The Environment Chronicle

On 21 Jnue 2013, at 12:00 p.m. local time, the Pollution Standards Index — a scale of 0 to 500 to measure air pollution — hit 401 in Singapore, the highest in the country's history. Before this week, the record had been 226, set in 1997.

On 21 June EU Commissioner Michel Barnier, responsible for the Internal Market and Services, issued a statement on the exclusion of water from the EU Concessions Directive.

On 19 June 2013 Members of the European Parliament's environment committee voted to send a revised version of the European Commission's proposal to ‘backload' carbon allowances in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme back to the full Parliament.

Ongoing illegal fishing and trade in caviar in Romania and Bulgaria is threatening the survival of sturgeons in the Danube river basin finds a new report by WWF and TRAFFIC. The report’s findings are based on interviews with caviar retailers and DNA analyses of samples obtained from selected shops, restaurants, markets, street vendors and sturgeon farms in Romania and Bulgaria. Significant information was also obtained in discussions with fishermen. In both countries, a current fishing ban is in place until 2015. However, Bulgarian fishermen told researchers they used modern equipment such as sonar and GPS as well as the forbidden traditional hook lines - “carmaci” - to catch wild sturgeons.

On 14 June 2013, transmission system operator TenneT started the financial participation of citizens in the extension of the German electricity grid. The West Coast line in Schleswig-Holstein will become a Bürgerleitung (citizen's line) as a pilot project. All residents and property owners from the districts of Nordfriesland and Dithmarschen, where the West Coast line is to be erected, can invest in the West Coast line bond issue.

The drifting ice station North Pole-40 was officially closed in a ceremony on 12 June 2013. All equipment, instruments, scientists and dogs were loaded on the nuclear-powered icebreaker “Yamal”, the ice floe was cleaned. As media reported, the ice floe carrying the research station started breaking up in the end of May. Russia’s Minister of Nature Resources and Ecology Sergey Donskoy ordered immediate evacuation of the station and “Yamal” left Murmansk on June 1 for the evacuation mission.

On 10 June 2013, the International Energy Agency released a special report of its World Energy Outlook, entitled Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, which highlights the need for intensive action before 2020. The new IEA report presents the results of a 4-for-2 °C Scenario, in which four energy policies are selected that can deliver significant emissions reductions by 2020, rely only on existing technologies and have already been adopted successfully in several countries. The four policies are: Adopting specific energy efficiency measure (49% of the emissions savings). Limiting the construction and use of the least efficient coal-fired power plants (21%). Minimising methane (CH4) emissions from upstream oil and gas production (18%). Accelerating the (partial) phase-out of subsidies to fossil-fuel consumption (12%). Targeted energy effiency measures would reduce global energy-related emissions by 1.5 Gt in 2020, alevel close to that of Russia today.

On 1 June 2013, the Renewables Club convened for the first time. The founding members are China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Morocco, South Africa, Tonga, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the Director-General of IRENA Adnan Amin. Their common goal is to scale up the deployment of renewable energy worldwide.

At 3:30 in the morning of 30 May 2013, the European Parliament and Council reached political agreement on the main points in the basic regulation in the fisheries reform.

In the Caribbean, low-income sections of the population will also be able to obtain insurance against weather-related disasters in future. The project “Climate Risk Adaptation and Insurance in the Caribbean”, which is supported by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) through its International Climate Initiative, is developing an innovative insurance product. On 29 May 2013, the first insurance policies were handed over to policy holders in Castries, the capital of the Caribbean island St. Lucia, to mark the market launch of the livelihood protection policy (LPP). These policies contribute to securing livelihoods by offering insurance against the negative impacts of climate change to broad sections of the population.

On 28 May 2013, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pleaded guilty in cases filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco to six counts of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its retail stores across the United States. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company also pleaded guilty today in Kansas City, Mo., to violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by failing to properly handle pesticides that had been returned by customers at its stores across the country. As a result of the three criminal cases brought by the Justice Department, as well as a related civil case filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Wal-Mart will pay approximately $81.6 million for its unlawful conduct. Coupled with previous actions brought by the states of California and Missouri for the same conduct, Wal-Mart will pay a combined total of more than $110 million to resolve cases alleging violations of federal and state environmental laws.

The conference “Electric Mobility going global” was hosted by the German Federal Government in cooperation with the German National Electric Mobility Platform. The conference, took place in Berlin, Germany on May 27th and 28th 2013. At this event delegates discussed the potential inherent in electric mobility and the challenges it faces, in the form of presentations, panel discussions and expert fora.

The insecticide fipronil poses a high acute risk to honeybees when used as a seed treatment for maize, EFSA has concluded in a report requested by the European Commission. EFSA was asked to perform a risk assessment of fipronil, paying particular regard to the acute and chronic effects on colony survival and development and the effects of sublethal doses on bee mortality and behaviour.

