The year 2016 will “very likely” be the hottest on record, the UN said Monday, warning of calamitous consequences if the march of global warming cannot be halted.Average temperatures for the year were set to hit about 1.2 Celsius (2.16…
Category: Perspectives
Paris deal’s 1.5oC temprarture target needs immediate govt action
Daphne Davies, LDC News Service Marrakech – As government ministers meet in Marrakech to assess global ambition towards addressing climate change in the near-term, a coalition of social movements, including LDC watch, an umbrella group of NGOs from civil society,…
Clean energy overtaking fossil fuels in 2016
Dhaka – Renewable energy resources have increasingly become mainstream sources of energy worldwide, catapulted by new capacity in developing countries. Depending on the source, renewable energy has or is poised to surpass coal to become the world’s largest source of…
Radical realism about climate change
Lili Fuhr Berlin – Mainstream politics, by definition, is ill equipped to imagine fundamental change. But last December in Paris, 196 governments agreed on the need to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels – an objective that holds…
Titas snaps 77,267 illegal natural gas connections
Dhaka – Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company snapped gas connections of 77,267 establishments, including one CNG station, six commercial firms and 77,260 household ovens, in the last 26 days from October 6.
2 billion children breathe toxic air worldwide, UNICEF says
New Delhi (AP/UNB) — A new report from UNICEF says most of the 2 billion children in the world who are breathing toxic air live in northern India and neighboring countries, risking serious health effects including damage to their lungs,…
Nepal drains dangerous Everest lake
Dhaka – Nepal’s army says it has finished draining a dangerous glacial lake near Mount Everest to a safe level, reports BBC. The Imja glacial lake, at nearly 5,000m (16,400ft) high, was in danger of flooding downstream settlements, trekking trails…
Small-scale agriculture threatens the rainforest
Dhaka – An extensive study led by a researcher at Lund University in Sweden has mapped the effects of small farmers on the rain forests of Southeast Asia for the first time. The findings are discouraging, with regard to environmental…
Lionfish invasion an ‘unprecedented threat’
The population of Cuji fish (Haemulon aurolineatum), native to the southeastern coast of the United States, has dropped almost by a half (45 per cent) since 1990 — a time that coincides with the start of an invasion by lionfish…
PM for equitable sharing of transboundary rivers
New York – Underscoring the need for ensuring equitable sharing of transboundary water bodies, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said water should be considered as an integral part of the new development architecture and strongly advocated for creating a global…
World values: Family, work, friends, leisure, religion & politics
Researchers from the Vienna-based Institute for Comparative Survey Research surveyed 86,000 people from 60 countries worldwide during the period from 2010 to 2014 to gain insight into the relative importance of a select set of values. These values were: family,…
G20 leaders reaffirm commitments to sustainable development
g20- As leaders from the Group of Twenty (G20) gathered for their 11th Summit in Hangzhou, China, on 4-5 September, there was no shortage of pressure from non-state actors for the Group to place climate change and related issues prominently…
European Investment Bank finds Climate Network report misleading
The European Investment Bank (EIB) attaches great importance to engaging with civil society and ensuring that policies and lending activity reflect the recognition of the importance of climate action, that the EIB shares with a broad range of stakeholders.The EIB…
Nagorik Oikya supports protest against Rampal plant near Sundarbans
ASM Abdur Rab, president, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), Khalequzzaman Bhuiyan, general sewcretary, Bangladesher Samajtanrtrik Dal (BSD) and SM Akram, chief adviser, Nagoric Oikya on Saturday expressed their solidarity with the movement to protect the sunderbands by atopping the proposed coal-fired…
Greens vow to stop plant near Sundarbans, Govt to deter ‘anarchy’.
