The National Biodiversity Authority has released a new set of rules to manage sharing of benefits generated through the use of biological resources. The Biological Diversity (Access to biological Resources and Knowledge Associated thereto and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits) Regulation 2025 was approved by the Central government and …
australia has rejected a proposal to introduce carbon tax for curbing the emissions of greenhouse gases. The proposal was made by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop ment (oecd), whose officials felt that Australia could use economic measures to prevent environmental degradation. But the suggestion met with severe opposition …
The Assam Pollution Control Board (apcb) has served a closure notice to the Digboi authorities for releasing highly toxic effluents, including oil and grease, into waterbodies. According to an official of the apcb, untreated effluents from the refinery is causing extensive damage to agricultural fields and forests. In response, the …
latvia has decided to push for a deal on a compensation mechanism in oil pollution cases, said Andris Berzins, the country's prime minister. This decision has been taken in the wake of an oil spill from Lithuanian oil concern Mazeikiu Nafta's terminal into the Baltic Sea on March 7, 2001. …
What message are you sending by slapping an eight per cent duty on a clean fuel like the compressed natural gas (CNG)? Will it not jolt to the nascent CNG market, when the tax generated will amount to a mere Rs 6 crore? Won't it also jeopardise the Supreme Court's …
From July 1, 2001, the Pakistan government will impose a pollution charge on all those who fail to comply to the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS), said Omar Asghar Khan, the country's federal minister for labour, local government and rural development.
austria's exhaust emissions have been reduced by 56 per cent from 1991 levels, claims the European Commission. This was possible due to a system of ecopoints for heavy-duty vehicles. The ecopoints system was developed in response to "the deteriorating environmental situation caused by transit traffic' because of Austria's geographic location, …
The Union government will probably let another budget go by without applying the polluter pays principle to reduce damage to environment. Pay for the damage if you pollute. Pay more if you pollute more. This, in simple terms, is the polluter pays principle. The Indian government chooses to ignore the …
four us chemical companies will pay a compensation of us $73 million to clean up ddt-contaminated waste near California's Santa Catalina Island. This amount is the largest compensation ever paid for an environmental clean up, other than oil. The companies include Montrose Chemical Corporation, Aventis SA, Chris-Craft Industries Incorporation and …
The Clinton administration has approved new regulations that are expected to cut air pollution from heavy-duty trucks and buses by more than 90 per cent over the next decade. The federal standards will require new large trucks and buses to meet stringent tailpipe emission limits and direct refiners to produce …
An oil spill of about 100 litres of crude oil has been reported from one of the refineries of Petrobras, Brazil's oil giant. The spill is spread over an area of 2 square kilometres, off the coast of northeastern Ceara state. Petrobras officials are trying to remove the oil stain …
The leakage of four million litres of crude oil from a refinery operated by state-owned Petrobras Limited has resulted in Brazil's worst enviornmental disaster in 26 years. The oil spill has contaminated the Iguacu river and endangered its acquatic life. Jose Sarney Filho, environmental minister has warned Petrobras to control …
In recent years the Supreme Court (SC) has caught several ministries napping. Recently, the SC pulled up the labour ministry and ministry of environment and forests (MEF) and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of them. Some months ago, it had penalised the Delhi government for failing to …
The Supreme Court ordered the ministry of labour and the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 each for not being able to furnish information on hazardous waste units in the country. The ministries could recover the fine from concerned officers responsible for …
Irked by its failure to implement court orders and stop the discharge of untreated domestic waste and industrial effluent into the Yamuna, the Supreme Court has imposed afine of Rs 10,000 on the Delhi government. A division benchof the court stated: "We cannot overlook the fact that earlier orders of …
Three sick smokers in the US have been awarded a total of US $12.7 million in compensatory damages by a Florida jury in a verdict that indicted cigarette manufactures for their illness. This is the highest compensation paid in the country in a sick-smokers case and the verdict comes as …
Employment through ecological innovation: The guidelines of this programme involves sustainability, social justice, democracy, citizen rights and equal rights for women. In the centre is a package of measures to combat mass unemployment by creating new jobs through ecological innovation over the next four years. A policy of reduced working …
participants at a recent conference urged the Union finance ministry to create an environment fund in the forthcoming budget. The conference "Greening the Budget: Impact on Industry and Economy-A Pre-Budget 2000-01 Debate' was organised by Tata Energy Research Institute (teri), New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion R K Pachauri, director …
South Korea, the world's 11th largest emitter of carbon dioxide ( co 2 ), is coming under increasing pressure from other countries in the world, especially the us , to reduce its carbon emissions. With international negotiations on climate change, under the mantle of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, gaining momentum, …
