The Wylfa nuclear power station in Anglesey, North Wales. gosport_flyer / Flickr
By Joe Sandler Clarke
A reported public financing deal between the UK and Japanese governments for a new nuclear plant in Anglesey, Wales, could set the UK government up to provide state-support for a raft of nuclear projects hit by financial difficulties.
The FT reported on Tuesday that letters had been exchanged between Tokyo and London expressing support for the Wylfa project—which will be built by the Hitachi-owned consortium Horizon.
<p>The FT story followed up a <a href="http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201801110057.html" target="_blank">series of reports in Japan</a> suggesting that the Japanese and UK governments had agreed on $20 billion in loans to acquire a stake in Horizon with the help of financial institutions—including an equity stake for the UK government.</p><p>Any move to put public money into new nuclear would represent a significant policy shift from the Conservative government, exposing taxpayers to significant risk while potentially lowering the cost of building a new power station.</p><p>The news comes as the UK government faces accusations of refusing to intervene over the collapse of Carillion and the East Coast Franchise.</p><p>Both the Japanese government and the Treasury refused to confirm or deny speculation when approached by Unearthed.</p><p>A spokesperson for the Japanese government told us: "We are aware that this has been reported, but our understanding is that at present there has been no specific decision made."</p><p>When asked about the numerous media reports on public financing, a Treasury spokesperson said that "the government is engaged in constructive discussions with a number of new nuclear developers. These discussions are commercially sensitive and it would be inappropriate to share at this time."</p><p>Of the UK's much-delayed nuclear program, Horizon is amongst the closest to an investment decision, but there is also speculation around other projects hit by financial difficulties.</p><p>There are also reports in Korean media that the Treasury is involved in project finance for the troubled Moorside nuclear plant—including another possible equity stake.</p><p><strong>Troubled Projects</strong></p><p>It was announced in December that state-owned South Korean firm Kepco is to take over construction of the power station in Cumbria.</p><p>Kepco was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/dec/06/korean-energy-firm-kepco-rescue-moorside-nuclear-power-project" target="_blank">named as the preferred bidder</a> for the NuGeneration consortium running the project, after its owner Toshiba was forced to sell due to financial problems, including the bankruptcy of its U.S. nuclear subsidiary.</p><p>According to an article published in Korea last year, the UK Infrastructure and Project Authority, a branch of the Treasury, worked on a financing structure with the Korean government, with Kepco at its centre.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/19566-regardless-nuclear-phase-out-policy-korean-gov%E2%80%99t-support-kepco-winning-british" target="_blank">website Business Korea stated in October</a> that the Korean government was working with the Infrastructure and Project Authority on a financing plan alongside U.S. and Japanese institutions to enable the company to buy a stake in Moorside.</p><p>Before Christmas, the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/088c1dd6-e40e-11e7-97e2-916d4fbac0da" target="_blank">FT reported</a> that the head of Horizon, the Hitachi-owned consortium which hopes to build the plant at Wylfa, Duncan Hawthorne, felt the project needed government backing to get off the ground.</p><p>Hawthorne added that Treasury officials were "fully engaged" with Horizon and committed to ensuring that the power station was built at a lower cost than Hinkley Point C.</p><p>Antony Froggatt, a senior research fellow in energy at <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/" target="_blank">Chatham House</a>, told Unearthed that the Conservatives were shifting their policy because new nuclear plants are unlikely to come online without significant state backing.</p><p>"What we're seeing, and this has been the case for the last 5-10 years, is that the Conservatives have gradually been salami slicing away at their pledge to allow the construction of new nuclear, provided that they 'receive no public subsidy'," he said.</p><p>"There's been a shift on this because nuclear can't happen without significant government financial support."</p><p>Peter McIntosh, acting national officer for energy at the Unite union, which has long pushed for public investment in new nuclear, told Unearthed that the reports of the Wylfa deal were welcome, but urged the state to go further. "Privatization of the energy sector has failed and we would call upon the government to bring the sector back into public ownership," he said.</p>
