Economic growth has 'devastating cost to nature', review finds - CNA

Humanity's unbridled growth in recent decades has come at a "devastating cost to nature" according a wide-ranging international review on the vital economic role played by our living planet.

CO2 emissions projected to rise in 2017: study

Global carbon emissions are expected to rise by 2 percent in 2017, ending a three-year period of nearly no growth, according to a research published on Monday.

Cuba receives 3 million foreign tourists so far in 2017

Cuba announced Tuesday that it had received 3 million foreign tourists so far in 2017, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

China's resolution gives hope to world economy

China's ambition to advance reform and maintain medium to high growth has injected hope and stability into the world economy, experts have observed.

Energy demand will rise 50 pct by 2030, UN official says

More fertile lands will be needed as the global demand for food, water and energy will increase with population growth, a senior official of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification has said.

India 'confident' it can cut emissions by at least 35% by 2030

India, the world's third biggest carbon emitter, is "confident" it can cut emissions by at least 35 per cent by 2030, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday (Oct 2).

Renewable energy capable of reviving Egyptian economy

Expanding investments in wind energy and solar power can free up Egypt's carbon energy, reduce fiscal spending and create job, said a report released by consultancy PWC here on Sunday.

German exports, imports top monthly record in July

Germany’s exports and imports rose to new monthly records in July, official data showed on Sept. 8, underlining the robustness of Europe’s top economy in the current stormy global economic seas.       

Greek tourism industry heads towards new record arrivals in 2015

Greece's tourism industry, traditionally one of the main pillars of the economy, was heading towards a new record in arrivals of visitors this year, according to the latest data of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).

Preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem essential for the economy and welfare

International conference “EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 – towards implementation” took place under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 26 - 27 May in Riga. During the conference Latvian Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development Kaspars Gerhards stressed the essential role of biodiversity and ecosystem preservation to the economy and human long-term welfare.

Beijing to ban vehicles that fail to meet emission standards

Beijing will ban gasoline-powered vehicles that fail to meet the National Emission Standard II from the road starting Jan. 1 of next year to cut pollution, the local environmental authority said.

Vehicles are top polluter in Beijing (official)

Vehicle emissions are the top pollutant in Beijing, vice minister of environmental protection Wu Xiaoqing said here Wednesday.

The impact of tourism on nature

Wildlife tourism generates billions of dollars in revenue every year - boosting local economies and creating employment. But what is the cost to the animals that become the star attractions? 

Eco Felaketi - Geo News (February 2015 - b)

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Stephen Hawking a ouvert le bal des hostilités en novembre 2014. Sur un ton quasi-apocalyptique, il avait assuré à la chaîne britannique BBC que "le développement d’une intelligence artificielle pourrait mettre fin à l’humanité".................L'intelligence artificielle inquiète les grands cerveaux contemporains

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(February 2015 - a)

Beijing city raises subsidies for scrapping polluting vehicles

Beijing car owners with emissions-heavy models can now earn more money from scrapping their vehicles after the city raised its subsidy for doing so by an average of 2,000 yuan (321.8 US dollars), environmental protection authorities said Tuesday.

China will destroy 5,000,000 cars this year to battle air pollution (Polluting vehicles to be scrapped)

China is going to make air cleaner by taking 5.33 million ageing cars off its roads, according to a government document. The move is part of a broader campaign for battling deep environmental crisis that’s gripped world’s second-biggest economy.
The vehicles in question are so-called ‘yellow label’ cars that do not meet Chinese fuel standards and are thus meant to be ‘eliminated’ this year, the Chinese State Council document published on Monday and cited by Reuters, says.
Chinese authorities, spurred by overwhelming public outcry, have lately boosted efforts for tackling the growing ecological crisis, a byproduct of decades of massive economic growth amid neglect for environmental protection.

Gas prices in Europe to rise 50%, if it abandons Russia’s supplies. -- Are the economies of European countries ready to supply and consume gas at such a price?

Domestic prices in Europe will go up by at least 50 percent, if it cuts supplies from Russia, according to Russia’s Energy Minister Alexandre Novak.
“Moving away from pipeline transportation of natural gas, construction of terminals and deliveries of liquefied natural gas will lead to an increase in gas prices in Europe from the current $380 per 1,000 cubic metres to at least $550,” Novak said in an interview to the Russia 24 TV Channel.

Commission presents new European strategy to promote coastal and maritime tourism. -European Commission

The European Commission today presented a new strategy to support coastal and maritime tourism in Europe. Recognising the sector's potential for sustainable growth and job creation, the strategy outlines 14 EU actions to help coastal regions and businesses tackle the challenges they face and strengthen the sector's position as a key driver of Europe's blue economy. These concrete actions are accompanied by a break-down of the tasks that Member States, Regions and industry stakeholders can undertake to complement the EU actions.

The proposed actions include facilitating closer cooperation and dialogue across Europe between all coastal tourism stakeholders, public-private partnerships, promoting skills and innovation, promoting ecotourism, and creating an online guide to funding opportunities to help drive investment. Member States, regional authorities and the industry will be central to the design and implementation of the actions.

Report: Climate change may pose threat to economic growth

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Nearly a third of the world's economic output will come from countries facing "high" to "extreme" risks from the impacts of climate change within 12 years, according to a new report.

The Climate Change Vulnerability Index, an annual report produced by UK-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft, found that climate change "may pose a serious obstacle to sustainable economic growth in the world's most commercially important cities."

The index ranked the vulnerability of the world's countries, and the 50 cities deemed most economically important, to the impacts of climate change, by evaluating their risk of exposure to extreme climate events, the sensitivity of their populations to that exposure and the adaptive capacity of governments to respond to the challenge.