After five years in the Algerian capital, the SIEE Pollutec, the International Exhibition of Water Equipment, Technologies and Services will be held in Oran, some 300km to the west of Alger.

With annual production of about 420 million kWh of green electricity in 2009, the wind power group WEB is the largest producer of wind energy in Austria. In October, WEB launched a share issue and, in November, Austria's first wind power loan.

The European Commission is pursuing infringement proceedings against five Member States that failed to comply with the EU's air quality standards for dangerous airborne particles known as PM10. These particles, emitted mainly by industry, traffic and domestic heating, can cause asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death. Slovenia and Sweden are being referred to the European Court of Justice, while final written warnings have been sent to Cyprus, Portugal and Spain. In a separate case, Bulgaria is receiving a final written warning over its failure to control concentration levels of sulphur dioxide.

A new report funded by the European Commission makes a strong case for integrating biodiversity into private sector business plans and core activities around the globe. The report reveals considerable recent growth in eco-certified products and services, growing consumer concerns for sustainable production, and shows how biodiversity can provide a substantial business opportunity in a market that could be worth US$ 2-6 trillion by 2050. It makes seven key recommendations for businesses, and calls on accounting professions and financial reporting bodies to develop common standards to assess biodiversity impacts, and develop new tools for this purpose. “TEEB for Business” will form part of the TEEB synthesis report to be launched at a meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010

The EU is on track to deliver on its Kyoto Protocol commitments for reducing or limiting emissions of greenhouse gases, the Commission's annual progress report on emissions shows. The latest projections indicate that the EU-15 will meet its 8% reduction target under Kyoto; 10 of the 12 remaining Member States of the EU have also individual commitments under the protocol. It is projected that they will reduce their emissions to 6 or 8% below base year levels. This will be achieved through a combination of policies and measures already taken, the purchase of emission credits from projects in third countries, the acquisition of allowances and credits by participants in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), and forestry activities that absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

As announced in May, EU-15 greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 - the latest year for which full data are available – were 5.0% lower than base year levels. This contrasted with economic growth of around 44% over the same period. For the EU-27 as a whole, emissions fell by 12.5% between the base year and 2007.
Additionally, the European Environment Agency estimates that in 2008 emissions from the EU-15 member states fell further, to 6.2% below their levels in the base year . EU-27 emissions are now estimated to be 13.6% lower than the base year level.
The Commission's progress report, based on the latest projections by member states, shows that existing policies and measures – those already implemented – are expected to reduce EU-15 emissions to 6.9% below base year levels in the commitment period 2008-2012.
Plans by 10 of the EU-15 member states to buy credits from emission-saving projects carried out in third countries under Kyoto’s three market-based mechanisms – international emissions trading, the Clean Development Mechanism and the Joint Implementation instrument - would bring a further reduction of 2.2%.This would take the overall reduction to around 9.0% 3 and thus over-deliver on the EU's Kyoto commitment. Acquisition of allowances and credits by EU ETS operators is expected to deliver a further 1.4% reduction.
Planned afforestation and reforestation activities, which create biological 'sinks' that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, would contribute an additional cut of 1.0%.
Additional policies and measures under discussion would, if fully implemented, bring further cuts of up to 1.6%. This would take the overall reduction to around 13.1%, 3 giving a broad safety margin for achieving the 8% reduction target.

All ten EU-12 member states that have a Kyoto target are projected to meet or over-achieve their Current uncertainty over the duration and severity of the economic recession, and thus its impact on emissions, could lead to the revision of projections in future once the outlook becomes clearer. Additionally, the projections of some member states may understate future emission reductions as they do not yet take account of the EU climate and energy package adopted earlier this year.
Furthermore, the methodology used to estimate the EU ETS effect needs further improvement. Robust and consistent methodologies and assumptions are needed in order to more accurately project the EU ETS effect.
GHG emission projections need to be considered in the perspective of the effective reductions already achieved, which amounted to -9% for the EU-27 and -4% for the EU-15 between 1990 and 2007. Therefore, reduction efforts will need to accelerate substantially across the EU in the future if it is to meet its -20% or -30% target by 2020.

The German federal government hopes to give an extra boost to the negotiations at the climate conference in Mexico City by organising its own conference for ministers of the environment from 40 to 50 countries.

Alliance, the local government network in the Alps, has launched a new action programme.

