Tag: pollution

Low Emission Zone begins to tackle Edinburgh’s air pollution problem

LOW EMISSION ZONE BEGINS TO TACKLE EDINBURGH’S AIR POLLUTION PROBLEM

It’s been revealed that Scotland did not breach air pollution limits in 2022 for the first time, excluding the impact of lockdowns in 2020. Campaigners say the improvement in air quality in Edinburgh shows the early benefits of Low Emission Zones, with reductions in pollution from diesel vehicles.

Friends of the Earth Scotland analysed official air pollution data for 2022, looking at two toxic pollutants which are primarily produced by transport. Legal air quality standards came into force in 2010, yet had previously been broken every single year since except 2020 when the lockdowns resulted in a big drop in car journeys.

The provisional data suggests that air quality across Scotland was within legal limits in 2022.

Edinburgh’s Low Emission Zone will formally begin in June this year. To support bus operators to meet the criteria, the Scottish Government has provided grants for buying new buses or retrofitting older buses. This has almost certainly led to air quality improvements on Edinburgh’s busier bus corridors, such as city centre streets.

Many areas across Edinburgh showed reductions in nitrogen dioxide, compared to 2021, with a slight increase on St John’s Road.

St John’s Road also experienced an increase in particulate pollution (PM10), the data suggest. In 2021, there was an annual average of 11.00 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) for PM10, rising to 14.31 µg/m3 in 2022.

There were year-on-year increases in PM10 across the city. These could be attributed to an increase in car traffic after all Covid-19 restrictions were removed, or a more general increase in commercial activity.

Dirtiest streets for Nitrogen Dioxide

The European Ambient Air Quality Directive set a limit for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) of 40 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). The deadline for this limit to have been met was 2010.

Location  /              NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide Annual mean (µg/m3)

Edinburgh St John’s Road                29.26
Edinburgh Queensferry Road         26.86
Edinburgh Nicolson Street               23.40
Edinburgh Salamander St          18.34
Edinburgh Gorgie Road            17.37
Edinburgh Glasgow Road          15.14
Edinburgh St Leonards            13.09
Edinburgh Currie                        4.77

Dirtiest streets for fine particles (PM10)

The Scottish annual statutory standard for particulate matter (PM10) is 18 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).

Location /                      PM10 annual mean (µg/m3)

Edinburgh St John’s Road                14.31
Edinburgh Salamander St          14.26
Edinburgh Queensferry Road         13.92
Edinburgh Nicolson Street               12.11
Edinburgh Glasgow Road          11.81
Edinburgh Tower Street          10.01   
Edinburgh St Leonards            9.22

Air pollution kills 2,500 people in Scotland each year and puts the population at risk of serious health conditions, like asthma, heart attacks, and strokes. It’s especially harmful to children, the elderly, and people living in poverty or made vulnerable from other health conditions.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Transport Campaigner Gavin Thomson said: “Air pollution from transport is responsible for thousands of premature deaths in Scotland every year, and causes serious heart and lung issues, so it’s great that some progress is being made in parts of Edinburgh.

“The provisional data show that the Low Emission Zones and the Scottish Government’s hefty subsidies for operators to buy new buses are having an immediate impact.

“The bad news is there’s persistent diesel pollution on St. John’s Road, and particulate pollution has increased across the whole city. If we want to stop breathing tiny particles that damage our vital organs, we need to change the way we move around. The evidence is clear – the more we can move away from fossil fuels, the more our health is protected”.

Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma and Lung UK Scotland said: “It is good news this year that air pollution on our streets has been kept within its legal limits, yet there is obviously more that can be done. We need the Scottish Government to make tackling air pollution a national priority.

“Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to public health. At a cost of £1.1bn per year to the NHS, it is draining our resources, straining our health system and cutting short over 2,500 lives a year in Scotland. It is causing new lung conditions like lung cancer, and worsening existing ones.

“With 1 in 5 Scots developing lung conditions like asthma and COPD in their lifetime, for them, it can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks and exacerbations.”

England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty recently noted that, ‘everyone is affected by air pollution, and it is everyone’s problem’.

