It presents an update on the progress on the implementation of the Pollution Action Plan adopted at UNEA-4 in resolution 4/21, including some highlights in implementing the specific deliverables identified in the Plan. The Plan aims to build synergies across the work of UNEP and to provide the glue across …
As part of an interesting initiative, two scientists from Hungary have arrived in Nagaland to satellite-track one of its winter guests, the Amur falcon. Every year, these migratory birds travel up to 22,000 km to take temporary refuge in this hilly State. However, the birds are hardly received with the …
Atmospheric volumes of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change hit a new record in 2012, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Wednesday. "For all these major greenhouse gases the concentrations are reaching once again record levels," WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud told a news conference in Geneva at which he …
Greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 will be 8 billion to 12 billion tonnes more than the level needed to keep global warming to only 2 degrees Celsius and avoid severe climate change, a United Nations report estimated on Tuesday. The annual U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) report analysed countries' current pledges …
Failure will mean greater costs and risks and pathway to limiting temperature rise to under 2C will close fast The chances of keeping the global temperature increase below 2C will “swiftly diminish” unless the world takes immediate action to escalate cuts in carbon emissions, the United Nations has warned. The …
Coal-fired power plants such as this one in Peitz, Germany, mean the gap between temperatures are unlikely to be kept to 'safe' levels of warming, according to a Unep report As world leaders prepare to meet in Poland for the latest United Nations summit on climate change, a major new …
A ground-breaking, legally-binding global treaty on reducing mercury pollution has been signed by 92 countries. The treaty spells "the beginning of the end of mercury as a threat to human health and the environment", UN Environment Programme (UNEP) executive director Achim Steiner, told a diplomatic meeting in Japan earlier this …
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) is devising a legal provision to set a level of lead content in paints to address the health hazards resulting from excessive use of the metal. Speaking at a programme organised to mark the “International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action,” Senior …
About six lakh children are found to develop some kind of intellectual disability every year because of exposure to the heavy metal lead. The highest burden of deaths caused by lead exposure is in developing countries, with the global death toll standing at 1, 43,000. This is what led the …
A U.N. conference adopted a treaty on mercury control Thursday near the site of Japan’s worst industrial poisoning, as Tokyo pledged $2 billion to help poorer nations combat pollution. Delegates from some 140 countries and territories will formally sign the world’s first legally binding treaty on the highly toxic metal, …
Nations have begun signing a legally binding treaty designed to curb mercury pollution and the use of the toxic metal in products around the globe. Mercury can produce a range of adverse human health effects, including permanent damage to the nervous system. The UN treaty was formally adopted at a …
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been leading the effort in collecting scientific evidence of climate change and in looking to answer the most important question, is it caused by human activity? Some argue that it is caused mostly by natural variability, and non-human factors. The …
Though more than a year has passed since the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules came into effect in May 2012, their implementation is still in a nascent stage, at least in Varanasi, one of the major cities of Uttar Pradesh. In fact, the state ranks fourth among the 10 largest …
Veerabhadran Ramanathan of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California is to receive the 2013 'Champions of the Earth award'. An Indian-origin scientist, who proved how cutting emissions of "black carbon" or soot can significantly lessen the impact of climate change, has been selected for the United Nation's top environmental award. …
Pioneers and trailblazers, whose work has had a significant and positive impact on the environment, are set to receive the UN's highest environmental accolade, the Champions of the Earth award.The prize is awarded annually by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to leaders from government, civil society and the private sector. …
Various events would be organized to mark World Ozone Preservation Day on Monday by the regional office of UP Pollution Control Board. Regional officer Mohd Sikandar said that a symposium would be organised at Saras Hall of Vikas Bhawan on 'preservation of ozone layer'. It would be attended by students, …
India is among the countries generating lowest quantity of e-waste from personal computers, the Rajya Sabha was informed. According to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report titled 'Recycling - From E-waste to Resources', India with generation of less than 0.15 kg/capita/year of e-waste is amongst the countries with lowest …
The proposals of the Montreal Protocol to phase out ozone depleting substances have been implemented with greater success in Sri Lanka, Environment and Renewable Energy Minister Susil Premajayantha said. He said disposing of refrigerators and air conditioners that release ozone depleting substances including Hydro Chloro Fluoro Carbon (HCFC) is in …
Kochi: Kerala health department and Pollution Control Board (PCB) have just started taking measures to minimize the use of mercury and eventually stop using instruments based on it like thermometers and BP apparatus (sphygmomanometer). India has already decided to sign the Minamata Convention on Mercury convention, which provides controls and …
Over 50 percent of the toys sold in the market contain toxics that pose a serious threat to children’s health, a report has revealed. Among the highly hazardous chemicals found in the toys were lead, cadmium and mercury, which could lead to neurological dysfunction, permanent brain damage and death, said …
The police and Environment Ministry have teamed up to establish an Environment Police unit in order to effectively enforce environment-related laws and regulations. At a ceremony held Wednesday to mark the World Environment Day, Deputy Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed and State Minister for Environment Abdul Matheen Mohamed signed an …
