China reassigns 60,000 soldiers to plant trees in bid to fight pollution
China has reassigned over 60,000 soldiers to plant at least 32,400 square miles of trees by the end of the year, which is roughly equivalent to the size of Ireland.
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RWE abandons all present & future coal plans
RWE, one of Germany’s “big four” utilities, has cancelled plans for the BoA plus lignite coal-fired power station and promised to cease investing in new coal generation capacity.
The United Arab Emirates opens the world’s largest single-site solar farm
The Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Power Plant located near Abu Dhabi in Sweihan has 3.2 million solar panels with a generating capacity of 1.177 GW. The total project cost was over US$850 million. At the time of its completion, it was larger than all other single-site solar projects in the world.
Nearly two thirds of British public want government action on the climate emergency
Greenpeace’s Opinium Poll revealed that 63% of the British public think that we are in a climate emergency with 64% placing the blame with the government.
U.S. wind development pipeline grew by 6 gigawatts in first quarter of 2019
The surge in first-quarter development brings the US construction and advanced development pipeline to a record-breaking 39,161 MW — an 11% increase over the previous quarter.
Canada bans deep-sea mining, oil and gas drilling in marine protected areas
The decision, which also prevents waste dumping and bottom trawling, helps inch Canada closer to its international commitment to protect 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas by 2020.
New York City passes bill requiring green roofs on new buildings
On Earth Day, the city council approved the Climate Mobilization Act, a package of bills and resolutions designed to drastically improve the energy efficiency of New York City.
Brazilian couple plant 4 million trees in 20 years to restore a destroyed forest
Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado and his wife Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado founded Instituto Terra, a small organization that has since planted 4 million saplings and has brought the forest back from the dead.
Pharmaceutical executives in the United States charged for role in opioid epidemic for the first time ever
Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges relating to opioid distribution against one of the US’ 10 largest pharmaceutical distributors and two of its executives, both of whom could be sentenced to life in prison.
Puerto Rico to shut down all coal-burning power plants by 2020
Coal-burning power plants will get the axe in 2020, and all other coal-burning in Puerto Rico will be eliminated by 2028.