Nations agree milestone rulebook for Paris climate treaty

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick GALEY and Marlowe HOOD, 16 December 2018

Representatives of nearly 200 nations have been holding talks at the UN's
COP24 summit in the Polish mining city of Katowice

Nations on Sunday struck a deal to breathe life into the landmark 2015 Paris climate treaty after marathon UN talks that failed to match the ambition the world's most vulnerable countries need to avert dangerous global warming.

Delegates from nearly 200 states finalised a common rule book designed to deliver the Paris goals of limiting global temperature rises to well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit).

"Putting together the Paris agreement work programme is a big responsibility," said COP24 president Michal Kurtyka as he gavelled through the deal after talks in Poland that ran deep into overtime.

"It has been a long road. We did our best to leave no one behind."

But states already dealing with devastating floods, droughts and extreme weather made worse by climate change said the package agreed in the mining city of Katowice lacked the bold ambition to cut emissions the world needed.

Egyptian ambassador Wael Aboulmagd, chair of the developing nations G77 plus China negotiating bloc, said the rule book saw the "urgent adaptation needs of developing countries relegated to a second-class status."

Selection of natural phenomena which could become dangerous for the 

climate if they reach their tipping points

Executive director of Greenpeace Jennifer Morgan said: "We continue to witness an irresponsible divide between the vulnerable island states and impoverished countries pitted against those who would block climate action or who are immorally failing to act fast enough."

The final decision text was repeatedly delayed as negotiators sought guidelines that could ward off the worst threats posed by the heating planet while protecting the economies of rich and poor nations alike.

"Without a clear rulebook, we won't see how countries are tracking, whether they are actually doing what they say they are doing," Canada's Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told AFP.

At their heart, negotiations were about how each nation funds action to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as how those actions are reported.

The talks overran massively as delegates picked over a range of contentious issues

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French President Emmanuel Macron, who has recently backed down on anti-pollution fuel tax hikes in the face of country-wide "yellow vest" protests, said France must "show the way" as he welcomed the progress made at the talks.

"The international community remains committed to the fight against climate change," he tweeted on Sunday.

"Congratulations to the UN, scientists, NGOs and all negotiators. France and Europe must show the way. The fight goes on."

Developing nations had wanted more clarity from richer ones over how the future climate fight will be funded and pushed for so-called "loss and damage" measures.

This would see richer countries giving money now to help deal with the effects of climate change many vulnerable states are already experiencing.

Another contentious issue was the integrity of carbon markets, looking ahead to the day when the patchwork of distinct exchanges -- in China, the Europe Union, parts of the United States -- may be joined up in a global system.

A number of protests were held in and around the COP24 climate talks, as 

activists demanded immediate action from lawmakers

The Paris Agreement calls for setting up a mechanism to guard against practices, such as double counting emissions savings, that could undermine such a market.

A major sticking point, delegates eventually agreed Saturday to kick the issue down the road until next year.

One veteran observer told AFP that Poland's presidency at COP24 had left many countries out of the process and presented at-risk nations with a "take it or leave it" deal.

Progress had "been held up by Brazil, when it should have been held up by the small islands. It's tragic."

One of the largest disappointments for countries of all wealths and sizes was the lack of ambition to reduce emissions shown in the final COP24 text.

Most nations wanted the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to form a key part of future planning.

'The system must change'

It highlighted the need to slash carbon pollution by nearly half before 2030 in order to hit the 1.5C target.

But the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait objected, leading to watered-down wording.

The final statement from the Polish COP24 presidency welcomed "the timely conclusion" of the report and invited "parties to make use of it" -- hardly the ringing endorsement many nations had called for.

"There's been a shocking lack of response to the 1.5 report," Greenpeace's Morgan, told.

Dutch university grows bananas to help stamp out fungal diseases

DutchNews, December 13, 2018

A banana tree. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Researchers from Wageningen University are this week harvesting the first Dutch bananas which will be offered to restaurants and hospitals in the region as a ‘regional product’. 

The aim of the experiment, which marks the 100th anniversary of the university, is to investigate whether new ways of cultivation will help stamp out soil-borne fungal diseases which threaten banana production throughout the world. 

Taking the banana trees out of the soil and growing them on stone wool appears to have been very successful, says Gert Kema, professor of tropical plant pathology at the university. 

‘The banana plants grow very well on coco peat and stone wool substrate with only the application of a nutrient solution,’ Kema said on the university website. ‘The Dutch banana does not need disease control, which makes cultivation more sustainable than in traditional production areas.’ 

