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Under the proposal, all 27 EU members will be required to reduce packaging waste per capita by 5% by 2030 and 15% by 2040 compared with 2018 levels. The Commission said packaging waste, notably plastic, would continue to rise if no action were taken, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and so jeopardising the EU's target of net zero emissions by 2050. The planned legislation proposes minimum targets for recycled content in plastic packaging, such as 30% for drinks bottles by 2030 and 65% by 2040. Certain plastic packaging, such as tea bags, coffee pods, very light plastic bags and sticky labels for fruit and vegetables, will need to be compostable. EU members will also be required to have deposit return systems in place for plastic bottles and cans.

☆ Exclusive: UN treaty must tackle production of problematic plastics, Japan says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( John Geddie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - A proposed United Nations plastic waste treaty must consider putting restrictions on the most problematic plastics, Japan's lead negotiator told Reuters, marking the first time the country has suggested it would support curbs on plastic production. However, on the same panel, Stewart Harris, a lobbyist for the American Chemistry Council, a trade association for some of the world's biggest plastic producers, warned that any move to restrict plastic production could backfire. "There will be tremendous unintended consequences if we were to restrict production." Plastic output is projected to double within 20 years, while the amount of plastic waste flowing into the world's oceans is forecast to triple in that period. The Swiss food and drink giant is among several big brands that have called for a reduction in virgin plastic production to bolster markets for recycled material and catalyse a shift towards reusable packaging.

Tiny fragments of plastic have been found in blood samples, stools and placentas of unborn babies, recent studies have shown. Scientists are trying to understand the health risks of this new phenomenon, but concerns range from the impact on organs to how some plastic additives might disrupt hormonal systems. Jodie Roussell, public affairs lead for packaging and sustainability at Swiss consumer goods giant Nestle (NESN.S), told the panel she hoped the treaty would help establish global quality controls for plastic, especially recycled plastic. Roussell said in lieu of such standards, Nestle has established its own quality controls and a black list for certain materials. International standards would help with "levelling the playing field and ensuring a fair distribution of responsibility across the value chain," Roussell said.

☆ China decoupling takes one step forward, one back
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It has pushed for reshoring production of electric vehicles and silicon chips, and legislated to delist Chinese companies from New York. Europe, Japan, Australia and India have implemented their own measures ranging from restrictions on Chinese investment, excluding equipment from telecoms networks, and banning consumer apps. The impact the pandemic has had on Chinese supply chains has retroactively validated the push to separate. For politicians who hope to replicate the Chinese supply chain via tax tweaks, subsidies and sanctions, it’s worth remembering China started building out the requisite logistical infrastructure in the 1980s. Non-financial outbound direct investment in the same 10-month period rose 10.3% year-on-year to 627.4 billion yuan, Shu said.

☆ 55+ Cyber Monday deals under $100 to shop now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Mili Godio | Mili Godio Is An Associate Reporter For Select On Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

Many of these sales — most of which run through Cyber Monday — offer plenty of discounted items under $100. SKIP AHEAD Best Cyber Monday deals under $100 | Best Cyber Monday sales under $100To help you make the most of the shopping holiday, we compiled some of the best early Cyber Monday deals and sales under $100 that we think you’ll want to know about. Best Cyber Monday 2022 deals under $100Below, we’re sharing the best Cyber Monday deals under $100 based on our previous coverage and reporting. 4.7-star average rating from 10,573 reviews on AmazonThis All-Clad two-piece cookware set comes with 8-inch and 10-inch non-stick frying pans. Best early Cyber Monday 2022 sales under $100Here are the best early Cyber Monday sales under$100 that we think you’ll want to know about.

☆ 33+ best Black Friday deals under $100 to shop now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Mili Godio | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

SKIP AHEAD Best Black Friday deals under $100 | Best Black Friday sales under $100To help you make the most of the shopping holiday, we compiled some of the best Black Friday deals and sales under $100 that we think you’ll want to know about. Best Black Friday 2022 deals under $100Below, we’re sharing the best Black Friday deals under $100 based on our previous coverage and reporting. Best Black Friday 2022 sales under $100Here are the best Black Friday sales under$100 that we think you’ll want to know about. Remember that sales include multiple deals, and not every product listed in a sale is going to be the best deal around. Black Friday takes place every year the day after Thanksgiving, with Black Friday 2022 falling on Nov. 25.

☆ How to have a low-waste, climate friendly Thanksgiving feast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Susan Puckett | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Less is moreA classic Thanksgiving plate, featuring turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and gravy. His Thanksgiving preparations start with a trip to a local farmers market, where he can thank the growers personally for his bounty. Leftover idea: Here’s how Acheson turns leftovers into a turkey avocado sandwich as memorable as the feast. Divide and conquerMeal prep is essential to make sure your Thanksgiving dinner tastes great and minimizes waste, says Lisa Bryan. Bryan understands that executing a chaos-free Thanksgiving dinner takes practice.

☆ Factbox: The newest fronts in climate-change-related legal battles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

At the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, U.N. experts last week warned that many corporate environmental claims amounted to “empty slogans and hype.” This could embolden campaigners to launch more legal cases against climate-action laggards. The companies have denied the allegations in the lawsuits but have made public promises to work to avoid plastic pollution. The group claims the fossil fuel investments violate the French duty of vigilance law requiring corporations to identify and reduce environmental harms. The group, led by Oxfam France and Friends of the Earth France, called the move an "unprecedented legal action." The lawsuit claims DWS told investors that it invests 0% in controversial sectors such as coal, but elsewhere indicated revenue from the coal industry accounts for as much as 15% of the fund's revenue.

☆ Fact Check-The common cold is an upper respiratory illness, not a detox process
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

While it remains true that there is no cure for the common cold, social media users are sharing a misleading message that the common cold is itself a “cure” for built-up toxins and debris. The common cold is the body’s response to infection by a variety of common viruses, and there is no evidence that cold symptoms have a detoxifying effect, experts told Reuters. But the most common cause is the large family known as the rhinoviruses (here) (here). Social media claims that the common cold is actually a detox capable of removing toxins from the body are false, Russo said in a phone interview. Like common cold viruses, RSV is a respiratory virus that transmits from person to person and typically causes moderate cold symptoms in most people.

☆ Recession-shy investors can turn to capital cycle
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But another factor is the capital cycle: the amount of investment entering or exiting an industry. Capital spending by energy firms and miners has declined since the investment boom peaked in the middle of the last decade. Capital spending by large European oil companies has fallen from more than twice depreciation in the mid-2010s to less than one times, according to Bernstein. A similar picture emerges in the mining industry, whose capital spending boom also ended around eight years ago. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N), one of the world’s largest copper producers, cut capital spending from $7.2 billion in 2014 to $2.1 billion last year.

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson is running for reelection against Democratic Lt. Gov. Senate Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. (1 District) Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. WI-03 House Governor Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Barnes has raised nearly $34.6 million, spent $32 million, and has almost $2.6 million in the bank, as of October 19.

☆ A former NBA champion is changing ‘how the world builds’ to fight the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The technology is being put to the test in the Bahamas, where Fox’s company, Partanna Bahamas, is partnering with the government to build 1,000 hurricane-resistant homes, including single-family houses and apartments. Partanna home prototype, built adjacent to Partanna's building material factory in Bacardi, Bahamas. He is due to formally announce the partnership between the Bahamian government and Partanna Bahamas on Wednesday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. As a country on the frontline of the climate crisis, the Bahamas understands that it’s “out of time,” Fox told CNN Business. “Technology can turn the tide, and at Partanna we have developed a solution that can change how the world builds,” Fox said.

