Old demons remain, new emerge

To bring back bees, European commission to impose temporary ban on neonicotinoid pesticide use in farms

Amid growing alarm at the collapse of bee populations in Europe, the European Commission will be implementing temporary restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. The temporary restrictions are based on the identification of the risks these pesticides pose to bee health in a report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

EU parliamentarians vote against propping up carbon prices

The emissions trading system of the European Union, also called EU ETS, has been dealt a bad hand in a recent vote to boost the price of carbon and to incentivize low-carbon growth in Europe. The Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard’s proposal for withholding carbon allowances from the market was narrowly voted against in a parliamentary session on April 16, 2013. Such “backloading” would have propped up the price of carbon in the near-term, a “short-term measure” to help the ailing emissions trading system which is Europe’s flagship climate policy.

EU threat to farmers

No snooping for personal data

The GM maize rats

Three weeks ago, a university institute in Normandy, France, sparked fury, outrage and an astonishingly vicious battle between scientists across the world by publishing results of a two-year animal feeding study. The study involved one of the best known varieties of genetically modified (GM) maize and the most widely used glyphosate-based herbicide. The study was published by a team of scientists led by the highly regarded Gilles-Eric Seralini who heads the Institute of Biology at the University of Caen in France.

EU eyes Indian scientists

The EU has been aggressively promoting collaboration with India in R &D. Why India? And why now? Interviewee:  Ramesh Pillai

Code of conduct for space

Future compromised

In the morning of June 19, bleary eyed negotiators left Pavilion 3 of Riocentro to return to their hotel rooms to freshen themselves up. A long round of intense negotiations had taken place the previous night to finalise the outcome draft of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also called Rio+20.

Beyond Rio+20

It was June of 1992. The location was Rio de Janeiro. The occasion was the world conference on environment and development. A large number of people had come out on the streets. They were protesting the arrival of George Bush senior, the then president of the US.