EU/ERBD News
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Rescuers searching through mud and debris for flash-flood victims in north-western Nepal have found at least 17 bodies, the Associated Press quoted police as saying. Another 47 people were missing and presumed dead after the Seti River burst through an avalanche and sent water gushing through villages along its banks. Sea-level rises are unlikely to be...
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Lloyd’s of London, the world’s biggest insurance market, has become the first major business organisation to speak out about huge potential environmental damage from oil drilling in the Arctic, The Guardian reported. The institution’s chief executive urged companies “to think carefully about the consequences”, as any oil spill...
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Rescuers were searching the Dallas area for anyone trapped in the rubble left behind by a string of violent tornadoes that swept through northern Texas on Tuesday, CNN reported. Up to 13 twisters are believed to have touched down in the US state, destroying at least 150 homes. A parliamentary committee in Nepal gave the go-ahead for China Three Gorges...
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Earthquakes, tsunamis and floods pushed Lloyd’s of London to a 2011 loss equivalent to US$818.5 million, The Guardian reported, as catastrophe claims reached a record high for the insurance market. After healthy profits in 2010, Lloyds – made up of 87 underwriting syndicates – saw US$20.4 billion in claims, including US$7.3 billion related...
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An updated analysis of land and sea temperatures, including new data from weather stations in the Arctic, has found that the world is warming even more than previously thought, The Daily Telegraph reported. From 1998 to 2010, temperatures rose by 0.11° Celsius – 0.04° more than had been estimated. The new data confirms 2010 as the hottest year...
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Governments have been accused of backtracking on water commitments, The Guardian reported, after representatives at the World Water Forum in Marseilles endorsed a ministerial declaration calling for a “new approach” to water policy ahead of June’s Rio+20 conference on sustainable development. Campaigners say the document does not formally...
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A UN environmental team is in Australia to assess the ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef amid increasing concern over escalating coal exports and oil and gas exploration in the world heritage area, The Guardian reported. Australia’s coal boom is opening up previously undeveloped areas and seeing more coal-laden ships crossing the reef. The oil giant...
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In the darkest moments of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis last year, Japanese leaders secretly considered the possibility of evacuating Tokyo while publicly playing down the risks of the disaster, The New York Times cited an independent investigation as finding. The Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation’s report comes ahead of the March 11 anniversary...
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The 14th EU-China summit in Beijing enabled the two to deepen their partnership.
The summit, held in Beijing on 14 February, brought together Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and leaders of EU institutions, Herman Van Rompuy (European Council) and José Manuel Barroso (Commission).
Describing the EU-China partnership as "one of...
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Past winners of the Blue Planet Prize – the unofficial Nobel award for the environment – warned that the world faces an “absolutely unprecedented emergency” due to ecological and social problems driven by overpopulation, overconsumption and environmentally malign technologies, The Guardian reported. Society has “no...
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