The Environment Chronicle

The Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition brings together leaders from across government, the private sector and civil society to share experience working with carbon pricing and to expand the evidence base for the most effective carbon pricing systems and policies. The coalition formed from a groundswell of support for carbon pricing at the 2014 UN Climate Summit, where 74 countries and more than 1,000 companies expressed support for carbon pricing. Its goal is to expand the use of effective carbon pricing policies that can maintain competitiveness, create jobs, encourage innovation, and deliver meaningful emissions reductions. The coalition was created in 2014 by the World Bank Group in conjunction with partners including the We Mean Business Coalition, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations Global Compact’s Caring for Climate Initiative.

On 27 May 2015 the German cabinet adopted a draft 14th act amending the Atomic Energy Act. his draft act is limited to regulations required for implementing the provisions of an EU directive into national law. It does not pre-empt further discussions in the Bundestag commission on the storage of highly radioactive waste.

On 23 March 2015, the Federal government of Germany published the first monitoring report on climate impacts and adaptation. On the basis of data collected in 15 different sectors of society, the report describes the shifts caused by the changing climate, which are already becoming apparent today, as well as the counter measures that address them successfully. The monitoring report was adopted by the interministerial working party on adaptation strategies which brings together the responsible Federal ministries. It is part of the progress report on the German adaptation strategy to climate change (DAS), which was commissioned by the Federal Government following a cabinet decision in December 2008.

On 20 May 2015 the European Commission adopted a new report providing the most comprehensive picture yet on the ‘State of Nature in the EU’. The report is the first assessment to cover both the Birds and Habitats Directives, and it results from the largest collaborative data-collection and assessment of nature ever undertaken across the Member States in the period 2007-2012. Looking at birds, the report concludes that 52 % of all wild bird species assessed have a secure status. However, around 17 % of the species are still threatened and another 15 % are near threatened, declining or depleted. Looking at other species protected under the Habitats Directive, almost 23 % have a favourable assessment. However, 60 % are still in an unfavourable status. Grasslands, wetlands and dune habitats are of particular concern. Habitat types, on the whole, show a worse conservation status and trend than species, as only 16 % of habitat-assessments are favourable. The overwhelming majority of habitats have an unfavourable status, with 47 % of the assessments being unfavourable-inadequate and 30 % being unfavourable-bad. The main threats to habitats identified are certain agricultural practices and human-induced “modifications of natural conditions”.

On 19 May 2015, EU regulators agreed new test procedures that will, for the first time, measure the ‘real world’ emissions of diesel cars under the Euro 6 air quality standard. It will require vehicles to be tested on roads rather than in laboratories, overcoming obsolete tests and ‘cycle beating’ techniques used by carmakers to achieve results in tests many times lower than actual air pollution emissions on the road.

On 30 April 2015, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel, Swedish Minister for Enterprise Mikael Damberg, Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz and Torsten Albig, Prime Minister of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, joined Magnus Hall, President and CEO of Vattenfall, and Dr Florian Bieberbach, CEO of SWM, in Hamburg today to celebrate the formal opening of the DanTysk offshore wind farm. Located 70 kilometres west of Sylt Island, the DanTysk offshore wind farm is the first infrastructure project jointly implemented by Vattenfall and SWM as part of the energy transition in Germany. Vattenfall holds a 51% stake in DanTysk Offshore GmbH, which is responsible for construction and operation, while SWM holds 49%. The site comprises a total of 80 Siemens wind turbines in the 3.6 megawatt (MW) class with a total installed capacity of 288 MW. The capital investment is more than EUR 1 billion. DanTysk will generate climate-neutral power equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 400,000 average households. Offshore construction started in February 2013.

On 29 April 2015, Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order to establish a California greenhouse gas reduction target of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

During a meeting with Pope Francis on 28 April 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he very much look forward to the Pontiff's encyclical on climate change, which he said he believed would act as a moral voice on the issue. The U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki Moon spoke at the Vatican at an international gathering on the moral dimensions of climate change and sustainable development.

Eleven places in the world – 10 of which are in the tropics – will account for over 80 per cent of forest loss globally by 2030, according to research released on 28 April 2015 by WWF. Up to 170 million hectares of forest could be lost between 2010 and 2030 in these “deforestation fronts” if current trends continue, according to findings in the latest chapter of WWF’s Living Forests Report series. The fronts are located in the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest and Gran Chaco, Borneo, the Cerrado, Choco-Darien, the Congo Basin, East Africa, Eastern Australia, Greater Mekong, New Guinea and Sumatra.

