The Environment Chronicle

On 16 February 2015, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank launched two new financial instruments to drive investment in energy efficiency, efforts to preserve natural capital, and adaptation to climate change. The Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) is a financial instrument that combines EIB financing and European Commission funding under the LIFE Programme, the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Private Finance for Energy Efficiency (PF4EE) instrument is a joint agreement between the EIB and the European Commission which aims to address the limited access to adequate and affordable commercial financing for energy efficiency investments. The instrument targets projects which support the implementation of National Energy Efficiency Action Plans or other energy efficiency programmes of EU Member States.

On 13-14 February 2015, thousands came together for the first ever Global Divestment Day to demand institutions and individuals divest from fossil fuels. Through 450 events in 60 countries, campaigners called for organizations that serve the public good such as governments, educational and religious institutions, to freeze any new investment in fossil fuel companies – and divest from direct ownership that includes fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within five years. As a result, 181 cities and universities committed to divest.

On 20 May 2015, 100 environmental NGOs across Europe launched a joint online action to save European nature from Commission President Juncker’s deregulation agenda. An internet action called Nature Alert allow citizens across the 28 EU countries to participate in the European Commission public consultation.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is launching a pilot measure concerned with Microplastics in Marine Systems together with eleven other research funding organizations from nine European countries under the framework of the European Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans Joint Programming Initiative (JPI Oceans).

The European Commission has adopted measures to control wildlife trade that come into force on 5th February 2015. The measure concerns the import of hunting trophies and is designed to ensure that any such imports are legal and sustainable. The species concerned are African lion, polar bear, African elephant, Southern white rhinoceros, hippopotamus and argali sheep. In the past, there was no systematic scrutiny by scientific authorities in the Member States to ensure that trophies from these species imported to the EU were the result of sustainable hunting. The new measures address these problems by introducing a requirement for an import permit guaranteeing that the origin of the trophy is legal and sustainable. The permit will only be delivered once the EU is convinced that the import meets criteria demonstrating that it is sustainable. If the criteria are not met, the import will be banned.

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory, a mission with broad applications for science and society, lifted off at 6:22 a.m. PST (9:22 a.m. EST) on 31 January 2015 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. About 57 minutes after liftoff, SMAP separated from the rocket's second stage into an initial 411- by 425-mile (661- by 685-kilometer) orbit. The mission will help improve climate and weather forecasts and allow scientists to monitor droughts and better predict flooding caused by severe rainfall or snowmelt -- information that can save lives and property. In addition, since plant growth depends on the amount of water in the soil, SMAP data will allow nations to better forecast crop yields and assist in global famine early-warning systems.

On 29 January 2015 the U.S. Senate voted for the first time to force U.S. approval of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Proposed by TransCanada, the pipeline would carry diluted bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to TransCanada’s existing pipeline in Nebraska for transfer to refineries on the Gulf Coast. President Barack Obama has said he will veto the legislation when it reaches his desk. The measure passed 62 to 36, which means there are not enough votes in the Senate to override his veto.

On 29 January 2015 marine conservation organisation OceanCare launched the “Emergency Call from the Maldives” international protest campaign. The Maldives National Oil Company (MNOC) is planning to search for crude oil around their country’s atolls, a move which would affect one of the last largely intact underwater habitats.

On 28 January 2015, the Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced that there is to be a moratorium on granting consents for unconventional oil and gas developments in Scotland whilst further research and a public consultation is carried out. The decision comes days after the UK Government voted against a moratorium. On 4 February 2015 the Welsh government voted to block the method of shale gas extraction until it is proven safe from environmental and public health standpoints.

For the very last time, the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland bestowed their notorious award of shame on 23rd January 2015. The award was given out in the ultimate category: The Public Eye Lifetime Award. The announcement of the winner was made by Verena Mühlberger, Co-Executive Director of Greenpeace Switzerland. Amazon Watch, the organization that nominated Chevron for the Lifetime award, accepted the award and confirmed its intention to hand it over to Chevron as soon as possible.

Ecopreneur.eu is an association of European business associations whose common aim is a new economic framework in which sustainability is promoted, the environment respected and ecological principles are followed. Founding members of Ecopreneur.eu are UnternehmensGrün in Germany, Grüne Wirtschaft in Austria and Entreprendre Vert in France.

The government has started the main construction of the Yamba Dam in eastern Japan, marking a milestone 63 years after a proposal for the controversial project was first put forward. A consortium comprising Shimizu Corp., Tekken Corp. and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co. launched blasting work on 22 January 2015 to expose the bedrock for building the foundation of the dam’s main structure.

