Al Gore: UK must ‘unleash’ private sector to deliver low-carbon future
Al Gore will call on the UK government to take a leading role in delivering an “ambitious” climate deal that “unleashes the power of the private sector to create a global clean energy economy”. Speaking at an event later today organised by environmental think tank Green Alliance, the former US Vice President and Nobel Prize winner will join a coalition of business, NGO and political leaders in calling on the UK government to adopt a stronger position on climate change ahead of this December’s Paris Summit. He will join with Confederation of British Industry Director-General John Cridland in aiming thinly-veiled criticism at the UK government, with Cridland expected to accuse the government of sending “mixed messages” on green policy that represent a “worrying signal” for businesses. Gore will urge the UK to build on its previous leadership position on climate policy and push for an ambitious international deal to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world. (Business Green)
Technology & Innovation
AstraZeneca taps crowdsourcing to find cancer drug cocktails
Drugmaker AstraZeneca is harnessing the wisdom of crowds to help mix tomorrow’s cancer drug cocktails. The company said on Tuesday its decision to release preclinical data from more than 50 of its medicines was unprecedented in scale and would help accelerate the hunt for synergistic tumour-fighting drug combinations. The crowdsourcing initiative is being run as part of the DREAM Challenge, an open innovation non-profit biology project in which scientists pool ideas and crunch data. AstraZeneca’s decision to make a large data set available to outside researchers is a further example of the drug industry exploring ways to share research at an early pre-competitive stage. The data includes around 10,000 tested combinations measuring the ability of drugs to destroy cancer cell lines from different tumour types. Scientists with winning predictions for the best new cancer drug combinations will have their ideas submitted for publication in the journal Nature Biotechnology. (Reuters)
Waste
Sainsbury’s seeks ‘test bed’ town as part of £10 million food waste push
A new food waste project launched by UK supermarket Sainsbury’s this week will provide £1 million to a single UK town in order to test the most effective ways of reducing household food waste. The move is part of Sainsbury’s new Waste Less, Save More initiative, which will see the company invest £10 million over five years in food waste reduction efforts. Central to the new campaign will be a pilot programme in a soon to be selected town, the results of which will be shared with communities across the UK and used to develop a blueprint to support long-term improvements in UK efforts to tackle food waste. The company also hinted that after initially focusing on food waste the programme could explore ways of reducing other forms of waste. Mike Coupe, chief executive at Sainsbury’s, said the investment underlined the company’s commitment to tackling food waste. “We know that waste – and particularly food waste – is a big challenge for households across the UK and it’s something our customers really care about,” he said in a statement. (Business Green)
Corporate Reputation
CEO who raised price of old pill more than $700 calls journalist a ‘moron’ for asking why
Ever since an HIV/AIDS patient advocacy group began raising questions last week about why Turing Pharmaceuticals increased the price for its Daraprim drug from $13.50 per pill to $750 overnight, anger against the company has been boiling over. The medicine, which has been on the market for 62 years, is the standard of care for a food-borne illness called toxoplasmosis that can severely affect those with compromised immune systems. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the pricing “outrageous” and promised to unveil a plan to take on the issue. John Carroll, the editor of Fierce Biotech, was one of the first to ask Turing chief executive Martin Shkreli directly to explain the move. In a hot-headed Twitter exchange over the weekend, Shkreli declined to provide additional information and instead launched into a series of personal attacks against Carroll, calling him “irrelevant” and someone who doesn’t “think logically”. (Washington Post)
Climate Change
Report: Lack of planning for climate change puts Australia behind its allies
Australia is behind its allies in preparing for climate change, exposing defence personnel – and the country more broadly – to considerable strategic risk and uncertainty, a new report written by the former Australian Defence Force (ADF) chief, Admiral Chris Barrie, warns. More than half the world’s natural disasters last year occurred in the Asia-Pacific region and the ADF is increasingly called upon to provide humanitarian assistance to affected areas, the Climate Councilreport says. Although climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, the report cites weak government action on climate change as undermining the ADF’s ability to respond. “The US has mandated that their military forces address the risks of climate change as a routine part of all mission planning,” the report said, “In Australia, comparatively less action is being taken by the government to ensure the Australian defence force is prepared for the security risks posed by climate change.” (Guardian)
COMMENTS