Ripening

There are 60 plants in the Wageningen greenhouse. ‘One of the things that we have learned is that the plant density is too high at the moment,’ Kema said. ‘We are going to adjust that, so that we will have more light and the bunches will be able to ripen faster in future experiments.’ 

Once the Wageningen bananas have been harvested they will be moved to a ripening centre operated by banana giant Chiquita, which is involved in the project. 

New breeds 

‘We are on the way to developing sustainable banana cultivation with new breeds of bananas that are resistant to diseases and that are grown in healthy soils in a responsible social climate,’ Kema says. 

The research group is also planning a trial in the Philippines to see how precision cultivation works under ideal conditions. 

Bananas are a staple food for more than 400 million people in the tropics, the fourth most consumed food crop, the most consumed non-cereal staple food, and the most consumed fruit in the world, Wageningen says.

Shell to link carbon emissions targets to senior executive pay

DutchNews, December 3, 2018

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Anglo Dutch oil giant Shell plans to set carbon emissions targets next year and link these to executive bonuses, chief executive Ben van Beurden has told the Financial Times. 

The move follows pressure from shareholders such as the  Church of England and Robeco who have ‘pushed Shell to make firm commitments to cut its carbon footprint’, the paper says. They have criticised last year’s announced ambition to halve carbon emissions by 2050 as not going far enough. 

Van Beurden said that by setting targets the company would be ‘systematically driving down our carbon footprint over time’. 

The company is still in talks with investors about the percentage to be targeted but the pay of 1,200 top employees could be affected, the FT said. 

Dutch civil service pension fund ABP has welcomed Shell’s decision. ‘The fact that Shell has anchored its ambition in its remuneration policy offers more confidence that Shell will really commit itself,’ chairwoman Corien Wortmann told the Financieele Dagblad. 

We will keep an eye on progress with ‘great interest’, Wortmann told the paper. 

The announcement comes at the start of UN climate talks start in Katowice, Poland.

Related Article:

Shell has paid no tax on Dutch profits for years: Trouw

Dead fish to power Norwegian cruise liners

Yahoo – AFP, November 26, 2018

Leftover dead fish from Norway's large fishing industry will be mixed with other
organic waste to make a liquified biogas to be used instead of heavy fuel oil, said
Hurtigruten, which runs cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica, among other locations.

Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten plans to use dead fish to power some of its ships, it said on Monday, as it seeks to reduce its pollution and climate change impact.

Leftover dead fish from Norway's large fishing industry will be mixed with other organic waste to make a liquified biogas to be used instead of heavy fuel oil, said Hurtigruten, which runs cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica, among other locations.

"What others see as a problem, we see as a resource and a solution," the company's chief executive Daniel Skjeldam said.

"By introducing biogas as fuel for cruise ships, Hurtigruten will be the first cruise company to power ships with fossil-free fuel," he added.

The first biogas ship could be ready as soon as the end of next year, according to spokesman Rune Thomas Ege.

The company aims to have six of its 17 ships capable of using a combination of biogas, batteries and liquified natural gas, the cleanest of fossil fuels, by 2021.

Norway, which already has buses that run on biogas, has large fishing and forestry industries which produce vast amounts of organic waste.

The announcement comes as the cruise sector faces heavy criticism for its climate footprint and its impact on air quality.

A large cruise ship powered by highly-polluting heavy fuel oil emits almost as many fine particles daily as one million cars, according to German environmental group Nabu.

On Monday, a French court fined cruise company P&O and its US captain 100,000 euros ($114,000) for knowingly using fuel with excessive sulphur levels, the first such ruling in France.

Norway has a "zero emission" target for cruise ships and ferries navigating its fjords listed as world heritage sites by UNESCO by 2026 at the latest.

Hurtigruten, which aims to become carbon neutral by 2050, has ordered three hybrid battery/diesel vessels which the company said will be "the first cruise ships in the world that will be able to operate completely emission free for periods of time".

The spokesman said that is "and something deemed almost impossible just a few years back".

The first of those three ships should enter into service in May 2019.

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World's rarest plants, vital crops can't be banked: study

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick GALEY, November 2, 2018

New research by botanists at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens found that the
seeds of more than a third of 'critically endangered' plants and trees can't be
put into seed banks (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN)

Paris (AFP) - International efforts to save some of the world's rarest and economically important plants from climate change are doomed to fail because their seeds cannot be stored, researchers warned Friday.