EFSA’s comprehensive re-evaluation of bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and toxicity concludes that BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age group (including unborn children, infants and adolescents) at current exposure levels. Exposure from the diet or from a combination of sources (diet, dust, cosmetics and thermal paper) is considerably under the safe level (the “tolerable daily intake” or TDI). Although new data and refined methodologies have led EFSA’s experts to considerably reduce the safe level of BPA from 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (µg/kg of bw/day) to 4 µg/kg of bw/day, the highest estimates for dietary exposure and for exposure from a combination of sources (called “aggregated exposure” in EFSA’s opinion) are three to five times lower than the new TDI. Uncertainties surrounding potential health effects of BPA on the mammary gland, reproductive, metabolic, neurobehavioural and immune systems have been quantified and factored in to the calculation of the TDI. In addition, the TDI is temporary pending the outcome of a long-term study in rats, which will help to reduce these uncertainties.

On 20 January 2015, the Philippine Government received from the U.S. government the full requested amount of $1.97 million as compensation for the damage caused to Tubbataha Reef by the grounding of the USS Guardian. The compensation will be utilized for the protection and rehabilitation of Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Portions of the fund will also be used to further enhance capability to monitor the area and prevent similar incidents in the future. In addition to the compensation received, the US government is also providing additional assistance to the Philippine Coast Guard to upgrade the PCG Substation in Tubbataha.

Repsol has completed the exploratory well, which began on 18 November 2014 in the Atlantic Oceana bout 60 kilometres from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, to analyse the possible existence of hydrocarbons. The analysis of samples obtained showed the presence of gas (from methane to hexane) but without the necessary volume nor quality to consider future extraction. On 11 January, a total depth of 3,093 metres (882 metres of water depth and 2,211 metres of subsoil) was reached and the collection of data on the traversed geological formations was completed.

New legislation to allow EU member states to restrict or ban the cultivation of crops containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on their own territory, even if this is allowed at EU level, was passed by Members of European Parliament on 13 January 2015. The legislation, informally agreed by Parliament and Council in December 2014, was originally tabled in 2010 but was then deadlocked for four years due to disagreement between pro- and anti-GMO member states. The new rules would allow member states to ban GMOs on environmental policy grounds other than the risks to health and the environment already assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Member states could also ban GMO crops on other grounds, such as town and country planning requirements, socio-economic impact, avoiding the unintended presence of GMOs in other products and farm policy objectives. Bans could also include groups of GMOs designated by crop or trait. Before a member state may adopt such measures, the legislation provides for a procedure enabling the GMO crop company to consent to such restrictions on its marketing authorisation. However, if the company disagrees, the member state may impose a ban unilaterally.

The third meeting of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will take place at the Secretariat's headquarters in Bonn from 12 to 17 January 2015.

The UK city of Bristol has won the European Green Capital Award for 2015. The award was presented by European Commision at a ceremony in Nantes, France, which currently holds the title, on 14 June 2013.Bristol received recognition for its investment plans in the areas of transport and energy, and especially for its commitment to act as a true role model for the green economy in Europe and beyond. Its communication and social media strategy were also highlighted as a real call to action for its citizens. The Jury considered Bristol’s sustainable community projects to be good examples of citizen engagement to tackle environmental, economic and social issues. The city has committed a budget of EUR 500 million for transport improvements by 2015 and up to EUR 300 million for energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2020. Bristol's transport and urban policies have contributed to achieving better air quality.

Orchid of the Year 2015 is the Early Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata).

The salt-rich Wadden Sea has been named "Water body type of the Year 2015“. It comprises about 20% of Germany's coastal waters and is located on the country's North Sea coast between the North Sea and East Frisian islands, the mainland and the Jade Bight. Although its condition has greatly improved since 30 years ago, it achieves only "moderate" to "poor" ecological status in the EC Water Framework Directive's classification scheme.

