Hanoi declared world’s most polluted city, authorities seek action
Hanoi, Vietnam Reuters Vietnam’s capital Hanoi has been covered in thick smog over recent weeks, putting it at the top of a list of the world’s most polluted cities, as the government said it would push for more electric vehicles (EVs) to alleviate the problem. Levels of hazardous small particles, known as PM2.5, were measured […]
North Macedonia’s UNESCO World Heritage site Lake Ohrid at risk from pollution
Ohrid, North Macedonia Reuters Lake Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage site that straddles North Macedonia and Albania, is at risk from pollution, overfishing, and urban development, the United Nations body and experts say. The lake, one of Europe’s oldest dating back 3.5 million years, is home to around 200 unique species, including rare varieties of […]
Protecting 1.2 per cent of Earth would prevent most extinctions, study says
Sao Paulo, Brazil Reuters Setting aside an additional 1.2 per cent of the world’s land as nature preserves would prevent the majority of predicted plant and animal extinctions and cost about $US263 billion, according to a study published on Tuesday. The world is racing to meet a goal to protect 30 per cent of the […]
Sight-Seeing: Three Catholic bishops and a nun walk into the White House. Here’s why it’s no joke.
US Catholic Archbishop JOHN C WESTER, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says we commit grave harm against ourselves through environmental destruction and we go against God’s plan for us…
EU countries approve law to slash trucks’ CO2 emissions
Brussels, Belgium Reuters European Union countries gave their final approval on Monday to a law to cut carbon dioxide emissions from trucks, which will require most new heavy-duty vehicles sold in the EU from 2040 to be emissions-free. The law will enforce a 90 per cent cut in CO2 emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles by […]
Mums ban outdoor fun as air pollution worsens in Vietnam capital
Hanoi, Vietnam Reuters Nga Trang has nearly stopped going out in the evening and forbids her kids to play outdoors after school because air pollution from burning trash gets worse in her neighbourhood in Hanoi in the late afternoon. A Hanoian by birth, Nga, 44, is one of many residents of Vietnam’s capital whose daily […]
Bangladesh, Pakistan and India bottom in air quality rankings in 2023, data shows
Singapore Reuters Pakistan remained one of the world’s three smoggiest countries in 2023, as Bangladesh and India replaced Chad and Iran, with particulate matter about 15 times the level recommended by the World Health Organization, data published on Tuesday showed. Average concentrations of PM2.5 – small airborne particles that damage the lungs – reached 79.9 […]
Wow!: Cambodia ‘upcycler’ turns tonnes of plastic bottles into brooms
CHANTHA LACH, of Reuters, reports on an innovative reuse of plastic bottles…
Essay: Six ways inequality holds back climate action
Against the backdrop of the World Economic Forum taking place this week, EMMA GARNETT and CHARLOTTE A KUKOWSKI explain, in an article first published on The Conversation, why inequality remains one of the biggest barriers to the net zero transition…
Essay: Conflict pollution, washed-up landmines and military emissions – here’s how war trashes the environment
In an article first published on The Conversation, STACEY PIZZINO, JO DURHAM and MICHAEL WALLER, of The University of Queensland in Australia, look at the environmental costs of war…