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by Benoît PELEGRIN Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Oil prices jumped above $80 this week for the first time in almost three years, handing a major boost to producers — but fuelling more inflationary pain for consumers, analysts say. The price of European benchmark Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November hit $80.75 per barrel on Tuesday, attaining the highest level since October 2018, but edged lower on Wednesday. The market has […]
by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS Agence France-Presse MILAN, Italy (AFP) – The forthcoming COP26 summit — which could determine the viability of the Paris Agreement — will “not be easy” but an outcome matching the urgency of the crisis is an “absolute necessity”, the UN’s climate chief said Wednesday. As the world faces stronger and more frequent droughts, wildfires, flooding and storm surges made worse as the planet warms, the COP26 summit in Glasgow is being billed […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – The UK government announced plans on Wednesday to relax regulation of gene-edited crops, following the country’s departure from the European Union. Under the changes, which will apply to England, the government has said it will “cut red tape and make research and development easier”, allowing gene-edited crops to be tested in the same way as naturally occurring new varieties. The devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which set […]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — A knee-high celebrity cow that became a sensation in Bangladesh has won posthumous recognition as the shortest on the planet just weeks after its untimely demise. Rani, just 50.8 centimetres (20 inches) high, became an instant internet celebrity with tens of thousands of people rushing to the farm she lived on outside Dhaka for a glimpse of the miniature cow. But just after its owners applied to Guinness World Records, tragedy […]
VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – OPEC said Tuesday it expects oil demand to rise between now and 2045, and remain the dominant source of energy despite warnings that it must fall to combat climate change. The cartel’s world oil outlook goes against the vision of the International Energy Agency, which warned in May that demand must fall over the next decades for the world to meet its climate goals. Oil demand and prices fell sharply as […]
MILAN, Italy (AFP) – Swedish activist Greta Thunberg opened a youth climate summit on Tuesday by lambasting three decades of government inaction, accusing world leaders of having “drowned” future generations with “empty words and promises”. Speaking weeks ahead of a crunch UN climate meeting in Glasgow, Thunberg accused governments of “shamelessly congratulating themselves” for insufficient pledges to cut emissions and promises of financing. Hurling leaders’ own words back at them, the 18-year-old laid bare to […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Scientists have discovered a new lizard species in Peru, the national conservation agency said Tuesday. The new species, called Liolaemus warjantay, was found in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 4,500 meters (14,700 feet), according to a statement from the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State. “A valuable contribution of Peru’s protected natural areas to the world is the recent discovery of a new species of lizard,” […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – High levels of illegal drugs have been found in a river running through Britain’s Glastonbury music festival site, endangering a rare species of fish and other wildlife, scientists said on Tuesday. The levels of cocaine and MDMA — more commonly known as ecstasy — detected in the water were so high, experts said, they could be harming wildlife downstream in Whitelake River that runs through the festival grounds. Samples taken […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – A group of the 107 biggest companies in Brazil on Monday called for the Bolsonaro government to strengthen its environmental commitments, just one month ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. “Brazil should be a participant in climate negotiations,” the companies said in an open letter published by the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), which is made up of companies representing 47 percent of the country’s […]
by Ben PERRY Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain on Monday put the army on standby to help with the ongoing fuel crisis as fears over tanker driver shortages led to panic buying, leaving many of the country’s pumps dry. “Limited number of military tanker drivers to be put on a state of readiness and deployed if necessary to further stabilise fuel supply chain,” the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under pressure to adopt a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target, said in an interview published Monday that he may not join this year’s landmark UN climate summit in Glasgow. The world’s biggest coal exporter by value, and still reliant on fossil fuels for most of its electricity, Australia has not made a firm commitment on its own greenhouse gas reductions. Morrison has vowed to mine and […]
by Paula RAMON Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) – The so-far successful battle this month in California to save the world’s biggest trees from ever-worsening forest blazes seems to offer an important lesson: You can fight fire with fire. Human-caused climate change has made the western United States hotter, drier and more vulnerable to increasingly destructive wildfires, which have this year taken a horrific toll on the region’s forests. That has included threatening huge […]
