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Growing transport volumes have been driving Europe’s road transport emissions up in the past two decades. A European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis, published today, shows how total greenhouse gas emissions from both passenger cars and heavy goods vehicles have increased in Europe, despite better engine efficiency and use of biofuels. The EEA assessment ‘Decarbonising road transport — the role of...

The 7th Our Ocean Conference marks the beginning of a new commitment from the Shark Conservation Fund (SCF) to contribute $25 million over the next five years to the improvement of ocean health and biodiversity through sweeping shark and ray conservation. SCF’s new commitment was announced during the 2022 Our Ocean conference co-hosted this year by the governments of the...

The review is an important contribution to our understanding of the largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. Research into Larsen C is of high importance as several studies have suggested that the ice shelf may be vulnerable to collapse. As well as fundamentally altering the Antarctic landscape this would contribute indirectly to sea level rise by creating...

Nairobi – Climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 per cent by 2030, 30 per cent by the end of 2050 and 50 per cent by the end of the century, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme...

Gas power plants and nuclear energy should be labelled ‘green’ investments, the European Commission announced late on New Year’s Eve. Green group Transport & Environment said this last-minute attempt to bury the proposal undermines the EU’s entire sustainable finance framework, which is supposed to incentivise investment in Europe’s green transition. It called on MEPs and governments to reject the...

ST JOHN’S, N.L./TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF THE BEOTHUK AND MI’KMAQ – The Federal Court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s assessment of the ecosystem impacts of exploratory oil and gas drilling off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the regulation which exempts all future exploratory drilling from assessment.  In a decision released Monday, Justice Bell determined that a Regional Assessment for exploratory drilling in the area was – in his opinion – satisfactory and upheld a regulation...

NOAA announced today it is initiating the process to consider designating the marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as a national marine sanctuary. This designation would build on existing management in the marine portions of the monument by adding the conservation benefits and enhanced long-term protection of a national marine sanctuary. The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee...

A new analysis published today in the journal Current Biologyfinds that one-third of the world’s chondrichthyan fishes – sharks, rays, and chimaeras – are now threatened with extinction according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria. In this new global analysis, experts assessed 1,199 shark, ray, and chimaera species against International Union for Conservation of Nature...

LONDON, UK – A paper published today in the journal Conservation Biology for the first time applies the IUCN Green Status of Species, a new Global Standard to measure how close a species is to being fully ecologically functional across its range, and how much it has recovered thanks to conservation action. In the paper, preliminary IUCN Green Status assessments...

As governments convene for the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting(ATCM) June 14–24, 2021, an Expert Working Group1 of leading Antarctic scientists warns that climate change is pushing this remote polar region, which connects all our ocean basins and keeps our planet habitable, towards numerous tipping points with global ramifications for humanity and biodiversity. “Antarctica is reaching critical thresholds and life...

Red and green algae that grow on snow in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) cause significant extra snowmelt on par with melt from dust on snow in the Rocky Mountains, according to a first-of-its-kind scientific research study led by Alia Khan, affiliate research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and assistant professor at Western Washington University. Algal...

The Australian sea lion has received upgraded protection under Australia's national environment law. The extra protection has been given by the Hon Sussan Ley, Federal Minister for the Environment, following a nomination from Humane Society International. The species is unique to Australia and only breeds off the coasts of South Australia and Western Australia. HSI Head of Campaigns Nicola Beynon said,...