‘Oily’ Roses expose toxic relationships around Rosebank oil field

Environmental campaigners have been highlighting companies and groups connected to Norwegian oil giant Equinor by delivering roses in order to expose their toxic relationships with the proposed Rosebank oil field.

Campaigners yesterday delivered bunches of ‘oil’ covered roses to locations in Glasgow and Edinburgh representing some form of financial or political influence over whether the Rosebank oil field goes ahead.

These included the Norwegian consulates in both cities; the UK Government building, Barclays bank and the First Minister’s residence Bute House in Edinburgh; and Glasgow City Chambers.

 + Equinor holds a 40% stake in the Rosebank field and is majority owned by the Norwegian state.
 + Barclays is one of Equinor’s corporate financiers providing them with $2.46 billion of backing since 2015.
 + The Strathclyde Pension Fund, which runs Glasgow City Council pensions investments, holds £9million in shares in Equinor.
 + Nicola Sturgeon has failed so far to explicitly oppose the  Rosebank field, despite objecting to the smaller Cambo development in late 2021.

Rosebank contains over 500 million barrels of oil, which if burned would produce the equivalent CO2 emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries combined. Ahead of the COP27 climate talks, the UN has warned that the world was on course for a catastrophic 2.8C of climate warming by the end of this century.

The UN report ‘The Closing Window’  demanded that emissions should fall 45% by 2030 if we are to stay within agreed climate limits.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Oil and Gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “Equinor is propped up by governments, investors and pension funds, but by drawing attention to these toxic relationships we can undermine their reputation and highlight the dangers posed by the vast Rosebank project.

“Today’s deliveries show that support for Equinor and Rosebank is all around us, and these links must be broken if this climate-wrecking development is to be stopped.

“Climate science is clear that the development of new oil and gas fields will take us even further past safe climate limits. Lending financial or political support for new fossil fuels is climate denial.

“Governments, banks and investors urgently need to redirect support away from the fossil fuel industry that is driving the death and destruction across the world and instead invest in ramping up affordable, reliable renewable energy.”

Separate analysis has shown that developing the Rosebank field will cost UK taxpayers over £100 million, due to a deliberate loophole in the UK Government’s windfall tax.

Equinor recently declared profits of £21 billion for the third quarter of 2022.

Inspiring plastic waste artwork planned for North Berwick

Work to begin on eight-meter installation with vital environmental message

A MURAL made up of 27,000 pieces of plastic collected from East Lothian beaches to illustrate the concerning levels of marine waste along Scotland’s coastline is going through the planning process.

In partnership with North Berwick Harbour Trust, local businesses Jerba Campervans and Caledonia Horticulture have enrolled Julie Barnes – an award-winning local artist from Aberlady – to create the educational mural.

The intricate artwork – which will depict a beach scene and image of Bass Rock – will span eight-metres along North Berwick’s harbour wall and will be accompanied by an interpretation board explaining the meaning behind the artwork and urging people to act now.

Both the family-run campervan convertor and the horticultural products producer are the main financial contributors towards the project, inspiring other local business to also make donations.

Simon Poole, co-founder of Jerba Campervans said: “The planned mural will not only be visually breath taking, but will also send a clear message about the real harm that waste plastic is causing to our seas and beaches.

“We’re delighted to have Julia on board with this project as it is an important message that hopefully will chime with a range of audiences, locally and also out with the area.

“As a company that is enthusiastic about all things outdoors, these initiatives are so important to us as we strive to preserve the beautiful coastlines and natural land. A plastic-free beach shouldn’t be a novelty, but should be something that is standard.

“East Lothian is becoming increasingly popular with tourists, with so many visiting North Berwick’s Harbour, so the visual representation will be seen by hundreds. We expect it to very quickly become a local talking point and quite possibly a tourist attraction in its own right.”

In addition to being one of the primary sponsors, Jerba has also helped Julia prepare eight individual panels required for the base of the artwork which have been treated and cut to size before being delivered to the artist.

The 27,000 fragments of plastic were collected by one dedicated local who spent 100 days gathering the pieces along Longniddry Bents and the intricate artwork is expected to take Julia over two months to produce.

Kate Miller, Marketing, Communications and Environmental Manager at Caledonian Horticulture said: “We are committed to being a business with a positive environmental and social impact, as we’ve seen first-hand the damage marine waste is causing to our wildlife.

“Simon from Jerba got in touch after being inspired by another educational marine plastic mural and reading about our beach cleans. It was suggested we create something similar in East Lothian – it was an opportunity we couldn’t turn down!

“An East Lothian local, Lil Vischer, who was just about to complete a challenge she had set herself over lockdown to achieve 100 beach cleans on a 200m stretch of beach at Longniddry Bents removed around 27,000 pieces of plastic over her challenge. Her collection of marine plastic is being used to create the mural, raising awareness of the issue that is so close to our hearts.”

The planned artwork will last for many years in the sea spray environment and its impact is hoped to be maximised as tourists flock to the hotspot.

Julie Barnes, whose most recent project comprised a life-sized seal structure made from waste plastic for an environmental competition, said: “Art can speak a thousand words and I hope that this important mural will make a connection with the viewer.

“Alongside my regular work as a painter, I use the power of art to provoke emotional and practical responses to environmental issues facing us all.

“It’s an honour to do the installation and the visual power of art is an incredible way to inspire, educate and bring vital behaviour change across society as a whole.”

The North Berwick Harbour Trust, a small local charity that aims to maintain, conserve and improve North Berwick Harbour commissioned the co-operative project across the supporting companies, Jerba Campervans and Caledonia Horticulture and the artist, Julie Barnes.

The charity believes that all participants in the project are enhancing the Harbour and enlightening the massive numbers of visitors and locals at the community asset.

Current additional sponsors who have each pledged a donation towards the artwork include Peppermint Beach, Turnbulls Home Hardware, North Berwick Trust, Steampunk, Meg Maitland, Fidra Charity and The Lobster Shack & Rocketeer.

To find out more about Jerba Campervans, visit www.jerbacampervans.co.uk

To find out more about the organised beach cleans, visit: 

www.caledonianhorticulture.co.uk/the-scottish-coastal-clean-up

UK backs ambitious global action to tackle plastic pollution

The UK provided support to kick start negotiations on a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution at the United Nations Environment Assembly.

Plastic cup on a beach

As the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Nairobi draws to a close, the UK has worked with international partners to secure a breakthrough on negotiations to kickstart a new legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.

While the terms of the treaty are still to be negotiated it could include measures that promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics, as well as more environmentally sound waste management.

It is also hoped it will help tackle marine plastic pollution, one of the greatest global environmental challenges. It’s predicted that unless action is taken there will be a threefold increase in the amount of plastic flowing into the ocean between 2016 and 2040.

This comes as our landmark Environment Act gives us a raft of new powers to step-up our war against plastic pollution. We are also committed to introducing a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, which will recycle billions more plastic bottles and stop them being landfilled or littered.

At the conference, which was attended by the Lord Zac Goldsmith, UK Government Minister for International Environment, the UK provided support to kick start negotiations on a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.

The UK has also supported other ambitious action, including on:

  • Establishing an intergovernmental Science Policy Panel to conduct horizon scanning, assess current issues and facilitate communication between scientists and policy makers
  • Agreeing on the importance of nature-based solutions and on actions to scale up their implementation to simultaneously provide benefits to people and the planet.

Lord Zac Goldsmith, UK Government Minister for International Environment said: “This agreement by governments at UNEA is truly historic, and I’m so proud that the UK co-sponsored the proposals and helped get them over the line.

“In the space of just one human lifetime, we have caused unimaginable damage to the global environment, choking every single part of the global ocean with plastic pollution. And although there is much to be done now to turn it into an ambitious and far-reaching treaty, we can now begin to close this ugly chapter. I am so grateful to UK negotiators for their fantastic work securing agreement this week.”

While there are multilateral agreements to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change, up to now there has been no equivalent agreement to tackle plastic pollution.

The resolution, proposed by Peru and Rwanda, had received strong support and was backed by over 60 countries.

The plans have also received considerable support from the private and third sector with 111 organisations having signed The Business Call for a UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, P&G and Unilever.

The resolution titled “End plastic pollution: towards a legally binding international instrument” establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) tasked with preparing a new treaty that would address plastic pollution through a life-cycle approach, with the aim of producing the treaty by 2024.

