The Environment Chronicle

In a recent study, scientists at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), demonstrate for the first time that ocean acidification could have negative impacts on diatoms in the Southern Ocean. In laboratory tests they were able to observe that under changing light conditions, diatoms grow more slowly in acidic water. In so doing, Dr Clara Hoppe and her team have overturned the widely held assumption that sinking pH values would stimulate the growth of these unicellular algae. The original paper was published in nature geoscience under the following title : “Ocean Acidification decreases the light-use efficiency in an Antarctic diatom under dynamic but not constant light“ in the New Phytologist.

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)

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.

On 16 February 2015, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank launched two new financial instruments to drive investment in energy efficiency, efforts to preserve natural capital, and adaptation to climate change. The Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) is a financial instrument that combines EIB financing and European Commission funding under the LIFE Programme, the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Private Finance for Energy Efficiency (PF4EE) instrument is a joint agreement between the EIB and the European Commission which aims to address the limited access to adequate and affordable commercial financing for energy efficiency investments. The instrument targets projects which support the implementation of National Energy Efficiency Action Plans or other energy efficiency programmes of EU Member States.

On 13-14 February 2015, thousands came together for the first ever Global Divestment Day to demand institutions and individuals divest from fossil fuels. Through 450 events in 60 countries, campaigners called for organizations that serve the public good such as governments, educational and religious institutions, to freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies – and divest from direct ownership that includes fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within five years. As a result, 181 cities and universities committed to divest.

On 20 May 2015, 100 environmental NGOs across Europe launched a joint online action to save European nature from Commission President Juncker’s deregulation agenda. An internet action called Nature Alert allow citizens across the 28 EU countries to participate in the European Commission public consultation.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is launching a pilot measure concerned with Microplastics in Marine Systems together with eleven other research funding organizations from nine European countries under the framework of the European Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans Joint Programming Initiative (JPI Oceans).

The European Commission has adopted measures to control wildlife trade that come into force on 5th February 2015. The measure concerns the import of hunting trophies and is designed to ensure that any such imports are legal and sustainable. The species concerned are African lion, polar bear, African elephant, Southern white rhinoceros, hippopotamus and argali sheep. In the past, there was no systematic scrutiny by scientific authorities in the Member States to ensure that trophies from these species imported to the EU were the result of sustainable hunting. The new measures address these problems by introducing a requirement for an import permit guaranteeing that the origin of the trophy is legal and sustainable. The permit will only be delivered once the EU is convinced that the import meets criteria demonstrating that it is sustainable. If the criteria are not met, the import will be banned.

On 4 February 2015, Ecuador's government put a state of emergency in place for the Galapagos Islands. Fears there are growing that fuel leaking from a stranded vessel may place the fragile UNESCO World Heritage Site ecosystem at risk. The state of emergency will apply for 180 days and includes the national park, the protected marine reserve and the archipelago, Ecuador's Environment Ministry wrote on its website. The ship, Floreana, carrying more than 1,400 tons of cargo, including food and hazardous materials as well as 38,850 liters (10,000 gallons) of fuel, ran aground off the island of San Cristobal on 28 January 2015.

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory, a mission with broad applications for science and society, lifted off at 6:22 a.m. PST (9:22 a.m. EST) on 31 January 2015 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. About 57 minutes after liftoff, SMAP separated from the rocket's second stage into an initial 411- by 425-mile (661- by 685-kilometer) orbit. The mission will help improve climate and weather forecasts and allow scientists to monitor droughts and better predict flooding caused by severe rainfall or snowmelt -- information that can save lives and property. In addition, since plant growth depends on the amount of water in the soil, SMAP data will allow nations to better forecast crop yields and assist in global famine early-warning systems.

On 29 January 2015 marine conservation organisation OceanCare launched the “Emergency Call from the Maldives” international protest campaign. The Maldives National Oil Company (MNOC) is planning to search for crude oil around their country’s atolls, a move which would affect one of the last largely intact underwater habitats.

On 29 January 2015 the U.S. Senate voted for the first time to force U.S. approval of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Proposed by TransCanada, the pipeline would carry diluted bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to TransCanada’s existing pipeline in Nebraska for transfer to refineries on the Gulf Coast. President Barack Obama has said he will veto the legislation when it reaches his desk. The measure passed 62 to 36, which means there are not enough votes in the Senate to override his veto.

On 28 January 2015, the Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced that there is to be a moratorium on granting consents for unconventional oil and gas developments in Scotland whilst further research and a public consultation is carried out. The decision comes days after the UK Government voted against a moratorium. On 4 February 2015 the Welsh government voted to block the method of shale gas extraction until it is proven safe from environmental and public health standpoints.

