The Climate Change Performance Index 2012

GermanWatch & CAN Europe

The Climate Change Performance Index is an instrument supposed to enhance transparency in international climate politics. Its aim is to encourage political and social pressure on those countries which have, up to now, failed to take ambitious actions on climate protection as well as to highlight  countries with best-practice climate policies. On the basis of standardised criteria, the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 58 countries that are, together, responsible for more than 90 percent of global energy-related CO₂emissions. 80 percent of the evaluation is based on objective indicators of emissions trend and emissions level. 20 percent of the index results are built upon national and international climate policy assessments by more than 200 experts from the respective countries. Read more...

Climate change mitigation 'far cheaper than inaction'

SciDev.Net, October 26, 2012


Tackling the global climate crisis could reap significant economic benefits for both developed and developing countries, according to a new report.
The impacts of climate change and a carbon-intensive economy cost the world around US$1.2 trillion a year — 1.6 per cent of the total global GDP (gross domestic product), states 'Climate Vulnerability Monitor: A Guide to the Cold Calculus of A Hot Planet'. Read more... 
Read the full report...

Protected areas have increased to cover one fifth of Europe’s land

EEA, October 24, 2012

More than 21 % of the land has some kind of protected status in the 39 countries which work with the European Environment Agency (EEA). However, only 4 % of the sea controlled by countries of the European Union is included within the Natura 2000 network of protected areas, according to a new report from the EEA. Read more...

Royal Society: People and the Planet

BBC News, April 26, 2012

Rapid and widespread changes in the world’s human population, coupled with unprecedented levels of consumption present profound challenges to human health and wellbeing, and the natural environment. This report gives an overview of how global population and consumption are linked, and the implications for a finite planet. Read more...

Recession contributes to air pollutant emissions decrease in 2009

EEA, July 27, 2011

Emissions of almost all main air pollutants fell across the EU-27 in 2009, according to the latest annual European Union air pollutant emission inventory report compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Some pollutants decreased significantly compared to the previous year, with analysis showing economic recession to be an important factor in this reduction. The drop was most evident for sulphur oxides (SOx), with emissions falling by 21 % between 2008 and 2009. The annual EU-27 emission inventory reported to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) Convention confirms a long-term trend of decline for most air pollutants.

Sulphur oxide (SO_x) emissions have fallen the most since 1990 (–80 %), followed by carbon monoxide (CO) (–62 %), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) (–55 %) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x)(–44 %). Read more...

Νέα Έκθεση Κατάστασης Περιβαλλοντος 2008

ΕΚΠAΑ, 03 Νοεμβρίου 2009

Δημοσιεύθηκε από το ΕΚΠΑΑ η νέα Έκθεση Κατάστασης Περιβάλλοντος για το 2008 για την Ελλάδα.

Η μοίρα των... δεινοσαύρων απειλεί τις τίγρεις

Ελευθεροτυπία, 29 Οκτωβρίου 2009

Σε λίγα χρόνια οι τίγρεις θα υπάρχουν μόνον στα βιβλία, εάν η διεθνής κοινότητα δεν λάβει μέτρα για να διασφαλίσει την επιβίωσή τους. Σε αυτό το δυσοίωνο συμπέρασμα έφτασαν οι περισσότεροι από 200 ειδικοί που μετέχουν σε διάσκεψη για την προστασία των επιβλητικών αιλουροειδών, στο Κατμαντού του Νεπάλ. Διαβάστε περισσότερα...

Saving forests five times better than carbon capture for climate action

WWF Sweden, October 07, 2009

WWF Sweden is urging its government — holding the current EU Presidency - to get behind an effective international agreement on halting forest loss as a key and highly cost effective measure on climate change.
"Sweden should follow the examples set by its northern neighbors in developing systems to halt deforestation," said WWF CEO General Lasse Gustavsson. "One Swedish krona to stem deforestation results in the same emissions reductions as five kronor for the controversial carbon capture and storage technique.". Read more...

UN's State Of The World's Forests Reveals Deforestation Is Speeding Up

ENN, April 07, 2009

Despite the alarming conclusions of the UN's latest State of the World's Forests, the mainstream media has devoted surprisingly little attention to the report. Snowed under by other news developments as it may have been, global deforestation is by no means insignificant. It's taking place at shocking rates, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s bi-annual report reveals. Read more...

EU environment agency outlines challenges for 2009

ENN, January 15, 2009

Tackling climate change and its consequences, reforming the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, improving air quality and reducing the environmental impact of biofuels will top the bloc's environmental policy debates in the coming year, according to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The agency's 'snapshot' of key environmental policy debates in 2009 singles out "global diplomacy and the search for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol" as the main topic to be discussed, followed by adapting to climate change and water-management issues. Read more...

Is Recycling Worth It? Popular Mechanics Investigation

ENN, December 02, 2008

Americans haul 82 million tons of trash to recycling centers each year. But does it pay off—for the environment or the economy? Popular Mechanics has some real answers.
Written by Alex Hutchinson, appearing in the December issue of Popular Mechanics. Read more...