The UK was also a key proponent of plans for a new science-policy panel to contribute to policy making on the sound management of chemicals and waste, and preventing pollution. This will act in a similar way to the IPCC — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which provides advice to governments on the scientific consensus on climate science.

This new science-policy panel will produce assessments on current issues; identify possible future risks and opportunities and provide up-to-date and relevant information, promoting effective communication between scientists and policy makers.

The UK has made nature a top priority during our COP26 Presidency year alongside strong action on cutting emissions. The UK has continued to drive international support for nature-based solutions that address biodiversity loss, climate change and poverty, co-sponsoring a resolution on their benefits and how to scale them up.

Dirty Old Town

FoE Scotland: Pollution rebounds to illegal levels in 2021

Scotland breached legal air quality limits in 2021 after a historic low in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Hope Street in Glasgow recorded an annual average above the legal limit for diesel pollution, while many streets across Scotland saw pollution spike back up despite Covid-19 restrictions like working from home continuing through the year and the country being in lockdown for the first few months. 

Friends of the Earth Scotland analysed official air pollution data for 2021, looking at two toxic pollutants which are primarily produced by transport. Legal air quality standards came into force in 2010, yet have been broken every single year since except 2020. 

As traffic levels increased through 2021, air pollution rose correspondingly. While Hope Street in Glasgow once again breached legal air quality limits for nitrogen dioxide, other streets such as Salamander Street in Edinburgh and Atholl Street in Perth experienced increases in particulate pollution.

Campaigners say this data shows governments and councils have not done enough to reduce car traffic. Measures such as Spaces for People – brought in during lockdown to ease social distancing and create temporary cycle lanes and pedestrian spaces – were soon ripped out by councils like Edinburgh while other councils, such as Falkirk largely ignored the funding.

Air pollution kills 2,500 people in Scotland each year and puts the population at risk of serious health conditions, like asthma, heart attacks, and strokes. It’s especially harmful to children, the elderly, and people living in poverty or made vulnerable from other health conditions.

=========

Dirtiest streets for Nitrogen Dioxide 

The European Ambient Air Quality Directive set a limit for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) of 40 micrograms per cubic metre. The deadline for this limit to have been met was 2010.

Location  / NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide Annual mean (µg/m3)

Glasgow Hope Street 45.411

Dundee Lochee Road 31.840

Falkirk West Bridge Street 31.219

Perth Atholl Street 31.077

Dundee Seagate 30.136

Edinburgh Queensferry Road 29.625

=========

Dirtiest streets for fine particles (PM10)

The Scottish annual statutory standard for particulate matter (PM10) is 18 micrograms per cubic metre. 

Location PM10 annual mean (µg/m3)

Edinburgh Salamander St 15.439

Perth Atholl Street 14

Glasgow Kerbside 13.138

Fife Cupar 12.955

Aberdeen Wellington Road 12.314

==========

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s transport campaigner, Gavin Thomson, said: “Scotland once again has illegal air quality in 2021, which is shocking but not surprising given the lack of political action on the issue. 

“2020 was an outlier for obvious reasons and we witnessed unprecedented changes to all areas of public life. But for traffic emissions, it was back to business as usual in 2021. From the evidence we have, virtually every street in Scotland experienced higher levels of pollution in 2021 than the previous year.

“Air pollution from transport is responsible for thousands of premature deaths in Scotland every year, and causes serious heart and lung issues. The growing evidence base showing the links between air pollution and vulnerability to Covid-19 is only the latest reason why we have to act to protect public health.

“The Low Emission Zones being introduced will not restrict private cars until summer 2024. Meanwhile, with pollution spiking in Perth, we should be asking why only four cities in Scotland are introducing LEZs. 

“The temporary improvements in air quality in 2020 arrived at an enormous cost to our communities and societies. There was no intention or concerted political action to reduce emissions, which is why the falls were not maintained when restriction eased.

“We need a just transition for transport, including taking control of our public transport to run comprehensive services that serve passengers not profit, and more options for safe walking and cycling, to improve the air we breathe permanently.”