☆ Two South Korean miners rescued from collapsed mine after nine days
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Two South Korean miners who were trapped inside a collapsed zinc mine in the country's northeastern county of Bonghwa walked out alive after nine days late on Friday as the nation mourned a deadly Halloween tragedy, officials said on Saturday. Local fire authorities said the two miners walked out of the underground mine that had collapsed after a landslide on Oct. 26, through rescue efforts that focused on drilling a hole. The two survived by consuming instant, sweetened coffee powder and pitched a tent with plastics inside the collapsed mine to keep themselves warm, local Yonhap News reported citing rescuers. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a week-long mourning period through Nov. 5 after 156 people killed in a crowd crush in Seoul during Halloween festivities. Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombian $4 billion tax reform becomes law, duties on oil and coal hiked
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Carlos Vargas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Colombia's Congress on Thursday approved a tax reform bill that will raise an additional 20 trillion pesos ($4 billion) annually for the next four years, in part through increased duties on oil and coal. The new law, the centrepiece of new President Gustavo Petro's economic policies, seeks to fund social projects and put the country's public finances in order. The new law states that oil companies will be taxed an additional 5% when international prices are between $67.3 and $75 per barrel. Oil and mining companies will also not be able to deduct the value of royalties from income taxes. ($1 = 5,015.84 Colombian pesos)Reporting by Carlos Vargas; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Big brands set to miss plastic sustainability targets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme also revealed that some companies - including Coca-Cola (KO.N) and Pepsi - are using more virgin plastic despite a pledge to reduce its use. Dozens of major brands have in recent years set targets to increase plastic recycling and reduce the use of single-use packaging in partnership with the Ellen MacAurthur Foundation, as part of efforts to burnish their green credentials. The headline pledge was that 100% of plastic packaging would be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, but this goal will "almost certainly be missed by most organisations", the environmental group's report said. Greenpeace said the report is evidence that voluntary corporate targets have failed and called on the U.N. to forge a treaty that forces governments and companies to use less single-use plastic packaging. "This underlines the need for governments to ensure that the global plastic treaty ... delivers major reductions in plastic production and use," said Graham Forbes, Greenpeace’s USA Global Plastics Project Leader.

☆ Panama river cleaned up by trash-trapping wheel in a green first
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Elida Moreno | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The wheel, fueled by hydraulic and solar energy, collects the vast amounts of waste produced in the capital Panama City with its metro population of around two million people. Installed by environmental group Marea Verde, the wheel is named Wanda Diaz, in part a reference to the Juan Diaz river where it spins. Wanda Diaz launched in late September in a river basin since drenched by heavy rains, which in turn propelled plastic bottles and containers into Wanda's mechanical arms. Over five years, Marea Verde projects have slowed the spread of trash across Panama's rivers and coastlines. "We want to raise awareness that we can prevent the death of this very important river," said Marea Verde head Sandy Watemberg, expressing optimism that the wheel will help.

☆ How this activewear startup funded by NBA legend Michael Jordan's son plans to take on Lululemon and Nike
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Äktiiv products are biodegradable and made from plants. Two Nike veterans, including the basketball legend Michael Jordan's son Jeffrey Jordan, are launching a brand for sustainable workout apparel that hopes to compete with the likes of Lululemon. If it's successful, cash from the campaign will be used to scale the company, including its marketing. But there's a twist: Äktiiv products are biodegradable and made from plants, not materials derived from oil or plastics. Similarly, Äktiiv products are designed to be worn in the gym, not while running errands.

☆ OMV bets on more LNG from ADNOC, Q3 profit soars
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Like other European energy companies, OMV, which until the Ukraine war depended heavily on Russian oil and gas, is striving to diversify its supplies. "For us, it is important that we diversify the gas supply for Austria and this is a building block." High energy prices meant OMV (OMVV.VI), in which the Austrian state holds 31.5%, nearly doubled its core profit in the third quarter. For some years, OMV has been shifting its growth focus towards high-quality plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC, from oil and gas. Mubadala, which also holds 24.9% in OMV, agreed to sell a remaining 25% stake in Borealis to ADNOC in April.

☆ Fact Check-Rishi Sunak’s colour-changing ring binder was not a glitch in the matrix
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Many users have suggested the clip reveals a “glitch in the matrix”, a reference to a conspiracy theory inspired by the Matrix science-fiction film franchise. Believers say people can tell that everything around them is simulated by watching out for errors or glitches in the alien programming – like something suddenly changing colour. The video clip of Sunak was taken from a March 9, 2020, report by Sky News (here) about Britain’s budget plans. But this was a visual effect made to make an editorial point, not a sign of a glitch in any matrix. It involved “just a small colour switch to emphasise the need for a green budget.

