US Defense Operations ‘Create More Emissions Than Sweden’

17.06.2019

pentagon-80394_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The defense operations of the US create more greenhouse gas emissions than Sweden and Portugal.

That’s the conclusion reached in a new study published by Brown University in Rhode Island, which states the Pentagon, which oversees the US military, was responsible for producing approximately 59 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, in 2017.

The report notes if the Pentagon were a country, its emissions would put it in 55th place on the Global Carbon Atlas’s global emissions ranking.

In contrast, Portugal ranked 57th and Sweden ranked 65th, while China was judged to be the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the US.

The study claims using and moving military equipment generated around 70% of the Pentagon’s energy consumption – this is largely as a result of burning jet fuel and diesel.

The report conceded the Pentagon has cut its emissions since 2009 by using more renewable energy and more efficient vehicles.

The report reads: “In its quest for security, the US spends more on the military than any other country in the world, certainly much more than the combined military spending of its major rivals, Russia and China.

“War and preparation for it are fossil fuel intensive activities. The US military’s energy consumption drives total US Government energy consumption.”

Source: Energy Live News

Nearly 600 Plant Species ‘Have Gone Extinct in the last 250 Years’

16.06.2019

water-lily-1857350_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

As many as 571 plant species have gone extinct in the last 250 years.

That’s according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, which suggests this is more than twice the number of birds, mammals and amphibians that have died out over the same time period.

Scientists say the rate of extinctions they have observed is happening up to 500 times faster than what would be expected without human-caused problems and interference.

They note that as plant species go extinct, other organisms and ecosystems reliant upon them are threatened, inlcuding human civilisation.

The study shows plants that have disappeared as a result of being over-exploited or having their habitats destroyed include the Chile sandalwood and the St Helena olive tree.

It shows biodiverse islands and tropics have suffered the greatest losses, largely due to large swathes of forest being cut down to access valuable timber.

The death of plant species is likely to worsen the impacts of climate change, as trees, vines and flowers absorb large amounts of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air.

Co-Researcher and Conservation Scientist Dr Eimear Nic Lughadha, said: “Millions of other species depend on plants for their survival, humans included, so knowing which plants we are losing and from where, will feed back into conservation programmes targeting other organisms as well.”

The average size of animals will fall by a quarter over the next century as larger creatures are increasingly driven to extinction by human actions.

Source: Energy Live News

Forest Area Twice the Size of UK ‘Cut Down to Grow Food Since 2010’

15.06.2019

axe-984008_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

An area of forest twice the size of the UK has been cut down since 2010 to set up food plantations.

That’s the verdict from Greenpeace International, which claims unsustainable farms supply many of the world’s leading food companies.

It says despite a promise made in 2010 by the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) members such as Nestlé, Mondelez and Unilever to end deforestation by 2020 through sourcing products such as cattle, palm oil and soya more sustainably, production of commodities linked to deforestation has continued to rise.

The organisation notes 80% of global deforestation is a direct result of agricultural production, releasing climate emissions equivalent to Japan, Germany and the UK combined.

Greenpeace says earlier this year it wrote to more than 50 companies asking them to disclose their commodity suppliers – it argues no company was able to demonstrate meaningful effort to end links to deforestation and notes none of the companies included animal feed in their deforestation reporting, even though around 90% of soya is used to feed animals to produce meat and dairy products.

It also highlights how despite palm oil giant Wilmar International committed to map and satellite monitor all of its suppliers, competitors such as Cargill, GAR and Musim Mas have not matched the promise.

Anna Jones, Global Project Lead for Forests at Greenpeace UK, said: “These companies are destroying our children’s future by driving us towards climate and ecological collapse.

“They’ve wasted a decade on half-measures and in that time vast areas of the natural world have been destroyed. They should be in crisis talks right now but they’re still trying to grow demand for products that will drive forest destruction even further.”

A spokesperson from the CGF said: “The CGF is aware of a recent report sent to media by Greenpeace.

“The report’s conclusion incorrectly notes that companies are unwilling to do what is needed; although the global consumer industry purchases only a small fraction of the commodities that are grown in tropical forests, our members are playing an important role in addressing these issues.”

Source: Energy Live News

Cup Reuse Trial to Take Off at Gatwick Airport

14.06.2019

glass-1058878_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Gatwick Airport, Starbucks and plastic waste charity Hubbub have launched a cup reuse trial across the international airport’s South Terminal.

