Greenpeace International

Mercury is one of the most dangerous contaminants on the planet. In recent years, evidence of mercury contamination in the Amazon has significantly increased, notably due to gold-mining activities. Although mercury contamination in fish has consistently been documented, little is known about the risk associated with fish consumption by populations in urban areas of the Amazon. We sampled 1010 fish sold in public markets in six state capitals and 11 additional cities. Mercury levels were determined for each specimen, and the evaluation of the health risks associated with consuming mercury-contaminated fish was conducted according to the methodology proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Our study reveals that more than one-fifth (21.3%) of the fish sold in urban centers had mercury levels above the safe limits (≥0.5 µg/g) established by the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). The prevalence of Hg contamination ≥0.5 µg/g was approximately 14 times higher in carnivorous than in noncarnivorous fish. The analysis of the risk attributable to fish consumption reveals that daily mercury intake exceeded the reference dose recommended by the U.S. EPA in all population groups analyzed, reaching up to 7 and 31 times in women of childbearing age and children from 2 to 4 years old, respectively. However, these risks are diverse depending on the type of fish consumed and must be considered to formulate appropriate nutritional guidelines for safe fish consumption by the local community.

Public health practitioners have long relied on good science to make the case for sound public policies. Industry greenwashing and shorter-term concerns distract from our overheating planet. Beyond describing the threats in ever greater detail, what more can the public health community do? The environmental movement has long used legal action to challenge polluters and government inaction or collusion. The health community can lend its support. Bridges between the public health, environmental and legal communities and advocates must be strengthened if we are to ‘keep 1.5 alive’.

Passive acoustic surveys are becoming increasingly popular as a means of surveying for cetaceans and other marine species. These surveys yield large amounts of data, the analysis of which is time consuming and can account for a substantial proportion of the survey budget. Semi‐automatic processes enable the bulk of processing to be conducted automatically while allowing analyst time to be reserved for validating and correcting detections and classifications. Existing modules within the Passive Acoustic Monitoring software PAMGuard were used to process a large (25.4 Terabyte) dataset collected during towed acoustic ship transits. The recently developed ‘Multi‐Hypothesis Tracking Click Train Detector’ and the ‘Whistle and Moan Detector’ modules were used to identify occasions within the dataset at which vocalising toothed whales (odontocetes) were likely to be acoustically present. These putative detections were then reviewed by an analyst, with false positives being corrected. Target motion analysis provided a perpendicular distance to odontocete click events enabling the estimation of detection functions for both sperm whales and delphinids. Detected whistles were assigned to the lowest taxonomical level possible using the PAMGuard ‘Whistle Classifier’ module. After an initial tuning process, this semi‐automatic method required 91 hr of an analyst's time to manually review both automatic click train and whistle detections from 1,696 hr of survey data. Use of the ‘Multi‐Hypothesis Tracking Click Train Detector’ reduced the amount of data for the analyst to search by 74.5%, while the ‘Whistle and Moan Detector’ reduced data to search by 85.9%. In total, 443 odontocete groups were detected, of which 55 were from sperm whale groups, six were from beaked whales, two were from porpoise and the remaining 380 were identified to the level of delphinid group. An effective survey strip half width of 3,277 and 699 m was estimated for sperm whales and delphinids respectively. The semi‐automatic workflow proved successful, reducing the amount of analyst time required to process the data, significantly reducing overall project costs. The workflow presented here makes use of existing modules within PAMGuard, a freely available and open‐source software, readily accessible to acoustic analysts.

This presentation explores the issues raised in the first presentation by examining current cases before European courts: (i) Union of Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection v. Swiss Federal Council and Others. The application was rejected by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court on legal standing grounds - the heat stress-related aspects were not specific enough. The case has been appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. (ii) Youth for Climate Justice v. Austria, et al The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed a coordinated effort by 33 governments to overturn its October 2020 decision to fast-track the case. Governments had until May 27 2021 to submit their defences. The current status of both cases will be reviewed and the lessons for strategic litigation discussed.

There is no question that dedicated campaigners and volunteers are keen to achieve intended effects of a project or campaign. As a rule, they want to know what are the effects and indirect effects of their actions—the intentional, unintentional, short-term and long-term. Yet how does one determine these? What model is employed to measure effect or impact, what approach is used? To find answers to these questions is not easy. Particularly since almost all dedicated people are invariably under time constraints.

Following a multi-decadal tagging program at loggerhead nesting areas in Greece, 28 individual turtles have been identified with reproductive longevities greater than 21 yrs, ranging from 22 to 33 yrs. Continuation of this long-term tagging program, along with improvement of tag retention through usage of PIT tags, are expected to increase the herein reported maximum reproductive longevity of loggerhead turtles.