Dhaka – Is Ramphal coal-powered thermal power plant going to be the next flash point? This question is being asked by neutral obserers as the National Committee on Oil, Gas and Ports have vowed to stop the prospect by utilising…
Keraniganj prisoners feeling amenity pinch
Barley one week into their shifting from the old Dhaka Central Jail, the inmates of the newly-built Keraniganj Central Jail have started grappling with various problems, including incomplete amenities.Severe scarcity of water, delayed meals and inability to meet visitors are…
Infosys, Tata Motors among 10 top Indian firms ready for green pledge
Some of India’s top-listed companies are set to take the ‘green’ pledge by committing to source 100% of their electricity from renewable energy. At least 10 Indian blue chip firms, spanning a wide range of sectors, are in talks with…
The limits to green growth
Lili Fuhr , Thomas Fatheuer and Barbara Unmüßig Berlin – In recent years, the push to build a “green economy” that can deliver the world from continual environmental and economic crisis and usher in a new era of sustainable growth…
Norway moves towards universal electric vehicles by 2025
Norwegian politicians have reportedly agreed on a policy to ban new fuel car sales after 2025, a move that will propel the world’s leading adopter of electric vehicles towards universal EV ownership. Is the country with the world’s highest adoption…
From the front lines of climate change
Loren Legarda and Marcela Guerrero Manila/San Jose – On April 22, dignitaries representing no fewer than 175 parties signed the global climate change agreement concluded in Paris in December, setting a record for the adoption of an international accord. The…
Green City concepts demonstrated on Expo 2016 Antalya
The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and Turkish Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters Association (OAiB) have joined forces to promote Green City concepts on their garden at Expo 2016 Antalya in Turkey. Designed by award-winning garden designer, Nilufer Danis,…
Green village proves high value of low carbon living
A GREEN village with minimum 7.5 star energy efficiency ratings is proving near zero carbon communities are not only achievable but can also save residents money. The Lochiel Park Green Village in South Australia’s capital Adelaide, consists of about 100…
SEEING THE WHOLE
Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in an Integrated and Coherent Way This new report by Stakeholder Forum, Bioregional and Newcastle University and funded by the Government of Finland sheds light for policymakers and stakeholders on how the Sustainable Development Goals…
A state-powered green revolution
Mariana Mazzucato London – Discussions about building a green future tend to focus on the need to improve the generation of energy from renewable sources. But that is just the first step. Better mechanisms for storing and releasing that energy…
Green Climate Fund adopts information disclosure policy
New Delhi (Indrajit Bose) — The Green Climate Fund’s Board adopted a comprehensive Information Disclosure Policy at the 12th Board meeting in Songdo, South Korea, held from 8-10 March. This included the decision to webcast live the Board’s meetings until…
Intense discussion over GCF project preparation facility
Kuala Lumpur (Hilary Chiew) – The Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved its first grant of US$1.5million under its Project Preparation Facility (PPF) at its 12th meeting held in Songdo, South Korea from 8-10 March. The funding is…
Has air pollution made Kathmandu unliveable?
With smog five times worse than the levels which prompted Paris to ban cars, the capital of the supposedly pristine mountain nation of Nepal is choking. Hospital doctor Andrew Lodge reports jay’s 63-year-old frame strains with each breath. He is…
Will we soon be riding on solar roads? The idea gains traction
“In theory, solar PV roadways sound great. The issue is cost.” says Mark Jacobson, an engineering professor at Stanford University who has promoted a plan for powering the U.S. solely with renewable energy. (Read about his blueprint for a carbon-free…
How journalists cover ISIS and its vast propaganda machine
by Sharon Moshavi, Vice President, New Initiatives News organizations are struggling to cover ISIS, constrained by a lack of on-the-ground presence in the wake of its brutal murders of journalists, according to an International Center for Journalists’ panel of media…
A Year of Ocean Regeneration
by Isabella Lövin,Ratu Inoke Kubuabola,Trevor Manuel Oxford – The importance of the world’s ocean cannot be overstated. They supply 50% of the oxygen we breathe, feed billions of people, and provide livelihoods for millions more. They are the great biological…