Tag Archives: Environment

Paris, France | AFP | Climate change-induced disasters cost nations at least $100 billion in 2018, a watchdog said Thursday, warning the spate of deadly wildfires, floods and superstorms was “a shadow” of things to come if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t slashed. This year is set to be the fourth …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | European Union members and the European Parliament on Monday agreed to slash carbon dioxide emissions from new cars by 37.5 percent by 2030, the European Commission announced. The announcement comes two days after the end of the COP24 summit in Poland where one of the …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Madrid on Wednesday temporarily banned the oldest, most polluting vehicles from driving its streets, two weeks after new driving restrictions were introduced to fight air pollution in the centre of the Spanish capital. The latest bid to reduce emissions comes as the city battles acutely …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzania on Wednesday awarded a $3-billion (2.64-billion-euro) contract to two Egyptian firms to build a hydro-electric dam in a renowned nature reserve. The 2,100-megawatt scheme will straddle the Rufiji River in the Selous Game Reserve, a 50,000-square-kilometre (19,000-square-mile) protected area which was designated a UNESCO …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, has asked Ugandans to devote themselves to environment protection, saying it takes only commitment. Oulanyah said the country is already fraught with policies, laws and institutions to protect the environment, but that commitment from citizens is lacking. “The …

La Baraque, Mauritius | AFP | Far out into the Indian Ocean where it is forced to be self-reliant, the island nation of Mauritius is weaning itself off fossil fuels by turning to its main cash-crop sugar cane, for electricity. The leftover, crushed sugar cane stalks and tips — dry …

COMMENT | GARD BENDA | On Nov. 12, hundreds of people turned up at the headquarters of Buliisa and Nwoya districts to participate in the public hearing for the Tilenga Project Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) study done by AECOM Uganda Ltd on behalf of the Tilenga Project partners. …

Niamey, Niger | AFP | Part of a group of a rare giraffes that has become a Niger tourist attraction is to be moved to a reserve 600 kilometres (400 miles) away owing to encroaching desert, farmland and increasing instances of them being struck by vehicles, officials said Wednesday. “It’s …

United Nations, United States | AFP | UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned on Tuesday after an audit questioning his huge travel expenses triggered an outcry, UN officials said. The former environment minister of Norway had been at the helm of the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme (UNEP) since June 2016. …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The fin whale and mountain gorilla populations grew significantly due to efforts by conservationists to halt their descent towards extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Wednesday. In an update of its “Red List” of threatened species, the IUCN said that a …