This week’s 10 biggest climate innovation stories — 27 April

Posts 27 Apr 2017

Energy efficiency in the French election | Europe tops zero-emissions transport table | Could waste from steel production capture CO2? This, and more, in the week’s ten biggest climate innovation stories.

1.

Energy efficiency becomes breakthrough issue in French election

Macron, who proposes a €4bn a year renovation programme, would scrap a one-year stay on energy transition tax credits and introduce free efficiency audits. Le Pen has a manifesto pledge to make insulation a “budgetary priority” in public procurement policy.

Read more on ClimateHome

2.

Philips agrees €1bn loan connecting sustainability performance with finance

Dutch bank ING has agreed a €1bn loan with lighting firm Philips. The interest rate will improve the more sustainable Philips’ becomes, and will be assessed by independent researcher Sustainalytics. The Philips loan is different to typical green finance, as it links directly to the improvements in the rating system, which focus on social and governance elements, as well as the environmental aspect. Read more on Edie

3.

International standard for sustainable purchasing launched

The International Organisation for Standardisation has published the world’s first international standard for sustainable procurement in an effort to provide companies with a way to ensure their supply chains adhere to the same level of ethics as their shareholders have called for them to behave. Read more on CleanTechnica

4.

Oslo, London, Amsterdam lead push for greener transport: study

European cities fill eight of the top ten spots in a ranking of 35 cities. Oslo has plans to become the world’s first city with zero emissions transportation. London wants to cut emissions 60 percent by 2025. Amsterdam is recognised for doing much to promote cycling.

Read more on Reuters

5.

Plastic-eating caterpillar could munch waste, scientists say

Scientist looking to speed up the degradation of plastic think the wax worm caterpillar and its microbes might play a role in breaking down plastic. Researchers at Cambridge University have discovered that the larvae of the moth, which eats wax in bee hives, can also degrade plastic. Experiments show the insect can break down the chemical bonds of plastic in a similar way to digesting beeswax.

Read more on BBC News

6.

UK tests cheaper, longer-lasting roads made with recycled plastic

A Scottish company is replacing bitumen, extracted from crude oil, with recycled plastic pellets in order to bind roads together.

Read more on Inhabitat

7.

European Investment Bank and ABN Amro commit €150 million to finance green shipping

The financing is intended to improve the environmental performance of transport vessels, reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency.

Read more on CleanTechnica

8.

Ten companies chosen as 2017 New Energy Pioneers at tenth annual Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit in New York City

EV-Box (Netherlands), which provides electric vehicle equipment, is one of five European companies chosen as Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s “New Energy Pioneers” at its conference in new York.
Read more in Bloomberg New Energy Finance

9.

Can slag heaps help save the planet?

Scientists at Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences are poised to investigate whether pumping air through newly created slag heaps, the waste material from steel mills, would make significant reductions in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide.

Read more on the Guardian

10.

Minesto secures marine license for Welsh tidal kite power project

An underwater kite that generates tidal power has obtained a licence to demonstrate the innovation in Wales.
Read more on Business Green

 

 
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