Does the Fate of the Aral Sea Await the Caspian Sea?

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Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash Experts warn of the possibility of a new environmental disaster in the Caspian Sea in recent years, similar to the drying up of the Aral Sea, writes Professor Dr. Abdulvahap Kara. One of the important reasons for this is that the water in the Ural River is decreasing from year to year….

EU Green Bonds Standard

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Photo by Tech Daily on Unsplash EU negotiators have struck a deal creating the first “best in class” standard for the issuing of green bonds. The “European Green Bonds Standard” (EUGBS), which companies issuing a bond can choose to comply with, will primarily enable investors to orient their investments more confidently towards more sustainable technologies and businesses. It…

Clearing The Air

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Photo by Kenrick Mills on Unsplash It is exactly ten years since the death of nine-year old Ella Kissi-Debrah. She was the first person in the world to have the cause of death defined as air pollution. It happened in London, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. The European Environment Agency in its 2021 report claimed that overall in 2018 air…

Who regulates the regulators?

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Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash Margaret Thatcher was a great believer in privatisation. She said it was crucial for ‘reversing the corrosive and corrupting effects of socialism…. ensuring the power of the people is enhanced….and reclaiming the territory for freedom’, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. She was equally clear that Governments were inherently inefficient at running businesses, and few…

Kazakhstan’s Green Economy

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash Kazakhstan is totally committed to the goals and objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement.  This was stressed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov at the Summit of World Leaders of the Global Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt last November. Smailov has highlighted that Kazakhstan has set…

Green Deal Industrial Plan

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Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash The European Commission has presented its Green Deal Industrial Plan in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act. The aim is to boost European industries and innovation and make them fit for the green transformation of the economy and ensure global competitiveness. MEPs are expected to vote on a resolution on an EU strategy…

Call to Safeguard the Marine Environment

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Photo by Milos Prelevic on Unsplash The Brussels-based European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) backs a new and strengthened governance of the oceans. It calls for increased international cooperation, the safeguarding of the well-being of the marine environment and the protection of fish stocks from overfishing, given their vital importance for local communities. Increased international cooperation in order…

Dealing with Hazardous Waste

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash Despite EU action to reduce its generation, the amount of hazardous waste generated in the EU has continued to increase since 2004. A review published today by the European Court of Auditors sheds light on existing and future challenges in dealing with hazardous waste: improving classification, ensuring traceability, increasing recycling, and combating…

Good Cop, Bad Cop

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Photo by Carlos “Grury” Santos on Unsplash Climate change is the biggest issue facing the future of our planet. As President of COP26 in Glasgow last year it was UK Cabinet member Alok Sharma who secured world-wide agreement of a realistic programme to address it. Sharma would later condemn the Egyptian President of COP27 from failing to build…