In a world of higher electricity demand growth, clean electricity is stepping up to the challenge. Spearheaded by exponential solar expansion, clean power is set to grow faster than demand, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil generation. 2024 both clarified and consolidated the shape of the global …
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s government will revise a decree that opened up a vast mineral reserve in the Amazon rainforest to mining, ministers told journalists on Monday, responding to overwhelming criticism from lawmakers and activists. Mining and Energy Minister Fernando Coelho Filho said the government would rescind its prior decree …
IN POOR countries people are living longer and healthier lives than ever. Since 2000 child mortality has fallen by almost half. The rate of new HIV/AIDS infections has dropped by 40%. About 7m deaths from malaria have been prevented. Yet there is much more to be done. By one measure, …
The Brazilian president Michel Temer has abolished an Amazonian reserve the size of Denmark, prompting concerns of an influx of mineral companies, road-builders and workers into the species-rich forest. The dissolution of the Renca reserve – which spans 46,000 sq km on the border of the Amapa and Para states …
Universal access to electricity is deemed critical for improving living standards and indispensable for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development. In 2003, the 'Luz para Todos' (LpT—Light for All) program was launched aiming to universalize access to electricity in Brazil. The program focused on rural and isolated areas, also targeting …
APUI, Brazil (Reuters) - The small town of Apui sits at the new frontline of Brazil's fight against advancing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, where vast forest fires belch jet black smoke visible for miles and loggers denude the jungle. The home of 21,000 people in southern Amazonas state was …
More than 300 animal species face different degrees of threat in Bahia state. The State Environment Secretariat (SEMA) has published a list of 331 species of amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, continental invertebrates, fish, marine invertebrates, and the so-called "social interest" species-those exploited by traditional communities for sustainable use or subsistence. …
Samarco, a joint venture between BHP Biliton Ltd and Brazil's Vale, should be punished but not closed over the 2015 collapse of a tailings dam that killed 19 people, Brazil's mining and energy minister said on Thursday. "Mistakes may have been made, but it was an accident," Fernando Coelho Filho …
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil will allow environmental transgressors to exchange millionaire fines for recovery works at a discount, the environment minister said on Thursday, in a bid to reduce litigation and raise funds for projects in times of austerity. A decree to be published next week will allow environmental offenders …
For the past few years, Piauí, Brazil, has focused on generating jobs and generating renewable energy hand in hand. Piaui is captivated by the win-win-win-win of wind and solar power projects. (There are four wins since, aside from jobs and energy, renewables cut air pollution and global warming emissions.) Setting …
At a warehouse in the heart of Brazil's agriculture sector, farmer Rafael Bilibio watches truck after truck line up to unload corn onto the ground outside the huge storage bins. His own corn, ready for unloading from a 50-tonne truck that has just pulled in, is destined to join the …
In a victory for Brazil’s indigenous groups, the Supreme Court Wednesday decided against the claims of Mato Grosso state, which wanted compensation for Indian reserves established in that state by the federal government. Mato Grosso argued that the land on which the reserves were established belonged to the state, but …
Converting forests into farms is not economically viable except in selected regions, says a global study. Published last month (July) in PLoS Biology, the study by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) examined deforestation in more than 50 countries in the tropics between 2000—2012, and identified regions where …
A new report that looks at the collaborative efforts of private sector and government actors to halt deforestation in two key tropical forest nations could have lessons for countries around the world. The report, released by the NGOs Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Forest Trends (FT) last week, consists of …
The risk of being infected by the potentially fatal, rodent-borne Hantavirus could jump in Brazil's Sao Paulo state as climate change sends temperatures higher and farmers grow more sugarcane, said scientists. More effective health education and pest control could help cut the risk of the disease in the area, along …
The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is the most important corn pest in South America. Larvae feed mostly on leaves, but also ears when population densities are high. This pest has been historically controlled with insecticide applications, but many cases of resistance have limited their …
Elaborated in the framework of the UNDP-UN Environment “Poverty Environment Initiative” (PEI), this publication identifies entry points to integrate environmental sustainability and social protection goals. It aims to contribute to the improvement of policy tools by providing practical examples of an integrated approach to the implementation of Agenda 2030 in …
The strong focus on species extinctions, a critical aspect of the contemporary pulse of biological extinction, leads to a common misimpression that Earth’s biota is not immediately threatened, just slowly entering an episode of major biodiversity loss. This view overlooks the current trends of population declines and extinctions. Using a …
For a farmer in Brazil's Amazon, Manoel Freire Camurca was doing pretty well for himself until a local power broker burned down his house and took the surrounding fields he had poured his life into. Camurca's eviction eight months ago happened as officials were finalising his claim to 500 hectares …
Of the world's 20 leading economies, Italy, Brazil, France and Germany are closest to meeting international targets to keep global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, with Saudi Arabia and the United States trailing at the bottom, according to an index released ahead of this week's G20 summit. The …
Engagement with the land registration system that underpins the Forest Code was initially high, but the researchers found that it had little bearing on the amount of illegal deforestation. Only 6 percent of farmers surveyed said they were actively restoring deforested parts of their land, while 76 percent said that …
