Events Anniversary for 2024-12-25

One of the reactors at the Cruas nuclear power station in Ardèche, southern France was shut down late on 1 December 2009 after a problem with the cooling system. EDF, the French energy company, reported the incident just before midnight local time and shut down the reactor. Water from the Rhone river is used to cool the nuclear plant, and the French Nuclear Safety authority (ASN) said vegetation had blocked the intake. The accident was classified as a level two situation on the seven point scale of international nuclear incidents.

The first comprehensive review of the state of Antarctica’s climate and its relationship to the global climate system was published on 1 December 2009 by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in London. The review - Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment – presents the latest evidence from 100 world-leading scientists from 13 countries, the review focuses on the impact and consequences of rapid warming of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Southern Ocean; rapid ice loss in parts of Antarctica and the increase in sea ice around the continent; the impact of climate change on Antarctica’s plants and animals; the unprecedented increase in carbon dioxide levels; the connections between human-induced global change and natural variability; and the extraordinary finding that the ozone hole has shielded most of Antarctica from global warming. Key findings from the review are highlighted in 85 key points.

The world's first cargo ship, the Auriga Leader, partly propelled by solar power took to the seas in Japan, aiming to cut fuel costs and carbon emissions when automakers ship off their exports.

On 17 December 2008 the Federal Cabinet adopted the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change. This creates a framework for adapting to the impacts of climate change in Germany. It primarily describes the contribution of the Federation, thus acting as a guide for other actors. The strategy lays the foundation for a medium-term, step-by-step process undertaken in cooperation with the federal Länder and other civil groups and aimed at assessing the risks of climate change, identifying the possible need for action, defining appropriate goals and developing and implementing options for adaptation measures.

After eleven months of legislative work, the European Parliament gave its backing to the EU's climate change package which aims to ensure that the EU will achieve its climate targets by 2020: a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% improvement in energy efficiency, and a 20% share for renewables in the EU energy mix.

"First Contact in the Greater Mekong" reports that 1068 species were discovered or newly identified by science between 1997 and 2007.

Europe's rich patchwork of protected flora and fauna grew further with a major extension of Natura 2000. The additions include 769 new sites and a total area of 95,522 km². Most of the new sites are in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland, and include areas in the Black Sea (Bulgaria and Romania) and the Steppic (Romania) bio-geographical regions. Natura 2000 now includes around 25,000 sites, covering almost 20% of the EU’s landmass, making it the largest interconnected network of protected areas in the world.

Butterflies are a well-known and popular group of insects that can play a valuable role as early warning indicators of environmental change. They have short life-cycles and respond rapidly to change. Butterflies have also declined rapidly in recent decades and are declining more rapidly than other well-known groups such as plants and birds (which often depend on their caterpillars for food). This Atlas is an early attempt to investigate the possible effects of climate change on the majority of European butterflies by modelling the impact of various future climate scenarios. The results are important because butterflies are one of the few groups of insects for which such comprehensive data are available at a European level. As insects comprise over two-thirds of all known species, the results are valuable to help understand the possible impacts of climate change on biodiversity as a whole.

A meeting of representatives of EU governments has endorsed a European Commission proposal to phase out old-style incandescent light bulbs by 2012 in favour of energy-efficient light bulbs.

On December 4, 2008, the Antarctic cruise vessel MV Ushuaia grounded at the entrance of Wilhelmina Bay near Two diesel tanks were damaged and spilled marine gasoil into the sea. The size of the spill was initially estimated with 50x300 meters.

The sixth International Polar Day focusing on research Above The Polar Regions. This includes polar meteorology, atmospheric sciences, astronomy, and polar observations from space.

The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association and the engineering company Wärtsilä Ship Design Germany (formerly Schiffko GmbH) presented the technical design of the European Research Icebreaker Aurora Borealis in Berlin. Aurora Borealis will be a unique vessel – a combination of a heavy icebreaker, a scientific drilling ship and a multi-purpose research platform that can operate year-round in all polar waters.

The European Commission, the Council Presidency and representatives of the European Parliament agreed on the basic elements of a European CO2 strategy for passenger cars on 1 December. According to this strategy, the limit value of 120g CO2 per kilometre will become binding for the entire fleet of new vehicles in four stages from 2012 to 2015. The long-term target of 95g/km for the year 2020 will be legally binding. Massive fines of up to 95 euro per gram will be charged if these limit values are exceeded.

