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Oil firms pressed to reduce gas flaring at London conference

A conference in London this week will press oil firms to reduce gas flaring - the burning of natural gas at oil production sites. Flaring mostly happens in remote areas where gas at the surface as an oil by-product cannot be brought to consumers. The World Bank says $50bn (£31bn) in fuel goes up in polluting smoke yearly. It says countries are starting to clamp down, but should do more. Friends of the Earth says flaring should be banned entirely.

The conference convenes the Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership, started by the World Bank in partnership with governments and major oil firms 10 years ago.  The World Bank says there have been substantial improvements, with a 40% cut in flaring volume in Russia, and a 29% reduction in Nigeria. But it says flaring still wastes 140 billion cubic meters of gas a year - equivalent to a third of the annual gas consumption in the European Union. The practice emits around 400 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.  It is working to get the gas sold to market, re-injected into the ground or used to make energy at the oil rig itself.

It said there needs to be substantial progress in Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Mexico, Nigeria and some Russian autonomous regions. Qatar, host of the forthcoming world climate talks in December, is making steps to improve, it says. 

Kevin Bortz, director for natural resources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development admitted that some firms considered it impossible economically to justify collecting the gas from some small remote fields.  Environmentalists have called for all flaring to be banned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20055041

UK exceeds Kyoto and makes biggest emissions cuts in Europe

The UK has over-achieved on Kyoto protocol goals for last year, while Spain and Italy are in danger of missing their targets
Some of UK's emissions reduction is because of milder weather and an increase in renewable energy generation, but the sluggish economy is also likely to have contributed.
The UK cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than any other European country last year, over-achieving on targets under the Kyoto protocol on climate change. Some of the reduction was owing tomilder weather and an increase in renewable energy generation, but the sluggish economy is also likely to have contributed.
France and Germany also made sizeable cuts in emissions, but Spain and Italy are lagging and are in danger of missing their Kyoto targets, according to figures released by the European Environment Agency on Wednesday.
The EU as a whole will meet its target under the 1997 treaty, which requires developed countries to cut their emissions by a total of just over 5% from 1990 levels by the end of 2012. Currently, EU member states are the only major countries pledging to continue the Kyoto protocol beyond the end of this year, when its current provisions expire.
Britain's emissions fell by 36m tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2011, a 6% drop, while France's fell 5% and Germany's 2%.
Connie Hedegaard, EU commissioner for climate action, said the EEA's research showed that it was possible to cut emissions while boosting economic growth. "The EU is delivering on its Kyoto commitment," she said. "While our economy grew 48% since 1990, emissions are down 18%. These figures prove once again that emissions can be cut without sacrificing the economy. Now, it is important to keep the direction."
The EU is also on track to exceed its commitment, set out at the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009, to cut emissions by 20% by 2020.
But the EEA warned that Italy would not meet its Kyoto targets, and said Spain would have to revise its plans, on current form. While the bloc operates a "burden-sharing" agreement that means member states are mutually responsible for emissions reductions, member states with individual targets must also make efforts to meet them. If countries cannot cut their own emissions sufficiently, their only option is to buy "carbon credits" under the United Nations' emissions trading system.
This could represent a substantial cost for the economies that are falling behind. Carbon prices are currently depressed, with credits changing hands for less than €5, but depending on the progress made on emissions, Italy and Spain could face a bill running into tens of millions at a time when their economies are already in deep trouble.
However, this bill can be deferred – although the current commitment period under Kyoto comes to an end this year, countries can make up the deficit by buying credits until 2015.
"The European Union as a whole will over-deliver on its Kyoto target," said Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the EEA. "In two months' time we will be at the end of the first commitment period under the Kyoto protocol. Considerable progress has been made since 1997 but all member states need to deliver on their plans."
A spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change said: "We welcome today's report from the EEA and that the UK has delivered the largest emissions cuts in real terms in 2011. However, we are not complacent and there is a huge amount of work to be done, both domestically to drive up energy efficiency and decarbonise our heating, power and transport, and working with our international partners to renew the Kyoto protocol agreement during the upcoming talks in Doha, and our European partners to increase ambition at the EU level."