Sending a signal for the protection of the Earth to enable future world development: with the presentation of its German Environmental Award, the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) is appealing “to the international community to set a course to ensure the future of humanity by safeguarding the Planet at the upcoming conferences in New York and Paris in 2015,” DBU Secretary General Dr. Heinrich Bottermann stressed on 22 September 2015. The climate and ocean researcher Prof. Mojib Latif and the internationally active global sustainability scientist Prof. Johan Rockström will receive the biggest European environmental prize in Essen on 8 November 2015. Latif has been the director of the research division Oceanic Circulation and Climate Dynamics at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Among other things, he is a member of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg, the Deutsche Gesellschaft Club of Rome, and chairman of the German Climate Consortium . In 2001 and 2007, he was a co-author of the World Climate Report of the IPCC. Since 2003, he has been professor at Kiel University. Turning to the other prizewinner, Bottermann said that Rockström has been director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre since 2007. Essentially, resilience is the capacity to withstand external disturbances - the ability to exist as before despite of disturbances as well as to adapt to changing conditions and transform and refine in situations of crisis. A critical and emerging area in resilience research is focused on understanding the risks involved in crossing critical tipping points on the planetary scale, which might undermine the ability for human development. This is a research field where Rockström has made particularly strong contributions. 2015, the DBU has chosen Em. Prof. Michael Succow as the recipient of its “Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award”. He is considered an outstanding figure in nature conservation both nationally and internationally, and his commitment to large areas of wilderness in Germany is viewed as unique. At the time of German reunification, he succeeded, in one stroke and within a very short space of time, in securing 12.1 percent of the territory of the former East Germany with a temporary protected status, and 5.5 percent with a permanent protected status, in the form of national parks, biosphere reserves and nature parks under the national park programme for eastern Germany.

EU-PolarNet is the world’s largest consortium of expertise and infrastructure for polar research. Seventeen countries are represented by 22 of Europe’s internationally-respected multi-disciplinary research institutions. From 2015-2020, EU-PolarNet will develop and deliver a strategic framework and mechanisms to prioritise science, optimise the use of polar infrastructure, and broker new partnerships that will lead to the co-design of polar research projects that deliver tangible benefits for society. By adopting a higher degree of coordination of polar research and operations than has existed previously the consortium engages in closer cooperation with all relevant actors on an international level.

Six companies in east China's Jiangsu Province were ordered to pay 160 million yuan (26 million U.S. dollars) for discharging waste chemical to rivers by a court on 30 December 2014. It is the highest fine of its kind in China ever imposed.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants to make Paris a diesel-free city by 2020. The first step, she said on 28 December 2014, will be to ban the “most polluting” diesel delivery trucks and buses by July 2015.

On 17 December 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would defer a decision to extend New York's existing ban on fracking to his environmental commissioner Joe Martens and health commissioner Howard Zucker. Cuomo made the announcement after Martens and Zucker presented findings of their environmental and health reviews on the controversial drilling technique on 17 December 2014. The report concluded that hydraulic fracturing for shale gas and oil carried "significant public health risks" that required "long-term studies" before it could be called safe.

The European Commission adopted on the 16 December 2014 its Work Programme for 2015. The Commission's 2015 Work Programme sets out: 23 new initiatives proposed by the Juncker Commission, following the Political Guidelines presented to the European Parliament; 80 existing proposals which the Commission proposes to withdraw or amend for political or technical reasons. The European Commission plans to scrap future sustainable policies such as waste reduction and air quality. The decision was taken despite 11 EU countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, urging the Commission not to withdraw either proposal and strong support from some industries and businesses for a revision of the EU’s waste targets. The Green 10 condemn in the strongest possible terms the Commission’s plans to withdraw and retable key proposals on waste management and to create confusion and uncertainty about the fate of the air package.

On 15 December 2014 Europe’s largest battery storage project was officially opened by Amber Rudd, Minister at Department for Energy and Climate Change at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. S&C Electric Europe, Samsung SDI and Younicos collaborated to deploy the technology onto a UK Power Networks substation. The fully automated 6MW/10MWh Smarter Network Storage (SNS) project will assess the role of energy storage in cost effectively delivering the UK’s Carbon Plan, and save over £6 million on traditional network reinforcement methods.

On 9 December 2014, the European Commission published its Decision establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for rinse-off cosmetics. The criteria catalogue states that “palm oil and palm kernel oil and their derivatives used in the product must be sourced from plantations that meet criteria for sustainable management that have been developed by multi-stakeholder organisations that have a broad- based membership including NGOs, industry and government.“ Other criteria relevant for the bio-based sector are the prohibition of micro-plastics in the cosmetics and the exclusion of certain plastics for the packaging.

The Nasca Line action took place on the occasion of the climate conference in Lima, Peru. On 8 December 2014, Greenpeace activists placed a message, consisting of 45 cloth letters on the ground, next to the Hummingbird geoglyph. The letters spelled, "Time for change, the future is renewable - Greenpeace". They used yellow colored stones (carried in with them) to hold the letters in place, and used a GIS system to ensure everything is laid out in the right place. On 9 December 2014 the Peruvian Ministry of Culture accused the activists of having damaged the site.