Felicity Neyme runs the Clean Air & Active Travel group at Davidson’s Mains primary school in Edinburgh. The group works to make routes to school safer and actively campaigns in the community for measures to monitor and improve air quality.

She said: “These days we all know about the dangers of smoking and even plastic in waterways but I am concerned about the lack of awareness amongst parents and grandparents about the impact of air pollution on children’s lungs. 

“I regularly see cars idling at pick-up and drop-off whilst collecting the children they love, dearly ignorant of the fact that they are complicit in creating dangerous levels of pollution around school. We need publicly available data on air quality at schools, safer routes to school so parents don’t feel they have to drive and we need stricter regulation banning vehicles near school.”

Paul Wilson, 47, social care worker based in Ayrshire, said: “I’ve had serious asthma since I was a young child, and have been admitted to hospital over 50 times throughout my life. I have the condition in good control now through medication and lifestyle, but air pollution is something that can be really hard to avoid. 

“I live in a small village in Ayrshire now, but when I lived in Glasgow I had far more attacks. Whenever I’m in the city now I’m aware of my chest being tighter, and I make sure to avoid certain streets like Hope Street in the city centre which are especially polluted.

“I always take my inhaler when I’m going through too. I’m incredibly aware of what affects my asthma because I have to be, but some people don’t realise what’s causing it to get worse when it’s something invisible like air pollution, and it must be very hard for people who can’t avoid these really polluted areas because of work or where they live. 

“Tackling air pollution will obviously make a huge difference for asthma sufferers like me, but it’s also affecting everyone’s health so I think it needs to be prioritised more than it is currently.”

Caitlin Smyth, 24, a nurse based in Paisley said: “I’m really concerned about the damage done to people’s health from air pollution. Things like engine idling outside hospitals and schools needs to become a thing of the past. Your car fumes might be harming someone who is vulnerable. 

“That air quality is getting worse, year-on-year, is shameful. We need to make our towns and cities safer and healthier. I’d like to see a big focus on public transport, but also we need to stop cars running their engines for no reason.”

‘Hedge funding’ study to help Capital traffic pollution

A new study is set to highlight the importance of hedgerows in protecting Edinburgh’s residents from rising levels of traffic pollution.

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) will assess contaminant levels in the roadside hedgerows of the capital where, according to the latest figures, 3.7 per cent of deaths in adults over 25 are attributable to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution.

Hedges provide a ground-level barrier where traffic-related emissions are greater and more harmful to residents, pedestrians, and especially children.

The study, which will be led Dr Luis Novo, an SRUC Challenge Research Fellow, will compare the effectiveness of different hedge species as barriers to pollutants.

It is being kickstarted by a Small Research Grant of nearly £5,000 from the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).

Dr Novo said: “Road traffic contamination is a major concern in urban areas, where high pollutant concentrations and population converge. In this context, green infrastructure is receiving increasing attention for the broad array of ecosystem services it provides in urban settings, including the abatement of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution.

“This preliminary survey will look into PM2.5 and heavy metals concentrations in different hedge species and locations within the capital. The results will help us understand how factors like traffic volume, roadside distance, meteorology, and plant traits influence the hedges’ pollution abatement capacity.

“In addition to providing valuable information to authorities, practitioners, and the general public, this grant will also lay the foundations for a larger, more detailed study across the main Scottish urban centres.”

Professor Emerita Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, Chair of the RSE Research Awards Committee, Royal Society of Edinburgh, said: “The RSE Research Awards programme is vital for sustaining the knowledge and talent pipeline in our vibrant research and innovation sector across the length and breadth of Scotland.

“Funding enables awardees to deepen their research into significant global challenges, to support career development, and to make significant benefits to society and the economy. The RSE sends its congratulations to each of the award winners and wishes them good fortune in the conduct and outcomes of their research.”

