Conflicts over land and water flared across the world this year amid greater competition for resources and increasing hostility towards farmers and indigenous people, according to two reports published.
The first phase of the project, completed five years ago, supplies 120 million people, officials said. 345,000 people have been relocated to make way for the project. China’s per capita water resources are around a quarter of the global average.
The world faces a severe plastic waste crisis as even the advanced countries of Europe together recycle less than a third of the plastic they throw away, research firm Statista said.
Denmark plans to build an artificial island tying in power from offshore wind farms of up to 10 gigawatts of capacity – equivalent to 10 million European households’ electricity consumption.
New York State’s lawsuit said Exxon Mobil caused investors to lose up to $1.6 billion by falsely telling them it had properly evaluated the impact of future climate regulations on its business. The judge found that the case failed to produce evidence that investors were misled.
Brazil will push to expand oil drilling in its massive “pre-salt” oil and gas area off its coast in spite of growing global concerns about climate change, the country’s energy minister told Reuters.
Enveritas, a U.S. non-profit, and IBM will pilot the IBM-AgroPad, which analyses soil samples remotely and quickly. Enveritas plans to provide the devices for free to farmers in coffee-growing regions of Latin America and Africa.
Alaska will soon close a year that is shaping up as its hottest on record, with glaciers in the “Frontier State” melting at record or near-record levels, pouring waters into rising global seas, scientists said after taking fall measurements.
China will tighten regulations on the use of plastic film by farmers to boost crop yields, which has become a major source of soil contamination throughout northern and western regions, according to a draft policy document.
Tighter government climate regulations by 2025 could wipe up to $2.3 trillion off the value of companies in industries ranging from fossil fuel producers to agriculture and car makers, investor group PRI warned in a report.