Central to the achievement of the Agenda for Sustainable Development is an adequate, equitably distributed and fully supported health workforce. Nurses are the largest occupational group and represent an indispensable force with which to combat inequities in access to health services and progress towards health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while …
Sweden is facing an "extreme" risk of more wildfires in coming days because of hot and dry weather, authorities warned Monday, as dozens of fires raged across the Scandinavian country. The civil protection agency MSB counted 27 active fires across Sweden on Monday, half the previous day's number. At least …
This working paper discusses the potential of zero-emission technologies to reduce emissions from non-road transport, including aviation, maritime, off-road, and rail. These modes represent a quarter of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions and pose significant local pollution issues, but policy regulating emissions for these vehicles has been slow-moving and fragmented. Based …
The UK’s historic churches are at serious risk from the impact of climate change, including higher levels of rainfall and invasive pests such as termites, according to the National Churches Trust. Roofs, towers and spires are threatened by strong winds and more frequent storms. The trust saw a 26% year-on-year …
The German city of Stuttgart will bar only the most polluting diesel vehicles from its streets next year and will seek to avoid a widening of the ban by taking measures to improve air quality, a state ministry said. Stuttgart, the heartland of Germany’s automotive industry, plans to start banning …
Under the European Union’s (EU) Air Quality Directive, Member States have to implement and report on the measures they put in place in areas where air quality limit and target values are exceeded. This briefing provides an overview of the different types of abatement measures reported. It focuses mainly on …
Most national policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Europe target energy consumption and energy supply, while economic and regulatory instruments are the most common means of cutting emissions, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report. The report also reveals that EU Member States report the actual effects and …
The vast majority of Europe’s rivers, lakes and estuaries have failed to meet minimum ecological standards for habitat degradation and pollution, according to a damning new report. Only 40% of surface water bodies surveyed by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) were found to be in a good ecological state, despite …
The bottom-up traffic emission model EMISENS is used to calculate hourly black carbon (BC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission rates on an average workday in Maribor (Slovenia), using emission factors that were previously determined with the on-road chasing measurements in Slovenia. From modeled NOx emission rates and in-situ NOx measurements …
Pollution is changing the fungi that provide mineral nutrients to tree roots, causing plants in Europe to become malnutritioned, a study has found. To get nutrients from the soil, trees host fungi, known as mycorrhizal fungi, in their roots. These fungi receive carbon from the tree in exchange for essential …
The EEA report ‘Waste prevention in Europe – policies, status and trends of reuse in 2017’ reviews measures to promote the reuse of products in European countries and regions. Reusing products means using them again for their original purpose, hence retaining more of the products’ value, compared with, for example, …
This briefing compares the fleet characteristics and fuel-efficiency technology deployment in China, Europe and the U.S. from 2010 to 2014. In addition, the briefing evaluates the response of the passenger vehicle market in China to the country’s fuel efficiency standards.
Traces of 29 pharmaceutical drugs have been found in rivers in York. The compounds included antidepressants, antibiotics and medicines to treat epilepsy and diabetes. The York University team which conducted the study said although the levels found in the rivers Ouse and Foss were extremely low, there were concerns over …
In this report, a group of European Commission (EC) appointed experts recommend orientations for food and nutrition security research and innovation in the years to come. The report calls for a Research, Innovation and Investment Strategy (RI&IS;) in line with the EC FOOD2030 initiative to deliver on four priorities: nutrition …
A new report from the WWF finds record levels of pollution from microplastics in the Mediterranean Sea are now higher than those in the oceanic ‘garbage patches’ and are threatening marine species, fisheries activities and human health in the region. Launched to coincide with World Oceans Day, June 8 2018, …
Coppice and coppice with standards are important habitats for species of light forests, because regular cutting of re-growth applied in this type of forest-use produces forest structures that fulfil habitat requirements of these species. Coppicing had been a traditional forest-use system in Central Europe for centuries, but it has dramatically …
The European Union (EU) has recognised the high-probability, high-impact threat climate change poses to international security, but is still formulating a response commensurate to the threat. This report outlines how the EU can meet a Responsibility to Prepare for unprecedented yet foreseeable threats to international peace and security. This involves …
Food waste in South Africa is lower than that in Europe but greater than in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Households in South Africa dispose of less food into the municipal bin than European households do, but more than households in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, excluding food fed to …
The European Union proposed on Monday a bloc-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds while urging the collection of most plastic drinks bottles by 2025. The set of proposals are part of a growing EU drive to rid the environment of plastic waste which has …
European Union consumers may do as much as regulators to propel the the region’s car sector into the electricity-powered age foreseen by Tesla Inc., according to the EU’s industrial-policy chief. European Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska said the EU has had a “breakthrough moment” since Germany-based Volkswagen AG admitted in 2015 that …
LONDON (Reuters) - A British judge ruled on Thursday that Nigeria’s Bodo community, which has been involved in a protracted legal battle with Shell over the clean-up of two 2008 oil spills, should retain the option of litigation for another year. A Shell logo is seen at a gas station …
