Environment news

• Oil up second straight month on OPEC-fuelled rally

  30-09-2016 22:22
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled mixed on Friday while posting their second straight monthly gain on OPEC's planned output cuts, even as scepticism about the cartel's pledge grew after data suggested another record high in its production. Brent crude settled up 4 percent for September and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 8 percent, helped by Wednesday's announcement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Algeria that it aimed to remove
  
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• United Nations close to landmark deal to curb airplane emissions

  30-09-2016 19:26 via theguardian.com
  
  2,000 government officials gathered in Montreal to adopt the first ever international mechanism to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from aviationA UN negotiation is inching towards a landmark deal to curb emissions from airplanes, although environmental groups have warned that the plan will not go far enough to help slow climate change. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency, has gathered more than 2,000 government officials from around the world at its Montreal headqua
  
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• OPEC oil output hits record on Iraq, Libya boost - Reuters survey

  30-09-2016 19:23
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC's oil output is likely to reach its highest in recent history in September, a Reuters survey found on Friday, as Iraq boosted northern exports and Libya reopened some of its main oil terminals. The increase comes despite lower output in top exporter Saudi Arabia and this week's agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Algeria to limit supply to support prices, its first such decision since 2008. Supply from OPEC has risen to 33.
  
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• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 11 (Parts 1&2) - Circular economy dreams and responsible retail

  30-09-2016 19:00
  
  What are the next steps that need to be taken to make the circular economy a reality? And are current retail business models fit for purpose if we are to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon, resource-efficient future? Part two...
  
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• Oil heads for big weekly gain after OPEC-fueled rally

  30-09-2016 18:43
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were on track to their largest weekly advance in more than month on Friday, supported by planned OPEC output cuts, but profit-taking after a two-day rally kept benchmark crude contracts below the key $50 per barrel mark. Both Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures showed gains of 7 percent or more on the week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries surprised oil traders and investors on Wednesday with a
  
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• Potentially harmful chemicals widespread in household dust

  30-09-2016 18:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  Household dust exposes people to a wide range of toxic chemicals from everyday products, according to a study led by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University. The multi-institutional team conducted a first-of-a-kind meta-analysis, compiling data from dust samples collected throughout the United States to identify the top ten toxic chemicals commonly found in dust. They found that DEHP, a chemical belonging to a hazardous c
  
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• Report: How innovation can cut offshore energy costs by a third

  30-09-2016 17:43
  
  Improvements in design, maintenance, construction and operations could cut the energy costs from European offshore windfarms by a third in the next 15 years, a new report from sustainable innovation engine KIC InnoEnergy has found.
  
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• Panda cubs make public debut in China – video

  30-09-2016 17:33 via theguardian.com
  
  23 panda cubs are collected in China ahead of the country’s national day on 1 October. The cubs were shown off at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base on Thursday. Aged between one and four months old, the cubs lay on their bellies, occasionally exerting just a little effort to crawl a few inches forward. This year, the team at the giant panda base reported double the number of newborn cubs, when compared with last yearContinue reading...
  
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• Wildlife trafficking, air pollution and farm subsidies – green news roundup

  30-09-2016 17:31 via theguardian.com
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Technique could assess historic changes to Antarctic sea ice and glaciers

  30-09-2016 17:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Historic changes to Antarctic sea ice could be unraveled using a new technique pioneered by scientists at Plymouth University.It could also potentially be used to demonstrate past alterations to glaciers and ice shelves caused by climatic changes, a study published in Nature Communications suggests.The new method builds on an existing technique, also developed by Plymouth University over the last 10 years, which identified a means by which scientists could measure changes to sea ice in the
  
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• EU gives green light to ratifying Paris climate deal

  30-09-2016 16:44 via theguardian.com
  
  EU ministers are expected to ratify the agreement, along with India and Cananda, next week meaning enough countries will have signed up for the deal to come into legal forceEU ministers have agreed to ratify the landmark Paris climate agreement at an extraordinary summit in Brussels on Friday, all but guaranteeing that it will pass a legal threshold to take effect next week and sparing the bloc’s blushes in the process.The European Parliament is expected to rubber stamp the decision in Str
  
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• EU fast-tracks deal to ratify Paris Agreement

  30-09-2016 16:39
  
  The Paris Agreement is close to entering into force, after European Union (EU) Ministers approved to fast-track the ratification process at an Environment Council extraordinary meeting in Brussels today (30 September).
  
