Brazil fines Samarco 142 million reais for damages to protected areas 20/6/2016

Brazil's Environment Ministry fined mining company Samarco 142 million reais ($41.6 million) for damages to three protected areas resulting from a tailings dam burst in November, the ministry said on Friday. ...more

Most of beached whales free themselves in Indonesia 20/6/2016

Most of the 29 whales trapped in an Indonesian mangrove swamp last Thursday managed to free themselves or were gently helped out to sea as the tide rose, fisheries officials said. ...more

China orders 255 Shanghai industrial facilities to shut for G20 20/6/2016

China ordered at least 255 Shanghai-based industrial facilities, including part of a major oil refinery operated by Sinopec Corp, to shut for 14 days to reduce pollution ahead of the G20 summit, according to an official document reviewed by Reuters. ...more

Obama might create the world’s largest marine reserve in Hawaii 20/6/2016

Ten years ago, the newly-designated Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was the biggest marine reserve in the world. ...more

Blue Planet Prize 2016 to Pavan Sukhdev and Markus Borner 20/6/2016

The Asahi Glass Foundation, which is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its international environmental Blue Planet Prize, announced that its two annual prizes will be awarded this year to Pavan Sukhdev of India and Markus Borner of Switzerland. Both recipients will receive a cash award of 50 million yen ($470,000). ...more

Brussels steps up effort to halt Poland's logging plan in primeval forest 17/6/2016

The European Union executive on Thursday stepped up efforts to stop Poland from its planned increase in logging in Europe's last primeval forest, adding to bad blood between Brussels and Warsaw. ...more

NASA’s new electric plane could be a significant step toward a cleaner era of aviation 17/6/2016

NASA is developing an electric plane to accelerate the introduction of zero-emission aircraft that use less energy and cruise at higher speeds than the aircraft of today. ...more

France ratifies Paris climate agreement 16/6/2016

President Francois Hollande on Wednesday signed a bill formally ratifying the Paris climate agreement reached last December by nearly 200 countries to limit global warming. ...more

From green slime to jet fuel: algae offers airlines a cleaner future (VIDEO) 16/6/2016

As airlines struggle to find cleaner ways to power jets and with an industry-wide meeting on CO2 emissions just months away, scientists are busy growing algae in vast open tanks at an Airbus site at Ottobrun, near Munich. ...more

EU proposes stricter tests on car emissions from 2017 in wake of VW scandal 16/6/2016

EU regulators proposed stricter tests on Wednesday on car fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from late next year to plug loopholes highlighted by the Volkswagen emissions scandal. ...more