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</p><div id="a34fe" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="W8GV3Z1576663108"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="947228329949659137" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Will Cheap Renewables Make Nuclear Power Obsolete? https://t.co/VZln2zaSNL @nukereaction @StopNukePower</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/947228329949659137">1514671807.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><strong>Public Money</strong><br></p><p>The government has reaffirmed its commitment to building a fleet of new nuclear power stations in recent months, despite <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/03/hinkley-point-c-is-22bn-over-budget-and-a-year-behind-schedule-edf-admits" target="_blank">concerns over the cost and delivery</a>.</p><p>But if it decides to back a nuclear project, it may prove difficult for ministers to avoid offering the same public support to other similar schemes.</p><p>Alex Mosson, construction and engineering law specialist at <a href="https://keystonelaw.co.uk/" target="_blank">Keystone Law</a>, said it was unlikely that the government would be in legal trouble if it chose to invest in Wylfa and ignored other projects, but he said it could face political difficulties.</p><p>"In terms of the legality, the government more or less has free reign to do what it wants within the parameters of its investment requirements. But in terms of politics, it becomes very different, because these deals can be used as leverage. Legally, I couldn't give a definitive answer, as I don't know what the scheme is. But commenting on the industry itself, there will always be a circumstance where one party will try to use another party's leverage to their benefit," he said.</p><p>Ultimately, however, nuclear projects will depend on agreements to buy the power they produce—with new subsidies <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/11/22/oil-diesel-plastic-learned-budget-2017/" target="_blank">ruled out until 2025 in the Autumn budget</a>.</p><p>"The only short-term option the government would have for giving public money to new nuclear would be to take an equity stake," said Froggatt.</p><p>Doing so may still not be sufficient to make the projects happen, however.</p><p>Tom Burke, chairman and founding director of the environmental group E3G, suggested that there might be something else at play.</p><p>"The struggling nuclear industries of Japan, France and Korea are all looking to the UK to rescue them," he argued.</p><p>"What they are getting from the government is warm words and long promises. The truth is that there is no room for additional nuclear in Britain's rapidly modernizing electricity supply system. Without power purchase agreements paid for by consumers none of these projects will go ahead however much they reduce their capital cost."</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2018/01/22/wylfa-nuclear-power-japan-uk/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a>.</em></p>
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By Emma Howard
While people in Beijing enjoyed the benefits of a record air pollution drop this winter, those in the provinces were left unable to keep warm, cook or sleep for lack of heating.
Reports on the heating crisis that was triggered by the government's anti-pollution drive have largely focused on the areas surrounding Beijing, but mapping of social media data by Unearthed now shows that people were complaining of the cold more than 1,000 kilometers (approximately 621 miles) away.
<p>"The heating in my home is not working, I'm freezing and shaking, rushing to go to sleep," one user <a href="https://www.weibo.com/1400122351/Fyt2uswRB?type=comment" target="_blank">posted</a> at 2:33 am on Weibo, one of China's most popular social media sites.</p><p>"There are places in Hebei province that don't have heating but don't allow people to burn coal. How are the people in these places supposed to live through the winter? We want to manage the pollution, but citizens also have to be able to live their lives, don't they?"</p><p>There were <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42266768" target="_blank">reportedly millions</a> of people who experienced the unintended consequences of the government's drive to cut pollution in northern China this winter.</p><p>The latest data shows that is has certainly worked. Beijing's smog has dropped by <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2018/01/11/chinas-toxic-air-beijing-smog-plummets-national-progress-slows/" target="_blank">a record 54 percent</a> in the final quarter of 2017, compared to 2016.</p><p>But implementation of the government's target to switch millions of households from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">cleaner energy</a> was hampered by high demand, overzealous local officials and a separate <a href="http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/zcfb/zcfbtz/201707/t20170704_853931.html" target="_blank">government policy drive</a> to eliminate small industrial coal burners.</p><p><strong>Widespread</strong></p><p>An Unearthed analysis of Weibo in November and December revealed 5,822 posts by users complaining that their heating wasn't working. It showed that there were three times as many such posts made in December 2017 as in December 2016.</p><p>Researchers looked through posts on the social channel to find the most common and relevant ones and then downloaded data for the number one search suggestion for people reporting that their heating is not working. They then isolated a small subset of posts in which users had mentioned where they were based and used those to build the map.</p><p>Although <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/04/poor-bear-brunt-beijing-coal-cleanup-with-no-heating-at--6c" target="_blank">reporting on the heating crisis</a> has focused on the areas around Beijing, geolocation of posts citing place names shows the problems were much more widespread. Complaints were recorded as far south as Qingdao and Xi'an, 1,000 kilometers from Beijing.</p>