Companies from the UK, Belgium, Germany and Spain have won the 2010 European Business Awards for the Environment. The winners were announced by European Environment CommissionerJanez Potočnik at an awards ceremony during the annual Green Week conference in Brussels. The awards recognise “the best of the best” businesses that have already succeeded in competitions at national level.

The European Parliament wants to increase investment in low-carbon energy generation techniques. A resolution approved by MEPs on 11 March states that the European Union should invest a minimum of 2 billion euros a year in low-carbon-emission technologies, according to the information gathered by the research and development agency Cordis. Moreover, the MEPs believe that additional funds from other public and private sources will be needed for the European Union to achieve its climate-change protection goals by 2020.

The resolution on investment in the development of low-carbon technologies, known as the Strategic Energy Technology Plan, was passed in a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg by 444 votes for, 88 against, and 32 abstentions. The European Commission also published a press release saying that the EU is about to exceed its goal to generate 20% of energy used from renewable sources. According to the press release, 10 of the 27 member states will probably exceed their targets, and 12 will meet them

The 18th World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC 2010) which took place from 16-21 May, transformed the town of Essen into a world capital for fuel cells and the hydrogen industry. The conference, which aimed to lay the foundations for the development of hydrogen as an energy source, was supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. At the same time, the conference was a shop window for German industry in the fuel cell and hydrogen-related sectors, under the aegis of the federal program for fuel cell innovation. WHEC 2010 was organised by the Energy Agency of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. During the final press conference on 20 May, Christa Thoben, minister for the economy, noted that huge progress had been achieved, although there were still challenges ahead. In many areas, the technology has almost reached the point where it can be put on the market. The car industry predicts the arrival of fuel-cell powered cars at a reasonable price in 2015. Now, the priority is the construction of the huge infrastructure needed to exploit hydrogen as a fuel, said the minister. At WHEC 2010 the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia launched a joint project. The aim of the project is to road test four German-built articulated buses, using the Triple-Hybrid-System. Two will be put into public service in North Rhine-Westphalia and the other two in the Netherlands, on popular routes.

Minerals and Aggregates may be just crushed stone, sand and gravel to some… to us, they are the basis of the buildings we live in, the roads we drive on and the products we buy. They are the basis of important business and many jobs…and in Europe we certainly appreciate their value, underlined Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment. And we see how they fit into the global biodiversity puzzle – it is pleasing to see that from all that you do, that you see it too.Of course the work on European biodiversity policy started well before my mandate as Environment Commissioner, but there has been some recent and positive movement after the disappointment of missing the 2010 target we set ourselves. Last month, EU Environment Ministers agreed on a new EU vision and target for biodiversity for the post-2010 period. The vision and target were subsequently endorsed by the European Council, who spoke publicly of the urgent need to reverse continuing trends of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.This is ambitious policy making. It calls on the EU to halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services by 2020 - and not just halting the loss either, but also wherever possible, restoring. And at the same time, stepping up the EU contribution at a global level.There is a saying that you shouldn't 'throw good money after bad'. Using this kind of logic, some have questioned the decision to increase our ambition rather than lowering it. They argue that since we have failed in 2010 we shouldn't try and reach even further. This argument is flawed. Because it is assumes we did everything in our power to reach the target, and ignores the reasons for the failure.

The German car manufacturer will supply Smart electric cars and the Spanish company will install the recharging points for businesses located in the greater Madrid area.

The environmental organisation Greenpeace has asked prime minister Zapatero to use his term as EU president to obtain an agreement with this objective.

In October, the French government will launch an initial request for proposals for 3,000 MW of offshore wind farms at a dozen “suitable sites” on the French coast. The definitive choice is expected to be made at the end of the current planning and coordination exercise run by the regional Préfets of Bretagne, Pays de la Loire, Haute-Normandie, Aquitaine et Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur at the request of the environment ministry. The exercise has been going on for several months. The projects will be chosen in the third quarter of 2011 on the basis of the proposed electricity selling price and the timetable for the start of operations at the wind farms. The Compagnie du Vent, a subsidiary of GDF Suez, has not waited for the definitive site selection to submit its proposal for a wind farm off Deux Côtes (Picardie and Haute-Normandie) to public debate. The company is proposing its favoured “Large” scenario for 140 turbines 14 km offshore, with a total capacity of 700 MW, or the equivalent of annual electricity consumption for over 900,000 people. “This would represent 12% of French offshore wind power by 2020 -- 6,000 MW -- and 4% of French targets for electricity generation from renewable sources,” says Jean-Michel Germa, chairman of Compagnie du Vent. The company is also offering two other possibilities: "Shoreline" and "Deep Ocean". The first would have 60 wind turbines 5 km from the coast with total output of 300 MW, the second 320 turbines 25 km from the coast, with capacity of 1,600 MW. The public debate has only just started and will continue until 10 September. It looks as if it could be lively.

