LAWSUITS

Danone faces legal action over plastic use and reporting practices

Some environmental groups have taken legal action against French bottled water and dairy group Danone over its plastic use, accusing it of failing to account for all the plastic used in its production. Danone said in a statement that it was “very surprised by this accusation which we firmly refute”. Environmental group Surfrider and its partners including Client Earth and Zero Waste France say they do not want to launch criminal proceedings against Danone. Rather, they want the company to re-publish its compulsory duty of care report and specifically account for its plastic use, including a strategy to reduce it. Surfrider said Danone so far do not sufficiently account for all the plastic used in its production cycles from agriculture to packaging. (Reuters)

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

Delta to open innovation lab for low-carbon aviation technology

US airline company Delta Air Lines has unveiled what it claims will be the sector’s first innovation lab dedicated to the development of low-carbon technologies and alternative fuels. The company has stated that the ‘sustainable skies lab’ will host teams working to scale and improve existing technologies and those working on “revolutionary” technologies which do not yet exist commercially. On existing technologies, the lab aims to accelerate work already underway at Delta by enabling co-working teams on issues such as electrifying ground equipment and improving operational efficiencies. Delta will continue to target changes to operational procedures and aircraft upgrades to drive fuel efficiency, claiming to save 10 million gallons of fuel in 2022 compared to 2021. Delta is already partnering with aircraft manufacturer Airbus to accelerate emerging aircraft innovations. (edie)

CYBERSECURITY

Supreme court lets WhatsApp pursue Pegasus spyware lawsuit

The US supreme court has let technology company Meta pursue a lawsuit accusing Israel’s NSO Group of exploiting a bug in its WhatsApp messaging app. The complaint accuses NSO of installing spy software allowing the surveillance of 1,400 people, including journalists, human rights activists and dissidents. NSO has argued that it is immune to being sued because it was acting as an agent for unidentified foreign governments when it installed the Pegasus spyware. Meta said it welcomed the court’s move to turn away NSO’s appeal. WhatsApp in 2019 sued NSO seeking an injunction and damages, accusing it of accessing its servers without permission six months earlier to install the Pegasus software on victims’ mobile devices. NSO said Pegasus helps law enforcement and intelligence agencies fight crime and protect national security. (The Guardian)

CLIMATE CHANGE

Research finds US greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.3% in 2022

US greenhouse gas emissions increased slightly from 2021 in 2022 by 1.3%, keeping the country 15.5% below 2005 levels and off track to meet its global pledge to slash emissions 50-52% by 2030. According to estimates published by research group Rhodium, the US in 2022 saw an economic growth rate outpacing its emissions rebound, which means that the carbon intensity of the economy declined. This was driven by a drop in emissions in the power sector as gas and renewable energy displaced coal. But building emissions rose by 6% in 2022 due to increased heating demand amid lower-than-average winter temperatures. Rhodium said the US may start to see emission reductions in 2023 if the government fast-tracks implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reuters)

COLLABORATION

UN: Earth’s ozone layer on course to be healed within decades

The hole in the Earth’s ozone layer is set to be completely healed over most of the world within two decades following government action to phase out ozone-depleting substances. A UN assessment has found that the loss of the ozone layer, which risked exposing people to harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, is on track to be completely recovered by 2040 across the world, aside from the polar regions. The ozone layer will fully bounce back by 2045 over the Arctic and by 2066 over the Antarctic. The ozone layer has been steadily improving in the wake of the 1989 Montreal Protocol, an international agreement that helped eliminate 99% of ozone-depleting chemicals that were used as solvents and refrigerants. (The Guardian)

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