EU countries will be required to reduce the use of the commonest and most polluting plastic bags drastically under new rules voted by Parliament on 28 April 2015. EU member states will be able to choose: either to take measures to reduce annual average consumption of non-biodegradable plastic bags to 90 lightweight bags per citizen by the end of 2019 and 40 by the end of 2025 or ensure that by the end of 2018, no more light plastic bags are handed over free of charge to shoppers. Furthermore, the European Commission is required to assess the impact on the environment of oxo-degradable plastic materials, which fragment into small particles, and propose suitable measures. By 2017, the European Commission will have to propose labelling and marking measures for an EU-wide recognition of biodegradable and compostable plastic bags.

The new EU forest strategy must focus on managing forests sustainably, promoting efficient use of the raw materials that they produce, and boosting the competitiveness of forest-related industry so as to create jobs, says a non-legislative resolution voted by Parliament on 28 April 2015. The EU needs a new comprehensive strategy to tackle cross-border challenges such as forest fires, climate change, natural disasters or invasive alien species, but also to strengthen forest-based industries and improve efficient use of raw materials such as timber, cork or textile fibres. This would boost the competitiveness of the EU's forestry, improve its self-sufficiency in wood, cut its trade deficit and boost employment in the sector, says the resolution, which was passed by 566 votes to 66, with 45 abstentions. The new EU forest strategy should replace the one in force since 1998.

On 24 April 2015, the Commissionadopted 10 new authorisations for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for food/feed use, 7 renewals of existing authorisations and also the authorisation for the importation of 2 GMO cut flowers (not for food or feed). These GMOs had gone through a full authorisation procedure, including a favourable scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The authorisation decisions do not cover cultivation. The authorisations are valid for 10 years, and any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU's labelling and traceability rules.

The European Commission has found a Portuguese scheme aimed at promoting renewable energy technologies to be in line with EU state aid rules. The scheme will support demonstration projects producing renewable energy from the ocean (wave energy, tidal energy) and innovative offshore wind technologies. This project will test in real operating conditions floating offshore wind turbines. This concerns wind turbines mounted on a floating platform instead of columns fixed to the seabed as is the case with conventional offshore technology, which allows deploying the technology in deeper waters. For the remaining 25 MW capacity, project proposals can be submitted until the end of this year. The aid will be granted for 25 years in the form of a feed-in-tariff to compensate for the higher costs of the new technologies. The project will also benefit from investment aid and funding from NER300 – the EU support program for innovative low-carbon energy demonstration projects.

The Earth League, an international alliance of prominent climate scientists, outlined the elements of a global climate agreement in a stark statement published on 22 April 2015, coinciding with Earth Day. Written by 17 world-leading scientists, their statement clarifies in eight essential elements, what an international climate agreement in line with the 2 degree target should achieve in Paris in December. Bold action by decision-makers is required now to pave the way for a successful international agreement to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change, the Earth League members say. 2015 is a critical year for humanity: "It is a moral obligation, and in our self-interest, to achieve deep decarbonization of the global economy via equitable effort sharing. This requires reaching a zero-carbon society by mid-century or shortly thereafter, thereby limiting global warming to below 2°C as agreed by all nations in 2010. This trajectory is not one of economic pain, but of economic opportunity, progress and inclusiveness. It I a chance too good to be missed”. They outline eight essential elements of climate action in Paris, ranging from the implementation of commitments to limit global warming to below 2 degrees, to the remaining global carbon budget, a transformation of the economy, fair decarbonization pathways, climate innovations, building resilience, the safeguarding of carbon sinks and vital ecosystems and the realization of new scales and sources of climate finance for developing countries.

Thailand seized 3 tons of ivory hidden in tea leaf sacks from Kenya in the second-biggest bust in the country's history, one week after the biggest seizure, customs officials said on 27 April 2015. The 511 elephant tusks worth $6 million, bound for Laos, were seized upon arrival Saturday at a major port in Chonburi province in eastern Thailand. The bust came one week after Thai customs officials seized 4 tons of tusks that were smuggled from Congo and also destined for Laos in what they said was the nation's biggest seizure. Thailand is one of the top destinations for African ivory smuggling in Asia and could face international sanctions soon if it doesn't show progress in combatting the problem.