Mindful Chef partners with Ben Fogle for third annual Coast Clean

  • Sign ups now open for the Mindful Chef Coast Clean 2021 (17th-19th September)
  • 2021 event has been expanded to include beaches, parks, rivers and woodlands anywhere in the UK
  • The Marine Conservation Society reports that 70% of inland litter picks found PPE in 2020, with face masks/gloves found on 30% of the beaches cleaned by MCS volunteers
  • Mindful Chef, a B Corp company, is looking to double the impact of 2020’s Coast Clean, collectively removing 75,000 litres of plastic from UK coastlines, rivers and parks

Mindful Chef, the UK’s favourite healthy recipe box service, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with UN Patron of the Wilderness Ben Fogle for its third annual Coast Clean, taking place 17th-19th September 2021. 

Sign-ups are now open via the Mindful Chef website.

Mindful Chef is calling on the British public to take part in this nationwide outdoor clean up, to reach its 2021 target of 75,000 litres of plastic being cleared up across the weekend, the equivalent of approximately 150,000 plastic bottles, making it one of the UK’s largest clean up operations. 

Participants are encouraged to sign up as a ‘local hero’ via the Mindful Chef website – each participant will receive a volunteer pack in the post ahead of the event, with everything needed to get involved. From families or groups of friends to corporate teams, the event promises a rewarding day out and the opportunity to do something good for the environment.

Now in its third year, Mindful Chef is partnering with The Marine Conservation Society as part of the Great British Beach clean, and has ambitions to make this years’ event the biggest one yet, expanding the operation to include beaches, parks, rivers and woodlands.

Raising awareness of safe plastic disposal is more important than ever: littering of single-use plastic during Covid-19 has skyrocketed, with 70% of inland litter picks finding PPE in 2020 and face masks/gloves found on 30% of the beaches cleaned by MCS volunteers. 

Large-scale clean up operations serve as an opportunity to collect invaluable data on which waste items frequently wash up on our shores. This data can support campaigns for legislation to be put in place to tackle the most harmful waste issues. Recent findings include a 55% drop in plastic bags found on UK beaches since the 5p charge was introduced. 

Ben Fogle said: “Lots of people rediscovered the joy of the great outdoors during the lockdowns. This is an opportunity to give back to all of those places – beaches, woodlands, rivers, fields or even your local park.

“It’s our responsibility to look after our planet, which is why I’m supporting Mindful Chef in this mass clean up effort. I’ll be litter picking around my local area and joining the Mindful Chef team in Battersea for their own clean up today (15th September). I urge anyone who is able to, to sign up on the Mindful Chef website!”

Myles Hopper, Co-Founder and Chief Community Officer at Mindful Chef: “As a proud B Corp, we are always looking for ways to use the power of our business as a force for good, taking care of our planet for now and the future.

“The annual Mindful Chef Coast Clean is just one of the ways we’re striving to meet our environmental goals and we are thrilled to be taking it a step further this year by expanding the initiative to clean up parks, rivers and woodlands.”

Our own local Wardie Bay Beach Clean will be taking place on Sunday 26th September from 10.30am:

World Ocean Day: Home swap site adds crab homes to listings!

Award-winning home swapping platform Love Home Swap is launching home swaps for hermit crabs to encourage their members to help keep beaches clean this summer.    

Anyone that’s watched David Attenborough will know that hermit crabs are home swappers! Regularly exchanging their seashell homes with other crabs as they outgrow them, they appreciate the value of trying out a new home.

But sadly, due to human-created plastic waste on beaches, hundreds of thousands of hermit crabs are mistakenly – and fatally – swapping their shell condos for discarded plastic containers*.  

To celebrate World Oceans Day today (8 June) global home swapping platform Love Home Swap has partnered with the ocean conservation charity Sea-Changers to create home swaps for hermit crabs!  

With a focus on raising awareness and encouraging holidaymakers to keep beaches clean, they are listing crustacean cribs on their platform, and asking their members to support this vital cause.  

So, while perusing the 18,000 human homes that are available for exchange, members of Love Home Swap may also encounter several hermit crab ‘houses’. Not only does each hermit crab’s profile highlight the importance of reducing pollution and the danger that littering has on the environment, but there is also the option to donate to Sea-Changers via a JustGiving donation page.

In addition, Love Home Swap is donating $2,000 to Sea-Changers to aid their vision of creating a world in which the seas and shores are healthy, and marine species are protected.

