Battling against sewage spills, Britain’s heritage oyster industry is struggling to survive. Lucy Kehoe reports.

The University of Portsmouth is helping to produce policies and solutions that tackle plastic pollution around the world.

With the Global Plastics Treaty starting to take shape, PoliticsHome reports back from Day 3 of the University of Portsmouth’s PlasticsFuture conference, which included a series of panel discussions, keynote speeches and short talks on how we can get the best out of the international response to deal with the plastic pollution crisis.

In the past, Parliament has passed ground-breaking acts that transformed air quality in this country; from public health legislation passed in the 19th century which regulated smoke from coal in industrial towns and cities, to the 1956 “Great Smog” Clean Air Act and, in recent memory, the 2021 Environment Act, with its binding targets on air quality.

Yesterday Zero Hour launched their latest report, Net Zero: The Ambition Gap. This landmark guide sets out in clear, concise terms why the United Kingdom must up its ambition if we’re serious about limiting global heating to 1.5C and pulling back from dangerous tipping points.

The University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre online platform aims to equip policymakers and the public with the tools to prevent plastic pollution.

A scathing report from the Environmental Agency has called for tougher action against water companies responsible for pollution – including prison sentences.

A globally coordinated approach is vital to end plastic pollution.

Since becoming Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Michael Gove has proved himself as a driving force in politics and as a reformer – and nowhere is this more evident than in building and fire safety.

Jo Churchill MP met with the team behind the recently announced Global Plastic Policy Centre and discussed the challenges and opportunities in tackling the global plastic pollution crisis.

Commenting on the publication today (Wednesday) by Defra of a consultation on its proposed environmental targets for a range of factors including air quality, water, biodiversity, and resource efficiency as well as waste, British Safety Council Chief Executive, Mike Robinson, said:

In response to United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) recent announcement about a global treaty for plastics, the British Plastics Federation has issued the following statement:

University of Portsmouth research on plastic policies will help to shape a global agreement on plastic pollution.

With COP 26 fading from memories as Omicron and the cost of living dominate the headlines, it would be easy for policy makers and business leaders to take their eye off the UK’s net zero goal. But in the property sector, which is estimated to be responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions, we must continue to reduce emissions and work together to tackle this challenge head on.

Consumers are on board and the technology is already there. Now we just need the will and the know-how to maximise the opportunities to recycle polystyrene.

As a society we have historically used plastic poorly. But there is a sustainable future for plastic, one where no new material is made and where all existing plastic is recycled and re-used endlessly - a truly circular economy.

We use a staggering 11 billion wet wipes every year in the UK and 90 per cent of them contain plastic. That plastic is causing untold damage to our water systems and our marine environments, and it is long past time something is done about it.

The government should and could introduce stronger measures to help prevent plastic pollution quickly, that would make a significant impact.

University of Portsmouth joins leading AI researchers at DeepMind to help engineer faster acting enzymes for recycling some of the worlds most polluting single use plastics

Clean Air Day, being marked today, is an opportunity to improve public understanding of air pollution, build awareness of how air pollution affects our health and explain the actions we can all take to tackle air pollution, helping to protect the environment and our health.

The UK has an opportunity to lead the way on the global problem of air pollution – but as the latest figures highlight, there’s no time to waste on an issue this pressing.