Since adoption of the Kyoto Protocol under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, the international climate regime has been caught in stasis. Due to a lack of direction and clarity at the policy level and deep political divides, the evolution of the international climate regime under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) had failed to catch up with the changes occurring in the real economy. The momentum created ahead of COP21 in 2015 and resulting Paris Agreement has changed this, creating a new paradigm of international climate policy, politics and cooperation that is, if implemented, capable of generating the momentum needed to accelerate the pace of change and drive transformation. This new paradigm that emerged from the Paris Agreement, demonstrates the role of the United Nations in giving voice to smaller countries to create effective positive powerful coalitions and the need to invite the outside world into the process through greater participation of cities, business, investors and other non‐state actors. We outline the main policy and political shifts that the Paris Agreement represents, and explain why this new paradigm of international climate policy, politics and cooperation is key to accelerating the pace of change and keeping the world well below 2°C, and optimally 1.5°C. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e471. doi: 10.1002/wcc.471 This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > International Policy Framework

Southeast Asia has a very high population density and is on a fast track to economic development, with most of the growth in electricity demand currently projected to be met by coal. From a detailed analysis of coal-fired power plants presently planned or under construction in Southeast Asia, we project in a business-as-usual scenario that emissions from coal in the region will triple to 2.6 Tg a(-1) SO2 and 2.6 Tg a(-1) NOx by 2030, with the largest increases occurring in Indonesia and Vietnam. Simulations with the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model show large resulting increases in surface air pollution, up to 11 μg m(-3) for annual mean fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in northern Vietnam and up to 15 ppb for seasonal maximum 1 h ozone in Indonesia. We estimate 19 880 (11 400-28 400) excess deaths per year from Southeast Asian coal emissions at present, increasing to 69 660 (40 080-126 710) by 2030. 9000 of these excess deaths in 2030 are in China. As Chinese emissions from coal decline in coming decades, transboundary pollution influence from rising coal emissions in Southeast Asia may become an increasing issue.

1. Marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) comprise most of Earth's interconnected ocean, hosting complex ecosystems that play key roles in sustaining life and providing important goods and services. 2. Although ABNJ encompass nearly half the planet's surface, biological diversity found in these areas remains largely unprotected. Mounting pressures generated by the escalation of human activities in ABNJ threaten vital ecosystem services and the fragile web of life that supports them. 3. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are widely acknowledged as an important tool for the conservation of biological diversity. Currently less than 1% of ABNJ are protected, with the vast majority of MPAs located in waters within national jurisdiction. 4. The existing legal framework for protection and sustainable use of ABNJ lacks common goals, principles or standards, multi-sectoral coordination and comprehensive geographic coverage to ensure conservation or good governance grounded in science-based decision-making, transparency, accountability and effective enforcement. 5. This paper highlights the urgency and importance of protecting the last conservation frontier on Earth. Key lessons for conservation in ABNJ can be learned from regional, cross-boundary and national experiences shared during the high seas governance workshop at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia in November 2014. 6.The intent of this paper is to inform the deliberations now underway in the United Nations General Assembly to develop a new legally binding international instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in ABNJ. It also aims to encourage further initiatives to protect and preserve our last conservation frontier using currently available mechanisms and powers consistent with international law.

The Way Ahead Interview - Ben Ayliffe, head of Greenpeace International’s Arctic Oil Campaign, and David Blackmon, managing director of strategic communications for FTI Consulting.

Many in the environmental movement have argued in recent years that in order to speed up climate actions we should take the ethics out of the climate change debate. Focusing on the moral obligation to act or on the effects of climate change on the most vulnerable was often judged to render the discourse too heavy, negative, or difficult. Many also deemed it unnecessary. After all, renewable energies, better designed cities that allow for reduced car use, and power plant regulations that lead to cleaner local air - to take just three examples - all have real and substantial benefits unrelated to the fact that they are the right thing to do in the face of climate change. They create jobs, reduce health problems and costs, and make society fitter. Copyright

As of December 1, 2013, a total of 429 nuclear reactors were considered operational in 31 countries. The nuclear industry is in decline, however, with global electricity generation from nuclear power plants down by a record 7 percent in 2012. This decline is largely due to the effects of the triple disaster that struck Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011. All of Japan's nuclear reactors are shut down, and the struggle to manage radioactive water and a radiation-exposed workforce continues at Fukushima. Currently there are 69 reactors under construction worldwide, 29 of which are in China, but the average age of existing reactors has been increasing steadily. The industry continues to face economic challenges including lengthy construction times, uncertainty about new reactor designs, and difficulty financing projects. Although global investment in renewable energy capacity declined in 2013, the costs of equipment also declined, making it possible to significantly increase renewable capacity. Three of the world's four largest economies now run on a higher share of renewables than nuclear power.

Catch equations relate fisheries catch to initial fish abundance and the applied fishing pressure. The Baranov catch equation, often simply referred to as the catch equation, is the commonest one. However, there are exactly three ways of describing seasonal progression of fishing parsimoniously with a single parameter: assume catch rate, fishing effort, or fishing mortality is constant, the last being the assumption underlying the Baranov catch equation. These assumptions imply different dynamics, and only in special cases two of these assumptions can hold true simultaneously. Whether this happens is dictated by the concentration profile (i.e., the dependence of mean fish density where fishing takes place on total stock abundance). We show that the assumed seasonal progression of fishing and the type of the concentration profile have major implications for fishery dynamics as well as biological and economic consequences of fishing, calling for increased awareness of these overlooked assumptions of fishery dynamics. However, in many cases the Baranov catch equation serves as a good approximation, even when its assumption of constant fishing mortality is violated.

