Drowning in a deluge of standards

Business

• The Carbon Trust is offering free workshops to help businesses measure their carbon footprint.
• A new standard has been launched for sustainable events: BS8901. Read more
• Innovest has launched a study called Carbon Beta and Equity Performance, which compares the success of companies with and those without environmental risk management plans. Chicken or egg, anyone?
• IATA has warned the IPCC that any attempt to include airlines in the European emission trading scheme will meet severe opposition.
• Lucy Aitken writes on Greenwash in today's Guardian. Eurostar's transparency gains them her approval, but GE and the major supermarkets don't fare so well. She also provides a great run-down of some of the key green advertisers and how well they each live up to their promises. Read more.
• Try a toilet audit to clean up your environmental conscience, courtesy of The Guardian.
• The new Voluntary Carbon Standard launches today. Read more from the Climate Group.
• OPEC is promoting carbon capture and storage as an emission-reduction mechanism.

Advertising

• Heather Mills isfronting a new campaign by animal rights charity Viva!. The adverts speak out against the emissions created by the meat industry, and promote vegetarianism as a more ethical choice. According to Viva!, livestock are the second biggest cause of greenhouse gases, with a contribution of 18% compared to 13.5% from all the world's different modes of transport combined. But what about beans??? (Sorry, crude I know...)

Politics

• A Green Fiscal Commission has been launched to examine issues of green taxation. Both potential rewards and penalties will fall under the remit of its investigaion.
• The budget for tackling climate change will be cut by 300 million, due to DEFRA shortfalls, it was announced on Friday. Read more.
• A new Green Homes Service is to offer audits to help people go green. Hilary Benn comments, "The Green Homes Service will cut through the confusion by providing a one-stop shop, including a green MOT for your home and a green home makeover." Read more.
• The Independent notes a drop in grants for low carbon homes. Read more.
• Brown will be giving his first major speech on the environment today.
• The Working Group on Climate Change and Development claims that climate change will reverse decades of social progress in Asia. Read more.

Science

• The Independent covers the growing acidity of our seas, as revealed in the latest IPCC report. Read more.

Society

• Great statistic from the Telegraph: half of the world's carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels come from the half billion richest people in the world. That's about 7 per cent of us. So are the rich really the worst climate criminals? Read more

March for change whilst on your solar powered bluetooth headset... It's all about the outdoors folks!

Business

• The BBC is weighing up possible stances on climate change, as Roger Harrabin and Richard Black argue that there is no need always to balance the corporation's coverage of climate change when the consensus is that it's happening, is serious, but manageable if tackled urgently
• With the opening of the new Eurostar terminal at St Pancras today, emissions from cross-channel travel have been reduced. The company is also absorbing the cost of offsetting the emission which are released each journey. Details of the company's Tread Lightly initiative can be found here.
• According to BusinessGreen, Xerox claims it has saved $2bn since 1991 by cutting the waste it has sent to landfill.
• Speaking at the Guardian News and Media motor industry lunch yesterday, trade and investment minister Lord Jones warned against demonising the car industry and driving manufacturers elsewhere. Read more.
• Greenbang takes a look at Microsoft.
• Nokia tells us through Reuters that it's working on new energy-saving products to try to reduce its impact on the environment. It fails, however, to tell us what they are. Greenwash anyone?
• Orange have created a solar powered bluetooth device! Yey for orange! Read more. (Thanks to Greenbang.com for this one)
• Sainsbury's has seen the use of its free carrier bags significantly drop in the last six months, suggesting that its 16 million customers are beginning to abandon the single-trip carrier bag in favour of longer-life re-usable bags (the use of which has increased 50%). Finally it's catching on... The sharp decline in free carrier bags follows Sainsbury's first two 'Make the difference' days when Sainsbury's was the first UK supermarket to remove free, disposable carrier bags from check-outs and instead offer free re-usable 'Bags for Life'. Sainsbury's will repeat its day of action for its next 'Make the difference' event that will run over the weekend, from Saturday 17th to Sunday 18th November 2007.

Politics

• Greenpeace approves of something for once - their climbers scaled the front of St Pancras station today to hang a giant banner reading "Yes", presumably celebrating the new, shorter alternative to high-emissions aviation.
• A National Climate Day March will take place on the 8th of December.Assemble on Millbank at 12 noon for the main march [Westminster Tube]. At 2.30 pm there will be a rally at the US embassy. Speakers include Chris Huhne MP, Michael Meacher MP, Caroline Lucas MEP, Zac Goldsmith, and George Monbiot. Book the day out in your diary folks!

Science

• Cod face a new threat - not happy with regular fish and chips consumption, we're now forcing them to deal with climate change too. A report in today's Telegraph covers a study by Prof Bigg at the University of Sheffield which shows that "With regard to future climate change, it is clear that the acceptable habitat will retreat poleward significantly as temperatures warm,"
• The Telegraph reports some bizarre, spring-like behaviour from nature after an exceptionally mild autumn. Read more here.
• Is Plastic always bad? Treehugger reports on an article which suggests you plastic drinking vessel may actually be relatively eco-friendly...
• RealClimate responds to Monday's list of climate scepticisms on the BBC.

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