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by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — The number of major wildfires worldwide will rise sharply in coming decades due to global warming, and governments are ill-prepared for the death and destruction such mega-blazes trail in their wake, the UN warned Wednesday. Even the most ambitious efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions will not prevent a dramatic surge in the frequency of extreme fire conditions, a report commissioned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded. […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) – Sri Lanka shipped out to Britain on Monday the last of several hundred containers filled with thousands of tonnes of illegally imported waste, officials said. Several Asian countries have in recent years been pushing back against an onslaught of refuse from wealthier nations and have started turning back unwanted shipments. The waste from Britain arrived in Sri Lanka between 2017 and 2019 and was listed as “used mattresses, carpets and […]
RIO DE JANERIO, Brazil (AFP) – Major mining companies are seeking to expand to currently protected indigenous lands in the Amazon rainforest, bolstered by billions of dollars in financing from international banks and investment firms, a report found Tuesday. Nine mining giants including Brazil’s Vale, Britain’s Anglo American and Canada’s Belo Sun have filed applications seeking authorization to mine on indigenous reservations in Brazil — even though that is currently illegal, said the report by […]
PARIS, France (AFP) – Less than 10 percent of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for “coordinated and global solutions” ahead of expected talks on an international treaty on the issue. A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report found that 460 million tonnes of plastics were used last year, the number nearly doubling since 2000. The amount of plastic waste had more than doubled […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) – Spain and Denmark reiterated Monday their opposition to plans by the European Union to label gas and nuclear energy projects as green investments, an issue that has divided the bloc. The two nations believe such a move would send “the wrong message to investors and society as a whole”, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a joint news conference in Madrid with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen. The European Commission drafted […]
LE BOURGET, France (AFP) – Automaking powerhouse Germany is opposed to a ban on internal combustion engines from 2035 provided they work on synthetic fuels, the country’s transport minister said Monday. The European Commission proposed last year a ban on the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines from the middle of next decade, but the debate is far from over. “We want to allow combustion engines after 2035 only if they can be […]
by Tim Witcher Agence France-Presse DOHA, Qatar (AFP) – Iran Monday signalled “significant progress” in talks on reviving a stalled accord on its nuclear programme but President Ebrahim Raisi, on his first visit to a Gulf state, again insisted that Washington must lift its crippling sanctions. Iran’s ultraconservative president, a personal target of the US sanctions, spoke out ahead of a summit of natural gas exporting nations in Qatar. The summit will take place against […]
CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – The United States and Egypt on Monday launched a working group to prepare for the COP27 climate summit this year, with US envoy John Kerry urging more countries to come on board. The meeting will take place in November in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, seeking to build on gains made at the previous conference in Glasgow last year. “In Glasgow, we made significant progress… we now need […]
PARIS, France (AFP) – French giant TotalEnergies on Monday announced the discovery of significant reserves of oil and gas off the coast of Suriname and said it would begin exploration soon. The company has several exploration licences in the South American nation and made the announcement jointly with US firm APA. “TotalEnergies and APA Corporation have made a significant new oil and associated gas discovery at the Krabdagu-1 well, in the central area of Block […]
by Robbie Corey-Boulet gence France-Presse GUBA, Ethiopia (AFP) – Ethiopia began generating electricity from its mega-dam on the Blue Nile on Sunday, a milestone in the controversial multi-billion dollar project. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, accompanied by high-ranking officials, toured the power station and pressed a series of buttons on an electronic screen, a move that officials said initiated production. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is set to be the largest hydroelectric scheme in Africa but […]
by Jennifer Gonzalez Covarrubias Agence France-Presse OCAMPO, Mexico (AFP) – In the fir forests of Mexico, one of the world’s most dangerous countries for environmentalists, the legacy of butterfly defender Homero Gomez lives on two years after his suspected murder. Despite the dangers of standing up to illegal loggers, fellow conservationists continue Gomez’s work guarding the El Rosario monarch butterfly sanctuary in Mexico’s central highlands. The agricultural engineer dedicated much of his life to protecting […]
by Andrew BEATTY Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant will shut in 2025 — several years sooner than planned — operators announced Thursday, saying the facility is no longer viable given the low cost of renewables. Origin Energy told investors the “influx of renewables” was “undermining the economics” of the vast decades-old Eraring plant just north of Sydney. Australia is one of the world’s largest coal producers and the climate […]