Célia Pronto, Managing Director of Love Home Swap says: “We are so excited at the prospect of being able to travel again, both domestically and in some cases internationally. However, when we finally get to the beach, it’s so important to remember to keep these environments clean and safe for the local wildlife including the home swapping hermit crab!

“We are so pleased to be able to support Sea-Changers with their ongoing cause to inspire people to contribute positively to sustaining the oceans, and we hope that our newest hermit crab members put a smile on people’s faces when they are searching for their next home-swapping adventure.”  

Rachel Lopata, Co-Founder of Sea-Changers adds: “When Love Home Swap came to us with the idea of home swaps for hermit crabs to highlight the issue of ocean pollution, we just loved it!

“It’s a great way to raise awareness while raising money for the UK projects we’re supporting relating to tackling pollution and other marine conservation challenges.

“Love Home Swap’s generous donation is fantastic, and we hope lots of home swappers will join them in supporting our work.”  

To make a donation to Sea-Changers please visit this JustGiving page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/love-home-swap  

To find out more visit – http://lovehomeswap.com/crabcribs

UK Government sets out marine commitments to mark World Ocean Day

Under UK leadership, 80 countries have now signed up to an international target to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030.

Today on World Ocean Day (8th June 2021), countries from all four corners of the world – from India to Guyana, South Korea to Austria have pledged to support the ‘30by30’ commitment which is being championed by the UK-led Global Ocean Alliance and the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, co-chaired by the UK, Costa Rica and France.

This next milestone follows a successful meeting of the G7 Climate and Environment ministers, during which all members agreed to champion the global ‘30×30’ target to conserve or protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030, as well as committing to ‘30×30’ domestically.

Environment Secretary, George Eustice, said: “The UK is a global leader in marine protection, and we are leading the way internationally to deliver healthy and sustainable seas.

“We must strike a balance in supporting sustainable industries while increasing protections for our seas to ensure a healthy, resilient and diverse marine ecosystem and we will work with others as we develop future protections.”

The UK has also launched plans to increase protections for England’s waters through a pilot scheme to designate marine sites in England as “Highly Protected Marine Areas”. The selected sites would see a ban on all activities that could have a damaging effect on wildlife or marine habitats.

This follows the independent Benyon Review, which recommended that Highly Protected Marine Areas would have an important role in helping the marine ecosystem recover.

The review was commissioned in 2019 to look at how these areas could be introduced and the Government has today published its response to the review. As well as helping drive marine recovery, the review also highlighted other potential benefits of the sites, including increased tourism.

The sites to be piloted could be in or outside of existing Marine Protected Areas where they would benefit from a substantially higher level of protection. They will be identified by Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee with input from stakeholders with a formal consultation set to launch next year.

Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said: “I am delighted that the Government has committed to implement Highly Protected Marine Areas with a number of pilot sites. Natural England’s evidence based advice has been instrumental in determining the need for special protection for our most vulnerable marine wildlife.

“We look forward to working closely with Defra to identify pilot sites and use this great opportunity to explore how highly protected areas can mitigate the impact of human activities on the ocean, support its recovery to a more natural state, and enhance vital marine ecosystems.”

This comes as Defra and the Ocean Conservation Trust publish the results of the largest ever survey in England and Wales on public attitudes to our oceans. The survey finds that 85% of people consider marine protection personally important to them. Of those who had visited our coastlines last year, 80% said it was good for their physical health and 84% said it was good for their mental health.

The findings also show that when asked about the greatest threats to the marine environment, participants were most concerned about pollution, with overfishing, climate change and loss of marine habitats also ranking highly.

Professor Michel Kaiser, HPMA Review Panel member and Chief Scientist and Professor of Fisheries Conservation at the Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University said: “The implementation of a trial of HPMAs provides a landmark opportunity to understand how marine habitats and life will respond in the absence of damaging activities, setting our ambition for healthy oceans of the future.”

Joan Edwards, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts, said: “This new type of marine protection will be the gold standard for rewilding parts of the sea. It’s a fantastic step-forward, one which The Wildlife Trusts and over 10,000 of our supporters have been waiting for – we’re absolutely delighted!

“The removal of all harmful activities – from fishing and trawling to construction – has never been attempted in UK waters before. This is an historic moment and we’re certain that HPMAs will help our seas become healthier and that degraded underwater habitats will be better able to recover.

