Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – An International Atomic Energy Agency taskforce began a mission Monday in Japan to review the controversial planned release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. More than a million tonnes of processed water has accumulated in tanks at the crippled plant since it went into meltdown following a tsunami in 2011 and storage space is running out. An extensive pumping and filtration system removes most radioactive elements, […]
by Eugenia LOGIURATTO Agence France-Presse ATAFONA, Brazil (AFP) – Vultures roam the sand in the Brazilian resort town of Atafona amid the ruins of the latest houses destroyed by the sea, whose relentless rise has turned the local coastline into an apocalyptic landscape. The Atlantic Ocean advances an average of six meters (nearly 20 feet) a year in this small town north of Rio de Janeiro, which has long been prone to extreme erosion — […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Coca-Cola, under pressure from environmentalists over its packaging policies, has pledged to use reusable containers for at least 25 percent of its beverages by 2030. The soda giant announced the pledge Thursday, saying it would be implemented globally through the glass and plastic bottles it sells to consumers and through the containers used at soda fountains and dispensers. Refillable containers accounted for about 16 percent of total volumes in […]
by Levi FERNANDES Agence France-Presse PAMPILHOSA DA SERRA, Portugal (AFP) – In central Portugal, a sustained drought has revealed the ruins of a village that was totally submerged underwater when a large reservoir was created nearly 70 years ago. “I have never seen that!” says Carlos Perdigao, 76, as he gazes at the ruined stone houses of Vilar which were swallowed up by the Zezere river when a dam was opened in 1954. Vilar stands […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia officially listed koalas across a swathe of its eastern coast as “endangered” on Friday, with the marsupials fighting to survive the impact of bushfires, land-clearing, drought and disease. Conservationists said koala populations had crashed in much of eastern Australia over the past two decades, warning that they were now sliding towards extinction. Environment Minister Sussan Ley said she had designated koala populations as “endangered” to offer them a higher level […]
BELFORT, France (AFP) – President Emmanuel Macron called Thursday for a “renaissance” for the French nuclear industry, saying he wanted up to 14 new reactors to power the country’s transition away from fossil fuels. “What we have to build today, because it’s the right moment, is the renaissance of the French nuclear industry,” Macron said at a strategic turbine factory in Belfort, northeast France. “I want six EPR2s to be built and we will launch […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) – US climate envoy John Kerry called Wednesday for an “open and competitive” energy market in Mexico, where planned energy reforms have alarmed foreign investors and environmentalists alike. Washington has stepped up pressure on Mexico over President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s push to boost the state’s role in the energy industry — moves critics say favor fossil fuels over renewable energy. Meeting with Lopez Obrador and other top officials in the […]
OSLO, Norway (AFP) – Norway’s government on Wednesday presented a plan to build a large-scale offshore wind power farm in the North Sea, saying it hopes to have the first turbines up by 2030. The Scandinavian country — the largest oil producer in Western Europe — will launch a public tender aimed at building the first phase of a wind project in the southern waters of the North Sea. “This is about ensuring access to […]
by Michelle FITZPATRICK Agence France-Presse FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday named former Greenpeace chief Jennifer Morgan as her special climate envoy, as part of a pledge to put the battle against global warming “at the top” of the diplomatic agenda. US-born Morgan, 55, co-leader of Greenpeace International since 2016, will be the first person to hold the newly created role in Europe’s top economy. The eye-catching appointment comes as […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) – Vietnam on Wednesday arrested a high-profile environmentalist known for taking on the energy industry on suspicion of tax evasion, state media said. Nguy Thi Khanh, 46, has been one of the few voices in Vietnam prepared to challenge plans to increase coal power to fuel economic development. Her organisation GreenID, Vietnam’s best-known environmental NGO, convinced the government to reduce some of its coal targets and sparked a national conversation about rising […]
by Charles ONIANS Scientists in Britain announced Wednesday they had smashed a previous record for generating fusion energy, hailing it as a “milestone” on the path towards cheap, clean power and a cooler planet. Nuclear fusion is the same process that the sun uses to generate heat. Proponents believe it could one day help address climate change by providing an abundant, safe and green source of energy. A team at the Joint European Torus (JET) […]
by François PICARD Agence France-Presse HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – “You get used to it. The walls shake,” says Sam, a resident of Midland, a town in west Texas where hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas — known as “fracking” — is causing more and more earthquakes. “Then another tremor comes a second later, like a truck passing nearby,” said the 44-year-old, who did not wish to disclose his last name. Echoing his words, three […]
