This briefing by the Clean Air Fund follows a YouGov poll that shows at least two-thirds of citizens in diverse locations around the world – Great Britain, India, Nigeria, Poland and Bulgaria – support stricter regulation to tackle air pollution. The briefing highlights the close connections between COVID-19 and air …
Bulgaria's top court has revoked a 20 percent charge imposed on the income of solar and wind power producers this year, in a ruling that protects renewable energy investors in the Balkan country but would widen state deficits related to clean energy. The Constitutional Court ruled the charge breached the …
Bulgaria, one of five EU states that depend totally on Russia for nuclear fuel, is set to take a step towards diversifying its suppliers when Westinghouse Electric Company buys a stake in a state-controlled firm building new atomic units. Westinghouse, the world's largest nuclear fuel producer and part of Japan's …
The government has yet to estimate the full scale of the damage caused when rivers burst their banks in eastern and central Bulgaria, forcing mass evacuations, but is considering seeking EU aid. On Saturday, over 1,000 rescue workers and volunteers were struggling to clear mud and rubble left by a …
European Union policy makers may reach a decision in the first half of next year on a proposal to introduce automatic supply controls in the world’s biggest emissions market, according to a senior EU official. EU governments and the European Parliament are unlikely to finish work on the reform proposed …
The UK will have run out of oil, coal and gas in just over five years' time, scientists have warned. According to a new report by the Global Sustainability Institute (GSI), the country had 5.2 years of oil, 4.5 years of coal and just three years of gas remaining, which …
In just over five years Britain will have run out of oil, coal and gas, researchers have warned. A report by the Global Sustainability Institute said shortages would increase dependency on Norway, Qatar and Russia. There should be a "Europe-wide drive" towards wind, tidal, solar and other sources of renewable …
Marites Gatan Balbas has won a Whitley award for her work involving local communities in the protection of the 'misunderstood' Philippine crocodile For Marites Gatan Balbas, saving the world's rarest crocodile has been as much about overcoming its image problem as more traditional conservation efforts. Traditional stories depicted the Philippine …
The Danish MEP Margrete Auken is a politician who likes her stats. In a recent four-minute speech to the European Parliament, she squeezed in three examples: 70% of marine pollution is caused by plastic; 95% of Fulmar seabirds in the North Sea have plastic in their guts; and Europeans get …
The smokestacks of Kremikovtzi steel mill on Sofia’s outskirts may have shut down years ago, but ancient cars ensure that Bulgaria’s capital is still the most polluted in Europe. When the steel plant went bankrupt in 2008, it did little to improve the thick smog that still hangs over Sofia. …
More people smoke worldwide today than in 1980, as population growth surges and cigarettes gain popularity in countries such as China, India and Russia, researchers said Tuesday. 270fce4639917f8434891238d4d47f072d999972For instance, China boasted nearly 100 million more smokers in 2012 than it had three decades ago, even though its smoking rate fell …
South Africa plans to issue licenses permitting exploration of shale-gas reserves in the first quarter, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said. “Now we have a 30-day period where we are expecting to get public comments from the various parties; by early next year, it will be done,” she said in …
More than 90% of Europeans living in cities are exposed to unsafe levels one of the most health damaging air pollutants, with Bulgaria having the dirtiest air among EU countries, says a new study by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Despite falling emission levels and reductions of some air pollutant …
The European Commission said on Thursday it would take Bulgaria to court for endangering protected birds by allowing wind farms and other developments along one of their migration routes. The Balkan country had broken environmental rules by failing to protect habitats and highly threatened species like the red-breasted goose in …
The air in the small Black Sea nation is thicker with several major air pollutants than the air in any other country in Europe, according to a new study prepared by Europe’s environmental regulators. Bulgaria has the highest concentrations of the two major varieties of particulate matter, which are tiny …
Bulgaria's government will use its majority in parliament to enforce its decision not to build a new nuclear power plant, despite Bulgarians backing its construction in a referendum just months before a national election. Although 60.6 percent of those who voted supported building the plant at Belene on the Danube, …
Bulgarians backed the building of a nuclear power plant in a referendum on Sunday, a blow to Prime Minister Boiko Borisov who had abandoned the multi-billion-dollar project, but turnout was not enough to overturn the government's decision. Roughly 60 percent voted for a 2,000-megawatt plant at Belene on the Danube …
One in six people in the European Union (EU) are at risk of poverty, the Executive Director of the Austrian Association for Policy Consulting and Development (OeGPP) said Monday. Andreas Hoeferl made the comments during a presentation for a study titled "Poverty in the European Union," where he said in …
Poland wants its new shale gas law to go into force next year, Piotr Wozniak, the deputy environment minister responsible for the draft law said on Wednesday, but added that it would be best if a shale gas tax waited until at least 2016. Poland, which aims to be Europe's …
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook Bulgaria's capital Sofia early on Tuesday, causing residents to rush into the streets, the civil defence office said. The quake, which occurred at 3 a.m. local time, shook apartment buildings and rattled windows but caused no casualties or damage, Nikolay Nikolov, an official from the …
Bulgaria's parliament has adopted a total ban on smoking in indoor public places, after earlier attempts failed due to strong opposition from restaurant owners. The ban, which was approved yesterday and comes into force on June 1, has stirred discontent among many Bulgarians, at least 40 percent of whom are …
