July 12th, 2017 Ireland’s environmental watchdog has warned five industrial sites already under its radar for serious breaches of the environmental law to clean up their act or face further sanctions. The five sites are Arrow Group Limited, Co Kildare; Rosderra Irish Meats Group, Co …
Three years and six goals to meet targets in the Paris Climate Agreement
July 10th, 2017 A grouping of climate change experts has published six goals that must be achieved by 2020 in order to meet the targets set out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. In a letter published in the journal Nature, the authors and co-signatories …
All new Volvo cars to be electric or hybrid from 2019
July 6th, 2017 Volvo will only produce fully electric or hybrid cars from 2019, making it the first mainstream car manufacturer to commit to a total phase out of cars solely powered by internal combustion engines. This may well be a landmark moment and one …
New project launched to study links between flooding and waterborne disease outbreaks
July 28th, 2017 A new research project investigating the links between flooding events and the incidence of waterborne infectious disease outbreaks in Ireland was officially launched at UCD Earth Institute today. The multidisciplinary project will involve social scientists, environmental scientists, engineers and public health researchers from UCD, …
Plastic polluting Scotland’s remotest islands and beaches
June 27th, 2017 Marine scientists aboard Greenpeace’s vessel the Beluga II have documented extensive plastic pollution in some of the most remote parts of the UK. The Beluga II is due to dock in Edinburgh today after a 2-month survey and in-depth analysis will follow …
Legislation needed to protect European soil, new EU study finds
A new report published by the European Parliament’s committee responsible for scrutinising the European Commission’s agricultural policies has highlighted the threats facing soils across Europe. The report – prepared by academic experts from Wageningen University, Aarhus University and the University of Cordoba – was presented …
Green Party launch Waste Reduction Bill 2017
June 15th, 2017 The Green Party today launched a Waste Reduction Bill to introduce a deposit refund scheme for glass and plastic bottles and a complete ban on single-use non-recyclable plastics, such as coffee cups and plastic cutlery. Only 40 per cent of the 210,000 tonnes …
Retailers face higher costs without HFC phase-out, says Environmental Investigation Agency
June 15th, 2017 European retailers face severe financial repercussions if they do not transition to hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-free cooling technology, the Environmental Investigation Agency warned today. The EU F-Gas Regulation, brought into law in 2015, legislates for the rapid, stepped phasing out of the use HFCs, which …
Can we turn the tide on the marine plastic pollution?
June 14th, 2017 Last week, World Oceans Day correctly directed our attention to the 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the world’s oceans. Active research and public awareness of this issue may well be at its highest ever. This is a good thing. The …
Reducing meat intake has environmental and health benefits
June 12th, 2017 Today – Monday 12th June – marks World Meat Free Day. This is an initiative that pushes for everyone to adopt a meat-free diet for 24 hours in an effort to is raise awareness of the need to reduce our meat consumption …