Weird weather turnaround a first for UK

A year of record breaking highs and lows highlights the need to plan for extremes.
The driest spring for over a century gave way to the wettest April to June on record this year, in a dramatic drought turnaround that has never been seen before, the Environment Agency, Met Office and Centre for Ecology & Hydrology confirmed today.

After two dry winters - which saw 20 million people issued with a hosepipe ban, 200 drought related environmental incidents and major roads cracking in the dry conditions - the heavens opened, river levels tripled and reservoirs went from their lowest ever levels to full or exceptionally high. Flooding hit almost every region of England and Wales from May to July, with rivers such as the Devon Axe reaching their highest ever levels.
Extreme weather
Speaking at a briefing in London today, Christine Tuckett of the Environment Agency said: 'The weather extremes which we’ve seen this year – with widespread floods almost immediately following a long term drought - have brought the importance of resilience into sharp focus. Taking action today to prepare and adapt our homes, businesses, and infrastructure is vital.'The Environment Agency is at the forefront of efforts to increase the country’s resilience to flooding and water scarcity, both now and for a future climate. During the drought the Environment Agency granted drought permits to five water companies to ensure that 16.5 million people continued to have water.
Richard Ball of Corporate Risk Systems commented’ This year shows then need for organisation’s for consider weather in the strategic planning for the future, climate change is not just about carbon management it is also about considered how core business may be affected by changes in weather patterns, supplies and costs’

Flood defences protect homes
Since the start of May, flood defences have protected over 53,000 homes and businesses, in places like Carlisle, Appleby, Wigan and Worle. The Environment Agency sent over 100,000 warnings directly to households and businesses to allow them time to prepare and protect themselves from flooding.

Flood defences opened by the Environment Agency this year include Nottingham protecting 16,000 properties, Keswick protecting nearly 200 properties, Truro protecting over 200 properties and Banbury, protecting over 500 properties.

Paul Mustow, Head of Flood Incident Management at the Environment Agency said: “The Environment Agency and Met Office are constantly working to improve their flood forecasting and early warning systems and we are improving flood defences to protect communities. However the most important step people can take in protecting themselves from the worst impacts of flooding is to find out if they are at risk, and sign up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warnings service.
'As winter approaches we’d encourage everyone to take this one step to help protect themselves  from what is recognised as one of the country’s major natural hazards.'

Terry Marsh, from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said, 'The late spring and summer of 2012 have witnessed an extraordinary transformation in the water resource outlook. Dramatic post-drought recoveries have occurred before, most notably following the extreme drought of 1975/76, but sustained recoveries of this magnitude during the late spring and summer have not been seen before.'

Major step to protect the world’s wildlife

Wildlife around the world now has even greater protection thanks to an agreement reached at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, India. Countries from across the globe agreed to double the resources allocated to halting the decline in animal and plant species globally by 2020, which will allow countries to put in place concrete plans to protect wildlife and the natural environment.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said:

“The commitment and willingness shown by all the nations who have come here to India has resulted in real progress being made. This agreement is about so much more than just money; it is about helping countries to share understanding and increase their capacity to protect biodiversity.

“I’d like to thank the Indian Government for hosting such a successful conference here in Hyderabad and for uniting colleagues from so many countries with a shared aspiration to protect the world’s wildlife.  Genuine help to protect the world’s biodiversity hotspots will flow from the Hyderabad agreement.”

The Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad was the first meeting since the significant conference in Nagoya, Japan two years ago when an agreement was reached to halt the loss of wildlife around the world. The Hyderabad meeting was important for keeping the commitments made in Nagoya on track and especially to agree a global plan on the resources – financial, technical and expertise – needed by countries to deliver projects on the ground.

The 193 parties have signed up for a substantial increase in global funding for biodiversity and in particular to double the total international flows of finance.

Mr Benyon saw first hand how business can generate growth and prosperity and help the environment. He visited cotton farmers on Thursday 18^th October in the Warangal district with the Deputy High Commissioner, Richard Hyde. Farmers here have united, with the help of the WWF and Marks and Spencer, to learn techniques to reduce levels of pesticides and water whilst increasing yields of sustainable cotton. This means that UK consumers of Marks and Spencer’s ‘Better Cotton Initiative’ clothing know that their purchase is giving farmers a better life and ensuring wildlife can flourish.

