Environment | WPN World People News

Some 15 years after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned chlorpyrifos from residential use, the agency proposed on October 30 to ban the neurotoxic pesticide from use in agricultural fields as well.

The European Investment Bank, Europe’s long-term investment institution, has agreed to provide GBP 225 million for the Galloper Wind Farm Ltd (GWFL) to be constructed 27 km off the Suffolk Coast. Once operational the offshore wind farm will be capable of providing enough clean energy to supply up to 336,000 homes from 56 of the world’s largest wind turbines. The project also represents the UK’s first pre-construction offshore wind project finance deal.

A team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts on 30 October completed a two-week mission to review national nuclear security practices in Canada. The International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) was carried out at the request of the Government of the Canada.

Workers in "green" offices may think better, a new study suggests.

Offices with enhanced ventilation and low levels of chemical air pollutants were linked to better employee performance, researchers found.

An unprecedented worldwide effort is underway to combat climate change, building confidence that nations can cost effectively meet their stated objective of keeping global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius, the United Nations said on 30 October.

Six of Africa’s 11 vulture species – the continent’s largest and most recognisable birds of prey – are now at a higher risk of extinction, according to the latest assessment of birds for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, carried out by BirdLife International – an IUCN Red List partner.

Greenpeace has launched a challenge to the plantation industry to respond to the devastating scale of the forest fires crisis, set out in a new Greenpeace Southeast Asia analysis. The four-step Fire Action Plan aims to bring the fires under control and make sure there is no repeat of this disaster. Greenpeace has also released a new set of photos that show how people are affected by smoke from the fires.

EU Commission plans for more ambitious national caps on emissions of six key pollutants, including NOx, particulates and sulphur dioxide, were endorsed by Parliament on Wednesday. Air pollution causes about 400,000 premature deaths in the EU yearly, and the plans could save up to €40bn in air pollution costs by 2030.