Latest news

Plastic pollution
Report: Plastic causes death from birth to old age – and costs trillions

Plastic pollution is a “serious, growing and underestimated danger” to human and planetary health. This is what several experts conclude in a new report published in the journal The Lancet.

According to the report, the negative effects of plastic cost the world at least 1,500 billion dollars. This corresponds to about 15,000 billion, or 15 trillion, kronor each year.

“Plastic causes disease and death from infancy to old age,” the researchers conclude.

The report is published the day before talks in Geneva are to begin with the aim of getting the world's first agreement on plastic pollution in place.

Beijing residents warned – one week after the extreme weather

Residents in Beijing have been warned by the authorities of a new round of extreme weather after last week's floods. This is reported by Reuters.

On Monday, 200 millimeters of rain is expected to hit the Chinese capital in six hours. That is equivalent to a third of the amount of rain that falls in Beijing in a year.

From July 23 to 29, 44 people died in Beijing as a result of heavy rain and rapidly rising water levels. The risk of this happening again is “extremely high,” authorities warn.

The Philippines may temporarily stop rice imports

The Philippines may temporarily stop rice imports to support domestic production. Bloomberg writes that this could increase the global rice surplus since the country imports the most rice in the world.

The comparative price of Asian rice has fallen to its lowest in eight years. This has led to farmer protests in several countries.

In addition to the import ban, the Philippine Department of Agriculture has also recommended higher tariffs on rice in the future. The subject will be discussed with President Ferdinand Marcos Junior ahead of his state visit to India this week, the news agency writes.

It is unclear how long the import ban will be in effect if it is introduced. 

The rising price of cocoa
Weak cocoa harvests are expected to keep prices up

It looks like a grim outcome for the West African cocoa growing season again, reports Bloomberg.

Although the weather has been better than in previous years, other problems are holding back the harvest. These include aging cocoa trees and various types of diseases that affect the plants.

One consequence of the squeezed harvests could be a continued low supply of cocoa, thereby leading to prices remaining at high levels. Today’s cocoa prices have already begun to put pressure on chocolate manufacturers.