Environment news

• Iran ready to help restore oil market balance after it regains share - official

  03-09-2016 19:37
  Iran is ready to support any decision to help restore balance to the oil market after it regains its pre-sanctions market share, the Iranian oil ministry's SHANA news agency reported on Saturday, quoting a minister. "Deputy Petroleum Minister in International Affairs and Trading Amir Hossein Zamaninia voiced Iran's support for any decision that would help restore balance in the oil market, saying the country can only be cooperative in this field once it regains its pre-sanctions oil market share
  
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• Fantasy art: the future of energy and water technology - in pictures

  03-09-2016 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  They look like designs from the pages of a futurist’s notepad, but the concepts below are all finalists in the biennial public art contest held by the Land Art Generator Initiative (Lagi).
  These ideas illustrate the possibility of marrying aesthetics with renewable energy and water technology and educate the public about the challenges of addressing climate change and feeding a growing population.Santa Monica, a beach town west of Los Angeles, is the setting for this year’s competiti
  
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• Latin America's largest Ramsar Site facing 586 km transmission line

  03-09-2016 17:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Indigenous peoples in Peru’s Amazon demand to be consulted about electricity project that would cut through their territoriesIndigenous peoples in Peru are demanding to be consulted about a proposed electricity transmission line that would run for approximately 586 kms through the Amazon. The stated aim of the line is to connect Iquitos in Peru’s northeast, often described as the world’s largest city or town without road or rail access, to the national grid.Doing so would mean
  
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• Moderate quake hits temblor-prone Oklahoma

  03-09-2016 16:41
  By Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) - One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Oklahoma rattled a state where seismic activity has become a growing concern and sent tremors that were felt in six neighbouring states, the United States Geological Survey said on Saturday. The quake, which struck 14 km (9 miles) northwest of Pawnee in north-central Oklahoma at 7:02 a.m. CDT (1302 GMT), had a magnitude of 5.6, matching in strength a temblor that hit the state in 2011, the USGS re
  
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• Paris climate deal: US and China formally join pact

  03-09-2016 16:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US and China - together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions - formally join the Paris global climate agreement.
  
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• Breakthrough as US and China agree to ratify Paris climate deal

  03-09-2016 16:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners hail key moment in battle against global warming as presidents Obama and Xi announce deal on eve of G20 summit in HangzhouThe United States and China, the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, have announced they will formally ratify the Paris climate change agreement in a move campaigners immediately hailed as a significant advance in the battle against global warming. Speaking on Saturday, on the eve of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, US president, Barack Obama, confirmed
  
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• U.S., China ratify Paris climate deal, setting stage for G20

  03-09-2016 14:22
  By Roberta Rampton and Nathaniel Taplin HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - China and the United States ratified the Paris deal to cut climate-warming emissions on Saturday, marking a major step toward the enactment of the pact as early as the end of the year and setting the stage for other countries to follow suit. The world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases made the landmark announcement as heads of state from the Group of 20 biggest economies, or G20, arrived for a summit in the city of Hang
  
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• Nigerian gunmen kidnap 14 local oil workers and driver in southern Rivers state

  03-09-2016 13:58
  Gunmen in Nigeria's restive southern Niger Delta region, which has been hit by a series of militant attacks on energy facilities since the start of the year, have kidnapped 14 local oil workers and their driver, police said on Saturday. Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in some parts of Nigeria and the southern Delta energy hub has seen an increase in crime since the start of attacks by militants calling for more oil wealth to go to the impoverished region. The abduction took place on a
  
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• Obama: US and China have joined Paris climate pact – video

  03-09-2016 13:57 via theguardian.com
  
  President Barack Obama announces that the US and China have formally joined the Paris agreement to curb climate-warming emissions. Speaking on the eve of the G20 summit in Hangzhou on Saturday, he says he believes history would judge today’s announcement as a ‘pivotal’ moment in the fight against climate changeG20 summit: US and China ratify Paris agreement in major step for climate change fight - liveContinue reading...
  
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• 'The moment we decided to save our planet': US and China ratify Paris climate deal

  03-09-2016 13:49
  
  "History will judge today's effort as pivotal," proclaimed President Barack Obama as the US and China both officially ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, marking a major breakthrough in the battle to limit global warming.
  