In the face of shifting global trade patterns, international freight transport volumes will grow more than fourfold (factor 4.3) by 2050. Average transport distance across all modes will increase 12%. As a result, CO2 emissions from freight transport will grow by 290% by 2050. Freight will replace passenger traffic as main source of CO2 emissions from surface transport. These are some of the key findings of the ITF Transport Outlook 2015, presented on 27 January 2015 at the OECD headquarters in Paris, France.

For the very last time, the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland bestowed their notorious award of shame on 23rd January 2015. The award was given out in the ultimate category: The Public Eye Lifetime Award. The announcement of the winner was made by Verena Mühlberger, Co-Executive Director of Greenpeace Switzerland. Amazon Watch, the organization that nominated Chevron for the Lifetime award, accepted the award and confirmed its intention to hand it over to Chevron as soon as possible.

Ecopreneur.eu is an association of European business associations whose common aim is a new economic framework in which sustainability is promoted, the environment respected and ecological principles are followed. Founding members of Ecopreneur.eu are UnternehmensGrün in Germany, Grüne Wirtschaft in Austria and Entreprendre Vert in France.

The government has started the main construction of the Yamba Dam in eastern Japan, marking a milestone 63 years after a proposal for the controversial project was first put forward. A consortium comprising Shimizu Corp., Tekken Corp. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co. launched blasting work on 22 January 2015 to expose the bedrock for building the foundation of the dam’s main structure.

EFSA’s comprehensive re-evaluation of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and toxicity concludes that BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age group (including unborn children, infants and adolescents) at current exposure levels. Exposure from the diet or from a combination of sources (diet, dust, cosmetics and thermal paper) is considerably under the safe level (the “tolerable daily intake” or TDI). Although new data and refined methodologies have led EFSA’s experts to considerably reduce the safe level of BPA from 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (µg/kg of bw/day) to 4 µg/kg of bw/day, the highest estimates for dietary exposure and for exposure from a combination of sources (called “aggregated exposure” in EFSA’s opinion) are three to five times lower than the new TDI. Uncertainties surrounding potential health effects of BPA on the mammary gland, reproductive, metabolic, neurobehavioural and immune systems have been quantified and factored in to the calculation of the TDI. In addition, the TDI is temporary pending the outcome of a long-term study in rats, which will help to reduce these uncertainties.

India’s tiger population has significantly increased according to the 2014-15 India tiger estimation report released on 20 January 2014. Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in numbers– from 1,411 in 2006 to 2,226 in 2014. The report, Status of Tigers in India, 2014, published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of the Government of India, highlights that the future of tigers in India depends on maintaining undisturbed core habitats for breeding tiger populations, habitat connectivity and protection from poaching of tigers and their prey.

On 20 January 2015, the Philippine Government received from the U.S. government the full requested amount of $1.97 million as compensation for the damage caused to Tubbataha Reef by the grounding of the USS Guardian. The compensation will be utilized for the protection and rehabilitation of Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Portions of the fund will also be used to further enhance capability to monitor the area and prevent similar incidents in the future. In addition to the compensation received, the US government is also providing additional assistance to the Philippine Coast Guard to upgrade the PCG Substation in Tubbataha.

Repsol has completed the exploratory well, which began on 18 November 2014 in the Atlantic Oceana bout 60 kilometres from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, to analyse the possible existence of hydrocarbons. The analysis of samples obtained showed the presence of gas (from methane to hexane) but without the necessary volume nor quality to consider future extraction. On 11 January, a total depth of 3,093 metres (882 metres of water depth and 2,211 metres of subsoil) was reached and the collection of data on the traversed geological formations was completed.

The year 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest since 1880, according to two separate analyses by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists.

New legislation to allow EU member states to restrict or ban the cultivation of crops containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on their own territory, even if this is allowed at EU level, was passed by Members of European Parliament on 13 January 2015. The legislation, informally agreed by Parliament and Council in December 2014, was originally tabled in 2010 but was then deadlocked for four years due to disagreement between pro- and anti-GMO member states. The new rules would allow member states to ban GMOs on environmental policy grounds other than the risks to health and the environment already assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Member states could also ban GMO crops on other grounds, such as town and country planning requirements, socio-economic impact, avoiding the unintended presence of GMOs in other products and farm policy objectives. Bans could also include groups of GMOs designated by crop or trait. Before a member state may adopt such measures, the legislation provides for a procedure enabling the GMO crop company to consent to such restrictions on its marketing authorisation. However, if the company disagrees, the member state may impose a ban unilaterally.

The third meeting of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will take place at the Secretariat's headquarters in Bonn from 12 to 17 January 2015.

On 8 January 2015, the first edition of the Soil Atlas 2015 with facts and figures on the significance and the state of land, soil and agriculture in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world was jointly published by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), and Le Monde Diplomatique.

