Sustainability

The Katowice Climate Summit (COP24) will take place from 2nd to 14th December under Poland's presidency and will constitute a real milestone in the global climate action agenda. We analyse, in detail, its progress and possible results.

Plastic is environmentally harmful because it does not degrade: did you know that plastic bottles can take more than five centuries to break down? But, what if bottles and other plastic waste could be transformed to our advantage? Armed with this challenge, researchers from Rutgers University in the United States have created a 100% recycled and recyclable thermoplastic material which is now being used in construction. This led to the creation of the world's longest recycled plastic bridge located in the Scottish county of Peeblesshire.

Desertification, or loss of fertile, productive soil, is a problem which is exacerbating climate change, because the diminishing number of trees on the planet is worsening the greenhouse effect. One solution to this is reforestation. Despite its drawbacks, it is still an option for regreening thousands of hectares.

The plastics's invasion of the planet is a reality. Just remember that the plastic waste island floating in the Pacific Ocean now measures 1.6 million kmsup:2#. If we want to save the planet, the time has come for each and every one of us to take action.

Hydroponic crops are based on a practice that does away with soil and in its place uses a solution of water enriched with nutrients, among other alternatives. By using few resources, are seen as a option more sustainable solution than traditional agriculture. What's more, hydroponic crops can be grown at home!

Plastic is overwhelming our oceans and it's causing incalculable environmental damage. This situation raises many questions: How does plastic get into the ocean? Where does the waste come from? What can we do to avoid it? We outline below the main factors responsible.

Bees and other animals do silent yet essential work for our survival. The vast majority of the world's food crops depend on natural pollination by these species, which are now threatened by intensive agriculture, pesticides, pollution and climate change.

The historic Paris Agreement, adopted by 195 nations during COP21 (2015), included the goal of strengthening the world's response to the threat of climate change and, in order to do so, to keep the increase in the average temperature worldwide well below 2º C above pre-industrial levels and to continue efforts to limit this temperature increase to 1.5º C. A new report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reaffirmed the urgent need to move towards a scenario of 1.5º C.