Do you want the good news or the bad news?

The bad news is that World emissions hit a record high last year, with advisors consequently telling the Government to prepare for 2C warming by 2050

Given the siren voices against net Zero initiatives continue - given a platform by some media owners - efforts to be ready for the 1.5c warming seem a stretch

But the good news is there is good news. Lots of it.

We have seen Renewables overtake coal as world’s biggest source of electricity

Electricity demand is growing around the world but the growth in solar and wind was so strong it met 100% of the extra electricity demand, even helping drive a slight decline in coal and gas use.

One of the arguments against net zero policies has been that China continue to use dirty coal, making our best efforts pointless. But whilst China does still invest in fossil fuels recent years show things are changing

A fascinating Guardian article on why China is becoming a world leader in green energy explains how they are nearing the point where renewables exceed fossil fuel usage and also covers their amazing progress on clean tech

While China’s overall GDP expansion is slowing, the speed of cleantech investment remains breathtakingly fast. Last year, the amount of wind and solar under construction was double the rest of the world combined, helping China to reach an installed capacity of 1,200GW six years ahead of the government’s schedule.

The country is similarly ascendant in supplying overseas markets with renewable technology. Last year for the first time, the top four wind turbine makers in the world were all Chinese. It is a similar story of majority market share for the manufacture and export of photovoltaic cells and electric vehicles.

So our efforts - however small - still count.

One topic that keeps coming up is recycling - particularly plastic.. It’s becoming clear that the UK approach could be better - we are too quick to export plastic waste and hence export the problem.

The Guardian say Britain is missing out on potential £2bn recycling industry by exporting plastic waste

An industry source said it was important that policymakers started seeing waste as critical infrastructure. “If we were to stop exporting plastic waste, and we were to meet our increased recycling target of a 65% recycling rate for municipal waste by 2035, we would need to build 40 new factories across the UK – 20 of them would be sorting facilities and 20 would be processing facilities turning the material back into products,” the source said.

“This is a key growth area and has a carbon benefit because it stops the plastic being incinerated and used in energy for waste. But the risk is now that we are exporting material and the investment and the jobs to other countries.”

One of the wrinkles in home recycling is how much soft plastic there is - which needs to be recycled at your local supermarket. A friend points out the common problem

It is the same in our local Co-op the bin is ALWAYS overflowing. To such an extent that at my closest Co-op they have stopped taking soft plastics because they couldn’t cope with the amount people were dropping off.

We’re always keen on what to improve what we eat - swapping out meat for veg is good for us and for the planet. We are moving on from 5 day to 30 plants a week - see what Zoe advises

The Zoe advice is fascinating. - eating 30 different plants a week can boost the diversity and health of your gut microbiome. And in turn, it may affect many other aspects of your health.

If 30 sounds like a lot, you’ll be pleased to hear: It’s not just fruits and veggies that counYou can include grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, too.

Studies still suggest that eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day can have a significant positive impact on your long-term health.

But many experts now believe that eating a variety of plants could be just as important.

Below, we explore the scientific evidence behind the target of 30 plants per week. We also go into detail about what counts and how to get more plants into your diet.

The Zoe programme is quite expensive but you can get a lot of the thinking - plus lots of great recipes - in the Food for Life cookbook by Tim Spector - the guy behind Zoe

His breakfast bowl is a favourite

My footsteps for last week - the Heating finally got turned on but we have reduced the hours - and we’re wearing different clothes - its sweater weather !

Travel is impacted too ; less cycling and more bus rides

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Travel ✅❌✅✅❌✅❌

Heating ✅✅❌✅❌❌❌

Consumption ✅❌✅❌✅✅✅

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