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Around the world: Space, smart farming and climate action

The new space race has encouraged a new sustainability rating and we’re reading all about this week. We’re also wondering if “smart-farmed” labels are in our future and what learnings should be taken from the IPCC climate change report.

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The first space sustainability rating is here

The world’s first space sustainability rating (SSR) has been developed to ensure that the rapidly increasing number of space missions launched worldwide (Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson both recently made journeys into space) are managed safely and sustainably.

The SSR, an initiative first conceived by the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space and developed over the past two years by international partners, will score space missions on their approach to debris mitigation, along with other parameters.

With more satellites being launched each year, the risk of accidents and the creation of more debris continues to rise. The SSR will help to reduce this as well as ensure that missions launched into Earth orbit are sustainable.

Read the full article here
Words by Katie Clift

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The IPCC report on climate change

A sober assessment of our planet's future has been delivered by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of scientists whose findings are endorsed by the world’s governments.

Their report is the first major review of the science of climate change since 2013 and comes less than three months before the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

According to the landmark study, human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways. Scientists say a catastrophe can be avoided if the world acts fast.

Read the full article here
Words by Matt McGrath

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Should our food have “smart-farmed” stickers?

Farmers everywhere are being called on to feed more people with fewer resources. With the global population set to balloon to 10 billion in the coming decades, finding a way forward requires a shift in how we think about where our food comes from, going beyond distinctions between conventional and organic agriculture.

A “smart-farmed” label, which reflects a growers’ commitment to using technology, data and AI to manage risk and minimize resources in a world where waste is no longer an option, could help consumers to make better choices.

Read the full article here
Words by Michael Gilbert