A new progress report concludes that the EU has made only “modest” progress towards sustainability since revising its sustainable development strategy last year. The European commission says there have been significant policy developments in some of the seven areas identified as key action priorities, including climate and energy, but progress on policy has not yet …
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Category:5 Environment
Insurance response to risk and opportunity of climate change
Insurers and re-insurers have been warning about the potential consequences of climate change for years. Munich Re has calculated that by 2050, climate change could cost up to $300 billion annually in weather-related damages, industrial and agricultural losses, and other associated expenses. A Ceres report “From Risk to Opportunity 2007: Insurer Responses to Climate Change” …
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Oceans’ CO2 absorption halved
New research shows that the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the world’s oceans has significantly reduced. University of East Anglia researchers gauged CO2 absorption through more than 90,000 measurements from merchant ships equipped with automatic instruments during a 10-year study in the North Atlantic. The data shows CO2 uptake halved between the mid-90s …
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GMO complacency is destroying habitats
The complacency over the dangers of genetically engineered food is extraordinary and worrying. While the EU bans a genetically modified potato made by BASF and three corn varieties developed by Monsanto, the US is planning to deregulate another GM soyabean (the comments on this link reveal the dangerous nature of GM). And against this background, …
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Humans causing wetter climate too
New research, reported in the journal Nature, confirms the global increase in humidity found in previous studies and that humidity is increasing in a pattern consistent with man-made climate change. The research shows that the pattern of humidity increases in various parts of the world resembles that projected by computer models of man-made global warming. …
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Farm bird populations at new low
A key UK government wildlife indicator, Wild Bird Populations 2006, shows shows that the number of wild farmland bird species breeding in England is at the lowest level since records began, showing that these species have declined by about 60% since 1970. The RSPB called the UK government’s 2006 indicator “extremely depressing”. The farmland bird …
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Markets for Ecosystem Services by WBCSD and IUCN
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and The World Conservation Union has just published Markets for Ecosystem Services – New Challenges and Opportunities for Business and the Environment (1.3 MB). The report shows how at a fundamental level, all economies and businesses depend directly or indirectly on the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable …
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Raise efficiency or lower consumption: the best ways to tackle climate change, again
Energy efficiency is the most effective company-wide first steps CEOs can take to launch a climate change program, according to a team of environmental scientists and climate researchers. The panel, which includes 54 fellows of the Switzer Foundation, an environmental non-profit, participated in a survey titled, “What the Scientists Know: How Business Leadership can Help …
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Earth from space
Beautiful pictures of earth from space shared by the Earth Observatory. Click the link to get the full resolution images (~3 MB each).
Toxic emissions coming under control in north America, but SMEs lag
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a NAFTA industrial grouping, released their latest annual study (2004 data) which shows a 15% drop in emissions among large companies in North America, but warned that emissions were rising from some small and mid-size industries. The report compares data from 10,000 facilities across nine industrial sectors and incorporates data …
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