Shanghai - China needs to impose an absolute cap on carbon emissions during the 2021-2025 period to help meet its climate goals, an influential government advisory body said in a new report. China currently has no set cap on greenhouse gas emissions, now the highest in the world at more than 10 billion tonnes a year
London - The window of opportunity for reaching net zero emissions by mid-century is narrowing unless the world radically changes the way energy is produced, used and transported, the International Energy Agency (Iea) said on Tuesday
Shanghai - China has punished more than 2,500 firms and detained 95 people after an inspection across eight provinces turned up instances of illegal quarrying and wetland encroachments among others, the environment ministry said. The inspection teams fanned out from Beijing last month to assess compliance with environmental laws and regulations in the provinces and regions of Shanxi, Liaoning, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hunan, Guangxi and Yunnan.
London - Tesla boss Elon Musk's sudden u-turn over accepting bitcoin to buy his electric vehicles has thrust the cryptocurrency's energy usage into the headlights. Some Tesla investors, along with environmentalists, have been increasingly critical about the way bitcoin is "mined" using vast amounts of electricity generated with fossil fuels
Leading Japanese lenders have joined an initiative that links the provision of shipping finance to cuts in carbon dioxide emissions as the sector accelerates efforts to go green
Shipping and trade groups are calling on the European Union to advance the development of ammonia and green hydrogen as the best marine fuel options to enable the industry to accelerate decarbonisation
A Chinese-flagged fishing vessel with 16 crew members carrying 130 tonnes of oil has run aground off Mauritius, causing a minor spill
Ban Khu - Muhammad Lamoh had no inkling that his small village of Ban Khu in southern Thailand would be key to the nation's renewable energy goals, until local authorities called a community meeting to inform them of a plan to build a biomass plant. The 25 megawatt plant began operating in March last year, despite villagers' concerns about its effects on their health
Shanghai - China will set up a new information platform to allow the public to track the emissions of polluting enterprises and help authorities prosecute those that break the rules or try to "evade supervision", the environment ministry said
Athens - In an original and socially responsible way, the Propeller Club celebrated the 85th anniversary of its founding, by symbolically cleaning the Votsalakia Beach in Piraeus, on Sunday, October 25th. More than 60 volunteers, led by President Mr. Costis Frangoulis and Members of the Board of Governors, participated in the cleanup, meticulously following the protection measures taken due to the pandemic
New York - A crack has been found in the hull of the "YM Mandate", which has lead to a significant oil leak at the Bayonne Bridge Terminal in New Jersey. The US Coast Guard has intervened to stem an oil spill from the fuel tanks of Yang Ming Marine Transport’s 6,572TEU container vessel, "YM Mandate" in the port of New York and New Jersey
Brussels - ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, committed on Wednesday to being carbon neutral by 2050, although it said a level playing field with green border adjustments and abundant, affordable clean energy would be required to get there. The company, which makes around 5% of the world's steel, said last year it aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2030
London - Achieving net zero emissions by mid-century would cost an estimated $1 trillion-$2 trillion a year of additional investments, or 1-1.5% of global gross domestic product, a report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) said on Wednesday. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, global greenhouse gas emissions will need to reach net zero
The Panamanian-flagged MV Wakashio began spilling fuel oil on Aug. 6, prompting the Mauritian government to announce an environmental emergency
"We will provide long-term contributions to the environment and the society of Mauritius with the support and cooperation of experts and organizations with specialized knowledge of environmental restoration and protection," the company said in a statement
Sydney - Eight young Australian students have brought a class action in the country's federal court seeking an injunction to prevent government approval of a coal project, lawyers representing the claimants said on Wednesday
The MV Wakashio, owned by Japan's Nagashiki Shipping, began spilling oil on Aug. 6, prompting the Mauritian government to announce a state environmental emergency
Shanghai - Criminal networks are smuggling plastic trash from the West to illegal recycling plants in Asia, profiting from a 2018 ban on waste imports in China where the bulk of used plastic was previously processed, Interpol said on Friday. The decline in the number of legal export channels for millions of tonnes of waste has "opened the door to illegal business opportunities," the police organisation said in a report
Tokyo - Most of the fuel left on a Japanese bulk carrier that has leaked an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil off the Mauritius coast has been pumped off, ship owner Nagashiki Shipping said on Wednesday
Tokyo - The Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground off Mauritius and has leaked at least an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil, passed the latest annual inspection in March with no problems, Japan's ClassNK inspection body said on Tuesday. The ship, MV "Wakashio", is owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, which said earlier on Tuesday it had set up a task force and was cooperating with the authorities in Japan and Mauritius
The generator and the loading crane were also submerged. The Emergency Operations Committee (COE) took «immediate action to reduce the environmental risk» in the so-called Enchanted Islands
Geneva - MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announces that the company is now starting to use biofuel in its vessels calling in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Brussels - Europe’s gas industry lobby warned on Monday that curbs on lending by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and others could slow the switch from coal-fired to less polluting gas-fired power plants and harm the bloc’s climate ambitions.
Barcelona - Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg is taking a year off school to pursue her campaign to curb global warming in the Americas, which she will reach by sailboat on a transatlantic voyage.
Bruxelles - Italy has not communicated to the European Commission the final version of the national program for the nuclear waste management. It was established by the Court of Justice of the European Union, based on 2011/70/2011 Euratom Directive
Gieranger - The Norwegian Maritime Authority has fined Greek cruise ship operator Global Cruise Lines Ltd. a total of $80,000 for using 0.17% sulphur fuel in a 0.10% sulfur ECA zone. In March,new Norwegian environmental requirements for emissions in several protected fjords entered into force
London - New rules require high sulphur fuel to be cleaned on ships. Open loop scrubbers clean sulphur from fuel, then pump into sea.
Strasbourg - “Persistent pollution caused by Ilva emissions has endangered the health of the entire population, which lives in the area at risk”: the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg upheld the appeal presented by 182 citizens of Taranto
Beijing - China’s surface water quality improved in 2018, with more samples taken from river and lakes reaching standards fit for human use, the country’s environment ministry said on Monday.
Shanghai - The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in a policy document on Friday it would aim to “significantly increase” the number of diesel trucks capable of meeting emission standards by 2020, targeting a compliance rate of at least 90 percent by next year.