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<a href="https://energydesk.carto.com/builder/200ce78c-def5-48ce-a1f8-d31e4d3c07ac/embed?state=%7B%22map%22%3A%7B%22ne%22%3A%5B28.14950321154457%2C100.06347656250001%5D%2C%22sw%22%3A%5B41.50857729743935%2C129.70458984375003%5D%2C%22center%22%3A%5B35.10193405724608%2C114.88403320312501%5D%2C%22zoom%22%3A6%7D%7D" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGZW5lcmd5ZGVzayUyRmFwaSUyRnYxJTJGbWFwJTJGc3RhdGljJTJGbmFtZWQlMkZ0cGxfMjAwY2U3OGNfZGVmNV80OGNlX2ExZjhfZDMxZTRkM2MwN2FjJTJGMTIwMCUyRjYzMC5wbmcmaG89aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZjYXJ0b2Nkbi1hc2hidS5nbG9iYWwuc3NsLmZhc3RseS5uZXQmcz0zNzImaD03NjI3MTViYTliYTJmOTU2NzBlMWVhYjQ2MDg1ZDI4Yjk0ZTNjZGFiYmQwZGRmYWYyNTdhNDA4OTI5Nzg5ZDZmJnNpemU9OTgweCZjPTE2NjU3Njc0MzYiLCJleHBpcmVzX2F0IjoxNjIxMDUxODg5fQ.UU7iZ9qJoc8desurxHY3iBzXpHUrchvtjH3l9pFLkqk/img.jpg" id="9476b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6fe9fd3fcf8958136cce7e86baf9e7bb"></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Thousands of people took to social media to complain about lack of heating during the government's anti-pollution drive this winter.</small>
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energydesk.carto.com
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Unearthed found 5,822 posts by users complaining their heating wasn't working.</small></p>
<p>Posts hit a sudden spike in mid-November, at the start of the heating season, when community heating normally starts and gas supply becomes available for homes. Most days for the following month recorded more than 100 posts per day.<br></p><p><strong>'Old People and Children Are Sick'</strong></p><p>One Weibo user, who <a href="https://www.weibo.com/3101776134/FzVszqtgV?type=comment#_rnd1515499242762" target="_blank">posted on Dec. 16</a>, just before complaints started to drop off, said:</p><p>"I've paid all the fees but I'm not getting gas for heating. Every day the gas is cut from 5 pm to 8 am. During the daytime the heating is also too cold.</p><p>"Old people and children are sick from the cold. I had several negotiations [with the gas company] but it's no use. Where are citizens like us supposed to go to complain?"</p><p>Some people reported that the air still seemed toxic.</p><p>"Heating is not working but the smog is also severe?" <a href="http://weibo.com/2841180134/FCnR1gWs0" target="_blank">said user Jevouseclaire.</a></p><p>But data shows that levels in the region around Beijing <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/12/12/beijing-region-sees-record-breaking-drop-winter-air-pollution-levels/" target="_blank">dropped by a record-breaking amount</a> over the winter, in the wake of major industrial shutdowns.</p>
<p>Others did report noticing a difference in the air quality, despite the heating crisis.</p><p>"There's indeed less smog but the heating in the classroom is not working, air conditioning in the library is not working, the teapot and the bathroom don't have hot water, you're not allowed to use coal yet there is no gas," <a href="https://www.weibo.com/5241800781/Fyi9UcPIU?type=comment#_rnd1515498332753" target="_blank">reported one user.</a></p><p>"When all the poor people in Hebei province freeze to death, we basically become a prosperous society huh?"</p><p>The number of complaints started falling around Dec. 21. Social media users continue to report problems with heating, but the number of complaints has fallen close to the rate seen the year before, suggesting that the government is now getting on top of the issue.</p><p>But next winter the government wants to implement even more ambitious clean heating targets. Can they do so <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2018/01/10/china-coal-heating-winter-crisis-pollution/" target="_blank">without creating another crisis</a>?</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2018/01/11/chinas-toxic-air-beijing-smog-plummets-national-progress-slows/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a>.</em></p>
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Plastic Pollution Is ‘Low Priority’ for Shoppers, Soft Drink Execs Tell Policy Officials
20 December 2017
Popular
By Alice Ross
Soft drinks executives told government officials most shoppers don't care much about the environmental impact of the plastic drinks bottles they buy, according to documents seen by Unearthed.