The 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 14) and the 4th session of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 4), took place from 1 December to 12 December in the Polish city of Poznan in 2008. COP 14 represented an important intermediate stage in the international negotiation process for a new post-2012 climate agreement, marking a transition from sharing the respective positions to concrete negotiations on the content of a new agreement. In this sense Poznan acted as a working conference in which key elements of a new climate regime were discussed and where the Parties could sum up their negotiating positions. The discussions on content focused primarily on the necessary national greenhouse gas reduction targets and on financial support for climate action in developing countries. The nature of the conference meant that no decisions were taken at that stage, but Parties agreed to submit their national reduction targets or measures for 2020 by mid-February 2009.

An oil spill of unknown origin was detected on 26 December 2007 along the coast of Chubut Province in Argentinia, approximately 1,740 km south of Buenos Aires. The spill covered an area of 24 square kilometres in the Atlantic Ocean. The oil affected hundreds of birds around region.

On 19 December 2007, the General Assembly declared the period 2010-2020 as the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification, on the recommendation of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (resolution 62/195).

The International Polar Year 2007/08 was launched in March 2007, and will continue through early 2009. During this time, a regular sequence of International Polar Days will raise awareness and provide information about particular and timely aspects of the polar regions. December 13th, 2007 was the second International Polar Day, this time focusing on Ice Sheets.

During oil offloading from the Statfjord A platform in the North Sea, about 4,000 standard cubic metres of crude oil was spilled into the sea on 12 December 2007. The spill occurred when the tanker Navion Britannia was loading oil from a loading buoy. The Statfjord field is located around 200 kilometres west of Bergen, close to the border of the UK continental shelf.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore (former vice-president of the USA) receive Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."

On Friday 7 December 2007, the oil tanker the Hebei Spirit was anchored in front of the Port of Incheon on the west coast of South Korea, south of Seoul, when it was hit by the barge Samsung 1. This collision led to 3 breaches in the hull of the Hebei Spirit, and a spill of at least 10,000 tonnes of crude oil into the Yellow Sea.

Each year the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS) announces its selection of the top-ranked words of the year. The German "Word of the Year" for 2007 is Klimakatastrophe.

The 13th Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 3) 13 took place from 3 to 14 December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. The conference culminated in the adoption of the Bali Action Plan. In this Action Plan the Parties to the FCCC agreed to negotiate issues such as concrete commitments and contributions from all countries to emissions reductions (including a reduction of deforestation), adaptation, technology and financing up to and beyond 2012. Originally, these negotiations were to be concluded at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen. In Durban it was decided that the work was to be concluded in Doha.

The EU Environment Ministers adopted the Chemicals Directive REACH in Brussels today. This concludes the discussion on reforming the European chemicals policy which spanned several years. European Parliament, Council and Commission agreed on a compromise text in early December which was formally adopted today. The REACH Directive will enter into force on 1 June 2007.

On 15 December 2006 the Act Concerning Supplemental Provisions on Appeals in Environmental Matters Pursuant to EC Directive 2003/35/EC (Environmental Appeals Act, in German: Umwelt-Rechtsbehelfsgesetz – UmwRG) came into effect. Germany thereby transformed European law into national legislation, thus improving the rights of the public by extending the associational claim (see also IV. Background information on the development of UmwRG). The UmwRG makes it possible for associations that encourage the objectives of environmental protection (hereinafter referred to as environmental associations) to take action against breaches of environmental law by means of appeal, i.e. opposition or lawsuit. In order to be able to file an appeal under the UmwRG environmental associations need to be recognised.

Act Concerning Supplemental Provisions on Appeals in Environmental Matters Pursuant to EC Directive 2003/35/EC (Environmental Appeals Act)

Kenya hosted the second meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 2), in conjunction with the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP 12), in Nairobi from 6 to 17 November 2006. Discussions at the Climate change conference centred around African issues. The summit agreed on the principles and structure of the Adaptation Fund and on a five-year work programme on adaptation. The Parties also agreed that Africa should be supported through capacity building and assistance in the development of concrete projects and thus increase the continent's participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Germany and the EU announced that they would substantially top up the European Union's umbrella fund Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF). The aim is to mobilise around 1.25 billion euros in climate-friendly investments and thus advance the elimination of energy poverty, particularly in Africa.

On 1 December 2006, the EC regulation 2037/2000 was implemented by the Chemikalien-Ozonschichtverordnung.