Mr Benyon commented:

“This really shows the virtuous circle of a better income for farmers and a big win for wildlife. Meeting some of the farmers and seeing their cotton fields alive with birds and other wildlife was fascinating and emphasised for me just what we’re doing back at the conference to reverse the decline in global biodiversity. It really demonstrates that business and nature can thrive together to mutual benefit. It has been a huge pleasure to witness the partnership between India and the UK, generating green growth, jobs and prosperity on both sides of the world.”

Richard Benyon and the Deputy High Commissioner also visited an innovative and sustainable pharmaceuticals company, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, which is leading the way in ‘green chemistry’. Dr Reddy’s is a zero discharge company which uses techniques such as recycling of waste and pollutants, and rainwater harvesting, not only benefitting the environment but also contributing to the company’s bottom line by making its operation more efficient.

Richard Hyde, Deputy High Commissioner, Hyderabad, said:

“In our visit to Dr Reddy’s and to the cotton plantations in Warangal we saw two excellent examples of partnership between the UK and India in promoting sustainable and profitable business. Mr Benyon highlighted the important role that business can play in helping to halt the decline of biodiversity around the world. Companies like Dr Reddy’s and Marks and Spencer have demonstrated that an ethical and sustainable approach can be profitable; that it is possible to do well by doing good.”

Dr Reddy’s has recently expanded their operation in the UK, creating jobs and harnessing British expertise to complement their successful and sustainable business model.

Richard Ball, Head of Environment, Corporate Risk Systems, said:

“Biodiversity sites at the heart of environmental protection, consumers expect organisations to take responsibility for the impacts of their organisations. This Agreement helps to provide funding to the protection of species across the globe’

M5 fireworks pile-up: Man charged over seven deaths

A man who was operating fireworks near the scene of a fatal pile-up on the motorway is accused of seven counts of manslaughter.

A man has been charged with seven counts of manslaughter after a fatal pile-up on the M5 during thick fog. Geoffrey Counsell, 50, from Somerset, was operating a fireworks display at nearby Taunton Rugby Club when the crash - which involved 34 vehicles - happened in November 2011. Seven people were killed and 51 others injured.

Lorry drivers Terry Brice, from Patchway, Gloucestershire, and Kye Thomas, from Gunnislake, Cornwall, died in the crash along with father and daughter Michael and Maggie Barton, from Windsor, Berkshire, grandparents Anthony and Pamela Adams, from Newport, and battle re-enactor Malcolm Beacham, from Woolavington, near Bridgwater.

Among those badly injured in the crash on the north-bound carriageway at junction 25 was Emma Barton, 19, who woke from a five-day coma to discover her father and sister had been killed.

A statement from Avon and Somerset Police and Crown Prosecution Service said: "Since the collision we have worked closely together to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the collision and to carefully consider all the evidence."This has been a complex process which has also involved working with Taunton Deane Borough Council and seeking the views of expert witnesses. Having considered the evidence in line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the CPS decided there was sufficient evidence to charge Geoffrey Counsell, the provider of the fireworks display at Taunton Rugby Club on the night of the collision, with manslaughter".

The statement added there was insufficient evidence to prosecute for driver error or the culpability of Taunton Rugby Club.

Counsell is due to appear at Bristol Magistrates' Court on 12 November 2012.

http://news.sky.com/story/1000093/m5-pile-up-man-charged-over-seven-deaths

Arrests made after UK’s largest ever hazardous waste raid

The biggest ever hazardous waste raid conducted in the UK results in multiple arrests following a series of dawn raids.
Sixty Environment Agency investigators supported by Avon and Somerset Police swooped on several sites as part of an ongoing major investigation into the suspected illegal treatment, dumping and trading of hazardous waste including heavy metals and asbestos.

Operation Durable is a complex investigation into suspected toxic waste offences by an Avonmouth based company, its Directors and senior management.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is closely involved because of the nature of the waste, they will continue to assess any risk to public health.