As the planet heats and mankind continues to decimate natural habitats, scientists concede that the only way to save some types of vegetation is in seed banks -- giant repositories of thousands of species preserved for future generations.

Nations agreed a global strategy in 2002 to conserve at least three quarters of threatened plant species with the aim of recovering and restoring their stocks in nature at some point.

Scientists working in several seed banks around the world currently conserve seeds by drying them before freezing.

But new research by botanists at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, found that 36 percent of "critically endangered" plants and trees aren't bankable under the current method because their seeds die when dried and so cannot be preserved by freezing.

"You can't dry the seeds so you cannot conserve them in a conventional seed bank," John Dickie, head of collections at Kew, told AFP.

It was previously known that at least eight percent of plants -- including oak trees, mango, avocado and cacao -- produce "recalcitrant" seeds that die when dried.

But with seed banking a work in progress, only a small proportion of plants have had their suitability for freezing assessed.

Dickie and his team developed a model using data on the climate, species habitat and the known seed-storage behaviour of related vegetation that predicted how likely it was that a plant's seeds would be bankable.

Preservation goals 'impossible'

The analysis showed that the goal of conserving 75 percent of the world's threatened plant species outside their natural habitat by 2020 was "practically impossible".

In addition, even a proportion of seeds that survive drying and freezing have been shown to deteriorate while in storage, further complicating efforts to save their species.

Plants including avocado trees produce "recalcitrant" seeds that die when 

dried (AFP Photo/DAVID MCNEW)

Dickie said the team at Kew, which has been banking seeds for nearly 40 years, noticed "declines in viability" in some seed varieties over the decades, meaning they are less likely to be successfully planted and grown in future.

Other common food plants with problematic seeds include lychees, jack fruit and coconuts -- all from the tropics. Ebony, parana pine and myrtle trees also have "recalcitrant" seeds.

"It's looking very crudely like some sort of 80-20 rule: 80 percent of what we've got seems to be doing perfectly well but maybe 20 percent is living shorter under conventional conditions," he said.

One potential way of saving plants with hard-to-store seeds is, somewhat counter-intuitively, to freeze them at a much lower temperature using liquid nitrogen.

This avoids the drying stage and, according to the team behind the study published in Nature Plants, can preserve seeds better than the current method.

Dickie said it was vital that seeds were stored quickly after collection to boost their chances of survival.

He said there was a need for greater research on identifying at-risk species -- often grown in remote, tropical areas.

"Once you know where the population of plants is you can get in there and then it's really a matter of getting them to a facility fast," he said.

"As successful as seed banking is for some species, it is not suitable for all seed plants and we need to invest in other ways to safeguard these."

Minister looks into early closure of coal-fired power stations

DutchNews, November 1, 2018

Coal fired power stations could close earlier. Photo: Depositphotos.com 

Economic affairs minister Eric Wiebes may consider closing one or more coal fired power stations earlier than planned to comply with CO2 reduction goals, broadcaster NOS reported on Thursday. 

During a debate on Dutch plans to combat climate change late on Wednesday night, the minister admitted for the first time that the Netherlands is unlikely to reach the official target of cutting emissions by 25% compared to 1990 in two years time. 

Experts say the government’s present climate policy will not lower CO2 emissions by more than 23%. That means some 4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions remain unaccounted for. 

The early closure of, for example, the coal-fired power station in Amsterdam, which is planned for 2024, would be good for some 3 million tonnes. 

The closure would form part of a package of additional measures which the minister said would be put in place next year, depending on the results of a new report on emission levels by Netherlands environmental assessment agency PBL due in January. 

Five plants 

The Netherlands currently has five coal-fired power stations, of which the three biggest and most polluting are in Rotterdam and the Eemshaven. The cabinet will shortly come up with a proposal for the closure of all five by 2030.

Last month, appeal court judges ordered the Dutch state to step up efforts to cut CO2 emissions in a case brought by campaign group Urgenda. 

The state appealed against a decision three years ago that required it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% of 1990 levels by 2020. It was the first time a court had ruled that a national government was legally bound to follow through on promises made in international climate agreements.

IJmuiden may be home to new hydrogen plant

DutchNews, October 18, 2018

Storm clouds over Tata Steel in IJmuiden? Photo: Depositphotos.com

 Amsterdam’s port authority, Tata Steel and former AkzoNobel chemical division Nouryon are planning to build a hydrogen plant on the site of the Tata industrial complex in IJmuiden, Dutch media report. 