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• EU fast-tracks Paris climate deal to brink of entering into force

  30-09-2016 16:12
  By Alissa de Carbonnel BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union states agreed on Friday on a fast-track, joint ratification of the Paris accord to combat climate change, pushing the landmark global pact to the brink of entering into force. The 2015 Paris deal will guide a radical shift of the world economy away from fossil fuels. Friday's agreement by environment ministers from all EU 28 member states marks a rare political breakthrough for the bloc at a time of uncertainty over Britain's departure a
  
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• BP decries Deepwater Horizon film as inaccurate

  30-09-2016 16:04
  BP has criticized the new "Deepwater Horizon" film as being an inaccurate Hollywood dramatization of the deadly oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. "The Deepwater Horizon movie is Hollywood's take on a tragic and complex accident. "Deepwater Horizon," which is released in the United States on Friday, focuses on the hours before and after the explosion from a well blowout on the BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, leading to the worst offshore oil disaster in U.S. history.
  
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• Rosetta: Mission control confirms probe has 'crash landed'

  30-09-2016 15:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, react to confirmation that the Rosetta probe has ended its mission to Comet 67P by crash-landing on to the icy object's surface.
  
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• Rosetta mission: 'Really sad, but the legacy lives on'

  30-09-2016 15:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Professor Monica Grady of the Open University gives her reaction to the Rosetta probe crash landing into the comet it has been studying for two years.
  
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• Rosetta: British scientists and role of UK Space Agency

  30-09-2016 15:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Where now for British scientists and plans to explore the galaxy?
  
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• EU fast-tracks approval to ensure Paris climate deal comes into force

  30-09-2016 14:53
  By Alissa de Carbonnel BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union states agreed on Friday on a fast-track, joint ratification of the Paris accord to combat climate change, securing the deal enough backing to enter into force this year and guide a radical shift of the world economy away from fossil fuels. The agreement by environment ministers from all 28 member states is a rare political breakthrough for the EU at a time of discord over the migration crisis and uncertainty after Britain's vote to leave
  
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• What next for the UK as coal hits all time low but renewables falter?

  30-09-2016 14:47
  
  On Thursday (29 September) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) released UK energy statistics for the second quarter of 2016, but with coal and renewables generation both falling, does the Government need to adjust its energy policy?
  
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• Russia says will be able to freeze oil output in case of deal with OPEC

  30-09-2016 14:33
  SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russia will find mechanisms and instruments needed to freeze oil production should the country reach an agreement with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on limiting output, the Russian Energy Minister said on Friday. Alexander Novak also told journalists on the sidelines of a business forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that Iran's energy ministry's delegation will visit Russia in October-November to present potential oil deals to Russian companie
  
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• Oil falls on firmer dollar and profit-taking after OPEC rally

  30-09-2016 14:33
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell as the dollar strengthened on Friday and investors cashed in on crude's 6 percent one-day rise after OPEC members agreed on output cuts for the first time in eight years to stifle a two-year price slide. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were down 48 cents at $48.76 a barrel by 1206 GMT, but still around 6 percent higher than before Wednesday's OPEC agreement. U.S. crude was down 18 cents at $47.65 a barrel, also about 6 percent higher than
  
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• Stolen African penguin's chicks die at South African marine park

  30-09-2016 14:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Father of the two chicks was stolen from Port Elizabeth’s Bayworld marine park as a protest against animals being kept in captivityThe two chicks of an endangered African penguin that was stolen from a marine park in South Africa have died.Buddy the penguin was taken from Bayworld in Port Elizabeth by two men in a protest against animals being kept in captivity, but staff warned he was ill-equipped to survive in the wild.Continue reading...
  
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• Wetlands and agriculture, not fossil fuels could be causing a global rise in methane

  30-09-2016 14:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  Research published today in the American Geophysical Union’s journal Global Biogeochemical Cyclesshows that recent rises in levels of methane in our atmosphere is being driven by biological sources, such as swamp gas, cow burps, or rice fields, rather than fossil fuel emissions.
  
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• 5 Species Most Likely to Survive a Climate Change Disaster

  30-09-2016 13:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Survival of the fittest. This basic tenet of evolution explains why the dodo bird no longer exists and why humans have opposable thumbs.Adaptation is key to survival, no matter how many fingers you’ve got. The ability to adjust to whatever conditions Mother Earth sends our way determines whether obstacles lead to extinction or to a new generation.Human-accelerated climate change is a disaster waiting to happen. We’ve already seen the superstorms&nbs
  
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• James Lovelock: ‘Before the end of this century, robots will have taken over’

  30-09-2016 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Fracking is great, the green movement is a religion, his dire predictions about climate change were nonsense – and robots don’t mind the heat, so what does it matter? At 97, the creator of Gaia theory is as mischievous and subversive as everJames Lovelock’s parting words last time we met were: “Enjoy life while you can. Because if you’re lucky, it’s going to be 20 years before it hits the fan.” It was early 2008, and the distinguished scientist was predi
  
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• Rosetta probe crashes into its comet

  30-09-2016 13:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Europe’s Rosetta probe ends its mission to Comet 67P by crash-landing on to the icy object’s surface.
  