“This special form of protection is vitally needed. Decades of overexploitation and pollution have left our precious seas damaged and the wealth of wildlife that once lived there is much diminished.

“Existing Marine Protected areas are limited in their ability to restore nature as they only go as far as conserving its current, sometimes damaged state. HPMAs will allow us to see what truly recovering seas look like. They will set a new bar against which other protected areas could be measured.”

The UK has also further advanced its role as a global leader in ocean protection by moving to full membership of the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA).

The Alliance brings together the financial sector, governments, non-profit organisations to pioneer innovative ways of driving investment into critical ecosystems like reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, wetlands and beaches that provide the nature-based-solutions to build resilience against climate change.

The UK has also become a co-leader of The International Partnership on Marine Protected Areas, Biodiversity and Climate Change which will work with other countries to ensure they have the information and tools they need to understand the important role that Marine Protected Areas play in helping to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change on the world’s oceans, and the biodiversity they protect.

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) has also today published its annual ‘Blue Belt’ assessment which reveals this year the UK Government’s Blue Belt Programme exceeded its target of protecting and enhancing over 4 million square kilometers of marine environment around five UK Overseas Territories.

The commitments made today represent another step forward for the UK’s efforts to step up action on climate change in the run up to the G7 Summit taking place in Cornwall this week and international climate conference COP26, to be hosted in Glasgow later this year.

Campaigners call for speedy ban on Single-Use Plastic

The Scottish Government has been urged to act quickly on the public demand for a ban on single-use plastic items in Scotland.

A 12-week public consultation which ended on Monday 4th January was seeking views on the introduction of restrictions on the sale of items including single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and balloon sticks. Exemptions are likely for products such as plastic straws provided for medical use and to support independent living.

Experts estimate that each year in Scotland, we use an estimated 300 million plastic straws, 276 million pieces of plastic cutlery and 66 million polystyrene food containers.  Campaigners say that any delay to action will mean millions more pieces of plastic will end up in landfill or potentially polluting our beaches and waterways.

Under the EU’s Single-Use Plastic Directive, Member States have to introduce restrictions on the sale of some of the most environmentally-harming single-use plastic products by July 2021. The Scottish Government announced in their 2019-2020 Programme for Government that it planned to meet or exceed the standards set out in the Directive.

More than 1900 people who took action online via Friends of the Earth Scotland backed the Scottish Government’s plans to ban single-use plastic items. They also called for a Just Transition for workers in Grangemouth with the phasing out of fossil-fuel-based plastic production. Ineos is the UK’s largest producer of plastic using fracked gas transported from the USA.

Friends of the Earth Scotland Plastic and Circular Economy Campaigner Sarah Moyes said: “The public response clearly shows that people are concerned about plastic pollution in Scotland and want to see action to tackle these persistent polluters. The knife and fork we use for a quick bite to eat shouldn’t endure beyond our lifetime sitting in landfill for hundreds of years.

“Plastic pollutes at every stage of its life cycle from the oil and gas extracted to produce it, to the end products which litter our environment. In order to get to the heart of the plastic problem, we must also look beyond this list of products and address the fact that Ineos, one of the biggest producers of plastic in Europe is right on our doorstep.”

The Single-Use Plastic Directive is part of wider work to reduce waste in Scotland. Campaigners raised concerns about how other measures to tackle waste such as the Deposit Return Scheme introduction have been delayed, the Circular Economy Bill was shelved and a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill was pushed back by 4 years.

Sarah Moyes said: “Scotland could soon be on our way to having communities across the country freed from litter and waste, and that’s why it’s imperative that the Scottish Government moves quickly to ban these polluting plastic items.

“Even a delay of just six months will lead to hundreds of millions of extra pieces of disposable plastic circulating in Scotland. The longer we invest in or support the fossil fuel industry, the longer we lock Scotland into increasing emissions that fuel the escalating climate crisis.

“If we want to avoid further climate breakdown then we must redirect support away from the plastic industry, like Ineos, instead planning and managing the shift in partnership with trade unions, workers and communities to ensure a Just Transition to a clean industry that moves us towards a circular economy.”