Environment

International development charity Practical Action has been awarded the Zayed Future Energy Prize in recognition of its pioneering approach to renewable energy and sustainability. The charity was selected as the outstanding candidate by heads of Government, high-level UN staff and international development experts for its significant impact on hard-to-reach communities. CEO Paul Smith Lomas picked up the award from Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal during a presentation ceremony at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017. Dr Nawal Al-Hosany, Director of the...

Poverty, unemployment and zero economic growth are the likely outcome for countries which choose renewable energy sources over fossil fuels, according to a study. Energy from fossil fuels appears to ignite economies into greater and more sustained growth, whereas energy from wind and solar power not only fails to enhance or promote economic growth, it actually causes economies to flat-line. The results, from an in-depth study of more than 100 countries over 40 years, pose a serious ethical dilemma, according...

Born Free warns heinous trade threatens beleaguered wild lions International wildlife charity, Born Free Foundation, has warned that South Africa’s intention to grant an annual commercial export quota of 800 skeletons sourced from captive-bred lions raised in canned hunting facilities could threaten wild populations and perpetuate suffering.

Since the release of the film Born Free in 1966, Africa’s lions have declined by at least 80%. Today, as few as 20,000 individuals occupy just 8% of their historic range across Africa, with...

A stunning image which captured the hearts of photography judges is so enthralling that many have claimed it's too perfect to be real. The dazzling picture features a kingfisher flawlessly diving into a river with an amazing trail of bright blue light shining behind it. The phenomenon is rarely seen as it involves catching the bird hit the surface of the water at speeds of up to 25mph - with the perfect amount of natural light. Photorgapher Mario Cea spent...

A wolf-sized otter weighing close to eight stones once roamed the Earth's ancient swamps, a new study revealed. The ancient species was almost as twice as large of present day otters and had features similar to an otter and a badger. It also had powerful jaws to crunch large shellfish and freshwater mollusks which would have been their main food. The otter named Siamogale melilutra lived some six million years ago and belongs to an ancient lineage of extinct otters,...

By Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming Bird flu is back. All farmers and keepers of poultry have been ordered by Defra to keep their birds indoors, separate and ‘safe’ from contact with wild birds. Just this week, a flock of 8,000 turkeys in Lincolnshire was diagnosed with the virus. Some have died and the rest are due to be culled. If bringing the birds indoors to ‘protect’ them from wild birds is the solution to preventing the...

International wildlife charity, Born Free Foundation, is calling on the UK Government to deliver on its Manifesto commitment to a “total ban on ivory sales” after an e-petition calling for the UK domestic ivory market to be shut down passed the 100,000 threshold needed to trigger a debate in Parliament. The e-petition urges the Government to “shut down the domestic ivory market in the UK” because “30,000 African elephants are slaughtered a year for their tusks yet the Government has...

This is the spectacular moment tonnes of molten lava spew from a collapsed volcano into the sea - just yards from a boat full of tourists. Onlookers braved the choppy seas and deadly eruptions taking place at the Kamokuna lava delta in Hawaii since it collapsed on December 31. They were stunned when a red hot stream of 1000c lava suddenly crashed through the side of the black rock - causing an incredible hose pipe effect. Breath-taking footage shows the...

This week Gatwick Airport - which can ship over three million passengers in any given month - pledged to become carbon neutral by the spring as the airport prepared to join the the RE100 alliance at Davos for the World Economic Forum. It will join over eighty of the world's most influential companies committed to 100 per cent renewable power, an initiative that will scale up to all companies if successful. The transition toward a low carbon economy is top on the agenda at...