On 17 April 2015 Member States agreed to the Commission's proposal to postpone the phase-out of inefficient "D"-class halogen lamps by two years to 1 September 2018. By analysing the lighting market and technological developments, the Commission came to the conclusion that 1 September 2016 would be too early for LED technology to fully replace halogen lamps; a more appropriate phase-out would be 2018.

On 14 April 2015, the Fukui District Court in Japan decided to accept the petition for a provisional disposition order seeking an injunction against the operation of Units 3 and 4 of Takahama Nuclear Power Station.

The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, was adopted by an international conference held in Kenya in 2007. The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks enters into force on 14 April 2015.

On Saturday 11th April 2015, Maltese citizens lost the opportunity to put an end to the controversial spring hunting of birds in their country during a national referendum. A decision that will have consequences for bird conservation across Europe and beyond.

On 1 April 2015, the German Federal Cabinet introduced a set of stringent fracking regulations. The legislative package contains bans to protect drinking water, health and nature in certain regions and also far-reaching restrictions on fracking in shale, clay, marl and coal seam rocks. In addition, the package contains supplementary, stricter regulations on conventional natural gas and crude oil extraction.

On 1 April 2015, Gov. Jerry Brown issued mandatory water restrictions for the first time in California history. Brown's executive order will require the state water board to implement reductions in cities and towns to cut water use by 25 percent.

The European Commission is taking Germany to Court over its failure to apply the requirements of the Habitats Directive in relation to the authorisation of a coal power plant in Hamburg/Moorburg. The project in question risks having a negative impact on a number of protected fish species including salmon, European river lamprey and sea lamprey, which pass near the power plant when migrating from the North Sea to some 30 Natura 2000 sites on the Elbe, upstream of Hamburg. The species are harmed by the water abstraction process used to cool the power plant. When authorising the plant, Germany failed to carry out an appropriate assessment as required by the Directive, and to assess alternative cooling processes which could avoid the killing of the protected species concerned.

On 23 March 2015, Paris authorities halved the number of cars on the road by banning all vehicles with licence plates ending in odd numbers and made public transport free. Commercial, electric or hybrid cars are all exempt, as are those carrying at least three people. The ban came after a strong prevalence of particles with a diameter of less than 10 microns, or PM10.

On 20 March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the herbicide glyphosate ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’(Group 2A).

On 17 March the UN Development Programme (UNDP) announced a new 10-year global programme in support of country efforts to reduce the risk of disasters. Announced during a special breakfast session entitled 'the power of partnerships', held on the sidelines of the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, the Programme is intended to help countries achieve the goals of the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Called ‘5-10-50’, the programme will support countries and communities to deliver better risk-informed development, and targets 50 countries over 10 years, with a focus on five critical areas: risk awareness and early warning; risk-governance and mainstreaming; preparedness; resilient recovery; and local/urban risk reduction. Disasters have killed more than 1.3 million people and cost over US$2 trillion during the last two decades. UNDP’s new programme will help partners address capacity gaps, and is building on a decade of work and nearly US$2 billion of investments in DRR.

During 2000 and 2012, an average of one football pitchof forest was illegally cleared every two minutes to supply the EU with beef, leather, palm oil and soy used for groceries, animal feed, leather shoes and biofuels, according to a study released on 17 March 2015. It finds that the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France and the UK are by far the largest consumers of illegally sourced commodities flowing into the EU, which, as a whole, imports 25% of all soy, 18% of all palm oil, 15% of all beefand 31% of all leather in international trade stemmingfrom illegal tropical forest destruction.

On 9 March 2015 the solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 successfully started its round the world trip.

On 10 March 2015, the European Parliament gave its final approval to new EU rules for safer and more eco-friendly lorries (Directive 2013/0195), put forward by the Commission. These rules will allow manufacturers to develop more aerodynamic lorries which will reduce fuel consumption by 7-10%, cut emissions of greenhouse gases, and also enhance road safety.

