World Environment News
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Latest News (229 stories)
BP Eyes Production Of New Biofuel Types
Photo: Mark Blinch/Files
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: FRANCE
Author: Gus Trompiz
PARIS - Oil major BP may start construction next year of a cellulosic biofuel plant as part of a push toward commercial production of new types of biofuels from next year, the head of the group's biofuels division said.
South Korea Drops Weakest 2020 Emissions Cut Target
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: SOUTH KOREA
Author: Cho Mee-Young
SEOUL - South Korea, the OECD's fastest-growing carbon polluter, has ditched its weakest voluntary 2020 emissions target and will choose one of two stricter options ahead of a global meeting in Copenhagen.
FACTBOX: European Nuclear Plant Life Extensions
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: EUROPE
Author: Reuters
Most nuclear power plants have a nominal design lifetime of up to 40 years but many have been approved to operate for longer.
FACTBOX: Nuclear Power Plans In Europe
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: EUROPE
Author: Reuters
Nuclear energy is seen by some countries as an effective way to keep up electricity supplies while cutting emissions of climate warming gases from burning fossil fuels.
Miner Asks Peru To Remove Protesters From Its Site
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: PERU
Author: Patricia Velez
LIMA - Ares, a mining company run by Hochschild Mining, asked the Peruvian government on Thursday to remove protesting community members from one of its exploration projects -- the latest in a long string of conflict.
Climate Bill To Force Refinery Closures: Petroplus
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: UK
Author: Ikuko Kurahone and Emma Farge
LONDON - An international pact and U.S. legislation to tackle climate change will hit oil refiners' profits and may force some to shut some capacity, Thomas O'Malley, chairman of Swiss refiner Petroplus, said on Thursday.
Low-Carbon Farms Can Raise Food Output, Food Agency Says
Photo: Paulo Whitaker
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: SPAIN
Author: Reuters
BARCELONA - Low-carbon farming can both curb climate change and boost food output in developing nations and so must be rewarded under a global climate deal due in December, the U.N.'s food agency said on Thursday.
Climate Treaty May Need Extra Year
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: SPAIN/US
Author: Gerard Wynn and Richard Cowan
BARCELONA/WASHINGTON - A U.N. climate treaty may need an extra year beyond a December deadline to agree details, delegates at U.N. talks said on Thursday even as a U.S. Senate committee approved a carbon-capping bill.
U.S. Ex-Im Bank To Promote Renewable Energy Exports
Photo: Jason Reed
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: US
Author: Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Export-Import Bank on Thursday said it will provide up to $250 million to help finance exports of U.S.-built-and-designed technology used in generating renewable energy including solar, wind and geothermal.
French PM Backs Areva Despite Nuclear Safety Worry
Photo: Mohamed Azakir
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: FRANCE
Author: James Mackenzie
PARIS - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said he had confidence in the management of Areva, the world's biggest nuclear reactor maker, which has been told by safety bodies to alter safety features on its new power plants.
KBC Favors Wind Over Sun In Renewable Investments
Photo: Amit Dave
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: GERMANY
Author: Christoph Steitz
FRANKFURT - Investing in wind power offers safer, less volatile returns in the current market environment than the solar sector, a fund manager of KBC's asset management arm told Reuters. "We as investors like strong, steady growth, which is why we currently favor wind more than solar, which is expected to see more volatility in the short term," said Treasa Ni Chonghaile, manager of KBC's Eco Alternative Energy fund.
Philippines Targets $2.5 Billion Geothermal Development
Photo: Darren Whiteside
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: HONG KONG
Author: Leonora Walet, Asia Green Investment Correspondent
HONG KONG - The Philippine government aims to approve contracts to explore and develop the country's massive geothermal energy resources, which could attract more than $2.5 billion in private investment, an official said.
Greens Call Brazil Oil Finds A Tempting Trap
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: BRAZIL
Author: Marcelo Teixeira - Analysis
SAO PAULO - Brazil's huge offshore oil find, though an economic treasure chest, threatens to undermine the renewable energy industry the country has worked so hard to build.
German Nuclear Policy Skirts A Taboo
Photo: Johannes Eisele
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: GERMANY
Author: Vera Eckert - Analysis
FRANKFURT - Germany's nuclear power policy of keeping old reactors open longer to bridge the gap to greener energy may also leave the door open to eventually break a major electoral taboo -- new atomic power plants.
U.S. Requests Talks With Mexico Over Tuna Dispute
Photo: Paulo Whitaker
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: US
Author: Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON - The United States on Thursday sought formal talks with Mexico to settle a spat between the neighbors over which international body should hear a complaint about "dolphin-safe" tuna.
