EU

A new tethered design for plastic caps on drinks bottles has some consumers in a huff, but what’s behind the move? Cracking open a cold coke on a hot day is one of life’s great pleasures, but this summer it will be a different experience. That’s because plastic bottles in Europe are changing because of new EU rules. You may have already come across the new plastic caps that are tethered to the bottle. If not, you will do soon as their roll out will be widespread in Europe from July. Here’s why it’s happening and what people think about the new design. What is the new plastic bottle cap design? The new design is quite straightforward. Instead of the caps we are used to that screw fully off, there are extra strips of plastic connecting the cap to the bottle. Coca-Cola has been one of the first to embrace the change as they have rolled the design out across Europe in the last year or so. “This small...

In its joint response [1] to an earlier consultation, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and HM Treasury has confirmed that a UK CBAM will be implemented by 2027. The CBAM will impose a levy on those importing the most greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-intensive products into the UK, which will reflect the gap between the carbon price that would have been imposed if the good had been produced in the UK and the carbon price already applied in the country of origin, if any. In doing so, the UK government is seeking to avoid “carbon leakage”: the phenomenon of UK based entities importing emissions-intensive products from outside the UK to avoid the charges placed on emissions-intensive products produced in the UK through the UK Emission Trading System (ETS). With the EU CBAM already up and running in its transitional phase from October this year (2023), and in the absence of any internationally agreed measures, similar and respons...