Coca-Cola, Lucozade Ribena, Danone and Nestle were among those invited to a soft drinks roundtable to discuss the problem of plastic bottle waste and recycling at Defra's headquarters in October.
<p style="">They told officials: "The environmental impact of packaging was low on consumers' priorities when buying a soft drink," according to a note of the meeting obtained by Unearthed using Freedom of Information rules.</p><p style="">Plastic pollution, particularly single-use packaging such as drinks bottles, has come under increasing scrutiny in the past year after global concern at the amount of plastic entering the oceans: An estimated 15 million plastic drinks bottles are thrown away rather than recycled every day in the UK.</p><p style="">The screening of <em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii-2490636664.html">Blue Planet 2</a></em> this autumn, which included footage of turtles trapped in plastic debris and albatrosses feeding their young on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics">plastics</a>, has only increased the public concern around the issue.</p><p style="">This week environment secretary Michael Gove <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42397399" target="_blank">told reporters</a> he had been inspired by <em>Blue Planet 2</em> to tackle the issue and wanted to boost recycling rates, cut the amount of plastic in circulation and to make recycling easier by reducing the number of different types of plastic in common use.</p><p style="">Drinks company executives at the October roundtable meeting told officials, including waste minister Therese Coffey, that "environmentally-aware consumers like the idea of less plastic" but others "associate softer bottles with inferior quality."</p><p style="">They added that it "may be easier to address littering than attempt to educate consumers on materials."</p><p style="">The meeting was held under Chatham House rules, where no information is shared on who said what.</p><p style="">Consumers tend to say they do care about the environmental footprint of drinks packaging. In September, a <a href="https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/44561/44561/" target="_blank">YouGov survey</a> for recycling company Veolia found that half of consumers (51 percent) would choose a new drink in a recyclable container over a familiar one in a non-recyclable container. </p><p style="">In 2015, 71 percent of respondents to a <a href="https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/1arp7wpb5b/ResourceAssociationResults_150324_plastic_bottles_Website.pdf" target="_blank">YouGov survey</a> said they would back a small increase in the price of a plastic milk bottle if this ensured it was partly made of recycled plastics and would be recycled after use.</p><p style="">Gove is currently considering whether to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS), in which consumers are charged a small amount for the container their drink comes in, which is refunded when they return the bottle or can. In February Coca-Cola announced it <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/02/22/coca-cola-u-turn-bottle-deposit-scheme/" target="_blank">now supports a DRS</a>, after Unearthed revealed it had previously <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/01/25/investigation-coca-cola-fight-back-plans-tackle-plastic-waste/" target="_blank">lobbied the Scottish government</a> against it.</p><p style="">At the October meeting, some of the drinks companies said introducing the new system alongside existing curb side collections could be "confusing for consumers," who the companies suggested were "more interested in getting rid of the rubbish (convenience)" than in any financial reward.</p><p style="">Nearly three-quarters of those <a href="https://www.mcsuk.org/media/cleanseas/Public%20support%20for%20Deposit%20Return%20Systems%20across%20the%20UK%20YG%20Approved.pdf" target="_blank">polled by YouGov</a> in August on behalf of the <a href="https://www.mcsuk.org/" target="_blank">Marine Conservation Society</a> said they would support a deposit return scheme.</p><p style="">The Marine Conservation Society's head of pollution, Dr. Laura Foster, said: "Responsible consumers, manufacturers and retailers are increasingly becoming aware that they don't want to see their products harming the environment ... Incentivising returning of beverage containers through DRS has been shown to be highly effective, with return rates of over 95% in countries where it has been introduced."</p><p style="">A spokeswoman for Coca-Cola said the company supports DRS and has committed to double the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles to 50 percent by 2020. "We will source this material from a recycling plant in Lincolnshire and by doing so make a significant contribution to the circular economy in this country."</p><p>She added: "No other soft drinks company is doing as much to make its packaging as sustainable as possible and you should ask other companies what their view on a DRS is, as their view may well differ to ours."</p><p style="">Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium, which was present at the meeting, said: "We know how much consumers dislike litter and want to work with the government and others to reduce it." But he said consumers prefer curb side collection, which is "already effective".