Environment | WPN World People News

The Hinkley Point B power station in south-west England. The UK government is seeking to build two new reactors, which would be known as Hinkley Point C.

Trawlers fishing for herring. Christian Aslund

The Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has become one of the most dangerous places in the world when it comes to wildlife conservation, said Parliament in a resolution adopted on Thursday. MEPs called for measures to protect this UNESCO World Heritage Site which is also home to the endangered mountain gorilla species.

An Associated Press investigation released Monday found that Thai Union, owner of Chicken of the Sea in the U.S., has again been connected to forced labour and horrific working conditions in Thailand. The investigation, which took place last month, followed trucks transporting shrimp from the Gig Peeling Factory to major Thai exporting companies, and then tracked where the product ended up globally.

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has ordered a permanent ban on field trials of genetically engineered (GE) eggplant and a temporary halt on approving applications for the “contained use, import, commercialisation and propagation” of GE crops, including the import of GE products.

The Global Climate Talks concluded on December 12 in Paris. More than 180 countries arrived in Paris with national climate change plans in hand and, at the close of the two-week summit, adopted the 11-page agreement which commits signatories to:

World governments finalized a global agreement on 12 December in Paris that lays a foundation for long-term efforts to fight climate change. More effort is needed to secure a path that would limit warming to 1.5C. This new agreement should be continuously strengthened and governments will need to go back home and deliver actions at all levels to close the emissions gap, resource the energy transition and protect the most vulnerable. The Paris talks also created a moment that produced announcements and commitments from governments, cities and business that signalled that the world is ready for a clean-energy transition.

IUCN welcomes the new climate agreement adopted on 12 December by the world’s governments at the UN climate summit in Paris (COP 21), and its recognition of nature’s critical role in tackling climate change.

Negotiations closed Saturday evening in Le Bourget at COP21 with countries adopting a new global climate accord. The Paris Agreement will serve as a foundation for all nations to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees C, with an aspiration to reach 1.5 degrees C, and to adapt to climate change impacts. Although much work remains, with buy-in from nearly every country, this agreement represents the single most important collective action for addressing climate change ever agreed upon.