The chair of the steering committee of the National Platform for Electric Mobility (NPE), Professor Henning Kagermann, presented the NPE's 2014 progress report to Chancellor Merkel on 2 Dezember 2014. This report marks the conclusion of the NPE's market preparation phase (2010 to 2014) and describes the current situation. In the report, the NPE also makes proposals for the upcoming market start-up phase (2015 to 2017) which focus on how Germany can achieve its goals of becoming a leading supplier and lead market in the field of electric mobility by 2020.

"(...)19. We support strong and effective action to address climate change. Consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its agreed outcomes, our actions will support sustainable development, economic growth, and certainty for business and investment. We will work together to adopt successfully a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the UNFCCC that is applicable to all parties at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in 2015. We encourage parties that are ready to communicate their intended nationally determined contributions well in advance of COP21 (by the first quarter of 2015 for those parties ready to do so). We reaffirm our support for mobilising finance for adaptation and mitigation, such as the Green Climate Fund.(...)"

More than 350 of the planet’s most important sites for nature are threatened with being lost forever according to a new report by BirdLife International. Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are places of international significance for the conservation of the world’s birds and other nature, with over twelve thousand having been identified worldwide. IBAs are the largest and most comprehensive global network of important sites for nature conservation. Now, 356 of these – known as ‘IBAs in Danger’ – have been identified in 122 countries and territories as being in imminent danger of being lost. About half of these are legally protected, which highlights the importance of improving the management effectiveness of protected areas. The new report Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas: a global network for conserving nature and benefiting people – was launched at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia on 15 November 2014.

On 12 November 2014, in Beijing, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping made history by jointly announcing the United States’ and China’s respective targets for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change in the post-2020 period.

The ‘self-organised’ European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) against TTIP and CETA is currently supported by over 290 organizations from across Europe. The official ECI was rejected by the EU Commission (EC) on 11th September 2014. On 10 November 2014, the ECI’s initiators submited a complaint against this decision in the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The lawsuit is directed against EC’s weak and politically-motivated reasons for rejecting the Stop TTIP ECI. At the same time the initiators would like to ensure fair conditions for future citizens’ initiatives: if the EC’s rejection is endorsed then the ECI would be degraded to nothing more than a paper-tiger.

On 7 November 2014, Kagoshima Gov. Yuichiro Ito gave final approval to restart two reactors at the Sendai Nuclear Power Station in southern Japan, the first to resume operations in the country under new safety rules imposed in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi meltdowns caused by an earthquake and tsunami.

Green Budget Europe (GBE), a Brussels-based non-profit expert platform on environmental fiscal reform, was formally established during a founding meeting on 4 November 2014 in Brussels. GBE is a Europe-wide expert platform bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to promote environmental fiscal reform (EFR) and the intelligent use of market-based instruments to achieve environmental goals while maximising economic and societal benefits. GBE was established in 2008 as a project of the NGO Green Budget Germany (or Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft – FÖS) after a meeting of EFR experts united in their vision of a pan-European organisation to promote environmental fiscal reform.

On 4 November 2014, the small city of Denton, Texas voted by 59 % to ban hydraulic fracturing inside the city limits. The campaign in Denton captured national attention because no municipality in Texas had ever banned hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and the city sits on the northern edge of the Barnett shale field, one of the country’s largest.

On 2 November 2014 the Synthesis Report was released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Copenhagen. The Synthesis Report, written under the leadership of IPCC Chair R.K. Pachauri, forms the capstone of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. The first three volumes, based on outlines approved by the IPCC’s 195 member governments in October 2009, were released over the past fourteen months: The Physical Science Basis in September 2013, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, in March 2014 and Mitigation of Climate Change in April 2014. IPCC reports draw on the many years of work by the scientific community investigating climate change.

On 31 October 2014 the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) failed to agree to protect key areas in the Ross Sea and East Antarctica at its thirty-third meeting in Hobart, Australia following moves to block consensus by China and Russia. It is the fourth time in three years the Commission, made up of 24 nations and the EU, failed to reach the consensus necessary for the creation of a marine reserve that would protect these regions against overexploitation.

The Carbon Farming Initiative Amendment Bill 2014, which gives legislative effect to the Emissions Reduction Fund, passed the Senate with amendments on 31October 2014. The Emissions Reduction Fund is the centrepiece of the Government’s plan to achieve Australia’s five per cent emissions reduction target by 2020. It builds on the Carbon Farming Initiative to create incentives for businesses and communities across the economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.