</p><p style="">Gavin Partington, director general at the British Soft Drinks Association, said: "As an industry, we are open to exploring whether a properly considered deposit return scheme could be a part of an overall solution and we are ready to work with government and others on this." </p><p style="">A Nestle spokeswoman told Unearthed: "We agree in principle that a well-designed deposit return scheme (DRS), that is simple and easy to use, could be part of a holistic solution to achieving higher collection and recycling rates."</p><p style="">The Scottish government plans to introduce the UK's first DRS scheme. "This is clearly new territory for everyone and we will offer our full support in the development and piloting of this scheme," the Nestle spokeswoman said.</p><p style="">A Danone spokeswoman said: "We don't comment on the details of what was discussed in the meeting. However, we would like to say that Danone supports efficient solutions that lower societal costs and incentivize packaging producers to increase the recycling and reuse of their packaging.</p><p style="">"We are ready to engage with stakeholders at local and global level to design the system (or combination of systems) that makes the most sense. We believe that a DRS has its place within the portfolio of possible systems for a given country, region or city."</p><p style="">Lucozade Ribena and Defra had not responded at the time of publication.</p>
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Scientists have been shocked at the depth and size of the Amazon reef. Greenpeace
By Joe Sandler Clarke, Unearthed
BP's plans to drill for oil near a huge coral reef in the mouth of Amazon river have been dealt a further blow after a regulator questioned the company's environmental risk assessment.
Ibama, Brazil's federal environmental agency, rejected an environmental study from the British oil giant, further delaying the company's plans to drill in the region.
<p style="">In a technical note <a href="http://licenciamento.ibama.gov.br/Petroleo/Perfuracao/Perfuracao%20-%20Bacia%20da%20Foz%20do%20Amazonas%20-%20Bloco%20FZA-M-59%20-%20BP/Pareceres%20Tecnicos%20do%20IBAMA/PT%20106-17%20-%20Analise%20EIA%20Rev%2001%20FZA%20BP%20(SEI%201128781).pdf" target="_blank">[in Portuguese]</a>, the agency criticized the study for a lack of detail on oil spill modeling and the impact drilling could have on local <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a>, and said it required more information before allowing the company to proceed with plans to drill in the region.</p><p style="">The news comes just a few weeks after <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/11/19/brazil-shell-bp-greg-hands-liam-fox/" target="_blank">Unearthed revealed</a> that the British oil giant discussed concerns over environmental licensing in Brazil with a UK government minister.</p><p>Department of International Trade (DIT) minister Greg Hands then personally lobbied Brazil's deputy mines and energy minister Paulo Pedrosa on the issue.</p><p style="">When asked to comment on that story, a spokesperson for DIT said, "it is absolutely not true that our ministers lobbied to loosen environmental restrictions in Brazil—the meeting was about improving the environmental licensing process, ensuring a level playing field for both domestic and foreign companies, and in particular helping to speed up the licensing process and make it more transparent, which in turn will protect environmental standards."</p><p><strong>Amazon reef</strong></p><p style="">Geologists believe there could be as much as 14 billion barrels of oil in the region, known as the Foz do Amazonas basin.</p><p style="">But a massive <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-reefs">coral reef</a> has thrown plans to drill in the area into doubt.</p><p>Scientists had long suspected there might be a reef in the region, but its size and depth was not confirmed until five years ago, just as the Brazilian government was putting out drilling licenses to tender.</p><p>BP, along with French company Total and Brazil's Petrobras, snapped up five exploration blocks in the mouth of the Amazon in 2013.</p><p style="">In order to drill for oil in the region, companies have to submit environmental impact assessments (EIA) to Ibama.</p><p style="">Ibama said the methodology in BP's EIA for the <a href="https://www.bnamericas.com/project-profile/en/fza-m-59-fza-m-59" target="_blank">FZA-M-59 block</a> was "very limited" and the regulator needed more information about what the impact of a oil spill might be in the region. BP holds a 70 percent stake in the block, with the remaining 30 percent owned by Petrobras.</p><p style="">Contacted by Unearthed, BP said that "requests for clarifications" from the regulator may occur several times before a permit is issued.</p><p>"As part of the licensing process for drilling a well on the FZA-M-59 block, BP has received the first technical opinion requesting clarifications to the environmental impact study that was presented.</p><p style="">"Under Brazilian legislation and the licensing process managed by IBAMA, requests for clarifications related to the environmental study typically can and do occur several times before the issuance of an environmental permit."</p><p style=""><strong>30 percent chance of a spill hitting the reef</strong><br></p><p>Previous assessments filed by the oil majors have caused controversy.</p><p style="">Earlier this year, Unearthed reported that <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/07/04/amazon-reef-bp-total-oil-spill-risk/" target="_blank">documents filed by Total and BP</a> to Ibama showed that there was a 30 percent chance that a prospective spill from the company's shared blocks could reach the reef.</p><p style="">At the time, a BP spokesperson told us, "Operations on the blocks will only proceed when fully permitted by the Brazilian regulators."