The organisations hope to tackle single-use plastic pollution with the one-month testing period, which will see Starbucks customers given the option to borrow a free reusable cup for their drink, that they can then drop off at a ‘Cup Check-In’ point before they board their flight.

Cups will be collected from these five points before being washed and returned to the cafe to be reused again.

This would remove the need for people having to use paper and plastic disposable versions – currently Gatwick Airport throws away seven million paper cups each year, around 1.7 million of which end up in landfill.

The campaign is funded by the voluntarily 5p charge that Starbucks has added to the cost of disposable cups.

Around 2,000 reusable cups will be put into circulation around the airport to help reduce the number of paper cups thrown away.

Hubbub and Starbucks say they will openly share the results from the trial once it has been completed.

Source: Energy Live News

Scotland Smashes Tree Planting Targets

13.06.2019

john-mark-smith-397655-unsplash — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (John Mark Smith)

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (John Mark Smith)

Scotland’s national tree planting targets have been “smashed”.

The nation’s Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, said new planting was undertaken across 11,200 hectares in 2018, significantly surpassing the 10,000 hectare annual target.

The previous year, just 7,100 hectares of new trees were planted.

In his announcement, he stressed that tree planting makes a “critical contribution” to tackling the global climate emergency and noted 84% of all new planting across the UK last year took place in Scotland.

Around 3,900 hectares of new native broadleaf trees were planted, making up around 40% of all new planting in Scotland and meeting commitments for new native woodland creation.

The Scottish Government planted around 1,000 hectares, with the remaining 10,200 hectares being planted by a range of private forestry interests.

It says the increase in planting will help fight climate change as the trees absorb “substantial amounts” of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis.

Mr Ewing said: “This is fantastic news that we’ve smashed the targets. It is testament to the Scottish Government making forestry a priority and investing and helping growing the industry.

“In Scotland alone, around 9.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year are removed from the atmosphere by our forests – this is a clear example of why an increase in tree planting is so important in the fight against climate change.”

Source: Energy Live News

‘Most Meat Won’t Come from Animals’ by 2040

13.06.2019

grill-1710915_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

By 2040, most of the meat on our tables won’t come from animals.

That’s the prediction from researchers at global consultancy AT Kearney, who predict by this time, 60% of ‘meat products’ will be either artificially grown in giant laboratories or be replaced by plant-based proteins such as seitan, tofu and mycoprotein.

Many scientists suggest the conventional meat industry plays a significant role in contributing to climate change, due to the amount of energy and water required to raise, house, transport and kill animals, as well as the amount of methane created by industrial farming.

Currently, nearly half the world’s crops are grown to feed livestock but only 15% of the calories they contain end up being converted into meat and then eaten by humans – this contrasts with cultured meat and meat replacements, which are thought to retain around 75% of the calories inputted.

The report estimates in approximately 20 years, 35% of all meat will be cultured and 25% will take the form of vegan replacement options.

The firm estimates around $1 billion (£790m) has already been invested in meat-replacement products and says it believes the cultured meat market will dominate in the long term because they will more closely reproduce the taste and texture of traditional animal-sourced meat.

Carsten Gerhardt, Partner at AT Kearney, said: “The shift towards flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles is undeniable, with many consumers cutting down on their meat consumption as a result of becoming more conscious towards the environment and animal welfare.

“For passionate meat-eaters, the predicted rise of cultured meat products means that they still get to enjoy the same diet they always have but without the same environmental and animal cost attached.”

Source: Energy Live News

Climate Change as a Fundamental Challenge of Our Era

11.06.2019

eu_amb_181153 — Kancelarija delegacije EU

To become a full member of the European Union one day, Serbia needs to harmonise its legislation with acquis of this group of countries. One of the fields that we need to work on is the environment. Who would be the better interlocutor to talk about how far we are from the standards that we are required to reach than the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi?

EP: When we talk about ecology, it is impossible to avoid mentioning Chapter 27. Serbian authorities predict that we shouldmopen it by the end of 2019. Do you find this to be a manageablemdeadline and why so?

Sem Fabrizi: Chapter 27 is complex and requires time and dedication from many experts, national and international, to be prepared. The EU is actively supporting Serbia with these preparations. At this stage, Serbia submitted last December to the European Commission the “Negotiating Positions” document: the European Commission will shortly comment on the revised draft. This preparatory work is done at a technical level but is an integral part of the necessary preparation. Once the work on the negotiating positions is finalised, the chapter will be discussed with the EU Member States, who will ultimately decide on its opening.

EP: Which is, in your opinion, our weakest point in the field of environmental protection? Which one of the regulations will be the hardest to implement here?

Sem Fabrizi: Protection of the environment should be seenas a new paradigm of the way societies and economies
must operate. Climate changes are happening. They have become one of the central challenges of our time: drought,
soils erosion, extreme weathers conditions, and the rise of sea levels are unfortunately becoming the new normal.
The European Union has decided to break the “business as usual” model. Energy efficiency, use of renewables, emission reductions, clean water and air policies, circular economy, are all part of a vast mix of policies that the EU – over the course of the past two decades – have designed and implemented to preserve the environment, to set a new sustainability for the economy, and to prevent and mitigate climate changes. It hasn’t been an easy nor a short process, but the environment has become a mainstream policy where the right balance between economic growth and climate protection has been found and in a sustainable direction. Data show that the EU economy has continued to grow while the carbon emissions have halved, and that the “green economy” is one of the fastest growing sectors in the EU. These positive results gave the EU the necessary credibility to take the lead at a global level in the climate negotiations concluded successfully with the adoption of the UNFCC agreement in Paris in 2015. We are now in the implementation phase and the EU continues to be the world largest climate donor. Serbia as an acceding country must continue to work hard to align its internal legislation and economic development model in this direction as a matter of priority. Environment protection is no longer a policy option, rather an immediate and concrete responsibility for the well-being of citizens, and a new opportunity for sustainable economic growth.

EP: You have been the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia for two years almost. Have you noticed any progress in environmental protection?

Sem Fabrizi: In our 2018 report we have assessed that Serbia has some level of preparation and some progress has been made in the alignment of the EU acquis, planning and implementation. We have recommended a number of key actions to advance in this area: making operational the new financing facility (Green Fund), strengthening the impact assessment in extractive industries, adopt a national air quality strategy, improve the implementation of waste management, address treatment of sewage for the water quality, align the legislation on industrial pollution. The EU is supporting – through grants: i.e. non-refundable – a number of projects that both deliver immediate results for improving citizen’s life and set a long term and sustainable protection of the environment. Over the past months, I had the pleasure to attend the opening of the EU funded Waste Water Treatments (WWTP) in the cities of Raska and Sabac. The construction of the Nis Waste Water Treatment Plant should start soon, and more WWTPs are foreseen in Kraljevo, Brus and Blace. Two weeks ago, I attended the opening of EU the 9.2 million euros grant project for the reduction of NoX emissions at the Tesla power Plant in Obrenovac. Between 2000 and 2018 the EU granted to Serbia 400 million euros for environment protection and climate action, including around 166 million euros for wastewater treatment and networks, making it the biggest donor for Serbia also in that field.

Prepered by: Jelena Kozbasic

Read the whole interview in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine on SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Greenpeace Protestors Board North Sea Oil Rig in Protest Against BP

11.06.2019

oil-rig-3522594_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Greenpeace climate activists have boarded an oil rig being towed out to the North Sea to protest against continued fossil fuel exploration.

Two campaigners climbed onto the 27,000-tonne platform from a boat as it was being taken out of the Cromarty Firth – they did so in protest against BP’s plans to drill new oil wells in the North Sea.

The Paul B Loyd Jr rig is owned by Transocean and is being hired out to BP for £140,000 a day, the same owner/operator arrangement that was in effect during the Deepwater Horizon incident.

The rig was being towed out to the Vorlich field at about 6.30pm on Sunday when the protestors unfurled a banner bearing the words “climate emergency” from one of its support legs.

Greenpeace said they had enough food to stay in position for several days.

The campaigners want to see BP stop producing carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels and call for it to switch to investing in renewables.

Jo, one of the activists currently aboard the rig, said: “Warm words flow from BP on their commitment to tackling climate change.

“Yet this rig and the 30 million barrels it seeks to drill are a sure a sign that BP are committed to business as usual, fueling a climate emergency that threatens millions of lives and the future of the living world. We can’t let that happen – that’s why we’re here today.”

BP told ELN: “In all operations safety is our top priority. While we recognise the right for peaceful protest, the actions of this group are irresponsible and may put themselves and others unnecessarily at risk.

“We are working with Transocean – the rig’s owner and operator — and the authorities to assess the situation and resolve it peacefully and safely.

“We share the protestors’ concerns about the climate. We support the Paris agreement. And we are working every day to advance the world’s transition to a low carbon future.

“We’re reducing emissions from our own operations – down 1.7 million tonnes last year – improving our products to help our customers reduce their emissions and creating new low carbon businesses. We are committed to being part of the solution to the climate challenge facing all of us.”

