No. 4 December 2017

Illustration: © Lars-Erik Håkansson

CAP fails to target emission sources

Greenhouse gas emissions from farming in the EU are on the rise, while the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) fails to deliver climate action, according to a new “fitness check”.

Editorial: Steps to climate action

A few weeks ago the European Commission presented a communication on “The Future of Food and Farming”, which is one of the first stepping stones in a long CAP reform ...

The road ahead is still hidden in fog. Watch out for too much flexibilty and watered down environmental ambitions. Photo: Mark Michalis/ Flickr.com/CC BY

More flexibility risks further erosion of sustainability ambitions

Direct payments will remain the core of the budget, “greening” will be abolished and member states will get more power, as the Commission points out the future direction for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Photo: Alexander Kesselaar - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND

State of the global climate

The World Metrological Organization (WMO) reports on a number of worrying climate-related records for 2017.

Shipping lobby hinders progress at the IMO

Shipping has a carbon footprint roughly matching that of Germany, and its emissions are projected to grow significantly up to 2050.

Climate change – let those landlubbers take care of it. Photo: Shenghung Lin - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND
Grasslands with grazing livestock cover between 20 and 47 per cent of the global land area. Photo: Mark Jones - Flickr.com/CC BY

Grass-fed beef is not a climate solution

Livestock can under certain conditions and for limited periods of time contribute to carbon sequestration in grasslands, but this can at best offset no more than 11 per cent of all livestock emissions.

Photo: Cinty Ionescu - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC

Humans can only survive below a threshold of 35°C

Middle East, North Africa and Southern European levels of intense heat could make outdoor work very difficult this century and human life impossible around the Arabian Gulf.

Energy efficiency has multiple benefits

Reducing energy waste through appropriate energy efficiency measures is the most direct way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ...

Energy efficiency is the most direct way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Photo: NBT Natural Building Technologies - Flickr.com/CC BY-ND
Photo: ©Seita – Shutterstock.COM

Climate change will force mass migration of 1 billion people by 2100

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) released in summer 2017 a joint report entitled “A Region at Risk ...

Photo: ©VACLAV Volrab – Shutterstock.COM

Global energy systems based on 100% renewables

Accelerated deployment of renewables and energy efficiency can achieve around 90% of carbon emission reductions in the energy sector.

Fossil gas is not a bridge to a clean energy future

The climate cannot afford Europe’s gas addiction and NGOs are campaigning strongly against fossil gas projects.

Action outside COP23 “gas is unsustainable in sustainable, fossil-free future”. Photo: Friends of the Earth International - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND
Possible to plug-in air planes within a decade, according to EasyJet. Photo: Marco Werch - Flickr.com/CC BY

Electrification of road, air and sea transport

Industry is fast developing visions for an electrified transport system.

Almost all city dwellers are exposed to pollutants at levels deemed unsafe by WHO. Photo: Leonegraph - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND

Harmful air pollution hits urban citizens

Air quality in Europe is slowly improving, but excessive levels of tiny particles are still responsible for more than 400,000 premature deaths every year.

Regulating ship speed could cut emissions by a third

Reducing the speed of three main ship types by 30 per cent could decrease annual CO2 emissions by nearly 200 million tonnes.

Photo: Melfoody - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND
Photo: Klima schützen - Kohle stoppen! - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC

New NGO coalition wants to end coal in EU by 2030

In early November a wide coalition of environmental organisations launched a campaign to make Europe coal-free by 2030.

It may be no big surprise that the fossil fuel industry tops the list of the biggest polluters. Photo: Thomas Hawk - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC

The biggest polluters

New report shows just 100 companies are source of over 70% of carbon dioxide emissions.

Excess diesel NOx causes 5,000 deaths per year

Every year about 7,500 lives could have been saved in the EU if diesel cars had emitted as little NOx as petrol cars.

Photo: ©StGrafix– Shutterstock.com
Brown trout (Salmo trutta), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Pink salmon (Oncorthynchus gorbuscha). Photo: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory - Flickr.com/CC BY-SA

Effects of climate change on salmonids

Salmonid fish are sensitive to increased water temperatures. Decreased precipitation, forest fires and ocean acidification are other threats that come with climate change.

Nine million Londoners under threat from particle pollution

Although transport is the main source, between a quarter and a third of London’s PM pollution comes from domestic wood burning.

Coal is finished, CCS doesn’t work

The worldwide movement against coal power is getting stronger and has already made some progress.

“No future in fossil fuels” and photos of Pacific islandes projected onto the Neurath coal power plant during COP23 in Bonn. Photo: ©Greenpeace
The EU needs to step up, say representatives from the German and Swedish governments. Photo: ©RaySAY – Shutterstock.com

Mind the gap

The European Union must urgently strengthen its climate targets for 2020 and 2030.

Photo: Thomas H /Flickr.com CC BY-ND

US expert panel calls for ammonia-based NAAQS

Members of the US Environment Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) examining the ecological effects of nitrogen oxides, 

New report: Nordic diet can reduce emissions

A new report from AirClim, “Future Nordic Diets”, explores the subject of sustainable diets and the impact they could have on greenhouse gas and nitrogen emissions.

The Brindisi coal power plant, in southern Italy, has been granted permission to operate for another 11 years, despite not having undergone an environmental impact check in 24 years. Photo: Enza - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND

Italy’s most polluting coal plant taken to court

Italy’s largest and dirtiest coal plant is facing legal action by environmental lawyers. WWF Italy and ClientEarth claim the new permit for Enel’s Federico II power plant ...

The biggest ships are speeding up and emitting more. Photo: ©Corine van Kapel – Shutterstock.com

Greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping 2013–2015

A new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) that describes trends in global shipping activity and emissions for the years 2013 to 2015 ...

Studded tyres are one of the targets in the Islandic air pollution programme. Photo: Royal Broil - Flickr.com/CC BY-SA

Iceland aims for zero

Iceland has published a national air pollution control programme, under which they aim to cut the number of days per year when particulates from traffic exceed health ...

Now that’s enough. Give me targets for electric vehicles and Euro 7 limits. Photo: ©Bashigo – Shutterstock.com

Mayors want drastic EU measures to cut car emissions

The mayors of nine EU capitals have asked the EU institutions to adopt tougher mandatory legislation to minimise air pollution from cars, including a new Euro 7 “technologically neutral”  ...

An early Christmas present for the car industry. Photo: ©Tale – Shutterstock.com

EU “clean mobility” package presented

On 8 November the European Commission proposed a legislative package aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in road transport and encouraging the uptake of electric cars. 

Ban on high-sulphur diesel

China has announced that from 1 November 2017 it would stop domestic sales of diesel with sulphur content higher than 10 parts per millions (ppm), typically used by tractors and ships ...

An interactive map that shows the current local air quality situation. Photo: Kate Ter Haar - Flickr.com/CC BY

European Air Quality Index launched

A new European Air Quality Index has been launched that allows users to check the current air quality across cities and regions. The index is accompanied by new country fact sheets ..

<p>Katowice, Poland in November 2017. Domestic coal heating is one reason for having one of the highest levels of PM<sub>2.5</sub> in Europe. Photo: Astrid Westvang - Flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND</p>

New city PM pollution atlas

A new report entitled “Urban PM2.5 Atlas – Air quality in European cities” and produced by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides information on the levels ...