</p><p style="">Just a few weeks later, <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/08/15/bp-brazil-amazon-reef-corexit-oil-spill/" target="_blank">Unearthed found a document</a> showing that BP intended to use a chemical known as Corexit in the event of an oil spill in the region.</p><p>The chemical dispersant was used extensively during the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 and three years later, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0045574" target="_blank">scientists found</a> that the chemical had a negative impact on coral larvae in the Gulf of Mexico.</p><p>BP still intends to drill in the region in 2018.</p><p><strong>British government lobbying</strong></p><p>The news comes as BP finds itself embroiled in a political controversy in Brazil.</p><p style="">We previously reported that a diplomatic telegram from the British government, obtained by Unearthed, showed that, at a "private breakfast" in Rio de Janeiro, BP—together with Shell and Premier Oil—relayed their concerns "around taxation and environmental licensing" to Greg Hands, who then raised them "directly" with Brazilian official Pedrosa.</p><p style="">Now a group of politicians in Brazil are asking prosecutors to investigate whether there may have been any breach of Brazilian law in the award of offshore oil blocks to international companies, including BP.</p><p style=""><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/12/11/bp-amazon-reef-plans-brazil/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a>.</em></p><p style=""><em><br></em></p>
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Amidst a carpet of green lichen, flowers blossom on a fallen tree trunk in the Bialowieza forest. Konrad Skotnicki / Greenpeace
By Janice Pereira, Unearthed
Despite repeated warnings from the European Union, the Polish government continues to defy orders to stop logging operations in the ancient Bialowieza forest.
It started more than a year ago as a formal request by the European Commission, asking Poland to stop logging activity that violates the bloc's wildlife protection laws. Now the battle between the European Commission and the Polish government is being fought in the highest court of the European Union.
<p>The relationship hasn't improved. The commission has accused the Polish government of not respecting interim orders issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to stop logging, and state that they have satellite images and other evidence to prove it. Now they have asked the ECJ to impose penalties on Poland for not respecting it.</p><p>In recent weeks, the Polish government has reacted angrily, accusing the Commission of <a href="http://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/polish-minister-blames-logging-case-on-fake-news-and-biased-judges" target="_blank">"spreading lies" and "manipulating the facts</a>."</p><p>They told <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a> that: "These activities are carried out in accordance with the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union as well as Polish and European law."</p><p>Meanwhile, the forest continues to be cut down.</p><p>The ECJ's interim measures permit the Polish government to fell trees where there is a threat to public safety. However, forest patrols carried out by Greenpeace Poland in August found evidence of <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/2017/protesters-stop-illegal-logging-in-Polands-Biaowiea-Forest/" target="_blank">loggers violating the EU Court's decision in 16 out of 30 forest areas</a>.</p>
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<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Logging in Bialowieza forest, one of Europe's last lowland natural forests.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Grzegorz Broniatowski / Greenpeace</small></p>
<p>The Bialowieza forest is a biodiversity hotspot: a Unesco World Heritage site and the best-preserved lowland forest in Europe. It's home to the largest free-roaming population of European bison, as well as several rare species of birds, hundreds of insects and thousands of mushrooms.</p>
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<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">The Bialowieza forest, one of Europe's last primeval forests, is the world's last refuge for European Bison.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Adam Wajrak / Greenpeace</small></p>
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<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">The Bialowieza forest is home to several rare bird species, including the white-backed woodpecker. </small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Adam Wajrak / Greenpeace</small></p>
<p><strong>Bark Beetle</strong><br></p><p>The Polish authorities and the state forestry service insist the intensive logging is necessary to protect the forest from a spruce bark beetle outbreak and the fire risk posed by dead wood.</p><p>Last year the <a href="http://www.lasy.gov.pl/en/information/all-about-bialowieza-forest/the-european-spruce-bark-beetle-attack-intensifies" target="_blank">Polish environment ministry</a> approved an increase in logging limits in order to deal with the beetles and dead tree trunks. This saw the limit increase threefold: from 63,000 m3 to 188,00 m3. Around 80,000 m3 of forest is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/13/eu-calls-for-immediate-ban-on-logging-in-bialowieza-forest-poland" target="_blank">estimated</a> to have been cleared since.</p><p>However, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12945/abstract" target="_blank">studies</a> have found that the practice of logging trees in areas of damaged forest is destructive to the environment. Rafal Kowalczyk, the Head of the Mammal Research Institute in Bialowieza, says the parts of the forest which have been protected as a national park are "continually existing, not dying," which shows that bark beetle outbreaks do not threaten the forest.</p>
