Environment | WPN World People News

A joint climate statement was released Monday by Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Francois Hollande. The statement made an incremental step forward while highlighting the ambition gap the world still needs to bridge.

Leaders of the Quinault Indian Nation, Washington Environmental Council, the Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen’s Association, Willapa/Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association and retired oyster grower Brady Engvall condemned the omission of their input into the environmental review process for proposed crude-by-rail terminals in Grays Harbor, Washington.

A citrus packing house in Morocco. One area of FAO’s work with the WTO is on food safety standards.

On November 2, EPA is issuing a second notice of violation (NOV) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. This NOV is also being issued to Porsche AG and Porsche Cars North America. These five companies are collectively referred to as Volkswagen (VW). The NOV alleges that VW developed and installed a defeat device in certain VW, Audi and Porsche light duty diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0 liter engines for model years (MY) 2014 through 2016 that increases emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) up to nine times EPA’s standard.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently fined two companies, Calspec Enterprises, Inc. and Waypoint Homes, Inc. a total of $46,550 for failing to comply with federal lead-based paint rules at several residential properties in Southern California.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon Trust, the Sierra Club and Earthjustice sent a letter to Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes Monday urging him to invalidate $53 million in state payments in support of a scheme to export millions of tons of coal from Utah and send it through a proposed bulk terminal in Oakland, CA.

Aid delivery to Western Sahara.

An Afghan refugee kisses his wife after they told relatives they had arrived safely on the Greek island of Lesvos.

A Greenpeace activist has scaled the 155m long bulk carrier, Alppila, transporting coal to one of Finland’s most polluting power plants in central Helsinki. The coal ship and its climate-damaging cargo have now aborted its entry to the Port of Helsinki and now steam away from Helsinki accompanied by a Finnish coast guard vessel.