Febbraio 2014 - Pagina 2 di 4 - Futuro Sostenibile

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Air pollution: European commission launches legal action against the UK

The UK faces fines of up to £300m a year and embarrassing court appearances after the European commission launched legal proceedings against it for failing to reduce “excessive” levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution from traffic, despite 15 years of warnings and several extensions and postponements granted to the government. Other European countries have also failed to meet the air quality directive – that should have been adopted in 2008 – but the EU environment commissioner, Janez Potočnik, has singled Britain out for its “persistent” breaches of the air quality directive. The government has been sent a letter of formal notice of the intention to take Britain to court. The UK has been given two months to respond.

Green Growth and EU competitiveness Berlino 5 marzo 2014

Il 5 marzo 2014 si terrà a Berlino la tavola rotonda “Green Growth and EU competitiveness” organizzata dalla Fondazione Centro per un Futuro Sostenibile in collaborazione con l’Institute of European Democrats: un dibattito alla vigilia del rinnovo delle istituzioni europee per confrontarsi sui nuovi traguardi che deve stabilire l’Europa in materia di Clima, Ambiente ed Energia. L’appuntamento sarà ospitato dall’Institute for Cultural Diplomacy di Berlino durante il Berlin International Economics Congress 2014 “Global Trends in Creative Economies: Green Industries, Education, Entrepreneurship and Tourism as Drivers of Sustainable Economic Growth”.

Vision Prize: scientists are worried the IPCC is underestimating sea level rise

The survey results also show the change in the IPCC estimated climate sensitivity range is not at all reassuring. The Vision Prize is an online survey of scientists about climate risk. It’s an impartial and independent research platform for incentivized polling of experts on important scientific issues that are relevant to policymakers. Some of their previous survey results have found that about 90 percent of participating scientists believe that humans are the primary cause of global warming over the past 250 years.

UK floods: in defence of the Environment Agency

The flooding crisis has shone a spotlight on much that the government would prefer to remain hidden – not least the coalition’s quiet slashing of the Environment Agency budget. Despite advice in the wake of the 2007 floods to increase expenditure on flood defences, the government relied on its traditional mistrust of the public sector and the experts within it, and used the blunt instrument of cash limits. Prime minister David Cameron said money would be “no object” to dealing with the immediate impact of the floods and has finally announced that specialist flood defence jobs will not be cut in the short term.

Extreme Weather in parts of the world

Parts of the world have witnessed a series of extreme weather conditions in the first six weeks of 2014, continuing a pattern that was set in December 2013. Much of the United States of America has experienced cold waves and major winter storms, whilst California remains gripped by drought. The United Kingdom has seen its wettest December-January period on record, with severe, widespread and prolonged flooding. A combination of strong winds, storms and high tides caused damage and flooding in other coastal areas of Europe. There has been unusually heavy snowfall in the southern Alps.