On Sunday 11 December 2005, a series of explosions and subsequent fire destroyed large parts of the Buncefield oil storage and transfer depot, Hemel Hempstead, and caused widespread damage to neighbouring properties. The incident injured 43 people. There was significant damage to both commercial and residential properties near the Buncefield site. About 2000 people had to be evacuated from their homes and sections of the M1 motorway were closed. The fire burned for five days, destroying most of the site and emitting a large plume of smoke into the atmosphere that dispersed over southern England and beyond.

A seaquake with the strength of 9.0 on the Richter scale and the resulting flood wave (tsunami) has caused disastrous damage to people, their livelihoods and their natural environments in South and Southeast Asia. One of the reasons for the high degree of damage has been the clearing of the natural mangrovia protection forests and the dense population along the coastal line due to tourism. The World Conservation Union (IUCN, http://www.iucn.org) demands following ecological guidelines in future development plans.

Wangari Maathai rose to prominence fighting for those most easily marginalised in Africa - poor women. The first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize was praised by the awarding committee as "a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa fighting for sustainable development, democracy and peace". A pioneering academic, her role as an environmental campaigner began after she planted some trees in her back garden. This inspired her in 1977 to form an organisation - primarily of women - known as the Green Belt Movement aiming to curtail the devastating effects of deforestation and desertification. Her desire was to produce sustainable wood for fuel use as well as combating soil erosion. Her campaign to mobilise poor women to plant some 30 million trees has been copied by other countries.

The Malaysian freighter "Selendang Ayu" went aground and broke in two parts near the Aleutian Islands. It carried approximately 424,000 gallons of Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO 380) and 18,000 gallons of Marine Diesel. The salvage work was hindered by winter storms and by the bad state of the wreck. The midsection fuel tank ruptured when the vessel broke apart and released an estimated 40,131 gallons of IFO 380. The complete amount of oilspill remains unknown. The region of the North Pacific and the Bering Sea is the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, the habitat of endangered seabirds, sea lions, seals, sea otters, and walruses. Only 15 years ago the Exxon Valdez went aground near by and caused irreversible damages.

Tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) took place from 6 to 17 December 2004 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Buenos Aires Conference tagged the tenth anniversary of the Climate Convention. It ended with a minimal compromise after a one day delay. For less developed countries in particular, funds of 400 million euros per year are to be made available by the EU alone in order to provide them with better protection against flooding, storms and other climate damage. There was an agreement on a second meeting to be held in Bonn in May 2005 about the further reductions in greenhouse gases after 2012. The US have reconfirmed their denial of the Kyoto Protocol.

An expertise of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) points out that climate change, lack of water resources, water pollution, or soil degradation endanger the livelihood of poor people in many regions of the world. These environmental changes are largely man-made and linked with the economic and social development of a country in a complex way. The WBGU demands a closer international cooperation of fighting poverty and environmental policy.

The Executive Body adopted the Protocol on Heavy Metals on 24 June 1998 in Aarhus (Denmark). It targets three particularly harmful metals: cadmium, lead and mercury. According to one of the basic obligations, Parties will have to reduce their emissions for these three metals below their levels in 1990 (or an alternative year between 1985 and 1995). The Protocol aims to cut emissions from industrial sources (iron and steel industry, non-ferrous metal industry), combustion processes (power generation, road transport), and waste incineration.

Ninth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) took place from 1 to 12 December 2003 in Milan, Italy. The Climate Change Conference was initially adversely affected by Russia's contradictory statements on its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the uncertainty regarding the date of the Protocol's entry into force and by the US going on the offensive in its climate policy approach in the media and at side events. Nevertheless, COP 9 was able to make it clear that the Kyoto Protocol had the support of the overwhelming majority in the international community. One key outcome of COP 9 was the successful conclusion of the two-year negotiations on the rules for afforestation and reforestation projects in developing countries. This closed the last gap in the Kyoto Protocol's rules of implementation.

On Saturday 14 December 2002 at around 2.30 am, the Tricolor, a car carrier collided with the container ship the Kariba. The Tricolor sank 30 m deep in a matter of minutes, in the Pas-de-Calais, 20 miles northwest of Dunkirk. She was transporting 2,862 new cars and 77 containers. The Tricolor was transporting 1,990 tonnes of Intermediate Fuel Oil, 200 m³ of diesel oil and 25 tonnes of lubricating oil. The wreck represented a risk for navigation and a potential source of pollution.