China confirms reception of data from Gaofen-5 satellite

The Chinese Academy of Sciences confirmed that one of its institutes has successfully tracked and received the data from the recently launched Gaofen-5, a hyperspectral imaging satellite.

Climate Change Speeds Extinctions

If increases in greenhouse gases stay on pace, species will go extinct at an ever-increasing rate, according to a study published last week (May 1) in Science. In the worst-case scenario, global warming will contribute to wiping out one of every six species.

Russian expert says no global warming over past fourteen years

There is been no global warming over the past fourteen years but scientists are divided in their assessments of the impact of human activity on the condition of climate, Dr. Robert Nigmatulin, the director of the Institute of Oceanic Studies reporting to the Russian Academy of Sciences said on Thursday...

Americans urged to stop wasting food. (60% of food waste originates from businesses and institutions)

WASHINGTON: In the run-up to Thanksgiving, a holiday to celebrate bountiful harvests, Americans are being urged to stop wasting food so much.
Some 15.4 million kilograms of food is thrown away in the United States every year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday (Nov 21).

EU gears up for 2030 with more emissions reductions

European Commission , Press release, Brussels, 28 October 2014:

The Commission, assisted by the European Environment Agency, today releases its annual Progress Report assessing the headway on climate action. According to latest estimates, EU greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 fell by 1.8% compared to 2012 and reached the lowest levels since 1990. So not only is the EU well on track to reach the 2020 target, it is also well on track to overachieve it.

French parliament votes to cut nuclear energy reliance

Lawmakers in France, the world's most nuclear-dependent country, on Oct. 10 voted to cut reliance on the energy source from more than 75 percent to 50 percent within a decade.
     
The vote comes as part of an ambitious makeover of France's energy use promised by President Francois Hollande during his 2012 election campaign.
     
The measure calls for renewables to increase in the energy mix for electricity production, rising from 23 percent in 2020 to 32 percent in 2030.
     
Use of fossil fuels should drop to around 30 percent.

Toxic exports allowed: EU drops labeling of Canadian tar sands as highly polluting

The European Commission has proposed a directive that abandons obligatory labeling of tar sands oil as highly polluting, opening way for Canada's sands crude imports and drawing criticism for putting oil producers' interests above the environment.
In light of recent economic tensions with Russia and the EU's energy dependence on its eastern neighbor, the European Commission has published a proposal, the text of which removes one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of Alberta exporting its oil sands crude to Europe. The revised draft still has to be approved by EU member-states before being passed on to the European Parliament.

EU Proposes to Stop Labeling Tar Sands Oil as Highly Polluting (Reports)

MOSCOW, October 7 – The European Commission has proposed eliminating a mandatory requirement to label tar sands oil as highly polluting, Reuters reported Tuesday.

"The commission is today giving this another push, to try and ensure that in the future, there will be a methodology and thus an incentive to choose less polluting fuels over more polluting ones like, for example, oil sands," EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in a statement as quoted by Reuters.

Russia calls for draft of new international climate agreement

Russia complies with all of its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol but calls for prompt steps to draft a new international climate agreement, presidential chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said at the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference 2014 in Guiyang, the capital city of Southwestern China's Guizhou Province, on Friday, July 11, reports ITAR-TASS.

New EU rules for safer and greener lorries: European Parliament endorses Commission proposal

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 15 April 2014:

The European Parliament has endorsed today the Commission's proposal for new EU rules for safer and greener lorries. Vice-President Siim Kallas, in charge of transport, said: "I am pleased with this vote which supports the Commission's goal to make road transport cleaner and safer, allowing innovative designs for the greener trucks of the future."

The European Commission proposed in April 2013 new rules, revising the current legislation on weights and dimensions of certain road vehicles, to allow manufacturers to develop more aerodynamic lorries which will reduce fuel consumption by 7-10%, cut emissions of greenhouse gases, and also enhance the safety of vulnerable road users.

Agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions on the rise, warns UN agency

UN, 11 April 2014 – From farming to forestry and fisheries, agriculture greenhouse emissions have nearly doubled over the past 50 years and may increase by another 30 per cent by 2050, according to new estimates out today from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
"FAO's new data represent the most comprehensive source of information on agriculture's contribution to global warming made to date," said Francesco Tubiello of the agecny’s Climate, Energy and Tenure Division.

Cooling without climate warming: Parliament backs F-gas ban

The use of climate-unfriendly fluorinated gases should be banned in new air-conditioning appliances and refrigerators by 2022-2025, under draft rules approved by the European Parliament on Wednesday. These rules had already been informally agreed with EU ministers. Overall, the use of potent hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) greenhouse gases is to be reduced by 79% by 2030.

Following bans on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the 1980s to slow depletion of the ozone layer, the new draft legislation targets use of several other fluorinated gases that are harmful to the climate. "F-gases" can have a greenhouse warming effect up to 23,000 times greater than equivalent amounts of CO2.

''Ende gut, alles gut'': Commissioner Hedegaard welcomes agreement on the car emissions target. -European Commission, Statement

The European Commission welcomes the European Parliament's endorsement today of the new target for CO2 emissions from cars. The target of 95g CO2/km in 2021 will further reduce road transport emissions and make a substantial contribution to meeting the EU objective of cutting greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020, as set out in the Commission's recent proposal for 2030 targets. 

Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: ''Ende gut, alles gut. After long and difficult discussions, I'm glad that a deal was sealed which maintains ambition. This agreement gives the car industry planning certainty to produce more fuel efficient vehicles and saves consumers money. 

U.S.-China Joint Statement on Climate Change. -Office of the Spokesperson U.S. State Department

Washington, DC .- In light of the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change and its worsening impacts, and the related issue of air pollution from burning fossil fuels, the United States and China recognize the urgent need for action to meet these twin challenges. Both sides reaffirm their commitment to contribute significantly to successful 2015 global efforts to meet this challenge. 

Accordingly, China and the United States will work together, within the vehicle of the U.S.-China Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) launched last year, to collaborate through enhanced policy dialogue, including the sharing of information regarding their respective post-2020 plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions. 

UN climate talks reach deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation.

WARSAW, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Governments at the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw on Friday agreed a set of decisions on ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and the degradation of forests.

The agreement on the so-called REDD+ initiative is backed by pledges of 280 million dollars in financing from the U.S., Norway and Britain, according to a statement released by the Conference.

"I am proud of this concrete accomplishment. We are all aware of the central role that forests play as carbon sinks, climate stabilizers and biodiversity havens," President of the conference Marcin Korolec said.

Ρεκόρ επιπέδου συγκέντρωσης αερίων του «θερμοκηπίου»/Greenhouse gas in atmosphere hits new record. -World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Το επίπεδο της συγκέντρωσης των αερίων του «θερμοκηπίου» στην ατμόσφαιρα της Γης, τα οποία συμβάλλουν στην παγκόσμια αναθέρμανση, το 2012 σημείωσε ρεκόρ, αναφέρεται στην ιστοσελίδα του Διεθνούς Μετεωρολογικού Οργανισμού.

Σύμφωνα με τα στοιχεία του Οργανισμού, οι ρυθμοί αύξησης της συγκέντρωσης του διοξειδίου του άνθρακα πέρυσι ήταν ταχύτεροι, από ότι κατά την περίοδο από το 1990 μέχρι το 2011.