This investigation is ongoing and expected to take many more months to complete.
Ten people arrested
Specialist Environment Agency crime staff from across England and Wales have been brought in to support given the unprecedented scale of the investigation. Police have been deployed with EA staff to make arrests, gain access to properties and assist with collecting evidence. This week Environment Agency teams conducted interviews, began searches and analysis of evidence. Teams are also working on information that there are other sites.

Ten people have been arrested as part of Operation Durable and taken for questioning by the Environment Agency’s National Environmental Crime Teams. They have all been released on conditional bail pending further enquiries until a date in January 2013.

Andy Higham, Head of the Environment Agency's NECT said: 'The Environment Agency targets gravely negligent organisations and organised criminals who risk damaging heath, livelihoods and the environment.  Following a covert Environment Agency investigation we worked with police to successfully bring in suspects. We take waste crime extremely seriously. This is a live and complex investigation, anyone with further information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.'

Dr Isabel Oliver, Regional Director of Health Protection Agency South West, said: 'The Health Protection Agency has been supporting the Environment Agency investigation into an industrial site in Avonmouth, over recent weeks. As further information and data become available from the EA, other partners and the company involved, we will consider any potential risk to public health and  provide relevant health advice where we can.'
Richard Ball, Head of Environment of Corporate Risk Systems said:’ It is critical that organisations are aware of where their waste is going, it is clear that waste is now part of organised crime, and that the enforcement agencies will prosecute individuals, especially were Hazardous waste regulations are breached.’

Anyone with knowledge of waste crimes can contact CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. To speak to the Environment Agency call 03708 506 506

Prestige oil tanker disaster - Trial starts

Four seamen go on trial Tuesday over the sinking of the Prestige petrol tanker which spilt a devastating oil slick when it sank off Spain in 2002, with hundreds of plaintiffs seeking billions in damages. Authorities have set up a court in an exhibition centre for the huge trial in the northern city of Coruna, which environmentalists say does not go far enough in seeking justice for Spain's worst oil slick and preventing such a disaster occurring
again. Apostolos Mangouras, 78, the Prestige's Greek captain, is charged alongside two other officers and a Spanish official over the disaster, which saw miles of beach in Spain, Portugal and France choked by oil.

Prosecutors are demanding 12 years' jail for Mangouras, who is charged with harming the environment along with Greek chief engineer Nikolaos Argyropoulos and first mate Irineo Maloto, a Filipino who has not been apprehended. The fourth defendant is Jose Luis Lopez-Sors, head of the Spanish merchant navy at the time, who ordered the ship out to sea when it was losing fuel. "The total demand for damages is more than 2.2 billion euros," a court official said, adding that there are 55 separate cases being brought by some 1,500 plaintiffs. The total cost of the environmental damage wrought by the oil slick has been calculated at more than four billion euros, most of it for the Spanish state.

The Prestige leaked 50,000 tonnes of fuel into the Atlantic after it sank off northern Spain. It took on water in a storm on November 13, 2002, and drifted for six days before breaking up and sinking. Over the weeks that followed, the vast oil slick engulfed thousands of kilometres (miles) of coastline, prompting 300,000 volunteers from around Europe to come and clean it up. Environmental groups complained that key people responsible for the disaster were not being tried and warned that the lessons from the disaster had not been learnt. "There will clearly be people missing from the dock," said Jaime Doreste, a lawyer for the Spanish non-government group Environmentalists in Action. "They could have been much more ambitious with the prosecutions," he added. "Lopez-Sors did not act unilaterally. The chain of decision-making went up to higher political officials." He said charges should be brought against ABS, the marine classification company that certified the Prestige as seaworthy, and complained that such single-hull tankers are still being used to transport petrol. Doreste warned that the full health and environmental effects of the oil slick had not been made public.

A study published by Spanish researchers in 2010 said fishermen that participated in the clean-up suffered genetic and lung problems. "We are shouting: never again," said Theo Oberhuber, a campaign leader of Environmentalists in Action. "We are wondering when measures will be taken that will really prevent this from happening again."

After three days of procedural matters this week, the defendants are due to make their first appearance in the trial on November 13, the 10^th anniversary of the disaster. The trial is due to last until May 2013 and will hear testimony from 133 witnesses and 100 experts, the court said.

http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/prestige-oil-disaster-trial-starts-in-spain_247153.html