The European Union has this week formally adopted Member States’ annual greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2021 to 2030 which, though they differ by country, will deliver a 30% reduction in EU emissions on 2005 levels across a wide variety of industries.
The European Union has a new 1,000 page long energy plan designed to help meet the promises made at the COP 21 summit. As it treads between competing interests, it annoys many and pleases few.
Global emissions have been essentially flat for the past three years even though total global economic activity has increased in each of those three years. That is about to change as Donald Trump wreaks havoc on US emissions policies.
According to a recent report titled Europe’s Dark Cloud, 22,900 premature deaths are caused each year in the European Union by coal dust. 11,800 new cases of chronic bronchitis and 21,900 hospital admissions in 2013 were also linked to coal plants. Particulate matter was linked to over 80% of the premature deaths and the following causes: heart
Never let it be said that the doomsaying, treehugging, pointy-headed nerds of the climate change adaptation movement lack a fundamental sense of humor. The dark amusements of the UN’s COP20 conference in Lima—as at prior venues—surface daily in the presentation of an award for [Climate] Fossil of the Day. During United Nations climate change talks
This year, we have seen the largest-ever outpouring of reporting and planning for inevitable climate change in the Anthropocene. One of the latest studies, REthinking Energy, draws on worldwide research and financial analysis to form some conclusions about changing our mix of energy, one of the major drivers of the phenomenon, as earth’s population continues to
Travelers cherish the city of Paris for the charm of its luxurious springtime, but maybe not this year. Since last Wednesday, air pollution in Paris and 22 suburbs has topped the safe limit for PM10 particulates (80 mg/cubic meter). The Paris smog readings hit 180 mg on Friday, more than twice the accepted safe limit. This
At the late November meeting of UN climate delegates in Warsaw, negotiators from Canada–once a strong supporter of fast-start financing to limit greenhouse gas emissions from developing countries–and Australia, now led by a rashly conservative government, sat on their hands. Reeling from the costs of mitigation at Fukushima and a stopgap return to fossil fuels,
In a report entitled “Long-term trend in global CO2 emissions” prepared by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, it has been found that global emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by 45% between 1990 and 2010 and reached an all-time high of 33 billion tonnes by 2010, all despite increased energy efficiency, nuclear energy and a growing renewable energy industry.
The EU’s Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger, has announced that the union will conduct a series of stress tests upon its nuclear power stations later in the year. He described the tests as “extraordinary” and said they would include the impact of earthquakes and high water.
The tests will also be conducted on the nuclear power stations of neighbouring non-EU countries, including Switzerland, Turkey and Russia.
Some of the top climate change and environmental stories of the last day or so: Climate Science Graph of the Day: Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Changes Good info and graphs on the page above, but thought I’d share the 3 videos from the post here for you to check out just in case you don’t feel
If you ask environmentally-minded people or typical liberals/progressives about what sort of energy we should be using and what energy technologies our governments should be promoting, you are sure to see a lot of support for renewable energy like solar and wind, as well as the components that make those options more viable, like large
I didn’t even know there were people cloning fighting bulls and racehorses, but apparently there are. While the European Union (EU) has recently proposed a 5-year ban on farm animals and livestock, this ban would not include the “sport” animals mentioned above. More from the League Against Cruel Sports: The European Union has proposed a
The European Union (EU) and MTV are working together to get young people involved in the climate debate. The major entities started their “Play to Stop – Europe for Climate” campaign this month. Working with international music artists and other international celebrities, this is a major campaign to mobilize the youth around the topic of
Members of European parliament voted this morning to ban seal products, further tightening the noose on Canada’s archaic and cruel commercial seal hunt. With members voting 550 to 49 in favor of the ban, Europe has sent Canada a clear message: Europeans do not support the hunt. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) welcomed