Primary forest extent, loss and degradation within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were quantified from 2000 to 2010 by combining directly mapped forest cover extent and loss data (CARPE) with indirectly mapped forest degradation data (intact forest landscapes, IFL). Landsat data were used to derive both map inputs, and data from the GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimetry System) sensor were employed to validate the discrimination of primary intact and primary degraded forests. In the year 2000, primary humid tropical forests occupied 104 455 kha of the country, with 61% of these forests classified as intact. From 2000 to 2010, 1.02% of primary forest cover was lost due to clearing, and almost 2% of intact primary forests were degraded due to alteration and fragmentation. While primary forest clearing increased by a factor of two between 2000–2005 and 2005–2010, the degradation of intact forests slightly decreased. Fragmentation and selective logging were the leading causes of intact forest degradation, accounting for 91% of IFL area change. The 10 year forest degradation rate within designated logging permit areas was 3.8 times higher compared to other primary forest areas. Within protected areas the forest degradation rate was 3.7 times lower than in other primary forest areas. Forest degradation rates were high in the vicinity of major urban areas. Given the observed forest degradation rates, we infer that the degradation of intact forests could increase up to two-fold over the next decade.

Das von der Energiesystemanalyse im DLR-Institut für Technische Thermodynamik in Stuttgart in Zusammenarbeit mit Partnern erarbeitete globale Energieszenario Energy [R]evolution zeigt nach Weltregionen differenzierte Wege auf, wie erneuerbare Energien bis zum Jahr 2050 eine sichere und nachhaltige globale Energieversorgung gewährleisten können. Gleichzeitig kann so der Ausstoß von klimaschädlichem CO2 drastisch reduziert werden. Das Szenario wurde von Greenpeace International als grundsätzlicher Entwicklungspfad zu einer nachhaltigen Energieversorgung in ihrer Studie Energy [R]evolution veröffentlicht, die bereits zum vierten Mal erschienen ist.

The Energy [R]evolution 2010 scenario is an update of the Energy [R]evolution scenarios published in 2007 and 2008. It takes up recent trends in global energy demand and production and analyses to which extent this affects chances for achieving climate protection targets. The main target is to reduce global CO2 emissions to 3.7 Gt/a in 2050, thus limiting global average temperature increase to below 2°C and preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. A ten-region energy system model is used for simulating global energy supply strategies. A review of sector and region specific energy efficiency measures resulted in the specification of a global energy demand scenario incorporating strong energy efficiency measures. The corresponding supply scenario has been developed in an iterative process in close cooperation with stakeholders and regional counterparts from academia, NGOs and the renewable energy industry.

Der Bericht stellt die Neuauflage der Weltenergie-Szenarien dar, die das Institut für Technische Thermodynamik des Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) zusammen mit über 30 weiteren Experten im Auftrag von Greenpeace International und dem European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) erarbeitet haben. Die Weltenergie-Szenarien „Energy [R]evolution 2010“ zeigen, wie die globalen CO2-Emissionen von heute 30 Milliarden Tonnen pro Jahr bis zur Mitte des Jahrhunderts auf rund zehn Milliarden Tonnen pro Jahr gesenkt werden können. Diese drastische Reduktion der Treibhausgase ist notwendig, um den Anstieg der globalen Durchschnittstemperatur auf zwei Grad Celsius gegenüber dem vorindustriellen Niveau zu beschränken. Gegenüber der letzten Studie geht ein zweites Advanced Energy [R]evolution Szenario noch einen Schritt weiter: Sollte diese CO2-Minderung aufgrund bisher nicht berücksichtigter langfristiger Klimaeffekte die Klimaerwärmung nicht aufhalten, so können zusätzliche Reduktionspotenziale den CO2-Ausstoß schon 10 Jahre früher und bis 2050 sogar bis auf 3,8 Milliarden Tonnen pro Jahr senken. Die Studie, veröffentlicht von Greenpeace International und EREC, beinhaltet u. a. eine umfangreiche Darstellung der Szenarienannahmen sowie der berechneten Kennwerte des Energiesystems je Weltregion.

The Energy [R]evolution 2008 scenario is an update of the Energy [R]evolution scenario published in 2007. It takes up recent trends in global socio-economic developments, and analyses to which extent they affect chances for achieving global climate protection targets. The main target is to reduce global CO2 emissions to 10 Gt per year in 2050, thus limiting global average temperature increase to 2 °C and preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. A review of sector and region specific energy efficiency measures resulted in the specification of a global energy demand scenario incorporating strong energy efficiency measures. The corresponding energy supply scenario has been developed in an iterative process in close cooperation with stakeholders and regional counterparts from academia, NGOs and the renewable energy industry. The Energy [R]evolution scenario shows that renewable energy can provide more than half of the world's energy needs by 2050. Developing countries can virtually stabilise their CO2 emissions, whilst at the same time increasing energy consumption through economic growth. OECD countries will be able to reduce their emissions by up to 80%.