commission’s Regulation on Access to Genetic Resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization (COM(2012)0576). This followed adoption on the 11 March by the European Parliament. The Regulation is aimed at establishing a framework which lays down compliance measures […]

Localism

It is a wonderful thing to witness when the world shifts on its axis and a big idea takes hold and changes the agenda. Wonderful, but extraordinarily rare. Great ideas are often less convincing once they have been written up, when the practicalities of definition, scope and implementation are being figured out; and the demise […]

Sustainable Energy for All

Scientists estimate that to maintain a 50% chance of averting catastrophic climate change the global average temperature must not increase by more than 2°C by 2050. This equates to a global greenhouse gas concentration of 450 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent, or 565 gigatonnes of carbon emissions. But the global carbon emissions locked […]

Short essay competition

The United Kingdom Environmental Law Association is pleased to announce its annual article competition – “the Andrew Lees Prize”. This competition is open to any student, trainee solicitor, pupil or solicitor / barrister with not more than 2 years’ post qualification experience. Andrew Lees was the Campaigns Director for Friends of the Earth and a […]

Beyond Carbon

There needs to be a rebalancing of the sustainability debate. Sustainability is not just about carbon and the environment – it has economic and social dimensions. Matter such as cultural diversity, social cohesion and community wellbeing have been overlooked for too long. Such was the thought-provoking proposition at a round table forum organised by one […]

First past the post

Kirsty Schneeberger in her latest blog discussed planetary boundaries and I know that many of us were fascinated by this simple yet completely logical concept, even for a non scientist. Here I wish to further the analysis but first off to say that Peter Roderick is taking forward this idea in the UK in various ways […]

Pursuit of sustainability

Today 12 million people are experiencing famine in the Horn of Africa. Due to drought and the ever escalating price of food, more and people are being displaced from their homes walking hundreds of miles looking for an overcrowded camp in which to feed their children. Some make it, some don’t. There is debate as to whether climate […]

Sustainability at Selfridges

Last month, on Tuesday 24th May a crowd of 5 – 20 year olds converged on Selfridges, the department store, as part of an event that marked the launch of the ‘intergenerational contract’ between themselves and policy and law makers. Their motivation? To safeguard the marine life and dynamic under water ecosystems that are so […]