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• Hinkley Point C: no easy solution to Theresa May's Chinese puzzle

  03-09-2016 13:39 via theguardian.com
  
  British prime minister will face tough questions from French and Chinese at G20 summit over delayed nuclear projectTheresa May will be dodging questions from the Chinese and French premiers at the G20 summit in Huangzhou about whether she will or will not be giving the go-ahead to the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear project.One of the first decisions made by May’s new government was to review the £18.5bn flagship energy project that foreign companies – EDF of France and C
  
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• Plastic microbeads to be banned by 2017, UK government pledges

  03-09-2016 13:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Plastic microbeads used in cosmetics and cleaning products are to be banned by the end of next year, the UK government pledges.
  
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• Paris climate deal: where US and China have led, others must quickly follow

  03-09-2016 13:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Saturday’s joint declaration by world’s two biggest emitters is vital but not enough to bring agreement into forceThe decision by China and the US, the world’s two biggest emitters, to ratify the landmark Paris accord on climate change heralds a new era of global cooperation on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.Only a few years ago, such a commitment looked like a pipe dream. Today, with the two most powerful nations on board, the United Nations can celebrate a victory on this
  
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• Paris climate deal: US and China announce ratification

  03-09-2016 13:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US and China - together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions - both ratify the Paris global climate agreement.
  
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• Amazing sea creatures made of glass – in pictures

  03-09-2016 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Father and son team Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka created perfect reproductions of invertebrate marine life in glass in their studio in Germany in the 19th century. Cornell University acquired a collection of 570 items in 1885, and a selection of these can be seen at an exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass. Fragile Legacy: The Marine Invertebrate Glass Models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka runs until 8 January Continue reading...
  
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• G20 summit: US and China ratify Paris agreement in major step for climate change fight - live

  03-09-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  On the eve of the G20 summit in China, world leaders prepare to discuss climate change, Hinkley Point and the war in Syria 11.29am BSTObama said he believed that history would judge today’s announcement as a “pivotal” moment in the fight against climate change. The collaboration between the world’s top two economies, showed that it was possible for the US and China to work together, despite disagreements.11.25am BSTTogether the US and China account for 38.76% of the world
  
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• Breakthrough as US and China agree to ratify Paris climate change deal

  03-09-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners hail key moment in battle against global warming as presidents Obama and Xi announce deal on eve of G20 summit in HangzhouThe United States and China, the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, have announced they will formally ratify the Paris climate change agreement in a move campaigners immediately hailed as a significant advance in the battle against global warming. Speaking on Saturday, on the eve of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, US president, Barack Obama, confirmed
  
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• Should Britain introduce a 5p charge on disposable coffee cups?

  03-09-2016 12:25
  
  The Liberal Democrats have stepped into the war on waste, calling for a 5p charge on disposable coffee cups to cut usage. But is this the best solution to the issue?
  
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• Alaska Has Been Mapped as Precisely as Mars

  03-09-2016 12:20
  
  Alaska is one of the most poorly mapped places on Earth. In fact, topographic maps of Mars and the moon are typically more detailed than those of the Arctic state — until now. This week, the White House, National Science Foundation and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) released the most accurate digital elevation maps of Alaska ever created.
  
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• U.S., China ratify Paris climate agreement

  03-09-2016 11:47
  The United States has joined China to formally ratify the Paris agreement to curb climate-warming emissions, the world's two biggest economies said on Saturday, which could help put the pact into force before the end of the year. U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping submitted their plan to join the agreement to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is in China to witness the announcement. Senior Obama adviser Brian Deese said the joint declaration should push other coun
  
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• Russia says may consider Rosneft, Bashneft stakes sale as 'integrated project'

  03-09-2016 09:53
  Russia may consider privatisation of the country's largest oil firm Rosneft and its small rival Bashneft "as an integrated project", First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Saturday in a televised interview. "There is a proposal from the advisers to consider the privatisation of Rosneft and Bashneft in one take, a bit separated by time but in one united project," Shuvalov he told a Rossiya-24 TV news channel.
  
