Global Scans · Environment · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT:? Our natural environment is under ever-increasing threat. Landscape and ocean adaptation plus stabilizing biodiversity strategies will play an important role in maintaining global food productivity as climate changes. Evidence is mounting that any economic strategy that ignores carbon pollution will impose tremendous costs on the global economy and will result in fewer jobs and less economic growth over the long term. The global market for commercial "Earth observation" data is expected to hit $3.5 billion by 2024. Battles over environmental regulation could become particularly pointed in the coming years.

• [New] Despite some legal inconsistencies, the lack of a proper infrastructure, and residual environmental problems, the NSR will remain an important priority for the Russian future strategy in the Arctic region. SpringerLink
• [New] Fossil fuel-based plastics production stands to triple by 2060, driving a plastics lifecycle that is deepening the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. The British Academy
• [New] To control environmental threats to the health of children in Latin America, WHO and PAHO should focus on the most serious threats to a greater number of children: indoor and outdoor air pollution, water pollution and toxic substances. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Although Mexico has made progress in children's environmental health, it requires a national environmental health program to prevent and mitigate the risks and damages to health generated by environmental degradation and pollution. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] The circular economy is a central feature of the EU's drive to achieve a zero-carbon economy by 2050 and is key to halting biodiversity loss and delivering zero pollution. Environment
• [New] Digitalization has the potential to significantly contribute to environmental sustainability in the USA by financing solar panel installations, promoting renewable energy sources, and monitoring environmental impacts. SpringerLink
• [New] Last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules that will require coal-fired power plants to either capture nearly all of their climate pollution or shut down by 2039. CNN
• [New] The attack surface, though shrinking in 2024, remains vast and ever-changing, as IT environments are elastic and expand or shrink based on business demands, highlighting the vulnerability of organizations with inflexible security architectures. CDW.CA
• [New] More than 200 chemical plants nationwide will be required to reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer under a new rule issued early April by the Environmental Protection Agency. Neil A Burns LLC
• [New] Researchers are hopeful that a series of new auto emissions standards that were announced last month by the Biden administration might significantly reduce some forms of particle pollution. Wired
• [New] As climate change and environmental issues pose risks to global supply chains, manufacturers are recognizing the need to build resilience by adopting sustainable practices. Digital Engineering
• [New] As the global population is expected to approach 10 billion in just three decades, the environmental impacts of agriculture - spanning deforestation, biodiversity loss, and pollution - pose critical challenges. AnyChart News
• [New] The regulatory impact analysis projects reductions of 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution overall through 2047, which is equivalent to preventing the annual emissions of 328 million gasoline cars, or to nearly an entire year of emissions from the entire U.S. electric power sector. US EPA
• [New] The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to publish a new rule that will once again ban use in all but 11 crops, which do not include brassicas. Vegetables
• Since PFNA is environmentally persistent and products containing PFNA are still in use and may be imported into the U.S., there is a substantial likelihood that environmental contamination of sources of drinking water will continue. Federal Register
• Since PFHxS is environmentally persistent and products containing PFHxS are still in use and may be imported into the United States, the EPA anticipates environmental contamination to sources of drinking water will continue. Federal Register
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing an adaptive and flexible National Primary Drinking Water Regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act to manage risks of per - and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water. Federal Register
• The European Commission is driving the development of legislation needed to tackle the potential threat of microplastics to people's health and the environment. EU Science Hub
• More than 90 countries that allied as the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution warn about the alarming acceleration of primary plastic production globally and raise scientific concerns about the adverse health impacts related to plastics to toxic chemicals. Fortune
• The environmental danger of unchecked mega constellations has the potential to impact sustainability on Earth, including the potential for satellites to damage the Earth's atmosphere upon reentry. Space Watch Africa
• The pledge of achieving carbon peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060 is a strategic decision that responds to the inherent needs of China's sustainable and high-quality development, and is an important driving force for promoting China's ecological civilization constructions. PubMed Central (PMC)
• Universal access to clean energy could help end poverty for 180 million women by 2050 and result in 6.5 million fewer deaths from indoor pollution. IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin

Last updated: 04 May 2024