Gävle has won the 2009 European Mobility Week Award. The Swedish coastal city was judged by an independent panel of experts to have done the most to promote clean mobility initiatives during European Mobility Week 2009. Leon in Spain and the Croatian city of Ivanic-Grad were runners-up. The awards were presented by Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik at a ceremony in Brussels tonight.

The FLEGT agreements are intended to fight illegal logging and trade in wood. Illegal logging has a devastating impact on some of the world's most valuable remaining forests and on the people that live in them and rely on the resources they provide. Its environmental effects include deforestation, the loss of biodiversity and the emission of greenhouse gases. Illegal logging also promotes corruption, undermines the rule of law and good governance, and in some places has financed armed conflict.

The significance given by the state and the European Union to sustainable development and the motives set for green actions and behaviors raising amazingly the interest of the Local Administrations, the business and the citizens for environmental technologies.

In mid-June the Greater Lyons local authority and the publicly funded local development organisation “Lyons Confluence” will sign an agreement with the WWF. The new urban area, at the end of the Lyons isthmus, and its environment will become the first “sustainable” urban zone in France to be endorsed by the WWF.

Faced with only 2,000 current applications for 9,200 chemical substances, the Ministry of Ecology has recognised the inertia of businesses with regard to the first obligatory registration procedure for REACH and launched a support plan for SMEs with a budget of 630,000 euros.

WWF believes that the problem of fresh water for nature and agriculture is constantly growing. The Netherlands are not alone in having to face the problem of water shortages more often. River water must be managed differently, in order to maintain reasonable water supplies for the future. In the Netherlands, water from the Rhine and the Meuse is used extensively to counter the pressure of salt water from the North Sea which reaches the river via Rotterdam. The hydric footprint of a tulip is illuminating :the engineering consultancy DHV has calculated it on behalf of WWF. Normally, 260 litres of water are needed to cultivate a kilo of tulip bulbs, but in drought conditions up to fourteen times as much river water is needed to supply enough water to tulip-growing areas (in southern Holland, north-west of Leyden). In practice, this same kilo of tulip bulbs uses about 3,600 litres of water. WWF would like certain regions to use more brackish water sometimes. Fresh water can then be used more profitably for nature and agriculture. For users in the western Netherlands -- such as bulb growers -- water can simply be pumped from the river a bit further inland than it currently is, and reach users via channels and streams.

Intel Labs has developed a new technology to measure air quality. These sensors could be used in smartphones in future, predicts an Intel researcher.

The principle of recycling is creating sparks in the international circuitry of electronic appliances. The recycling industry in the Netherlands and other European countries is trying to extract as much electronic waste from spare parts and primary materials as possible.

Representatives of almost 170 countries took part in a meeting in Germany to prepare the UN climate conference which will be held in Cancún, Mexico, at the end of November.

The preliminary results of tests of a new concrete road surface which cleans the air suggest that a new road surface can considerably improve air purity on the roads. “This concrete decreases the concentration of nitrogen monoxide (NOx) by 25 to 45%,” Jos Brouwers of the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e) recently explained in his inaugural lecture.

The European Commission has published in early October new guidelines to clarify rules for extractive industries in protected natural areas. As demand for precious raw materials grows, access to land available for mineral extraction in the EU is becoming ever more important. Some minerals are found on land within Natura 2000, the EU's network of protected natural areas, and the new guidelines explain the procedures to be followed in such cases. The economic implications are high. The industry in question has a turnover of around €49 billion and provides employment for more than a quarter of a million citizens. Natura 2000 is a crucial tool in the fight against biodiversity loss, and it does not exclude human activities. On the contrary it is a flexible scheme that allows mining and quarrying provided they are sustainable in all respects, and are carried out without compromising the integrity of the network.

