EURACTIV.com in partnership with The Guardian
Semi-automated truck convoys get green light for UK trials
The British government has given the go-ahead for the first trials of convoys of semi-automated trucks on UK motorways.
Most global investors recognise financial risk of climate change, report finds
For the first time a majority of global investor heavyweights recognise the financial risks of climate change, according to the results of a major global index rating how investors manage such risks. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
Lives at risk if Tories choose to cut UK foreign aid target, says Bill Gates
Bill Gates warned Theresa May that should the Conservatives go ahead and abandon the UK’s overseas aid spending pledge it would reduce the country’s influence in the world and mean more lives lost in Africa.
Diesel cars are 10 times more toxic than trucks and buses, data shows
Modern diesel cars produce 10 times more toxic air pollution than heavy trucks and buses, new European data has revealed.
EU stalls pledge to carry out independent checks on car emissions
Plans for independent checks of how much pollution new cars emit are being killed off by EU member states, according to leaked documents seen by EURACTIV's partner The Guardian.
Protected forests in Europe felled to meet EU renewable targets – report
Protected forests are being indiscriminately felled across Europe to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets, according to an investigation by the conservation group Birdlife.
Judge orders closure of low-cost Bridge International schools in Uganda
Uganda's High Court has ordered the closure of a chain of low-cost private schools backed by Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, respectively the founders of Microsoft and Facebook.
World on track for 3C of warming under current global climate pledges, warns UN
The commitments made by governments on climate change will lead to dangerous levels of global warming because they are incommensurate with the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report.
Somaliland hopes Brexit will pave way for UK to grant international recognition
Britain’s looming departure from the EU may be a fraught issue at home, yet in one corner of the Horn of Africa hopes are harboured of a very definite Brexit dividend.
HFC deal big step in fighting climate change
They went to Kigali, Rwanda, to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and take 0.5C out of future global warming, and the 170 countries that successfully negotiated an amendment to the Montreal protocol treaty agreed to get rid of 90% of them. Not bad for four days and three long nights of hard work.
An energy first as UK successfully transmits data via national electricity grid
Data has been transmitted across a national electricity grid for the first time, in what could be a significant step towards the creation of virtual power stations, where many thousands of homes and businesses combine to manage electricity use more smartly.
World Bank says Paris climate goals at risk from new coal schemes
Slowing down construction of coal-fired power stations will be vital to hit globally agreed climate change goals, the World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim, said as he outlined a five-point plan to flesh out last year’s Paris agreement to reduce CO2 emissions. A report by EURACTIV's partner, The Guardian Environment.
Rule of law declines for 70% of Africans over past decade, warns Ibrahim index
Governance across Africa has seen minimal improvement over the past decade, held back by widespread deterioration in safety and rule of law, according to a report published on Monday (3 October).
UK ‘consistently waters down’ reforms of EU farming subsidies
The UK government could have stopped wealthy landowners including aristocrats and a Saudi racehorse owner receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds from the EU’s common agricultural policy, the European commission has said.
More than 25% of UK aid budget will be spent by other ministries by 2020
More than a quarter of UK overseas aid will be spent by ministries other than the Department for International Development (DfiD) by 2019/20 - according to figures that have sparked renewed concern about changes to Britain’s aid policy.
Pesticide manufacturers’ own tests reveal serious harm to honeybees
Unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers show their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels, leading to calls from senior scientists for the companies to end the secrecy which cloaks much of their research.
UK development minister challenged over ‘wasted aid’ claim
The new minister in charge of Britain’s overseas aid budget faced criticism on her first appearance before a Commons committee when she was unable to come up with a figure for the amount of aid that was being “wasted and stolen” – after publicly highlighting it as a significant problem.
New UK development minister plans aid review based on ‘Conservative values’
Too much of Britain’s aid money is wasted, stolen or spent on inappropriate projects, the new minister overseeing the UK aid budget has declared, as she served notice of plans to take an approach based on “core Conservative principles”.
Brexit could cost poorest countries €378m a year, warn economists
The world’s poorest countries could lose more than €378m per year if their existing trade agreements with the UK market are not maintained in the event of Brexit, a new series of essays published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the UK Trade Policy Observatory has warned.
Study: Shipping air pollution causes 24,000 deaths a year in east Asia
A boom in shipping is aggravating air pollution in China and other nations in east Asia, causing thousands of deaths a year in a region with eight of the world’s ten biggest container ports, scientists have said.
Resignation of EDF director paves way for Hinkley Point go-ahead
An EDF director opposed to the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant has resigned before a crucial board vote on the project, paving the way for the French company to approve it.
UK not doing enough for conflict-stricken northern Nigeria, report warns
Britain is not doing enough to help northern Nigeria, where millions of people have had their lives ruined by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram, according to a report by the UK parliament.
Post-Brexit sterling decline will cost poor countries $4bn, claims study
The post-Brexit slump in the pound will cost developing countries nearly $4bn (£3.1bn, €3.6bn) in the coming year, with reduced trade and aid, risk-averse financial markets, lower growth and sharply reduced remittances all playing a role, a report shows.