Environment | WPN World People News

Six heads of state and government, two city and state leaders, and the heads of the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the OECD agreed on an ambitious global target for putting a price on carbon pollution, on April 21.

World leaders from at least 150 countries are expected to sign the historic Paris agreement, an important collective step toward curbing greenhouse gas emissions and a strong signal to the markets that governments are serious about a move away from fossil fuels, on April 22.

The World Bank and the French Ministry of Environment, Energy, and the Sea announced on Thursday a joint effort in support of West African countries to strengthen the resilience of their coastal areas to climate change, and to identify opportunities for investments in the sustainable development of their ‘blue’ economies.

The European Commission has shelved a legal opinion confirming that a new breed of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) must undergo rigorous safety testing and labelling. This follows intense lobbying by the US government.

Earthquake survivors shelter under a tent in Chamanga, Ecuador.

Effects of climate change: the Tunari Mountain, part of the Andes Range, near the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, used to be covered by snow most of the year, and it was an important source of water. Currently snow is only present a few weeks a year.

At least 150,000 children are affected by the April 16 earthquake in Ecuador, according to initial UNICEF estimates.

Pregnant women are currently exposed to 1.5 to 300-plus times this limit from food, and formula-fed infants experience 200 to nearly 1000 times this limit. EPA has submitted this analysis to its Scientific Advisory Panel for peer review, which will be conducted on April 19-21, 2016.

A collapsed roadway following the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the coast of Ecuador on 16 April 2016.

The UN Refugee Agency is readying preparations for a major aid airlift, expected in the next 48 hours, to help people displaced by the worst earthquake to strike Ecuador in decades. This follows a request for UN help received from the Ecuador Government.