The European Commission adopted a Green Paper, which sets out options for a European Union approach to the protection of forests and to information about forest resources and their condition. Responses to the Green Paper from the public, Member States, EU institutions and other stakeholders will guide the Commission on whether additional action is needed at EU level.
The Green Paper sets out the main challenges facing Europe's forests. It presents existing forest information systems and the tools available to protect forests, and raises a series of questions relevant to the development of future policy options. The paper is part of the follow-up to the White Paper on adapting to climate change adopted by the Commission in April 2009. The average temperature in Europe has risen by almost 1°C during the past century and the most optimistic projection sees an increase of 2°C by 2100. This rapid rate of manmade climate change is overwhelming the natural ability of ecosystems to adapt. It will alter the suitability of whole regions for certain forest types, forcing a shift in the natural distribution of tree species and leading to changes in the growth of existing forest stands. Extreme events such as storms, forest fires, droughts and heat waves are expected to become much more common and/or severe, thus adding to pressure on forests.

According to a statement by the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Protection (BUND) on the opportunities and risks of nanotechnology, the FDP parliamentary group’s environmental expert Lutz Knopek has stated: “Nanotechnology is a key technology of primary importance. The BUND is completely misleading itself if it denies the potential of nanotechnology. We cannot miss the opportunities offered by nanotechnology. This is an area where Germany is amongst the leading nations in terms of research and development. We must not endanger this leading position by hesitating.”

New rules to prevent illegal timber being sold on the European market have come into force across the EU. The legislation will strengthen efforts to halt illegal logging which causes serious environmental damage and biodiversity loss and undermines the efforts of those trying to manage forests responsibly. The Regulation, which was first proposed by the Commission in 2008, was adopted by the EU last month and will apply in all Member States from March 2013.

The regional climate offices of Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft have jointly developed a climate atlas for Germany covering possible changes in the region caused by global warming.

The largest solar-powered boat in the world, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, has arrived in the Mediterranean and docked on the Spanish coast. After having successfully completed its first lengthy trial voyage from Kiel in Germany, the solar catamaran is preparing itself for its first circumnavigation of the world using solar power.

Members of the EU are obliged to implement European environmental directives in national law. If they do not do so they may be condemned by the European Court of Justice. However, the transposition and application of these directives by individual member states runs up against all kinds of problems, as shown by Barbara Beijen in her thesis. She studied ten environmental directives in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, countries where much attention is paid to the environment compared to other member states.

On 4, 5 and 6 November, the Portuguese town of Coimbra will host the International Congress on Environmental Health (CISA2010) at Coimbra's College of Health Technology. The event is organised jointly by the Environmental Health Department at the College, the Environmental Health departments at Lisbon and Oporto, and the College of Health at Beja.

New EU legislation adopted this month will bring down industrial emissions from large combustion plants across the EU, bringing several environmental and health benefits to Europe's citizens, like an expected reduction in premature deaths of 13,000 per year. The stricter legislation on industrial emissions was proposed by the European Commission in December 2007. The new rules will also lead to significant savings through the reduction of administrative burden and provide a more level playing field for industry. EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: “The vote by the Council to adopt the new Directive on industrial emissions is a milestone in industrial pollution control in the European Union. It will help ensure the level of protection from industrial pollution that EU citizens deserve. It will substantially strengthen the current legal framework further reducing air and other environmental pollution and become an important driver for eco-innovation.”

Companies must register the most widely used or most dangerous chemicals by the deadline of 30 November this year. Registration is one of the milestones of REACH, the EU Regulation on chemicals and their safe use Companies are also reminded that they must notify the Classification and Labelling of their chemicals to European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) by 3 January next year.

The textile industry needs a lot of water, in both pre-dying procedures and subsequent finishing treatments : overall, 100-150m3 are needed for each tonne of cloth treated.

Barcelona, Malmö, Nantes, Nuremberg, Reykjavík and Vitoria-Gasteiz have been shortlisted by the European Green Capital Award evaluation panel as finalists in the contest for this prestigious environmental honour.

The 2010 Pierre Potier prize, which recognises environmental initiatives by chemists, has selected five projects out of the 32 examined.

The European Commission presented in late December 2010 draft legislation to strengthen rules on the control of major accident hazards involving chemicals. The revision of the so-called Seveso II Directive will align the legislation to changes in EU chemicals law and will clarify and update other provisions. This includes introducing stricter inspection standards and improving the level and quality of information available to the public in the event of an accident. The new Directive should apply from 1 June 2015.

The Why Factory is an international think tank for urban development and a research institute at the Dutch technical university TU Delft/MVDRV. It was inspired by Professor Winy Maas who hopes to raise the level of debate in architecture and urban development. The Why Factory has already published Visionary Cities, a bible for visionary architects.