On 20 December 2013, the UN General Assembly 68th Session proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015). In proclaiming an International Year focusing on the topic of light science and its applications, the UN has recognized the importance of raising global awareness about how light-based technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to global challenges in energy, education, agriculture and health. Light plays a vital role in our daily lives and is an imperative cross-cutting discipline of science in the 21st century. It has revolutionized medicine, opened up international communication via the Internet, and continues to be central to linking cultural, economic and political aspects of the global society.

Perennial Herb of the Year 2015 is the Sedge (Carex).

Poisonous plant of the year 2015 is the larkspur (Delphinium spp.).

The Mongol Ecology Center (MEC) and the Global Nature Fund (GNF) are working in partnership to bring all stakeholders together to form a more sustainable and equitable future for Lake Hovsgol National Park in Mongolia. In order to draw attention to this important issue, the GNF therefore names Lake Hovsgol “Threatened Lake of the Year 2015”.

Dragonfly of the Year 2015 is the Yellow-winged darter (Sympetrum flaveolum).

Animal of the Year 2015 is the European hare (Lepus europaeus), also known as the brown hare.

Grunewald was chosen as Forest of the Year 2015. Grunewald is a German forest located in the western side of Berlin on the east side of the Havel.

Reptil of the Year 2015 is the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), also called the European pond terrapin.

EU-PolarNet is the world’s largest consortium of expertise and infrastructure for polar research. Seventeen countries are represented by 22 of Europe’s internationally-respected multi-disciplinary research institutions. From 2015-2020, EU-PolarNet will develop and deliver a strategic framework and mechanisms to prioritise science, optimise the use of polar infrastructure, and broker new partnerships that will lead to the co-design of polar research projects that deliver tangible benefits for society. By adopting a higher degree of coordination of polar research and operations than has existed previously the consortium engages in closer cooperation with all relevant actors on an international level.

Sending a signal for the protection of the Earth to enable future world development: with the presentation of its German Environmental Award, the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) is appealing “to the international community to set a course to ensure the future of humanity by safeguarding the Planet at the upcoming conferences in New York and Paris in 2015,” DBU Secretary General Dr. Heinrich Bottermann stressed on 22 September 2015. The climate and ocean researcher Prof. Mojib Latif and the internationally active global sustainability scientist Prof. Johan Rockström will receive the biggest European environmental prize in Essen on 8 November 2015. Latif has been the director of the research division Oceanic Circulation and Climate Dynamics at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Among other things, he is a member of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg, the Deutsche Gesellschaft Club of Rome, and chairman of the German Climate Consortium . In 2001 and 2007, he was a co-author of the World Climate Report of the IPCC. Since 2003, he has been professor at Kiel University. Turning to the other prizewinner, Bottermann said that Rockström has been director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre since 2007. Essentially, resilience is the capacity to withstand external disturbances - the ability to exist as before despite of disturbances as well as to adapt to changing conditions and transform and refine in situations of crisis. A critical and emerging area in resilience research is focused on understanding the risks involved in crossing critical tipping points on the planetary scale, which might undermine the ability for human development. This is a research field where Rockström has made particularly strong contributions. 2015, the DBU has chosen Em. Prof. Michael Succow as the recipient of its “Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award”. He is considered an outstanding figure in nature conservation both nationally and internationally, and his commitment to large areas of wilderness in Germany is viewed as unique. At the time of German reunification, he succeeded, in one stroke and within a very short space of time, in securing 12.1 percent of the territory of the former East Germany with a temporary protected status, and 5.5 percent with a permanent protected status, in the form of national parks, biosphere reserves and nature parks under the national park programme for eastern Germany.

The UK city of Bristol has won the European Green Capital Award for 2015. The award was presented by European Commision at a ceremony in Nantes, France, which currently holds the title, on 14 June 2013.Bristol received recognition for its investment plans in the areas of transport and energy, and especially for its commitment to act as a true role model for the green economy in Europe and beyond. Its communication and social media strategy were also highlighted as a real call to action for its citizens. The Jury considered Bristol’s sustainable community projects to be good examples of citizen engagement to tackle environmental, economic and social issues. The city has committed a budget of EUR 500 million for transport improvements by 2015 and up to EUR 300 million for energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2020. Bristol's transport and urban policies have contributed to achieving better air quality.

Orchid of the Year 2015 is the Early Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata).

The salt-rich Wadden Sea has been named "Water body type of the Year 2015“. It comprises about 20% of Germany's coastal waters and is located on the country's North Sea coast between the North Sea and East Frisian islands, the mainland and the Jade Bight. Although its condition has greatly improved since 30 years ago, it achieves only "moderate" to "poor" ecological status in the EC Water Framework Directive's classification scheme.