On 24 May 2013, the European Union, the United States and Canada agreed to join forces on Atlantic Ocean research. The agreement focuses on aligning the ocean observation efforts of the three partners. The goals are to better understand the Atlantic Ocean and to promote the sustainable management of its resources. The work will also study the interplay of the Atlantic Ocean with the Arctic Ocean, particularly with regards to climate change. The 'Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation' was signed at a high level conference at the Irish Marine Institute in Galway.

On 24 May 2013, Chile’s environmental regulator blocked Barrick Gold Corp.’s Pascua-Lama project and imposed its maximum fine on the world’s largest gold miner, citing “very serious” violations of its environmental permit as well as a failure by the company to accurately describe what it had done wrong.

On 22 May 2013, the Global Crop Diversity Trust was welcomed to Germany by the Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection, at a ceremonial opening of the new headquarters in Bonn.

On 21 May 2013, the European Parliament gave its green light to the new directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations. The new rules will require oil and gas firms to prove their ability to cover potential liabilities deriving from their operations and to submit major hazard reports and emergency response plans before operations can start.

On 15 May 2013, the European Commission launched its Emergency Response Centre (ERC) in Brussels. The aim is to provide a better coordinated, faster and more efficient response to disasters in Europe and the world.

On 10 May 2013, construction on Morocco’s 160 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Ouarzazate began with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony by King Mohammed VI. Built by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, Ouarzazate 1 is set to go online in 2015. The German government has pledged €115 million in support for Morocco’s ambitious project.

At least 26 elephants were massacred in the Dzanga Bai World Heritage Site in the Central African Republic, after 17 individuals armed with Kalashnikov rifles on 6 May 2013 entered this unique elephant habitat, known locally as the “village of elephants”. WWF sources on 8 May said they had counted at least 26 elephant carcasses in and around the Bai, a large clearing where between 50 and 200 elephants congregate every day to drink nutrients present in the sands.

The 6th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention agreed to list hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) to Annex A to the Convention with specific exemptions for expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene in buildings. The decision was officially adopted on 9 May 2013 and thereby entered into force in May 2013, with a one-year transition period.

On 9 May 2013 aquarists at ZSL London Zoo launched an urgent worldwide appeal to find a female mate for the last remaining males of a critically endangered fish species. The Mangarahara cichlid (Ptychochromis Insolitus) is believed to be extinct in the wild, due to the introduction of dams drying up its habitat of the Mangarahara River in Madagascar, and two of the last known individuals are residing in ZSL London Zoo’s Aquarium.

"On May 9, 2013 the daily mean concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, surpassed 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time since measurements began in 1958. This marks an important milestone because Mauna Loa, as the oldest continuous carbon dioxide (CO2) measurement station in the world, is the primary global benchmark site."

On 8 May 2013, NASA's new Earth-bound rover began testing on the Greenland ice sheet. GROVER, which stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard Remotely Operated Vehicle for Exploration and Research, is an autonomous, solar-operated robot that carries a ground-penetrating radar to examine the layers of Greenland’s ice sheet.

The fourth Petersberg Climate Dialogue entitled "Shaping the future" took place in Berlin from 6 to 7 May 2013. Germany and Poland had invited some 35 ministers from all regions of the world. Poland holds the Presidency of the next UN climate summit. The dialogue was be co-chaired by Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier and Polish Environment Minister Marcin Korolec.

On 3 May 2013, the Solar Impulse began its first cross-US flight with a journey from Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona. Successive legs of the flight took the Solar Impulse to Dallas-Fort Worth airport, Lambert–St. Louis International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport; it finally concluded at New York's John F. Kennedy airport on 6 July. Each flight leg took between 19 and 25 hours, with multi-day stops in each city between flights.

"Starting on 31 May 2013, the development of a large-scale flood event began in Central Europe, which primarily affected Germany, but also its neighboring countries Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. The meteorological cause which ultimately triggered the floods was a stable general weather pattern in Central Europe. A cut-off upper low pressure system over the European continent that was slowly shifting eastwards continuously supplied moist, unstable air of subtropical origin in a widesweep over northern to central Europe on its eastern side, which precipitated in long periods of heavy rain, especially in areas of orographic uplift in the Alps and the Central Uplands. The extent of the floods was aggravated by the extreme and widespread saturation of the soil in the affected catchment areas, which resulted from a strong precipitation anomaly during the month of May. The key areas affected were along the Danube and Elbe and their larger tributaries. (...) In terms of extent and overall magnitude, this event exceeded the August 2002 floods and the previous record event: the summer floods in July 1954. (...) In the Danube catchment area, the Danube, Lech, Regen and Inn-Salzach region were especially affected. At the confluence of the Danube and the Inn in Passau, a historical floodwater level of 12.75 m was recorded (03 Jun). In addition to Passau, the district of Deggendorf was particularly affected, where from 5th June onwards the levees were no longer able to hold back the high water levels."