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<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">The richness of dead wood in the Bialowieza forest provides a habitat for a high diversity of fungi. </small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Adam Wajrak / Greenpeace</small></p>
<p><strong>Public Safety</strong><br></p><p>The Polish environment ministry told Unearthed that they are carrying out "indispensable measures intended to protect endangered Natura 2000 habitats and species, and to ensure public safety."</p><p>They say that the dead tree trunks pose an "<a href="http://www.lasy.gov.pl/en/information/all-about-bialowieza-forest/the-foresters-to-ensure-safety-in-the-bialowieza-primeval-forest" target="_blank">incomparable</a>" threat to public safety.</p><p>The state forestry website <a href="http://www.lasy.gov.pl/en/information/all-about-bialowieza-forest/the-foresters-to-ensure-safety-in-the-bialowieza-primeval-forest" target="_blank">reported</a>: "During the few last months the cases of dead trees fallen onto the tourist trails or forest roads have been reported; several times they missed the passing cars or people only by a hair's breadth."</p><p>But Adam Wajrak, a journalist writing on nature in Bialowieza disputes this.</p><p>"This is bullshit," he claimed. "There is no evidence that someone has been harmed walking, picking mushrooms or watching the birds".</p><p>For the Polish authorities, he said "the most safe forest is a forest without trees."</p><p>Even where felling for public safety is justified, Kowalczyk said "the 100-year-old tree stems should be cut and left, not taken out" as those trees provide an important habitat for the forest's deadwood-dependent organisms. Instead, the trees are taken off the site and sold.</p>
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<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">A truck transporting trees from the Białowieża Forest in Poland. Such transports are against European law—the European Court of Justice decided that trees from the Bialowieza Forest should not be logged, but also not removed from the forest, even where logging is carried out legally. </small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Rafal Wojczal / Greenpeace</small></p>
<p><strong>Motivations</strong><br></p><p>The Polish government have been accused by the European Commission and environmental groups of logging trees that are 100 years and older, an act which is illegal under EU law. Back in April the <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-17-1045_en.htm" target="_blank">European Commission</a> said, "logging is already being carried out in the forest, including the removal of 100-year and older trees and operations in the habitats which according to the Natura 2000 management plan should be strictly protected."</p><p>When asked why the Polish government refuses to stop logging operations in the forest, Kowalczyk said "it's to show who is in charge of this area in Poland." The notion that Bialowieza is a symbol for power has been voiced elsewhere.</p><p>Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, a former Poland prime minister, speaking to <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21730041-preserving-bialowieza-forest-preserving-bialowieza" target="_blank">The Economist</a>, said of Bialowieza: "Whoever controls it, controls the country."</p>
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<small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Logged area in Bialowieza forest, one of Europe's last lowland natural forests.</small><small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Grzegorz Broniatowski / Greenpeace</small></p>
<p><strong>Breaking the Stalemate</strong><br></p><p>While the logging shows no signs of slowing down, the legal challenges continue.</p><p>Environmental lawyers at ClientEarth, together with partner NGOs, have been arguing since 2015 that increased logging in the Bialowieza Forest is illegal and threatens the ecosystem.</p><p>But the Supreme Administrative Court in Poland has ruled that the logging limits are set by the environment ministry and therefore cannot be appealed to the courts.</p><p>This gives courts in Poland no opportunity to verify whether the decision to log in Bialowieza is lawful, and has the same implications for other Polish forests managed by the state.</p><p>Consequently, for those unable to access justice through the Polish courts, EU intervention is the only means where the law can be used to ending the destruction of forest in Bialowieza.</p><p>The rest will be down to any pressure that the Polish people can put on politicians.</p><p>The decision by the European Court of Justice on whether or not they will impose penalties on Poland is expected in the coming days.</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2017/11/07/bialowieza-forest-poland-photos/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a>.</em></p>
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Since China launched its "action on air pollution" local governments have been shutting down smaller outdated steel plants.