The final decision will be taken in 2021 and building will take another two to three years. 

The plant will produce 15,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year which Tata will use to produce steel in a cleaner and more sustainable way. 

The move would reduce CO2 emissions by Tata by 350,000 tonnes which equals the CO2 emissions of 40,000 households. At the moment, Tata produces 6 mega tonnes of CO2, which makes it one of the most polluting industrial complexes in the Netherlands, only topped by the coal-fired plant in the Eemshaven. 

Sustainable energy

The use of hydrogen is seen as another important part of efforts to develop sustainable energy sources, alongside solar and wind power, broadcaster NOS said. It will be used as a cleaner alternative for industry and may also be considered as a substitute for the present Dutch dependence on gas to heat homes. 

According to NOS, Nouryon has experience with the use of hydrogen in homes but on a much smaller scale than would be necessary. The government wants the use of gas to be phased out by 2030. 

The announcement comes ‘at an auspicious moment’, NH Nieuws writes. Locals living in the vicinity of the Tata complex mounted a vigorous protest against the steel producer on Wednesday because, they claim, it is responsible for the thick layer of graphite covering their homes.

'Hambi stays!': Thousands join German forest demo in anti-coal battle

Yahoo – AFP, Michelle FITZPATRICK, October 6, 2018

A banner reads "Hambi for Bambi" as thousands of demonstrators gather to celebrate
 the suspension of the planned razing of the forest in what they dubbed the region's
"biggest-ever anti-coal rally" (AFP Photo/SASCHA SCHUERMANN)

Buir (Germany) (AFP) - Thousands of anti-coal demonstrators descended on Germany's Hambach forest Saturday, celebrating an unexpected court victory that suspended an energy company's planned razing of the woodland to expand a giant open-cast mine.

The ancient forest near Cologne has been occupied by activists for the past six years and become a symbol of resistance against coal energy in Germany, a country that despite its green reputation remains heavily reliant on this dirtiest of fossil fuels.

Basking in early autumn sunshine, young people, families and pensioners flocked to a field next to Hambach forest, a day after a court in Muenster said it needed more time to consider an environmental complaint against RWE's upcoming clearing operations.

Organisers said 50,000 people had turned out for what they called the region's "biggest-ever anti-coal rally". Police however did not confirm the figure.

Chanting "Hambi bleibt!" (Hambi stays) and cheering loudly, the crowd listened to live music and speeches in a festival-like atmosphere.

Many held up banners and balloons demanding an immediate exit from coal energy.

"The mood is great," said Greenpeace spokeswoman Gesche Juergens, welcoming "the strong signal" sent by the court.

"But it's only a first step. The battle goes on to start phasing out coal."

The forest's days had appeared numbered after its owner RWE announced plans to clear half of the remaining 200 hectares (500 acres) from October 15 to expand its massive nearby open-pit coal mine.

Stop coal - RWE hands off Hambi" reads a poster close to the forest, whose days 

had appeared numbered before a court ruling which prompted a Greenpeace 

spokeswoman to hail what she termed a first step in the battle to phase out

coal (AFP Photo/SASCHA SCHUERMANN)

Police last month began dismantling activists' treehouses in a forced eviction that took nearly three weeks and fanned public sympathy for the activists' cause.

Tragedy struck when a freelance journalist covering the evictions died on September 19 after falling through a walkway suspended between two trees.

Demonstrators at the rally held a moment's silence in honour of the victim, Steffen Meyns.

Saved by a bat

RWE on Friday said it believed a final judgement in the court case could take until late 2020, sending its share price plunging -- the mention of which was greeted with loud applause at the demo.

The energy firm has long argued that the expansion of Hambach mine in Germany's industrial heartland of North Rhine-Westphalia state is necessary to fuel coal-fired power plants in the region -- which are among the most polluting in the European Union.

But judges said RWE had not sufficiently proved that renewed logging was urgently needed to ensure energy supply.

The plaintiffs in the case, environmental group BUND, meanwhile are arguing that the forest is home to rare species like Bechstein's bat and therefore qualifies as a protected area under EU legislation.

The fight has taken on fresh urgency as it comes just as a government-appointed coal committee is discussing an end-date for coal in a bid to combat climate change.

