Meeting in Nairobi, heads of state, ministers of environment and other representatives endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) to end plastic pollution. Nations agreed to negotiate an international treaty by 2024 to help realise that goal.\u00a0<\/span>
\u201cAgainst the backdrop of geopolitical turmoil, the UN Environment Assembly shows multilateral cooperation at its best,\u201d said Espen Barth Eide, UNEA-5 president. \u201cPlastic pollution has grown into an epidemic.\u00a0With today\u2019s resolution we are officially on track for a cure.\u201d
Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, welcomed the agreement, but said the hard work had just begun. \u201cWorld leaders must now show even more resolve in developing and implementing a treaty, which addresses our current plastic pollution crisis, and enables an effective transition to a circular economy<\/a> for plastic.\u201d
Image:\u00a0Jasmin Sessler<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
The German government has brought forward its target date for decarbonising the country\u2019s energy supply by 15 years, following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.\u00a0<\/span> Wildlife-rich Panama has become the latest country to enshrine the rights of nature into law.\u00a0<\/span> Some of the UK\u2019s leading supermarkets have agreed to install refill stations in shops by the end of the year.\u00a0<\/span> The Israeli health ministry has banned conversion therapy, a discredited \u2018treatment\u2019 that claims to be able to change a person\u2019s sexual orientation or gender identity. No, not the 5-0 thrashing of Iceland last week, but a legal battle over equal pay.\u00a0<\/span> Press-ups, bicep curls and even heavy gardening can reduce your risk of dying early, according to a study out this week.\u00a0<\/span> Good news has been in short supply from Ukraine this week. The UN estimates that one million refugees have fled the country since Russia invaded a week ago.
Some energy observers had speculated that attempts to isolate fossil fuel-rich\u00a0Russia might hasten the shift to renewables<\/a>. Germany\u2019s announcement this week offered the first major sign that this could be happening.\u00a0<\/span>
The west\u2019s efforts to starve the Russian economy have forced nations to confront their reliance on fossil fuels. Germany imports around 65 per cent of its gas from Russia.\u00a0<\/span>
But not for much longer. Europe\u2019s leading economy has pledged to get 100 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2035. The previous target had been ‘before 2050’.\u00a0German finance minister Christian Lindner described renewables as \u201cthe energy of freedom\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>
Image:\u00a0Gonz<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
Legislation passed this week gives nature the \u201cright to exist, persist and regenerate,\u201d and the \u201cright to be restored after being affected directly or indirectly by any human activity.\u201d
Passing the law is one thing, enforcing it is another. In Ecuador, which recognises the rights of nature, controversial extraction projects have continued in ecologically sensitive areas. However, as Positive News reported recently, the law has successfully halted some projects<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>
Panama joins a growing list of countries that have introduced rights of nature laws. Bolivia, Mexico and New Zealand are among them. \u00a0<\/span>
Image:\u00a0A pygmy sloth. Credit:\u00a0Sergiodelgado<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
Morrisons, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Ocado all signed up to the Refill Coalition, which aims to make package-free shopping mainstream. UK supermarkets get through an estimated 59bn pieces of single-use plastic packaging annually<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>
In a joint statement, the retailers said: \u201cThe Refill Coalition presents a landmark opportunity for us to make a step change in the commercialisation of refills, which we know can play a significant role in the reduction of single-use plastic packaging.\u201d
Image: Daria Kolpakova\/iStock<\/span><\/em>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.positive.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/PN_Subscriber_CTA_800x530_AW2-2.jpg\")
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Practitioners caught offering it will be prosecuted.\u00a0<\/span>
A growing list of countries have banned conversion therapy. France outlawed the practice in February<\/a>, following in the footsteps of Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Germany and Malta.
Image:\u00a0Brian Kyed<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
Members of the women\u2019s national squad filed a discrimination lawsuit in March 2019, making the case for pay parity with the men\u2019s team. This week a court ruled in their favour.
The landmark ruling means the women\u2019s side will now be paid the same as the men\u2019s team in all competitions. Striker Alex Morgan described it as a \u201cmonumental step forward\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>
Image:\u00a0US footballer\u00a0Megan Rapinoe. Credit:\u00a0Lorie Shaull<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
It found that half an hour of muscle-strengthening activities per week was associated with a 10-20 per cent lower risk of mortality from diseases such as cancer and diabetes.\u00a0<\/span>
The research was based on analysis of global studies over the last three decades. The results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>
Image:\u00a0Victor Freitas<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
A grassroots response has offered some solace in dark times. Queues have formed outside donation centres around the world, and many volunteers are driving trucks to the Ukrainian border to deliver necessities.
Find out how you can help the people of Ukraine here<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>
Image: Future Publishing\/Getty<\/em>
Main image: The \u2018Turn Off The Plastic Tap<\/a>\u2019 art installation by Von Wong greeted delegates at UNEA-5. Credit: Von Wong Productions<\/em>
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Website: Atomic Smash<\/a><\/p>\n