Environment

Norway aims for first offshore wind power by 2030

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 […]

Germany taps Greenpeace chief Morgan as first climate envoy

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 […]

Vietnam arrests green activist on tax charges

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 […]

Climate hope as scientists in UK set fusion record

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) […]

Shaken by fracking quakes, Texas is forced to act

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 […]

France summit seeks action on ocean protection

PARIS, France (AFP) – World leaders, scientists and major companies gather in France this week to boost efforts to protect the oceans, which cover 70 percent of the planet but receive far less attention than land ecosystems. The One Ocean Summit in the northwestern port city of Brest on February 9-11 seeks to raise the international community’s ambitions to protect sealife, cut plastic pollution and tackle the impact of climate change. The world’s five connected […]

‘Denial and delay’: Big Oil rebuked in US Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – US climate scientists accused four of the world’s largest oil companies Tuesday of lying about the harms linked to their industry and trying to delay the switch to cleaner fuel. American multinationals ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as Britain’s BP and Shell, are being investigated by the US Congress for their role in spreading misinformation about climate change. Michael Mann, an academic, told the House oversight committee the companies […]

NGO files complaint over dead fish deluge off French coast

SAINT-JEAN-DE-LUZ, France (AFP) – Environmental organisation Sea Shepherd on Tuesday filed a legal complaint against the owners of a large fishing vessel after tens of thousands of dead fish were spotted off France’s Atlantic coast. The NGO last week published footage of what it said were more than 100,000 dead fish floating in the sea some 300 kilometres (186 miles) off the southwestern port city of La Rochelle in the Bay of Biscay. The fish, […]

Mozambique to plant 100 million trees on battered coast

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – Mozambique, whose coastline has been ravaged by rising sea levels and tropical storms, announced plans on Tuesday to plant over 100 million trees to restore its battered mangroves. Large portions of mangroves along the country’s 2,500-kilometre-long (1,500-mile-long) coastline have been decimated by high seas and the harvesting of firewood for charcoal. The Ministry of Sea and Inland Waters said it plans to plant up to a 100 million trees over […]

World must work together to tackle plastic ocean threat: WWF

by Stéphane ORJOLLET Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Plastic has infiltrated all parts of the ocean and is now found “in the smallest plankton up to the largest whale” wildlife group WWF said on Tuesday, calling for urgent efforts to create an international treaty on plastics. Tiny fragments of plastic have reached even the most remote and seemingly-pristine regions of the planet: it peppers Arctic sea ice and has been found inside fish in […]

Livelihoods lost as climate disaster woes mount in Kenya

by Raphael AMBASU, with Hillary ORINDE in Nairobi Agence France-Presse MARSABIT, Kenya (AFP) – Dabaso Galgalo is now used to the smell and grisly spectacle of rotting flesh festering in the scorching heat as Kenya reels from a spate of climate disasters. Surrounded by barren scrubland littered with withered carcasses of sheep and goats, the 56-year-old pastoralist is struggling to keep his beloved animals, and himself, alive. What was left of his herd after a months-long […]

Dubai to charge for single-use plastic bags

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) – Dubai is ending the free distribution of single-use plastic bags in a drive towards more sustainable practices for the glitzy emirate known for its unbridled consumerism. From home deliveries to supermarkets and shops, single-use plastic bags are ubiquitous across the emirate. “In line with enhancing environmental sustainability and encouraging individuals to reduce the excessive use of plastics, the Executive Council of Dubai has approved the policy to limit single-use […]