Environment

Argentina, Brazil take aim at EU's environmental trade deal conditions

Argentina and Brazil, South America's largest economies, took aim Tuesday at an "unacceptable" EU stance in negotiations with the Mercosur bloc for a free trade deal long delayed due to stated European environmental concerns.. Mercosur countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay reached an agreement in principle with the 27-member European Union in 2019 after two decades of tough negotiations.

We may be underestimating the climate risk to crops: researchers

The risks of harvest failures in multiple global breadbaskets have been underestimated, according to a study Tuesday that researchers said should be a "wake up call" about the threat climate change poses to our food systems.. Kornhuber said the study should be a "a wake up call in terms of our uncertainties" of the impacts of climate change on the food sector, with more frequent and intense weather extremes and increasingly complicated combinations of extremes.

Carbon 'capture' climate tech is booming, and confusing

Humanity's failure to draw down planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions -- 41 billion tonnes in 2022 -- has thrust once-marginal options for capping or reducing CO2 in the atmosphere to centre stage in climate policy and investment.. Unlike CCS, which by itself only prevents additional carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, DAC extracts CO2 molecules already there. 

Trial over Spanish ecological disaster starts, 25 years on

Twenty five years after one of Spain's worst ecological disasters, a court case against the Swedish mining company involved opened Tuesday in the southern city of Seville.. The case got underway on Tuesday after years of legal wrangling, which ground to a halt in 2002 when the Supreme Court ruled that Boliden was not criminally responsible.

UN warns world to prepare for El Nino impact

The United Nations on Tuesday warned the world to prepare for the effects of El Nino, saying the weather phenomenon which triggers higher global temperatures is set to persist throughout 2023.. "The effect of El Nino is usually perceived with a delay in time," he added, with an eye on global temperatures increasing further.

China warns of 'multiple natural disasters' in July

Chinese authorities have warned of extreme weather and "multiple natural disasters" in the coming month, as heavy rain damaged infrastructure and forced thousands to be evacuated.. Meteorological authorities have warned the country will face "multiple natural disasters in July, including floods, severe convection weather, typhoons and high temperatures", the agency said.

UN talks aim to harness AI power and potential

The United Nations is convening this week a global gathering to try to map out the frontiers of artificial intelligence and to harness its potential for empowering humanity.. - 'Perfect storm' - "We're kind of in a perfect storm of suddenly having this powerful new technology -- I don't think it's super-intelligent -- being spread very widely and empowered in our lives, and we're really not prepared," said serial AI entrepreneur Gary Marcus.

IAEA chief in Japan ahead of Fukushima water release

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Japan on Tuesday to present a review of Tokyo's plans to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.. The proposal has already been endorsed by the IAEA, but the government has said the release will only begin after a "comprehensive review" that Grossi will present Tuesday.

Medical, but hold the marijuana: new CBD source found in Brazil

In a laboratory tucked away on a sprawling university campus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian molecular biologist Rodrigo Moura Neto is running tests on a seemingly ordinary plant with a potent secret.. "It was wonderful to find a plant (with CBD but) without THC, because you avoid all the mess around psychotropic substances," says Moura Neto, who has spent the better part of five decades researching in this small lab at Rio de Janeiro Federal University.