Canada Plans to Ban Wide Range of Plastics by 2021

11.06.2019

plasticna ambalaza — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Canada plans to ban a wide range of single-use plastics by 2021.

The government has not yet ruled on which exact products will disappear from shelves but notes it will work to identify the most environmentally damaging plastic items.

These are expected to be similar to the products included in the EU’s 2021 ban, such as oxo-degradable plastics, which break up into small pieces and remain in the environment, as well as fast-food containers and expanded polystyrene cups.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he hopes the move will reduce waste and protect the world’s oceans and wildlife – he noted the exact products to be banned will be decided upon through public consultations

Last year, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the EU adopted the Ocean Plastics Charter, which aims to stop items such as shopping bags, straws, plastic cutlery and take-away containers ending up in marine environments – these types of rubbish currently make up more than a third of Canada’s plastic waste.

The national government estimates around 150 million tonnes of plastics are dumped into oceans around the world every single year.

Canada is providing funding totalling $212,000 (£123,680) for the installation of three charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in Yukon.

Source: Energy Live News

Sadiq Khan Invests £6m to Tackle London’s Toxic Air

10.06.2019

london-1018629_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is investing £6 million in 15 projects aimed at improving the capital’s air quality and climate emergency.

The grant from the Air Quality Fund will support four new Low Emission Neighbourhoods (LENs) in Camden, Dagenham, Hackney and Southwark, providing funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging points, cycle lanes expansion, green walls and exploring traffic reduction schemes.

Boroughs across London will also work with the mayor to deliver 11 additional projects, which include tackling emissions from South London construction sites, an anti-engine idling campaign, a zero emission zone in the City, cargo bikes in Camden and retrofitting boats on the River Thames.

The announcement follows the introduction of the Ultra Low Emission Zone in April this year to tackle air pollution in the capital.

Mr Khan said: “Our filthy air is a health crisis that increases the risk of dementia and asthma and damages the lung development of our children.

“I’m delighted that our Air Quality Fund is helping boroughs to clean up some of our most polluted streets, making them safer for pedestrians and cyclists, providing electric vehicle charging points and supporting businesses and residents in adopting cleaner modes of transport.

“But London politicians can’t solve these issues alone. We need government ministers to wake up and recognise the true scale of this health emergency and give us new clean air legislation and a national vehicle scrappage fund to truly improve the quality of the air we breathe.”

Source: Energy Live News

German Circus Goes Cruelty-Free by Replacing Animals with Holograms

09.06.2019

ronkali-cirkus — Photo: YouTube (screenshot)

The circuses of the future will have bright lights, virtual-reality technology and one especially awe-inspiring feature: consent from all entertainers. German-based Circus Roncalli is leading the way by becoming the first circus to use 3D holograms of animals instead of forcing live animals to entertain crowds.

Circus Roncalli has been around since 1976 but led the pack by dropping live circus animals from its acts as early as the 1990s. Last year, founder and director Bernhard Paul invested half a million dollars (USD) to develop the holographic animal performances that have recently gone viral on social media.

His shows now feature acts by holographic elephants, horses and large goldfish and attracted over 600,000 attendees in the first year alone. With ticket prices between $32 and $78 USD per person, his investment was well worth it.

Animal rights advocates and circus enthusiasts have jumped on his success, touting Circus Roncalli as the future of the circus and using it as an example to advocate for the end of animal abuse in entertainment. Many governments are also passing laws that prohibit the use of animals for entertainment.

“Thankfully, the public is voting with their feet, and increasingly visiting shows where the performers get to choose instead of being forced to perform,” said Jan Creamer from Animal Defenders International. “This is the future of circus — a performance everyone can enjoy and for which intelligent, sentient beings are not used and depicted as objects of entertainment.”

Paul claims his years of success are due to the skills of his human performers, including amazing acrobatic tricks, and the circus animals are an added feature that the crowds love. Not all entertainment acts have the available cash to invest in large light shows; however, with increasing awareness and support for animal rights, other circuses should look to Circus Roncalli as inspiration.

Author: Lucienne Cross

Source: Inhabitat

Methane Emissions from US Industry ‘100 Times Higher Than Reported’

07.06.2019

global-warming-2958988_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Methane emissions from US industry are up to 100 times higher than commonly reported.

That’s the conclusion reached by researchers from Cornell University and the Environmental Defense Fund, who used a Google Street View car equipped with a methane detector to measure the concentration of the potent greenhouse gas in the air surrounding ammonia fertiliser plants.