On 7 March 2015, the European Commission decided the withdrawal of 73 pending legislative proposals, with the adoption of the Commission's Work Programme for 2015 on 16 December 2014. The list of withdrawn proposals has now been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

German green power supply company Greenpeace Energy is taking legal action against the European Commission because it has approved State aid worth billions for the building of new nuclear plant Hinkley Point C in the UK. As soon as the Commission’s State aid approval is published in the EU’s Official Journal and the period prescribed for bringing an action begins,Greenpeace Energy will file a plea for annulment at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. An expert opinion commissioned by Greenpeace Energy from analysts Energy Brainpool shows that Hinkley Point C will lead to a shift in price levels in the European electricity market.

On 2 March 2015, the Council of European Union gave final approval to reduce the use of lightweight plastic bags. According to new rules, EU countries are permitted to introduce extra taxes on plastic bags or even ban single-use plastic bags on national level.

Under the Dome is a 2015 self-financed, Chinese documentary film by Chai Jing, a former China Central Television journalist, concerning air pollution in China. The film was released online on 28 February 2015. Under the Dome garnered more than 155 million hits in the first 24 hours. On 6 March 2015, the film was no longer available on popular Chinese mainland video sites.

Santander just pledged to stop financing the paper company APRIL. Santander has agreed that APRIL will get no more money until it stops destroying the Indonesian rainforest. After receiving thousands of queries and complaints, the bank announced on 26 February 2015 'Banco Santander has decided to not renew the current funding to APRIL and will not be extending further funding at this stage. Any future loans will be conditional on APRIL implementing new sustainability measures which address its involvement with deforestation.'

On 26 February 2015, the negotiating text for the Paris Climate Agreement was officially issued by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The text was agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Geneva earlier this month, and covers the substantive content of the new agreement including mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, capacity building, and transparency of action and support.

On 24 February 2015, President Barack Obama fulfilled his promise to veto legislation that would remove the President’s responsibility to decide whether a pipeline that crosses an international border is or is not in the national interest and give that power to Congress. The bill sent to his desk by Congress, S. 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act, authorizing the proposed TransCanada pipeline was pushed through the Republican-controlled Congress.In his brief veto letter to the Senate, President Obama said, "I am returning herewith without my approval S. 1, the "Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act." Through this bill, the United States Congress attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest. The Presidential power to veto legislation is one I take seriously. But I also take seriously my responsibility to the American people. And because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest -- including our security, safety, and environment -- it has earned my veto." (BARACK OBAMA)

The Bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agreed on Tuesday, in accordance with its procedures, to designate Vice Chair Ismail El Gizouli as Acting IPCC Chair. The designation of El Gizouli follows the decision by Rajendra K Pachauri, PhD, to step down as Chairman of the IPCC effective on 24 February 2015. The decision to name El Gizouli was taken at a Session of the Bureau ahead of the 41st Session of the IPCC, which is being held on 24 - 27 February 2015.

Urban Green Energy (UGE) announced on 24 February 2015, that it has fitted two turbines at the site capable of delivering 10,000kWh of electricity annually, equivalent to the power used by the commercial areas on the Eiffel tower’s first floor.

Shell has shelved plans for a major new tar sands mine in Canada, the largest project yet to fall victim to low oil prices. On 23 February 2015, Shell announced , it is withdrawing its regulatory application for the proposed Pierre River Mine north of Fort McMurray, Alberta to focus attention on its existing oil sands operations.

Six scientists from the Arthropoda Department of the Museum Koenig in Bonn (Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig – Leibniz-Institute for Animal Biodiversity) in Bonn have described over 1,000 new species during the last ten years. Their new species come from all over the world and include mainly beetles, spiders, millipedes, flies, and butterflies. Many specimens have been collected during recent expeditions by the scientists themselves, whilst others come from the museum in Bonn and from other institutions. In these “treasure chests”, many species wait for decades until they are scientifically described.

The application for Dogger Bank Creyke Beck offshore wind farm has been given development consent by the Department for Energy and Climate Change. Dogger Bank Creyke Beck is the first stage of Forewind’s offshore wind energy development of the Dogger Bank Zone (Zone 3, Round 3). The decision announced on 17 February 2015. Dogger Bank Creyke Beck, which has a total generating capacity of 2.4GW, comprises two separate 1.2GW offshore wind farms, each with up to 200 turbines installed across an area of around 500km2. The wind farms will be located 131 kilometres from the UK coast and will connect into the existing Creyke Beck substation near Cottingham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.