Top articles of the week: October 11

This week on Blue & Green Tomorrow, the new University of Bristol’s Life Science building received an excellent BREEAM rating for its energy efficiency characteristics.

We also reported on an international volunteering conference taking place that will hopefully shed light on the ethics and practices of voluntourism. In other news, the Anglican Diocese of Perth decided to divest from fossil fuels firms and move its money to renewable energy.

1. Governments have failed to protect wildlife, UN biodiversity report finds

Ilaria Bertini: As representatives from around the world gather in South Korea to discuss conservation progress, a damning new report from the UN has revealed that governments have failed to tackle the loss of species, habitat destruction, pollution and overfishing. Read more.

2. Worsening ocean acidification threatens humans and marine life, UK scientists warn

Ilaria Bertini: Rising carbon dioxide emissions are altering the pH levels of the ocean, with dramatic consequences for the marine environment and the people who depend on it, a group of British scientists has said. Read more.

3. University of Bristol inaugurates new green building

Ilaria Bertini: The University of Bristol’s new 13,500 sq m Life Science building has received an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating for its energy efficiency characteristics, also receiving praise for vertical garden hosting plants and wildlife shelters. Read more.

4. International Volunteering Conference to shed light on ethics in ‘voluntourism’

Ilaria Bertini: A conference has been organised to give interested volunteers information on overseas development projects and the practices behind them. The event will take place in London on October 25. Read more.

5. India to host global investor summit focused on renewable energy in 2015

Ilaria Bertini: India is set to host a meeting of international investors willing to pour billions into realising the country’s great clean energy potential, after India’s energy minister promised to turn the nation into a ‘renewable superpower’. Read more.

6. China’s economic growth undermining carbon-cutting efforts

Ilaria Bertini: Despite climate change commitments and improvements in its approach to greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, China’s massive economic growth is jeopardising its efforts to build a low-carbon economy, new research has found. Read more.

7. Energy efficiency targets could boost UK economy by £62bn

Tom Revell: Tougher energy efficiency targets could boost the UK economy by £62 billion and create 40,000 jobs, according to unpublished figures obtained by WWF. Read more.

8. Western Australia church to divest from fossil fuels

Ilaria Bertini: The Anglican Diocese of Perth has decided to move its investments from carbon-intensive fossil fuels firms to renewable energy, while also calling on the federal government to scrutinise fracking and introduce carbon pricing in order to tackle climate change. Read more.

9. Grocery sector launches campaign to tackle household food waste

Ilaria Bertini: The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) has launched a new initiative to encourage around 650,000 employees at food and grocery companies reducing their household food waste. Read more.

10. Employees working in ‘green offices’ are 15% more productive, study finds

Ilaria Bertini: Working in offices enriched by plants gives better results in perception of air quality, concentration, workplace satisfaction and productivity than working in a lean environment, a new study has suggested. Read more.

Photo: Tom via Flickr