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Britain calls crisis meeting floods hit northern England, one killed
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on December 6th, 2015
Reuters: Britain's emergency response committee met on Sunday after prolonged heavy rain caused widespread flooding in northwest England and forced emergency services to evacuate residents from their homes.
The meeting was called after storms battered the country overnight, killing one man and leaving hundreds of homes flooded and without power. Police declared a major incident and coastguards were called in to rescue stranded residents.
Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said the government committee...
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Rich nations in stalemate over coal subsidy phase-out
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on June 13th, 2015
Reuters: Talks on phasing out a form of coal subsidies ended in stalemate as Japan, the biggest user of the aid, led calls for more time in defiance of this week's G7 pledge on fossil fuel subsidies, sources said.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has been trying for a year to get an agreement from its 34 member nations on phasing out export credits for coal, the most polluting of the fossil fuels.
Sources close to talks in Paris on Wednesday and Thursday, speaking...
WHO findings on weed killer will not speed up EU safety review
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on May 12th, 2015
Reuters: EU regulators will not accelerate a decision on whether to restrict use of the world's most widely used weed killer, even though it has been linked to cancer by the World Health Organization (WHO), officials said on Tuesday.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the WHO, said in March that glyphosate was "probably carcinogenic to humans".
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, made by Monsanto, the world's biggest seed company.
In response to the IARC findings,...
EU vote puts Canadian tar sands label back on agenda
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on December 3rd, 2014
Reuters: Europe moved a step back towards a plan to stigmatize Canada's tar sands as highly polluting on Wednesday, despite years of Ottawa's lobbying the EU bloc as part of its export drive.
European Parliament lawmakers put the plans back on the agenda by voting against the EU executive's proposal to abandon the scheme.
The veto vote was passed at committee level, meaning it still has to get through a full session of the European Parliament in the coming weeks in order to force the European Commission...
EU abandons ‘dirty’ label for tar sands oil
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on October 7th, 2014
Reuters: A European Union plan to label tar sands oil as highly polluting in its fight against climate change has been abandoned after years of opposition led by major producer Canada. A proposal published by the European Commission on Tuesday removes an obstacle to Canada exporting tar sands crude to Europe and comes at a time when tensions between the EU and top oil supplier Russia are running high. EU sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the desire for a trade deal with Canada had been a...
Nobel laureates press EU leaders on tar sands law
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on October 2nd, 2013
Reuters: Twenty-one Nobel laureates including South African anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu have written to European Union leaders urging them to implement a law that would label oil from tar sands as dirtier than other crudes.
The EU tar sands proposal has incensed the government of Canada, whose economy is highly dependent on its vast reserves of unconventional oil and it has overshadowed protracted talks on a trade treaty with the European Union.
The Nobel laureates say the EU law is necessary...
EU tar sands fight not over, experts at stalemate
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on February 23rd, 2012
Reuters: Years of fierce lobbying against draft EU rules that would label fuel from tar sands as more polluting than from other sources produced a stalemate on Thursday when a committee of technical experts failed to agree on the proposal.
The European Union's executive and environmentalists say the "dirty" label is necessary to help fuel buyers choose the least carbon-intensive energy forms and help to curb global warming.
Canada, home to massive crude reserves most of which are in the form of very...
EU poised for tar sands vote, stalemate likely
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on February 23rd, 2012
Reuters: An EU vote on Thursday on a draft law to label fuel from tar sands as highly polluting is likely to produce a stalemate, EU sources said, marking a draw in a long lobbying tussle between oil giant Canada and environmentalists.
Among those likely to abstain were Britain and the Netherlands, which both have a stake in Royal Dutch Shell, active in oil sands, and the EU's most powerful member Germany.
Spain, which has a large refining sector, and Estonia, whose reserves of shale oil would also...
EU energy-saving law hit by amendments avalanche
Posted by Reuters: Barbara Lewis on February 10th, 2012
Reuters: Plans to improve the European Union's record on energy saving risk stalling over hundreds of highly technical amendments, including one that could be good for Germany and its giant utilities, but bad for poorer nations.
Denmark has made moving towards a political deal on the EU's Energy Efficiency Directive a priority for its six-month tenure as president of the 27-member bloc.
It argues saving energy through measures such as better building insulation would create jobs and help to reduce reliance...