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• Rosetta mission ends in comet collision

  30-09-2016 13:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Europe’s Rosetta probe ends its mission to Comet 67P by crash-landing on to the icy object’s surface.
  
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• Lead contamination in LA housing project only one part of pollution puzzle

  30-09-2016 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Jordan Downs residents fear wider impact of planned demolition in former industrial site as tests conducted in area’s schools also found high levels of leadIt’s a sunny Saturday morning in South Los Angeles, but Nuvia Perez is keeping her three boys inside. “They don’t go out to play,” said Perez, 37, whose front door faces a 21-acre former industrial site in the heart of Jordan Downs, a housing project.Continue reading...
  
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• Tomato growers reap benefits of horticultural LEDs

  30-09-2016 12:50
  
  Two of Britain's biggest tomato growers are now benefiting from a transition to horticultural LED lighting, which is increasing yields and significantly reducing energy usage for both businesses.
  
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• Tomato growers reap benefits of horticultural LED switch

  30-09-2016 12:50
  
  Two of Britain's biggest tomato growers are now benefiting from a transition to horticultural LED lighting, which is increasing yields and significantly reducing energy usage for both businesses.
  
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• Oil falls as investors cash in on OPEC deal rally, dollar rises

  30-09-2016 12:33
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday on a stronger dollar and as investors cashed in on a 6-percent rise in just one day after OPEC members agreed to reduce output for the first time in eight years to stifle a two-year price slide. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were down $1.03 at $48.21 a barrel by 1006 GMT, but still 4.5 percent higher than before the OPEC agreement on Wednesday. U.S. crude was down 66 cents at $47.17 a barrel, around 5 percent higher than befor
  
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• Protect dolphins, UK government urged

  30-09-2016 12:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Campaigners are demanding better safeguards for the UK's marine mammals after the EU said it would take Britain to court over harbour porpoises.
  
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• Hinkley Point C developers face £7.2bn cleanup bill at end of nuclear plant's life

  30-09-2016 12:03 via theguardian.com
  
  French and Chinese developers will be the first nuclear operators in the UK that will have to pay to decommission the site The French and Chinese companies that are to build the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will have to pay up to £7.2bn to dismantle and clean it up.Documents published yesterday reveal for the first time how much the developers, EDF and China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), will have to pay to decommission the plant, beginning in 2083.Continue readin
  
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• RBC cutting 15 investment banking jobs in London - sources

  30-09-2016 11:55
  By Anjuli Davies and Matt Scuffham LONDON/TORONTO (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is cutting 15 investment banking jobs in London amid a slowdown in activity in the region, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. RBC Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of RBC has in recent years made a series of senior hires in Europe, in an attempt to beef up its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity capital markets (ECM) franchise in the region, where it employs around 200 people
  
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• Surge in electric cars could strain energy grid, warns EU agency

  30-09-2016 11:41
  
  The large scale roll-out of electric cars on EU roads will help fight climate change but more electricity will have to be generated to power the vehicles which, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has warned, could have its own impact on global warming.
  
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• Killed to catch a fish that nobody wants, the Amazon’s pink river dolphins reveal the bizarre impacts of seafood fraud

  30-09-2016 11:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers hope that a combination of fraud-busting DNA analysis and a stricter fishing moratorium will curb the killingThis month, marine conservation NGO Oceana released a major report on seafood fraud, which reviewed more than 200 scientific studies that had collectively examined over 25,000 fish samples from around the world. Through its analysis, Oceana was able to show that an astonishing one in five seafood samples globally is mislabelled to represent other species and mislead consumers.
  
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• Amazon’s pink river dolphins reveal the bizarre impacts of seafood fraud

  30-09-2016 11:27 via theguardian.com
  
  In recent years numbers of South America’s freshwater dolpins have fallen. But they’re not being caught to eat, but as bait for a common catfish being fraudulently sold under a different nameThis month, marine conservation NGO Oceana released a major report on seafood fraud, which reviewed more than 200 scientific studies that had collectively examined over 25,000 fish samples from around the world. Through its analysis, Oceana was able to show that an astonishing one in five seafood
  
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• Technology designed to detect U.S. energy pipeline leaks often fails

  30-09-2016 11:11
  By Jarrett Renshaw and Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - On a routine check of a surface coal mining facility in rural Alabama early this month, inspector Randall Aldridge first smelled gasoline. Aldridge happened upon a leak on the main fuel artery to the U.S. East Coast known as the Colonial Pipeline, in what turned out to be the company's largest gasoline spill in nearly 20 years. Colonial Pipeline Co and its peers in the oil and gasoline transport sector, tout high-tech, complex leak
  
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• Protect the Peel: one of North America’s last wildernesses under threat – in pictures

  30-09-2016 10:50 via theguardian.com
  
  The fate of the Peel watershed in northern Yukon is at the centre of an extended legal battle between the territorial government and First Nations. The case is one of many conflicts over natural resource development to test Canada’s commitment to reconciliation and indigenous rightsContinue reading...
  
