Environment

Australia’s gas and mining emissions higher than estimated: report

by Maddison Connaughton Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Gas and mining projects in Australia are emitting significantly more greenhouse gases than their operators promised, with an environmental group reporting Thursday that one pipeline was releasing 20 times the initial estimate. During an 18-month investigation, researchers from the Australian Conservation Foundation found one-in-five fossil fuel companies reporting their emissions had exceeded the amount approved by the government. One gas pipeline in the state of Queensland, operated […]

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More than $1.5 bn bid so far in US offshore wind auction

by Juliette MICHEL Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Energy companies interested in developing offshore wind sites bid more than $1.5 billion Wednesday in by far the biggest US auction for the renewable power. After launching the auction Wednesday morning, US officials released updates throughout the day as the bids gradually rose on six available tracts involving nearly 500,000 acres off the coasts of New York and New Jersey. After 21 rounds of […]

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Brazil storm death toll passes 200: police

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – The death toll from flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rain in the Brazilian city of Petropolis has surpassed 200, authorities said Wednesday, as they continue to recover bodies more than a week after the storm. Around 51 people are still missing, but that number is expected to go down as bodies are identified and families are reunited, police said. Among the 204 bodies recovered, 188 had been […]

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Melting glaciers, fast-disappering gauge of climate change

by Pablo COZZAGLIO / Alberto PEÑA Agence France-Presse AYSEN, Chile (AFP) – A crack widens in the San Rafael glacier in Chile’s extreme south, and a ten-storey iceberg crashes into the lake by the same name — a dramatic reminder of the impacts of global warming. In the lake San Rafael, about 100 icebergs float today, pieces broken off from the glacier that 150 years ago stretched out over two-thirds of the body of water […]

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World must brace for more extreme wildfires: UN

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. […]

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Sri Lanka completes return of illegal waste to Britain

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 […]

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Mining firms targeting Brazil indigenous lands: report

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 […]

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Only nine percent of plastic recycled worldwide: OECD

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 […]

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Spain, Denmark oppose EU green label for gas, nuclear

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 […]

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Germany wants to keep fuel motor cars, but get rid of petrol

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 […]

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Iran hails nuclear talk ‘progress’ but Raisi insists US sanctions end

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 […]

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US climate envoy Kerry in Egypt to discuss COP27 summit

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 […]

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