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Diesel vehicles face charges after UK government loses air pollution case
Ministers now bound to implement new measures to cut toxic air quickly after high court ruling that current plans are so poor they are illegal
Drivers of polluting diesel vehicles could soon be charged to enter many city centres across Britain, after the government accepted in the high court on Wednesday that its current plans to tackle the nation’s air pollution crisis were so poor they broke the law.
The humiliating legal defeat is the second in 18 months and ends years of inadequate action and delays to tackle the problem which causes 50,000 early deaths every year.
Continue reading...John Ainslie obituary
In 1992, when the first submarine armed with Trident nuclear missiles arrived on the Clyde near Glasgow, John Ainslie was in a canoe. Along with a flotilla of other protesters, he was buzzing the huge dark boat as it cut through the cold water. He had just been appointed as the coordinator of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND), and he was arrested by the Ministry of Defence police.
John, who has died of cancer aged 62, was the quiet, unassuming heart of the peace movement in Scotland for the last 25 years. As well as putting himself on the line, he became an authoritative and internationally respected nuclear researcher. He was the author of 20 reports on aspects of nuclear policy, starting in 1992 with Cracking Under Pressure, about defects in nuclear submarine reactors.
Continue reading...UK coal-powered electricity projected to fall by record amount
Data points to unprecedented decline of two-thirds this year due to doubling of carbon tax and low gas price
The amount of electricity generated from UK coal power stations is on track to fall by two-thirds this year, a decline which analysts said was so steep and fast it was unprecedented globally.
Climate change thinktank Sandbag said the drop was due to a doubling in the price of a carbon tax and the lower price of gas. The group has written to the chancellor, Philip Hammond, urging him not to water down the carbon floor price in this month’s autumn statement, which the steel industry has been lobbying the government to do.
Continue reading...Indigenous rights are key to preserving forests, climate change study finds
Leaving forests in communal hands cuts carbon emissions from deforestation, helps communities and offers long-term economic benefits: ‘Everyone wins’
The world’s indigenous communities need to be given a bigger role in climate stabilisation, according to a new study that shows at least a quarter of forest carbon is stored on communal land, particularly in Brazil.
The research by a group of academic institutions and environmental NGOs is the most comprehensive effort yet to quantify the contribution of traditional forest guardians to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Continue reading...Green group wins in air pollution court battle
Dublin bike-share scheme faces funding crisis
Expansion plans for the Irish capital’s successful scheme have been placed on hold while organisers seek new ways to cover basic operating costs
When Dublin launched its first bike-share scheme in 2009, sceptics said every last pair of wheels would end up stolen or floating in the river Liffey.
Instead, Dublinbikes was embraced with such fervor that subscriptions immediately surpassed expectations, usage rates topped international rankings and the no-nonsense bikes – three gears with a basket on the front - became a fixture in the Irish capital, whizzing alongside traffic in the congested core.
Continue reading...Baby rhino takes first bath
Barack Obama is the first climate president | John Abraham
A look back over last eight years shows that a president really does matter
My how far we’ve come in less than eight years. We have seen happen what those of us in the climate and energy fields knew could happen. The US has become a world leader on climate change, dramatically increased our production of clean and renewable fuels, reduced our emissions of greenhouse gases, signed major international agreements to continue progress into the future, and have done so without cost increases or power disruptions that the denial community proclaimed would occur.
As we in the United States get ready to elect a new president, it is helpful to think about the impact a president can have. Particularly since we transitioned from the worst climate president ever (Bush) to the best (Obama). I am going to detail what I think are Obama’s signature accomplishments.
Continue reading...High court rules UK government plans to tackle air pollution are illegal
Court rules for second time in 18 months that the government is not doing enough to combat the national air pollution crisis
The government’s plan for tackling the UK’s air pollution crisis has been judged illegally poor at the high court, marking the second time in 18 months that ministers have lost in court on the issue.
The defeat is a humiliation for ministers who by law must cut the illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide suffered by dozens of towns and cities in the “shortest possible time”.
Continue reading...Natural measures must be key to UK flood protection, MPs urge
Report also criticises government’s plans and funding and calls for Environment Agency to be stripped of responsibility for flooding
Natural ways of stopping floods, such as tree planting and putting logs in rivers to slow water flow must be a key part of protecting the nation as climate change intensifies rain storms, according to a report from MPs.
The cross-party committee criticised the government for its limited plans and insufficient funding, and called for the Environment Agency to be stripped of its responsibility for flooding and replaced by a dedicated floods authority and a national flood commissioner, as is the case in the Netherlands.
Continue reading...Make central London diesel-free to solve air pollution crisis – report
IPPR study on delivering clean air in the capital comes as the high court is due to rule on the UK government’s air quality plan
Ridding inner London of virtually all diesel vehicles would solve the capital’s air pollution crisis, according to research published as the high court is due to rule on the government’s air quality plan.
Illegal levels of air pollution cause about 9,500 early deaths a year in London and a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) sets out a series of measures to solve the problem.
Continue reading...The harlequin ladybird is a clever little devil
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire Used to control crop pests, this beetle also has a frightening appetite for other ladybirds and the eggs of butterflies
Tricked out in Halloween orange and black, a harlequin moves awkwardly through a micro woodland of moss on the concrete as if it were wandering through an alien world, which in some respects it is. This is Harmonia axyridis succinea, a beetle that began its global travels somewhere in eastern Asia between Kazakhstan and Japan.
Because its larva has an insatiable appetite for aphids and other small insects it was taken to America in the 1980s for the biological control of crop pests. It was so successful that it has been transported into European agriculture, too. To show its appreciation the beetle, called the Halloween ladybug in the US and the harlequin ladybird in Europe, has had a population explosion.
Continue reading...Queensland’s first large-scale wind farm reaches financial close
Macquarie set to buy UK’s Green Investment Bank, but green mission to be protected
Australia failing climate targets as Paris deal comes into force
China’s nuclear roll-out facing delays
Toyota “tames” lithium-ion battery technology, aims for all electric cars
ANU to map pumped hydro storage potential to back wind and solar
Offshore wind costs fall 22% in six months as EU auctions drive competition
Delegates in Hobart launch the world's largest marine park
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