This white paper, produced by the independent sustainability company The Carbon Trust and sponsored by Quorn Foods, argues that greater diversity of main ingredients would be better for Britain both from a health and climate perspective. Increasing the diversity of UK protein choices is described as a practical way to promote more sustainable diets with lower impacts on health and environment.

This report from the UK nature conservation charity RSPB assesses the effectiveness of voluntary alternatives to regulation (e.g. industry self-regulation, voluntary codes of conduct etc.) in seeking to achieve public policy objectives.

Denmark, has according to a new government report (only available in Danish) managed to reduce food waste by 25% in 5 years, measured in amount (kg) per consumer.  Consumer information campaigns are considered to be one of the major factors for the success.

Photo credit: Getty images The German car giant Volkswagen has admitted that they have cheated in emissions tests in the US. Since 2009, Volkswagen has been installing elaborate software in 482,000 "clean diesel" vehicles sold in the US and according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), these cars had devices in their diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results. The cars' pollution controls would then only work when being tested for emissions.

This report by Ipsos MORI and the British Behavioural Insights Team (who work on behavioural change and nudge-type policies) looks at how our behaviour is largely influenced by what we think others are doing.  The international study based on research from 6 countries (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, France and Germany) shows that people in the UK often overestimate the bad behaviours of other people. It says that British people often think more people are avoiding tax than is really the case, and that they think that more people eat more than the recommended daily amount of sugar than really do.

More than a third of the world's adults have never heard of climate change according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. The study is based on the results of a Gallup World Poll undertaken in 2007-08 which collected responses in 119 countries . As reported in a Carbon brief blog-post the poll asked people: ‘How much do you know about global warming or climate change?’ Those who were aware of the issue were then asked the follow-up question: ‘How serious a threat is global warming to you and your family?’

This study focuses on UK diets.  It finds that if in average diets conformed to WHO recommendations, associated GHG emissions would be reduced by 17%.  Further reductions of up to 40% can be achieve through dietary shifts that include a reduction in animal products and processed snacks, and more fruit and vegetables. Abstract and conclusions as follows:

The report Let's Talk About Meat: changing dietary behaviour for the 21st century is launched alongside a new YouGov survey, commissioned by the Eating Better alliance and Friends of the Earth, which looked into the awareness and attitudes on meat among the among the public in Britain. The survey found that around one in three people (35%) in Britain say they are willing to consider eating less meat, with one in five (20%) saying they have already cut back on the amount of meat they eat over the last year. Only 5% say they are eating more.

This new paper by Chatham House reports on a 12-country survey undertaken into public understanding of the links between  livestock and climate change. Livestock – Climate Change’s Forgotten Sector - Global Public Opinion on Meat and Dairy Consumption finds a major lack of awareness of the meat and dairy sector’s contribution to climate change.