Germany gets around 40 percent of its energy from coal, contributing significantly to the country's carbon dioxide emissions and undermining Chancellor Angela Merkel's role as a leading advocate of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Activists have occupied the ancient forest for six years, their protest a symbol of 

opposition to dirty coal, and they had cause to celebrate -- the graffiti reads Hambi 

stays -- after a court suspended razing of the woodland (AFP Photo/Patrik STOLLARZ)

'They can't keep us down'

Buoyed by the court's temporary reprieve, demonstrators said they were hopeful Hambach forest could be saved.

"I have faith. So much can happen in two years' time, they'll have no choice but to keep the forest," said 43-year-old teacher Julia.

"I hope so," her son Arne, 10, chimed in.

But forest occupiers were more muted in their celebrations, saying it had been a bitter experience to watch police tear down more than 80 treehouses they had built with their bare hands.

"It's a double feeling," said Musel, a dreadlocked man in his early 50s who was twice dragged out of the trees by police and even wrapped himself in barbed wire.

"The court's decision is a step in the right direction... but the people who have lived here for years are traumatised."

But he added that the activists were unbowed, and that the rebuilding had already begun.

"The first hammocks are already back up," he smiled.

"They can't keep us down."

At the edge of the forest, demonstrators paused to take in the sweeping view of RWE's open-pit mine.

Two coal plants in the distance were belching clouds of smoke into the sky, while dozens of wind turbines dotted the horizon.

"One is the future, the other is the past," mused 40-year-old local resident Benjamin.

Anti-coal demonstrators gather at Hambach forest in Germany, celebrating an unexpected court decision that has temporarily suspended an energy company's plan to raze the woodland in search for coalhttps://t.co/p4OnBbcaVC pic.twitter.com/7m7WYj7aU8

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 6, 2018

Chernobyl begins new life as solar power park

Yahoo – AFP, October 5, 2018

New solar panels at the site of the closed Chernobyl power plant, scene of the
world's worst nuclear disaster (AFP Photo/Genya SAVILOV)

Chernobyl (Ukraine) (AFP) - Ukraine launched Friday a park of photovoltaic panels at the former Chernobyl power plant as the country seeks to use solar power to give the scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster a new lease on life.

The 1 million-euro ($1.2-million), one-megawatt plant is located just a hundred metres (yards) from a giant metal dome sealing the remains of the the nuclear power plant which suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986.

"Today we are connecting the station to the power system of Ukraine," Yevgen Varyagin, the head of Solar Chernobyl, a Ukrainian-German company behind the project, said at the launch ceremony.

The facility, which is installed across an area of 1.6 hectares (4 acres), can power a medium-sized village, or about 2,000 households.

Plans are to eventually produce 100 megawatts at the site, which due to contamination from radiation cannot be used for farming.

Ukrainian authorities have offered investors nearly 2,500 hectares to construct solar panels, and beside the cheap price of the land the site is also attractive as it offers connections to the power grid.

Solar will give a new lease on life to the contaminated site, as well as diversify 

Ukraine's power sources (AFP Photo/Genya SAVILOV)

Foreign investors are attracted by the price at which Ukraine will buy the solar power, which exceeds the European average by 50 percent, according to experts.

Ukraine, which has stopped buying natural gas from Russia in the last few years, aims to diversify its electricity generation.

Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl plant exploded April 26, 1986 and the fallout contaminated up to three quarters of Europe, according to some estimates, especially hitting Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Following the disaster, Soviet authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and the vast territory -- over 2,000 square kilometres wide -- has remained abandoned.

The other reactors were only gradually shut down, with the last closing in 2000, ending industrial activity in the area.

Humans cannot return to live in the zone for another 24,000 years, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Canada relaunches pipeline talks with indigenous tribes

Yahoo – AFP, October 3, 2018

Harriet Prince (R) of the Canada's Anishinaabe tribe demonstrates in March 2018 with
 environmental activists opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline project in Burnaby,
British Columbia, Canada (AFP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's resources minister said Wednesday Ottawa was relaunching consultations with indigenous groups on the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Pacific after a court ruled the tribes get a say in the multi-billion dollar project.

"We believe that we can and must move forward with engaging in a meaningful and focused consultation with indigenous groups on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project," Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi told a press conference.

And so the government, he said, will "reinitiate (those) consultations with indigenous groups impacted by the project."

The minister added that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government -- which has made reconciliation with Canada's indigenous peoples a priority -- would seek to "dialogue and listen carefully to the concerns of indigenous peoples and offer accommodation if accommodation is possible."

Sohi also said the government will not appeal the court ruling affirming the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples to be consulted on commercial projects on their traditional lands.