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• Meet Generation M: the young, affluent Muslims changing the world

  03-09-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Burkinis, misery memoirs and people on camels: the caricatures of Islam don’t leave much room for modernity. The author of a new book argues that this image is absurd – and that a new demographic is about to flex its economic musclesThey say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case they’re wrong. In the foreground is a young woman with fuchsia lipstick, Jackie O-style sunglasses and a colourful headscarf. Behind her is a young man, with a hip, trimmed bea
  
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• Elon Musk aims to refit 5m homes with solar roofs

  03-09-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  SolarCity is talking up the look and longevity of solar roofing but potential costs pose questions about whether it can succeed where others have failedElon Musk’s solar company has its sights set on replacing 5m rooftops in the US with traditional roofing materials integrated with solar cell technology.
  SolarCity’s plans, announced last month, to develop traditional roofs made entirely from solar panels are part of a goal to make sustainable homes more aesthetically appealing, conve
  
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• Protected lands and endangered species aren't properly safeguarded, report says

  03-09-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Some of the most biodiverse ecosystems are not being protected and the management of many protected areas is deficient, a progress report warnsThe world is edging towards a major conservation target for protected land and oceans, but there are concerns over how safeguarded areas are managed and whether they are effectively protecting endangered species, according to a new report.Nearly 15% of the Earth’s land, covering around 20m sq km, is contained in national parks or other protected are
  
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• How to converse with a raven

  03-09-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Fishguard I am of the opinion that you can have as satisfying and varied a conversation with these dark and gleaming bright birds as you can with the majority of humankindThe first hatch of small heath butterflies dipped and darted along the path to Garn Fawr’s rocky summit, their open wings a delicate Indian orange, eye-markings prominent, their undersides muted umber and silver. Here and there, wings folded, they settled on flowers of potentilla and heather in crevices among basaltic col
  
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• China ratifies Paris climate agreement

  03-09-2016 05:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China's top legislative body ratifies the Paris global climate agreement, ahead of an expected joint announcement with the US.
  
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• China ratifies Paris climate change agreement

  03-09-2016 04:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Announcement comes as Xi Jinping and Barack Obama are expected to meet ahead of the start of the G20 to make a joint statement on climate changeChina has announced it will formally ratify the Paris climate change agreement, paving the way for a hotly anticipated joint US-China statement on the fight against global warming later today.
  In a brief dispatch on Saturday morning, China’s official news agency, Xinhua, said members of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament had voted “t
  
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• China parliament ratifies Paris climate change agreement

  03-09-2016 04:12
  China's parliament on Saturday ratified the Paris agreement on climate change, the Xinhua state news agency said, which could help put the pact into force by as early as the end of the year. The standing committee of China's National People's Congress voted to adopt "the proposal to review and ratify the Paris Agreement" at the closing meeting of a week-long session, the news agency said. The G20 nations are responsible for about 80 percent of global carbon emissions.
  
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• Plastic microbeads expected to be banned by end of 2017

  03-09-2016 03:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Microbeads used in bathroom products are expected to be banned by the government by the end of next year.
  
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• Gaping chasm between Coalition's climate mantra and the real debate | Lenore Taylor

  03-09-2016 01:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Like the emperor with no clothes, Josh Frydenberg is continuing the grand parade, insisting that Australia is making a successful transition
  Almost every group with a financial, intellectual or ethical interest in salvaging a workable climate policy is now deep in an urgent debate about how Australia can break a decade of policy paralysis. Everyone except the Turnbull government, that is.
  The debate, involving big business, small business, investors, the government’s own independent climat
  
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• No imminent UK decision on Chinese-backed nuclear plan as PM May heads to China

  03-09-2016 01:03
  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May will not announce her keenly awaited decision on a partly-Chinese funded nuclear power project in the coming days, a British official said on Saturday as May flew to China to meet President Xi Jinping at her first G20 summit. May will make her major international summit debut on Sunday after Britain's shock vote in June to leave the European Union ousted her predecessor David Cameron and thrust her into control of the world's fifth-l
  
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• Hinkley row could overshadow May's G20 meeting with Xi Jinping

  03-09-2016 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime minister, who has delayed approval of China’s involvement in Hinkley Point C, will meet Chinese president at summitTheresa May could face a diplomatic row with China at the G20 summit as she arrives for her first meeting with Xi Jinping, without having approved Beijing’s involvement in UK nuclear projects.The prime minister is set to meet the Chinese president on Monday after the summit in Hangzhou, where she will also have a press conference with the US president, Barack Obama
  
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