☆ Climate Change Is Real. Markets, Not Governments, Offer the Cure. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | Mr. Stephens Is An Opinion Columnist. Mr. Winter Is A Staff Photographer On Assignment In Opinion. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +32 min

worse-case, highest-carbon-emission scenario.” (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the U.N. body that assesses climate change.) How do we weigh the risks of underreacting to climate change against the risks of overreacting to it? While he’s not an expert on climate change, he has spent decades thinking deeply about every manner of risk. That’s particularly true if climate change is akin to cancer — manageable or curable in its earlier stages, disastrous in its later ones. Maybe, I realized, in assessing my newfound concerns about climate change, my long-held beliefs might provide a solution — look to the market.

☆ UK trial will inject hydrogen into a gas-fired, grid-connected power station
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Angel Garcia | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesHydrogen will be injected into a gas-fired, grid-connected power station during a trial project set to last 12 months, in the latest example of how major companies are looking to integrate the energy carrier into their operations and existing infrastructure. In a statement earlier this week, London-listed Centrica said the hydrogen would be injected by Centrica Business Solutions into a gas-peaking plant in Lincolnshire, east England. "It's anticipated that during the trial, getting underway in Q3 2023, no more than three per cent of the gas mix could be hydrogen, increasing to 20% incrementally after the project," Centrica said. "Longer term, the vision is to move towards 100% hydrogen and to deploy similar technology across all gas-fired peaking plant[s]." If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source such as wind or solar then some call it "green" or "renewable" hydrogen.

German chemicals maker Covestro (1COV.DE) lowered its 2022 earnings guidance for the third time this year, blaming gas and raw material prices. Gas prices in Europe have eased in response to an unusually warm October and projections of a mild winter. The group, which relies heavily on natural gas, is buying from outside Europe, where prices are lower. RACE TO CUT COSTSCompanies across Europe are racing to reduce their energy use ahead of the winter when demand increases as households turn up the heat. Chemical companies are among the hardest hit by the energy crisis because they use gas as a raw material for production and as an energy source.

☆ Unilever recalls dry shampoos due to potentially high levels of benzene
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Antonio Planas | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Unilever is recalling 19 dry shampoo products because of potentially elevated levels of benzene, a known carcinogen. They include dry shampoos from the brands Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TRESemmé and TIGI, which makes Rockaholic and Bed Head. A complete list of recalled products can be found here. Other aerosol products have been recalled in the past due to the presence of benzene, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. Unilever said it has not received any reports of adverse reactions to the recalled products; rather, they are being recalled out of caution.

☆ 'Trashion' designer displays latest art at Sydney beach exhibition
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Cordelia Hsu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Australia-based environmental artist Marina DeBris aims to portray the power of one person in the planet's fight against marine pollution with her latest sculpture showcased at a Sydney beach exhibition. "Just a drop in the ocean, Said 7.8 billion people" is on display at Sculpture by the Sea, which opened on Friday. DeBris, who begins her day by picking up rubbish washed ashore on beaches, has been transforming the trash into sculptures and wearable art since 2009. Her art has been called "trashion", which she says has raised awareness about single-use plastics and pollution in the oceans. A study by the University of New South Wales last year found 84% of rubbish found on Australian beaches was plastic and about 40% of marine debris was caused by littering.

☆ Republican Sen. Ron Johnson faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in the Wisconsin Senate race
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson is running for reelection against Democratic Lt. Gov. Johnson has maintained a conservative voting record during his two terms in the Senate. In the Senate, Johnson serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, the Budget Committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Commerce Committee. Barnes, who in 2018 was elected as lieutenant governor on a ticket with Democratic Gov. Barnes has raised nearly $26.1 million, spent $22.7 million, and has $3.5 million in the bank, as of September 30.

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