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• Protect the Peel: one of America’s last wildernesses under threat – in pictures

  30-09-2016 10:50 via theguardian.com
  
  The fate of the Peel watershed in northern Yukon is at the centre of an extended legal battle between the territorial government and First Nations. The case is one of many conflicts over natural resource development to test Canada’s commitment to reconciliation and indigenous rightsContinue reading...
  
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• Leading by design: 7 of the world's most eye-catching green building innovations

  30-09-2016 10:15
  
  Ahead of edie's special 'green buildings month' of editorial content, we round up the latest green innovations and low-carbon technologies being deployed on buildings by companies across the world in an effort to drive energy efficiency and engage with employees on sustainability.
  
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• Carbon psychology: The £860m opportunity for UK energy management

  30-09-2016 10:00
  
  Retail, manufacturing and administration firms would be the biggest beneficiaries of up to £860m in energy savings across Britain if a "carbon psychology" approach is taken to improve business energy management processes.
  
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• There are two issues the South Australian blackout should make us think about | Tony Wood

  30-09-2016 09:21 via theguardian.com
  
  A number of themes have arisen following the South Australian blackout. To put them all in perspective requires a focus on addressing climate changeA South Australian power price shock in July and a state-wide blackout in September provided fertile ground for those who live by the motto: never waste a good crisis. It would be a very poor outcome if in the aftermath of these events we lost focus on the biggest challenge facing the energy system in the pursuit of short-term political gains.There a
  
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• Oil prices slide on profit-taking after two-day jump

  30-09-2016 09:01
  By Keith Wallis SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped on Friday as investors took profits following a seven-percent rise in the last two sessions, amid doubts that OPEC's first planned output cut in eight years would make a substantial dent in the global crude glut. Brent crude futures had fallen 63 cents to $48.61 a barrel by 0645 GMT, after settling the previous session up 55 cents, or 1.1 percent. U.S. crude , was down 58 cents at $47.25, after closing up 78 cents and having touched a one-
  
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• The Keartons by John Bevis review – how nature photography relies on fakery

  30-09-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Richard and Cherry Kearton were pioneering wildlife photographers, who realised that capturing nature depended on invention. This is an excellent study of their achievementBirds don’t stop still very often. Nests are their only clutter and the necessity to incubate eggs their only anchor; both are temporary ties to the fabric of the planet. Before camera technology could itself move fast enough to capture the speed of life, its early users sought fixed things to snap. So it was that in Bor
  
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• From Patagonia to Purbeck: your wild camping photos

  30-09-2016 08:38 via theguardian.com
  
  From isolated mountain ranges to a pitch under a road bridge, our readers shared their most enjoyable wild camping experiencesContinue reading...
  
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• England needs almost double the number of marine zones to ensure healthy seas

  30-09-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservationists say 48 new protected areas are needed to fill the gaps in the ‘blue belt’ coastal network to ensure wildlife can flourishConservationists have called for the creation of a further 48 protected areas in English waters that would “fill in the gaps” of a national network designed to ensure healthy and productive seas.If designated, they would add to the 50 existing marine conservation zones (MCZs) and create an “ecologically coherent network” whe
  
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• Summer leaves await a glorious autumnal death

  30-09-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Symonds Yat Rock, Forest of Dean This is an old world forest; organic, unwieldly, fecund, oaky – forest as nature wantedSummer’s end, and the forest is thick. Beneath the leaves, the sun creates puddles of bright and black, through a canopy still swollen enough to block most of its light. Roads are green tunnels. Paths are dark and have a warm smell, the dense flotilla-dust of bug, web and sap lit brilliantly in the air. Soon the forest leaves will burn, through every shade of russet
  
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• Chief scientist defends Climate Change Authority review against dissenters

  30-09-2016 04:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Alan Finkel says the report that was challenged by two members of the authority was ‘evidence-based’ and ‘clever’ in fulfilling its briefAustralia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel, has spoken out in defence of the recent Climate Change Authority (CCA) review on how to meet the nation’s obligations under the Paris agreement, which was criticised by two members of the authority.Guardian Australia revealed this month that the economist Clive Hamilton and the climat
  
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• Venezuela expects non-OPEC nations like Russia to join in output cuts

  30-09-2016 04:24
  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday he expects non-OPEC oil-producing countries, like Russia, to support OPEC's efforts to boost oil prices by reducing crude output. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday agreed to slightly reduce production for the first time since 2008 amid mounting pressure from low oil prices. "This agreement should be consolidated in the coming days," Maduro said in comments broadcast on state television.
  
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