Space Junk Storm Will Up Mission Costs: Experts
Photo: James Stirton/Handout
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: UK
Author: Kate Kelland
LONDON - A growing storm of debris flying around in space is dramatically increasing the risk of orbital crashes, and steps to avoid them will add greatly to the costs of future space flight, British space experts say.
Giant Snake Capture Was A Hoax?
Photo: FWC/Handout
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: US
Author: Jane Sutton
MIAMI - A man who caught a 14-foot (4.2-meter) python in a Florida drain pipe was charged with perpetrating a hoax after wildlife officers discovered he owned the snake and put it in the pipe in order to stage the capture.
Hurricane Ida Pummels Nicaragua East Coast
Photo: NOAA/Handout
Date: 06-Nov-09
Country: NICARAGUA
Author: Ivan Castro
MANAGUA - Hurricane Ida slammed into Nicaragua's Caribbean coast on Thursday after dumping heavy rain on little-developed offshore islands where hundreds of people were evacuated from flimsy homes.
UK Energy Park Gets All Clear
Photo: Phil Noble
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: UK
Author: Daniel Fineren
LONDON - Peterborough Renewable Energy Limited (PREL) has been granted approval to build a waste recycling and green power plant that could eliminate the need for landfill sites in the area, the government said on Wednesday.
Indonesia Defends Converting Peatlands To Palm Estates
Photo: Hardi Baktiantoro
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: INDONESIA
Author: Niluksi Koswanage
KUALA LUMPUR - Indonesia will stick to a controversial plan to open peatlands for oil palm estates as it seeks to develop the economy despite protests from green groups that this type of land conversion speeds up climate change.
Investors Warm To Scaled-Up U.N. Offset Scheme
Photo: Juan Carlos Ulate
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: SINGAPORE
Author: David Fogarty, Climate Change Correspondent, Asia - Analysis
SINGAPORE - A U.N. scheme initially shunned by investors as too risky is now pulling them in to help achieve dramatic cuts in carbon emissions in developing countries and improve the livelihoods of millions of people.
House Seeks To End Biofuels Paper Tax Breaks
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: US
Author: Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Wednesday said they would close a loophole that lets paper companies claim a valuable tax credit for making biofuel that is already a byproduct of paper production.
China Pushes CO2 Capture, Storage Questions Loom
Photo: Reuters
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: CHINA
Author: Emma Graham-Harrison - Analysis
BEIJING - China is pushing to complete its first commercial-scale power plant that can capture and store emissions, but must do more research on how and where to lock away carbon dioxide if the technology is to get wide roll-out.
Insurance Sector Can't Cope With Climate Change: Trade Group
Photo: Eric Thayer
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: UK
Author: Sarah Hills
LONDON - The general insurance industry may not be able to cope with the increased frequency and severity of floods and typhoons brought about by climate change, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said on Wednesday.
How To Boost Fuel Efficiency? Raise Taxes, Executives Say
Photo: Mark Blinch
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: US
Author: Scott Malone
DETROIT - There's a simple way to get Americans to drive fuel-efficient cars, according to auto executives, but they are not going to like it -- sharply hike the gas tax.
Israeli Firms Aim To Plug World's Water Leaks
Photo: Gil Cohen Magen/Files
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: ISRAEL
Author: Ari Rabinovitch
TEL AVIV - Outside a small town near Tel Aviv, a pilotless drone aircraft with a three-foot (1-meter) wingspan collects data from hundreds of gauges.
Poor Urge Deep Climate Cuts
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: SPAIN
Author: Alister Doyle and Gerard Wynn
BARCELONA - Developing countries said on Wednesday they risked "total destruction" unless the rich stepped up the fight against climate change to a level that even the United Nations says is out of reach.
Climate History Forces Action -- After Decades
Photo: Andy Clark
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: SPAIN
Author: Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
BARCELONA - President Lyndon Johnson and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made stark warnings about global warming decades ago, but convincing evidence for action only amassed in recent years, experts say.
Study Finds Vital Peatlands Neglected
Photo: Ferry Latif
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: SPAIN
Author: Gerard Wynn
BARCELONA - Draining and burning of the world's peat bogs accounts for about 5.5 percent of global carbon emissions but are currently excluded from governments' climate targets and U.N. talks, a study found on Wednesday.
U.S. Climate Envoy Takes Aim At Developing Nations
Photo: Henry Romero
Date: 05-Nov-09
Country: US
Author: Deborah Zabarenko and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON - As a top American diplomat accused developing countries of inaction on global warming, a coalition of senators on Wednesday stepped up efforts to break a political deadlock that has choked U.S. steps on climate change.