Not only were the figures they found around 100 times higher than the fertiliser industry’s self-reported calculations, they also were significantly higher than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimate for all industrial processes across the country.

The researchers suggest as natural gas is largely methane, any leaks along its supply chain could make it a more significant contributor to climate change than previously thought.

They surveyed the roads around six fertiliser plants to measure how much methane was being inadvertently lost into the atmosphere as a result of incomplete chemical reactions, unburnt fuel or leaks.

The team found that 0.34% of the gas used in the plants ends up in the atmosphere – scaled up across the entire industry, this suggests total annual methane emissions would total 28 gigagrams, vastly exceeding the 0.2 gigagrams reported by the sector.

The findings also undermine the US Government’s estimate that the entirety of the country’s industrial processes produce only 8 gigagrams of methane emissions per year.

John Albertson, Co-Author of the study, said: “We took one small industry that most people have never heard of and found that its methane emissions were three times higher than the EPA assumed was emitted by all industrial production in the US.

“It shows us that there’s a huge gap between a priori estimates and real-world measurements.”

Source: Energy Live News

Cobalt Production ‘Must Nearly Double to Enable Required EV Growth’

07.06.2019

car-3325415_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Cobalt production needs to nearly double to make and charge enough electric vehicles (EVs) for the UK to meet its 2050 climate targets.

That’s according to a letter co-authored by the Natural History Museum’s Head of Earth Sciences, Professor Richard Herrington, which has been delivered to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

The letter suggests the independent advisory body’s 2050 net-zero emissions target will require nearly all cars and vans in the UK to be electric by this time.

However, it believes for the 31.5 million cars currently on the UK roads to be replaced with “the most resource-frugal next-generation batteries’, cobalt production would need to nearly double to 207,900 tonnes, with vast amounts of lithium carbonate, neodymium, dysprosium and copper also being needed.

It claims just to provide an annual supply of electric vehicles from 2035, the UK would need to annually import the equivalent of the entire yearly cobalt requirements of the whole of European industry.

The experts also note much more electricity would be needed to extract these materials – energy costs for cobalt production are estimated at up to 8,000kWh for each tonne of metal produced and for copper 9,000kWh per tonne.

The letter reads: “This research represents the tip of the iceberg. Over the next few decades, global supply of raw materials must drastically change to accommodate not just the UK’s transformation to a low carbon economy but the whole world’s.

“It is essential to have timely and sustainable supplies of raw materials in quantities greatly exceeding current global mining and processing capacity.”

Source: Energy Live News

Icelandic Waste to Get Shipped Abroad for Dutch Energy

06.06.2019

hermes-rivera-landfill-plastic-waste-deponija-smeće-otpad — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Hermes Rivera)

Geminor has signed a deal to handle what it claims is the first ever export of treated waste from Iceland.

The Norwegian resource management firm penned a five-year contract to ship refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from Iceland to the Netherlands, where it will be transported to a waste-to-energy facility.

The agreement dictates a total of 70,000 tonnes of rubbish will be taken abroad over this period.

Once it arrives, the rubbish, which would otherwise have ended up in landfill, is converted into a useful fuel able to generate electricity, steam and heat for industry and district heating networks.

Geminor says the first shipment of RDF will leave Icelandic shores this summer and expects regular shipments will begin later in the year.

Geminor’s Chief Operating Officer, Ralf Schöpwinkel, said: “Today, all waste on Iceland goes to landfill. This contract means that Iceland now joins many other European countries in making good use of their household waste by sending it to the EU as secondary fuel.

“This is not only a milestone for Iceland, but also for Geminor as a resource management company.”

Source: Energy Live News

Resalta Launches Second Project with Atlantic Group for Process Cooling in Foodland

05.06.2019

martin-adams-1094929-unsplash — Foto: Unspalash

Resalta is undertaking its second project with Atlantic Grupa at its Foodland factory in Kopaonik, Serbia. Following a power factor correction project in 2018, Resalta will now modernize cooling at the food processing plant.

The existing process cooling system being inefficient, Resalta’s project goals were to ensure reliable and constant cooling through a separate and independent closed-circuit cooling that will have no negative environmental impact.

Moreover, preserving drinking water, especially in summer when it is most required was an additional technical goal. The process cooling is used in the pasteurization process of jams and spreads which are the core business of the factory, under the brand name Granny’s Secret.

To improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact, Resalta will install two new Daikin air-to-water chillers of a nominal 106 kW and 331 kW capacity. Foodland, as part of Atlantic Grupa and located in Kopaonik, one of Serbia’s most beautiful natural reserves, considers environmental protection as a strong priority. Thus, the solution implemented will achieve water savings of 24,000 cubic meters each year.

Resalta will finance the whole project and take care of implementation as well as operations and maintenance, with the client paying off the investment from achieve savings over a contractual period of 10 years. Resalta takes on all risks, including financial and technical, while the client enjoys a new cooling system with higher efficiency and reliability, as well as a lower environmental impact.

Resalta is a leading energy services company in Southeast Europe. It provides turnkey solutions to private and public sector clients following the ESCO model: for each energy efficiency project, Resalta offers a full service from energy audits to design, implementation, maintenance and financing.

Clients repay Resalta’s investment from realized savings, and Resalta takes on all project risks, technological as well as financial.

With a team of experts from the fields as diverse as engineering, finance, implementation, and others, Resalta has successfully carried out over 180 projects for over 120 different clients, including the City of Ljubljana, Gorenje, Atlantic Grupa, Mercator, the City of Novigrad, and many others. In addition to energy efficiency projects, Resalta also develops renewable energy projects such as biomass plants and photovoltaics.

Climate Crisis and Antibiotic Use Could ‘Sink’ Fish Farming Industry – Report

05.06.2019

fisherman-449280_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The climate crisis, drug use and feeding farmed fish with wild stocks risks “sinking” the $230bn (£180bn) aquaculture industry, according to an ethical investment network.

Fish farms now surpass wild fisheries as the main provider of seafood on our plates, but combined risks from global heating, excessive use of antibiotics, a dependence on wild stocks for feed, and poor governance threatens the lucrative and fast-growing sector, warned Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (Fairr), a $12trn-backed network.

The aquaculture industry is the world’s fastest-growing food production sector but has recently been hit by governance scandals. In April, US seafood buyers filed a class lawsuit alleging price-fixing by Norwegian salmon producers, following spot raids on fish farms across Europe by European Commission anti-cartel investigators. And in May, a Panorama report named several fish farmers as among those under investigation by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for alleged misreporting of chemical use.

Fairr’s report, Shallow returns?, shows an average growth in aquaculture of almost 6% annually, providing “significant” returns for shareholders, at up to more than 400% over five years. But the investor group warned that much of this expansion is based on high-density farming associated with environmental, social and governance risks. It accused the sector of “limited transparency” on these issues.

“Investors should be aware of the sustainability risks in the aquaculture sector before they wade in too deeply,” said Maria Lettini, director of Fairr. “From effluents to emissions, this sector must address significant environmental and public health challenges if it is to prosper over the long term.”

Aquaculture is both a significant contributor to emissions and is highly exposed to their impacts, the report said. Farmed marine fish production in south-east Asia, one of the largest aquaculture regions, is expected to drop 30% by 2050 due to rising sea temperatures and acidification of oceans.

Farmed salmon and shrimp require fishmeal and fish oil, making the sector highly dependent on rapidly depleting wild fish stock for future growth, the report found.

Lettini said: “We thought that farmed fish would save our wild stocks in the oceans, but now it’s coming to the fore that we are using wild-caught fish to feed our farmed fish – and that is causing real problems.”

Nearly one fifth of global fisheries production is used for fishmeal and fish oil production, the report found.

Sewage and wastewater discharged from fish farms is also associated with toxic algal blooms and polluted drinking water, Lettini said.

Last month Norway suffered its worst algal bloom in 30 years, with 8 million salmon killed so far. Algal blooms caused an estimated $800m in damage to the Chilean salmon industry in 2016, killing nearly 27m fish, about 20% of the country’s annual production, according to the report.

Hotspots of antibiotic use in fish farming accelerate antimicrobial resistance, the report found, with some countries taking action against importers. In January this year, the US Food and Drug administration denied entry to 26 shipments of Indian shrimp, after detecting banned antibiotics.

Another major issue highlighted by the report was the issue of farmed fish slipping out of their pens and coming in contact with native populations.

Lettini said: “Farmed fish escape and mix with their organic peers and that is changing the gene pool of wild fish. Changes in DNA have been found and we don’t even know the importance of that yet.”

Fairr recommended good management practices, including the use of probiotics to reduce antibiotic use, and alternatives to fishmeal, including feed made from bacteria as well as greater cultivation of mussels and oysters, which do not require fishmeal-based feed.

Source: Guardian

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