Trudeau, speaking to reporters outside parliament, said an appeal was off the table because it "would take another few years before we could begin construction."

"We feel the blueprint the court laid out for (Trans Mountain) will allow us to get things done quicker and get our resources to new markets other than the United States in a more rapid fashion," he said.

The 1,150-kilometer (715-mile) pipeline was to move 890,000 barrels of oil a day from landlocked Alberta province to the Pacific coast for export, replacing a smaller crumbling conduit built in 1953.

The Trudeau administration approved the project in 2016 after an environmental review, saying it was in the "national interest" as it would help ease Canada's reliance on the US market and get a better price for its crude oil.

But the planned pipeline has faced stiff opposition from environmentalists and indigenous tribes worried that increased shipping from a marine terminal at the end of the route in Vancouver would impede the recovery of killer whale populations in the area.

Ottawa stepped in to buy the project for Can$4.5 billion (US$3.5 billion), effectively nationalising it in a bid to bring a swift end to legal challenges and illegal protests at construction sites.

But the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the government must take a second look at the project, taking greater care to consult with indigenous tribes and consider marine traffic impacts.

Last month, Sohi sent the file back to the National Energy Board for reassessment, taking into account the impact of increased tanker traffic on endangered killer whales along the coast.

Once that review and indigenous consultations are concluded Trudeau's cabinet would have to decide again whether to greenlight the project.

Austrian fruit grower jailed over bee deaths

Yahoo – AFP, September 26, 2018

More than 50 colonies of bees perished when a 47-year-old man spread a powerful
 insecticide over his trees in the Lavanttal area of Carinthia province, at a time when
their blossoms were still attracting bees (AFP Photo/SYLVAIN THOMAS)

Vienna (AFP) - An Austria fruit grower was handed a rare prison sentence Wednesday for having illegally spread an insecticide which led to the deaths of dozens of neighbouring bee colonies.

The 47-year-old man had spread a powerful insecticide called chlorpyrifos over his trees in the Lavanttal area of Carinthia province, at a time when their blossoms were still attracting bees.

More than 50 colonies belonging to two neighbouring apiarists perished.

The court in the city of Klagenfurt found the fruit grower guilty of "deliberately damaging the environment", pointing to his experience and role in training others in his field as evidence that he knew the consequences of his actions.

He was sentenced to a year in prison, of which four months will be without probation. Ordeer to pay more than 20,000 euros ($23,500) in compensation, he said he will appeal.

The court said it hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent and to remind others that the "use of pesticides needs to strike a balance between the environment and economics".

The widespread use of pesticides has been blamed for a steep rise in deaths among bees and other pollinating insects. In April the EU voted to outlaw the use of certain pesticides from the neonicotinoid family blamed for killing off bee populations.

Dutch firm to recycle babies’ nappies to produce sustainable energy

DutchNews, September 18, 2018 

Waste processing plant ARN is building a separate facility for recycling babies’ nappies in an initiative supported by 8 local councils in the Nijmegen region. 

Babies use around 5,000 nappies until they are potty trained, with half a million nappy wearing children each year, sustainability advisor Milieu Centraal has calculated. More elderly are people are using incontinence pads as well. 

The process involves placing the nappies in a reactor which reaches temperature of up to 250 degrees at high pressure. ‘The nappies, including their contents of urine and faecal matter, become liquid and separate into different materials,’ process developer and patent holder Willem Elsinga told broadcaster NOS. 

‘The high temperature gets rid of the bacteria, traces of medication and viruses so all the products we make from the diapers will be safe. Otherwise we couldn’t sell them,’ the broadcaster quotes him as saying. 

The plant will turn the diapers into four products: green gas, plastics, fertiliser and biomass, which Elsinga says, can be used as an alternative for coal to fire coal plants. 

An earlier initiative to recycle diapers in Arnhem ten years ago failed. According to Elsinga that experiment came too early. ‘Everything has to be right: enough diapers, affordable technology and a market that is ready for the products at the end of the line.’ 

But now local councils are trying to reduce the amount of left-over waste after traditional glass, paper and plastics recycling. ‘We are producing between 150 and 200 kilos of residual waste per head of the population and local councils are keen on separate waste collection. This sort of thing fits in perfectly,’ Elsinga told NOS. 

If all goes according to plan, the new plant will come into operation in December.

Fed-up with a growing mountain of stinking disposable nappies, a Dutch firm has started building the country's first recycling plant to turn poo into profit https://t.co/B7ettpjAZQ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 18, 2018