The extraction of oil from the second largest reserves in the world has merely begun, but the environmental costs are already skyrocketing. Canadian NGOs claim tar sand development is the most destructive project on earth.

The dirtiest power plants in Europe still emit enormous amounts of air pollutants. The sulphur emissions from one plant match those of ten EU countries combined. On 9 November, the first inventory of the new European pollutant release and transfer register (E-PRTR) was published.

The extraction of oil from the second largest reserves in the world has merely begun, but the environmental costs are already skyrocketing. Canadian NGOs claim tar sand development is the most destructive project on earth.

The boreal forests, one of the largest carbon stocks on earth, will not be able to respond to global warming by migrating northwards. Massive forest dieback, causing runaway warming, is a more likely scenario.

A new map published by the British government presents the likely effects of global warming above the +2o goal - a future that seems impossible to cope with.

The rich countries need to cut greenhouse gas emissions 95 per cent by 2050, 40 per cent by 2020. So says the Alliance Of Small Island States (AOSIS), which recently joined forces with the Group Of Least Developed Countries (G-LDCs) in demands for further commitment under the Climate Convention and Kyoto Protocol.

Many countries that have made commitments under the Kyoto agreement will have problems meeting them. For most countries this will only be possible by resorting to

The new Industrial Emissions directive received its first reading in the European Parliament in March, and the Council position is expected at the end of June.

Globally, commercial ships emit almost half as much particulate pollution into the air as the total amount released by cars, according to a new study. Ship pollutants affect the Earth