International

The faster the province of Alberta, Canada, phases out coal-fired energy generation the better, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Pembina Institute, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the Lung Association of Alberta and Northwest Territories, and the Asthma Society of Canada. “With an accelerated phase out of coal power between […]

Christiana Figueres on Monday officially withdrew her candidacy for United Nations secretary general. “Out of loyalty to the United Nations and in order to facilitate the advance of the selection process I hereby inform you that today I withdraw by candidacy to the position of Secretary-General,” Figueres wrote in a letter to the U.N. General […]

August 2016 was just as much of a scorcher as July 2016, tying for the warmest month on record, NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies said Monday. “Although the seasonal temperature cycle typically peaks in July, August 2016 wound up tied with July 2016 for the warmest month ever recorded,” a release from the institute […]

U.S. State Department officials gave their assurances Tuesday that the United Nations Security Council resolution the administration is preparing to strengthen the global moratoria on nuclear explosive testing will be legally nonbinding and is not an attempt to bypass the U.S. Senate, as congressional Republicans have argued. Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control […]

Nearly 150 delegates and climate negotiators from more than 50 countries met in Skhirat, Morocco, over the weekend in preparation for the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the U.N. said Monday. The informal, closed-door consultations addressed the expected outcomes of COP22, climate finance, […]

Brazil on Monday ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Paris Agreement, the first global climate change accord, will enter into force 30 days after 55 nations representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession to the U.N. Brazil is expected to […]

Investments in low-carbon technology in Northern England is substantial, but several opportunities for further investment, including in carbon capture and storage, are not being pursued, according to a report released Monday by the Aldersgate Group. “CCS will be key to support industrial activity in a way that is consistent with the UK’s emissions targets, not […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Defense Science is extending for two months its task order with Corporate Allocation Services Inc. (CAS), for technical and analytics support services associated with the 1958 United States-United Kingdom Mutual Defense Agreement, according to a Sept. 9 limited sources justification notice. Under the mutual defense agreement, the […]

The United Kingdom made the wrong call in turning away from carbon capture and storage and should correct the error as soon as possible, according to a new review prepared for Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark by a Parliamentary Advisory Group on CCS. “UK action on CCS now will deliver […]

The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat on Friday announced the launch of a global citizens’ climate pledge, calling for people worldwide to halve their carbon footprints within 10 years. “The climate talks in Paris this past December highlighted the urgent role that individuals are playing in addressing climate change. When we take hands-on action to […]

Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Thursday announced the development of a new technology that will make the mass production of carbon dioxide absorbents easier. The new technology is intended to solve a continuing issue for amine absorbents used in post-combustion carbon capture: the substance is not efficient in the […]

The Obama administration, in proposing to export highly enriched uranium (HEU) to Europe, may violate a nonproliferation agreement it made in 2012 to move away from using HEU for European medical isotope production, according to a Sept. 7 letter sent by a group of nuclear experts to the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory […]

Heavy water from Iran arrived in late August at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee for storage before being distributed to end users, according to the Department of Energy. The controversial purchase of 32 tons of heavy water was carried out under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 agreement between Iran and […]

Just hours before North Korea apparently conducted its fifth underground nuclear detonation, a group of 33 GOP senators on Thursday threatened to block U.S. funding for the international organization tasked with monitoring such activity if the Obama administration moves forward with any U.N. Security Council resolution that imposes international obligations on the United States when […]

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic on Wednesday became the 27th nation to submit to the United Nations its document of ratification for the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Paris Agreement, the first global climate change accord, will enter into force 30 days after 55 nations representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas […]

The torrential rain and following flooding that devastated Louisiana last month was made more likely by human-caused climate change, according to an assessment released Wednesday by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and partner scientists with World Weather Attribution (WWA). “While we concluded that 40 percent is the minimum increase in the chances of such rains, […]

The Obama administration, in proposing to export highly enriched uranium (HEU) to Europe, may violate a nonproliferation agreement it made in 2012 to move away from using HEU for European medical isotope production, according to a Sept. 7 letter sent by a group of nuclear experts to the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory […]

Leaders of the Group of 20 nations on Monday doubled down on commitments to join the Paris Agreement on climate change as quickly as possible, “We reiterate our commitment to sustainable development and strong and effective support and actions to address climate change. We commit to complete our respective domestic procedures in order to join […]

The warming of the world’s oceans has intensified typhoons that make landfall, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience. “Over the past 37 years, typhoons that strike East and Southeast Asia have intensified by 12–15%, with the proportion of storms of categories 4 and 5 having doubled or even tripled,” the […]

Masood Ahmed, current director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, will become president of the Center for Global Development in early 2017. Ahmed will take the reins from founding president Nancy Birdsall, who is stepping down after 15 years. “Masood brings intellectual heft, policy expertise and a proven […]

The nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of the United States and China to the Paris Agreement on climate change have been posted to a United Nations website. The NDCs appear to be identical to the nations’ intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) submitted last year ahead of the December negotiations that led to the adoption of the […]

Martin Donnelly, who has served as the joint permanent secretary for the United Kingdom’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy since its inception in July, announced Monday he will step down to establish the new Department of International Trade. Alex Chisholm, who served with Donnelly in the joint role, became the sole permanent secretary […]

United States Special Envoy for Climate Change Jonathan Pershing is in Africa this week discussing climate action and the Paris Agreement on climate change with leaders in Senegal, Nigeria, and South Africa. Pershing arrived in Dakar, Senegal, on Sunday. He will then travel to Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday before capping off his trip Thursday in […]

Environmental groups this weekend praised the announcement Saturday that the United States and China, the world’s top two polluters, had formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change. “It’s remarkable that in a few short years the world’s two leading climate antagonists have become the world’s two leading climate champions. The United States can no […]

An investigation by the BBC’s Panorama news show uncovered what it called a catalog of safety failures at the United Kingdom’s Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing and decommissioning facility. The findings, reported Monday and based on concerns raised by a whistleblower who had worked at the site in Cumbria, included insufficient personnel at times for required safety levels, […]

Heavy water from Iran has arrived at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and is being distributed to end users, the Department of Energy said Friday. The controversial purchase of a reported 32 tons of heavy water was carried out under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 agreement between Iran and six […]

The United States and China, the world’s top two greenhouse gas emitters, on Saturday formally joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, bringing the deal one giant leap closer to entry into force. “The Presidents further express their continued commitment to work together and with others to promote the full implementation of the Paris Agreement,” […]

A 132-canister shipment of highly active nuclear waste departed the United Kingdom on Thursday and is en route to Japan, according to the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The five-flask transport, loaded aboard the Pacific Grebe nuclear transport vessel, is set to arrive in Japan in the second half of October, as the regulator continues cleanup efforts at the Sellafield nuclear site […]

AREVA has begun transferring nuclear fuel cycle activities to its newly formed NewCo, the French company announced Tuesday as part of a mass restructuring meant to raise at least 5 billion euros for the company through government investment and asset sales. The company has drawn up a draft partial transfer agreement, which AREVA SA will […]

Indonesia recently converted its remaining holdings of highly enriched uranium (HEU) into a low-enriched form, becoming the final nation in Southeast Asia to divest itself of the weapon-grade material, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday. The NNSA said it worked with the Indonesian Nuclear Industry LLC, National Nuclear Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory […]