Environment News
Christina Koch: Nasa astronaut to set new female space record
Image copyright NASA Image caption Christina Koch will return to Earth on Thursday after an 11-month stay on the ISS Nasa astronaut Christina Koch is set to complete the longest-ever single spaceflight by a woman. When she returns to Earth on Thursday, Koch will have spent 328 days on the International Space Station (ISS), surpassing …
David Cameron rejected offer to head COP26 climate conference
Image copyright PA Media David Cameron turned down an offer from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to head the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, it has emerged. The idea was discussed with the former PM, but Mr Cameron thought the job should go to a government minister. It comes after Claire O’Neill, a former …
Rules around human waste in farming are ‘out of date’
Image copyright Reuters The rules around the use of human sewage waste as crop fertiliser are more than 30 years out of date, a report for the Environment Agency says. Every year 3.6 million tonnes of sewage sludge is reprocessed and spread onto agricultural land across the UK. But the report said current regulations do …
Petrol and diesel car sales ban brought forward to 2035
A ban on selling new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars in the UK will be brought forward from 2040 to 2035 at the latest, under government plans. The change comes after experts said 2040 would be too late if the UK wants to achieve its target of emitting virtually zero carbon by 2050. Boris Johnson …
Climate change: Sacked climate chief ‘may sue government’
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Claire O’Neill was sacked from her role as President of COP26 The former head of this year’s vital climate summit may sue the UK government for sacking her, the BBC has learned. Claire O’Neill, an ex-minister, was told by Downing Street that she couldn’t chair the Glasgow meeting because …
Cycling through Europe’s deadliest air
Cities in parts of Europe have been suffering from some of the worst air quality in the world. Winter smog has become a big issue in the Western Balkans. Serbia is the country with the highest rate of pollution-related deaths in Europe, according to the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution. Jasna Cizler is a …
Somalia declares emergency over locust swarms
Image copyright EPA Image caption The UN says the situation in the Horn of Africa is the worst in 25 years Somalia has declared a national emergency as large swarms of locusts spread across east Africa. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture said the insects, which consume large amounts of vegetation, posed “a major threat to …
Climate change: UK sacks its UN conference president
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mrs O’Neill had already put in a lot of work to prepare the way for Glasgow In a surprise move, the woman appointed to run the crucial UN climate summit in Glasgow in November has been sacked. Claire Perry O’Neill, a former climate minister, had been assigned the post …
Solar Orbiter completes preparation for launch
Image copyright ULA/@GDavisPhotos Image caption Packed inside its protective fairing, SolO heads off to be mated with the Atlas Europe’s grand mission to understand the detailed workings of the Sun is all but ready for launch. Solar Obiter has been enclosed in its protective cover and mounted atop the rocket that will hurl the satellite …
Amazon rainforest: The 90-year-old trying to stop destruction
Newsnight was given rare access to a once-in-a-generation meeting of indigenous groups trying to save the Amazon. Environmental campaigners and indigenous groups say the policies of Brazil’s populist leader Jair Bolsonaro have heavily contributed to the destruction of the rainforest. Now, Chief Raoni Metuktire is visiting the UK to try and raise international support for …