May 2013 tied with 1998 and 2005 as the third warmest May in the 134-year period of record across global land and ocean surfaces, at 0.66°C above the 20th century average. As indicated by the global temperature percentile maps above, several regions around the world had record warmth, including north central Siberia, west central Australia, parts of northern and eastern Europe, parts of Libya and Algeria in northern Africa, part of northeastern China, the Philippines, and part of northern South America. Overall, the average global temperature across land surfaces was 1.11°C (2.00°F) above the 20th century average, marking the third warmest May on record.

On 29 April 2013 the majority of EU countries supported the European Commission proposal to temporarily ban three pesticides that are scientifically shown to be harmful to bees: imidacloprid and clothianidin, produced by chemical company Bayer, and thiamethoxam, produced by Syngenta.

ON 26 April 2013, the European Commission presented the first Soil Atlas of Africa. Coordinated by the European Commission's in-house science service, the JRC, an internationally renowned group of soil scientists from Africa and Europe has contributed to this atlas. The aim is to raise awareness at all levels – from politicians to the general public - of the significance of soil to life in Africa. The Soil Atlas is a collaborative initiative of the European Union, the African Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to support and encourage the sustainable use of soil resources in Africa and the Global Soil Partnership for Food Security. The Atlas explains the origin and functions of soil, describes the different soil types and their relevance to both local and global issues. It also discusses the principal threats to soil and the steps being taken to protect soil resources.

The European Commission is concerned that Germany's laws on access to justice regarding decisions that have an impact on the environment are falling short of European standards. After assessing Germany's legislation in this area, the Commission has concluded that it contains a number of shortcomings regarding individuals and NGOs and their access to justice, especially as regards decisions covered by the Directive on Environmental Impact Assessments for projects and the IPPC Directive on industrial emissions. On 25 April 2013 the Commission sent a reasoned opinion (the second stage in EU infringement proceedings).

On 25 April 2013 the General Court of the European Union confirmed the validity of the Regulation on the marketing of seal products.

On 24 April 2013 Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)launched the European report on the health impacts of coal power generation in German language at a press conference in Berlin.

On 24 April 2013 the Environment Committee approved a draft law setting out rules for achieving the 95g target ,by 47 votes to 17 with 1 abstention, but also added indicative targets for post-2020 CO2 emissions: a range of 68 to 78g from 2025. To encourage clean-car innovation, we must give "super-credit" weightings to each maker's cleaner cars and set more ambitious longer-term reduction targets, said the Environmental Committee.

BELECTRIC has connected the largest and most state-of-the-art Thin-Film ground-mounted solar power plant in Europe to the energy grid in Templin, Brandenburg. With an installed nominal power of 128 MWp, the power plant on the largest former Russian military airfield, Gross Dölln, will play an important role in supplying greater Berlin with renewable energy.

In a landmark decision the Multilateral Fund’s Executive Committee has agreed to provide China, the largest producer and consumer of HCFCs, an amount up to US $385 million for the entire elimination of its industrial production of ozone depleting substances (ODS) by the year 2030. According to a statement by the Government of China the total amount of HCFCs to be eliminated over the period to 2030 will prevent the emission of over 4.3 million metric tonnes of HCFCs, equal to 300,000 tonnes in terms of its ozone depletion potential, and 8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.

On 21 April 2013 the Chinese factory fishing ship went down near Bransfield Strait at the Antarctic peninsula. The vessel Kai Xin caught fire and its 97 crew members were rescued by a Norwegian ship. Then it began to drift in unmanned and in flames, zigzagging dangerously close to glaciers.

On 18 April 2013, the generation of power from renewable energy sources hit a new record. IWR, a renewable energy institute, reported that for the first time wind farms and solar plants in Germany generated power with a capacity of about 36,000 megawatts (MW). This is equivalent to the power plant output of more than 30 nuclear power plants. At times, the renewable plants fed more electricity into the German national grid than did conventional power plants. “For the first time, on a high-load working day Germany was at times supplied with more than 50 percent of its power from wind farms and solar plants”, said IWR director Dr. Norbert Allnoch.

On 18 April breeding bird experts and conservation managers of the Wadden Sea countries Denmark, The Netherlands and Germany came together at the International Wadden Sea workshop “Breeding Birds in Trouble”. Aims of the workshop was to identify the most pressing issues, discuss causes, solutions and consequences and take initiative to develop an action plan, which will give practical advice on proper management of specific breeding bird species and their habitats.

On April 17, 2013, an ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas, while emergency services personnel were responding to a fire at the facility. At least 14 people were killed, more than 200 were injured and many buildings were damaged or destroyed.