Environment | WPN World People News

Nearly 1.7 million Bolivians inhabiting a territory of approximately 24,000 sq. km (9,266 sq. mi) in the Mizque, Rocha and Pirai sub-basins of the Rio Grande Basin in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz departments will benefit from a US$36 million loan and US$9.5 million donation approved by the World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors.

In response to the explosion in the number of derailments of oil-carrying tank cars in the past two years, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed upgraded safety standards for tank cars, but it would allow old tank cars, which are prone to puncture upon impact, spilling oil, and sparking devastating fires and explosions, to continue carrying explosive Bakken crude for years. The proposal would phase out the use of these hazardous DOT-111 tank cars for shipping highly flammable fuels, but not until 2017–2020 depending on the fuel and only for trains with 20 or more cars filled with the fuels.

Commenting on the plan, Greenpeace EU energy policy adviser Frederic Thoma said: “In its dying days, the outgoing Commission has tabled another gutless plan on energy that is a gift to the oligarchs of this world. An ambitious efficiency target would drastically cut the need for expensive imports of fossil fuels from Russia and elsewhere and help Europe stand up to bullies like Putin. The Commission’s own research shows efficiency could also create three-and-a-half million jobs, while helping tackle climate change. It’s a no-brainer that EU leaders cannot ignore. They must put Europe’s energy policy back on track.”

WWF will urge a suspension of the Pacific Bluefin tuna fishery, if fishing nations fail to set binding catch limits in line with scientific recommendations this year.

A powerful storm that killed dozens in the Philippines has strengthened into a super typhoon ahead of its arrival in southern China.

The fireball that followed the derailment and explosion of two trains, one carrying Bakken crude oil, on December 30, 2013, outside Casselton, N.D

Australia has repealed a divisive carbon tax, delivering the government a key victory but frustrating opposition leaders who say the move is a step back in the global fight against climate change.

Typhoon Rammasun is headed for China after battering the northern Philippines, where it killed at least 38 people.