By Lauri Myllyvirta, Unearthed
Earlier this month and without much comment, dozens of huge steel mills in China stopped or curtailed their operations. In northern China cement plants are preparing to shut down entirely before Christmas.
The measures are a part of an aggressive action plan that aims to cut wintertime particulate pollution by 15 percent year-on-year over the next five months. These cuts are badly needed as Beijing and the surrounding industrial provinces have suffered the winter's first serious episode this week, with PM2.5 levels across several provinces reaching "very unhealthy" levels.
<p style="">The shutdowns began ahead of the twice-a-decade party congress where President Xi Jinping outlined his vision of a "beautiful China." They are set to take full effect in mid-November and continue throughout the winter.</p><p style="">The operating restrictions <a href="http://www.qjcj.com/news/caijing/96977.html" target="_blank">affect one quarter</a> of China's total steel-making capacity and approximately <a href="http://www.cbmm.com.cn/Info.aspx?ModelId=1&Id=161165" target="_blank">10 percent of cement production</a>.</p><p style="">The measures are expected to cut national steel output by more than 10 percent in the next five months and could avoid as much CO2 as Denmark and Finland emit in one year.</p><p style=""><strong>Air Pollution</strong></p><p style="">The steel industry is the dominant source of air pollutant emissions in the Beijing region, as the surrounding Hebei province is the world's largest producer of the metal and has poorer emission control performance than other large producer provinces.</p><p style="">Industrial emissions are responsible for <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095927317303225" target="_blank">40-50 percent of the PM2.5 levels</a> in the region, with steel and cement the largest emitting sectors. PM2.5 refers to tiny particles of pollution small enough to pass through the lung into the bloodstream.</p><p style="">The winter action plan on air pollution in northern China was announced this year to inject new momentum into the war on pollution.</p><p style="">Progress on air pollution <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2016/12/16/return-smog-heavy-industry-threatens-beijings-pollution-fight/" target="_blank">stalled in the region</a> after a massive stimulus push started by the government in early 2016, leading to a temporary increase in output and prices of steel, cement and other products from highly polluting industries.</p><p style="">Besides curbs on steel, cement and aluminum production, the <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2017-08/26/content_31131288.htm" target="_blank">plan targets</a> household coal use, restricts diesel trucks and stops major construction projects. Brick-making, pottery and other small industries are ordered to close down as well.</p><p style="">It means three million households are to be shifted from coal-burning to electric and gas heating.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style=""><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMzEzNDE3My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTE0MTIxNn0.WksG_Kvu5mKMktgg4Z-FVhsSQUDg9MOLObxdlTXGC9M/img.jpg?width=980" id="99ef9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="741edfde1eefd30232f8452fab980b34" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small placeholder="add caption..." class="image-media media-caption">Air pollution has hit dangerous levels in recent months in and around Beijing.</small></p>
<p style=""><strong>Environmental Protection Bureau</strong><br></p><p style="">The five month shutdowns are temporary, though the plan also creates a new joint environmental protection bureau covering Beijing and the two surrounding provinces and ratchets up enforcement of industrial emission norms.</p><p>Improvements in enforcement could have a lasting impact.</p><p style="">Indeed, factory shutdowns are becoming a recurring feature in China's war on air pollution, affecting the profitability of heavy industry and potentially paving the way for reforms that will reduce the economy's reliance on highly polluting sectors in a sustained way.</p><p style="">China's environmental minister Li Ganjie has also <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/china-pollution-crackdown-here-to-stay-20171023-gz6pa1.html" target="_blank">emphasized</a> the forward-looking aspect of the campaign, saying: "These special campaigns are not a one-off, instead it is an exploration of long-term mechanisms."</p><p style="">In the short term, major construction projects in the province are also being suspended for the winter period in an effort to control dust emissions.</p><p style="">As the construction sector is by far the largest source of steel demand, the measures will also reduce demand on the partially closed plants.</p>
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