03 novembre 2007
Greek officials protest garbage flood from Bulgaria
SALONIKA (AFP) — Officials and ecologists in northern Greece were in an uproar after garbage from neighbouring Bulgaria flooded into protected wetlands following heavy rains, a local activist said Friday.
"Most of the discarded plastic containers have Bulgarian labels," said Stavros Daglis, head of the Ecological Action Group in the city of Drama.
In a letter sent Monday to the Bulgarian consul in the city of Salonika, the mayor of Kato Nevrokopi said "massive" quantities of waste from households and industry were swept into the Nestos River on October 22 and 23.
"This is the fourth time this has happened ... and we just completed a costly cleanup from waste coming from your country last year," Mayor Vassilis Yiannopoulos wrote.
"Obviously the garbage was swept from disorganised (Bulgarian) landfills after the heavy rains that fell recently," he said.
The Nestos River delta and adjoining lagoons, which extend over a 21,930-hectare (54,190-acre) area, are protected wetlands.
"We cannot have the Nestos turning into a garbage dump every time it rains," Drama prefect Costas Evmoiridis told the regional Makedonia daily.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iI0H7eZjSnEtcSnkgGSll0Vp4O-g
01 novembre 2007
Violation of Rila is Outrage against Life
Violation of Rila Mountain is outrage against life, because the aggressive constructions disturb not only the biodiversity, but also waters, used by big part of the nation.
This was stated by Vania Boneva, one of the organizers of today's youth protest in street theatre form on ‘Slaveykov' square, next to Environmental Ministry.
The young people played scene, which took place a couple of days ago in Panichishte in Rila - protesting youth were beaten by local musclemen in the silent presence of the police.
Violation of human rights - of health an life, of free movement and expressing of opinion happens all the time on the territory of Sapareva Bania (Rila's foot), stated Polina Vasileva, another organized of the protest.
The access to common structural plan was refused to NGO's. We were prevented from participation of public discussion for this territory of National Park Rila, nature-protectors explained.
They are warned that despite of the established disturbances by Ministry of Environment and Waters, the construction sides are making progress and threaten the brightest symbols of Bulgarian nature and spirituality - the Seventh Rila Lakes.
http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_2056312625
31 octobre 2007
Dnevnik: Resorts vs. Natura – 1:0
| 31 October 2007 | 06:38 | FOCUS News Agency |
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Sofia. Last week the biodiversity council to the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment rejected the proposal for Rila – Buffer zone to enter Natura 2000, Dnevnik daily reports. The council also cut the range of areas around Kaliakra and Irakli that are included in the ecological network. The scientific explanations that are the only ones to urge such decisions, according to the European Commission remained unclear. Memories of major investment projects planned in these zones linger on. Excluding the Rila – Buffer leaves an area of 1.05 million ha out. According to Yordan Dardov, deputy environment minister, the ruling out of the zone strips Natura 2000 only by 0.6% of the species, but biologists say the zone is a habitat for a number of species which are prioritized according to the EU directive. |
28 octobre 2007
EU cuts industrial carbon emissions quota
(Reuters) European industry will have to emit 10% less CO2 than governments had wanted from 2008-12, after the European Commission tried to put the bloc back on track to meet its Kyoto targets on Friday. Industry got too many emissions permits in the first trading period of Europe's carbon trading scheme from 2005-07, harming the credibility of Europe's flagship weapon against climate change and heaping pressure on the EC. Many EU states are well behind their binding, 2012 greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, notably Spain, Portugal and Italy.
The Commission only accepted proposed emissions quotas for the next phase of the scheme, from 2008-12, for Britain, France, Slovenia and Denmark, in an approval process which started last year and ended on Friday with the last two decisions, to cut emissions for Bulgaria and Romania.
"We have assured a robust market with real emission reductions which will constitute an important contribution to meeting our Kyoto target," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement.
National governments had tabled requests for 2.3 billion tons, 12 percent more than the final quota of 2.1 billion. The EU scheme is meant to give industry a shortage of permits to emit the planet-warming CO2, and is being closely watched in the United States where senators have tabled proposals to introduce a carbon market. This time the EC has got it about right, analysts say, estimating a shortage of permits equivalent to about 250 Mton of CO2 emissions per year from 2008-12.
Companies have to buy extra emissions permits if they bust their quota, and power companies pass this cost on to consumers. In that way the scheme has raised power prices for everyone in Europe, from industry to individuals.
BATTLE
But the troubles for Europe's trading scheme are not over. At least seven member states have said they will appeal against the Commission: Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Latvia. Bulgaria said on Friday it could join that list, after a 37 percent cut in its quota, while Romania wouldn't rule that out.
"It's premature to say whether we will challenge the Commission's decision in court," Romania's Environment Minister Attila Korodi told Reuters by telephone.
"This is a major reduction in our emission plans," he said, referring to a 21-percent cut.
In other problems, Europe's power companies have passed on to electricity consumers the cost of emissions permits they get for free, and will earn 20 billion euros ($28.74 billion) in windfall profits annually as a result, analysts say, a practice attracting mounting criticism.
Businesses can make up the expected shortfall in EU permits either by buying carbon offsets from developing countries, under a Kyoto Protocol trading scheme, or cutting their own emissions.
Uncertainty about these costs has left analysts unsure about the future price of EU permits, also called EU allowances (EUAs), with price forecasts ranging from 20 to 40 euros.
EUAs for 2008 delivery were trading at 22.9 euros in early afternoon trading on the European Climate Exchange on Friday, up 7 cents on Thursday's close.
The EC on Friday also confirmed it would link its trading scheme with similar systems in three non-EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, but did not specify when.
http://community.newvalues.net/2007/10/eu_cuts_industrial_carbon_emis.html
New 46 Zones in Natura 2000
New 46 zones of Bulgaria territory become part of the European ecological net Natura 2000. This was announced after a conference of the National Committee for Biodiversity.
33.8% of Bulgarian territory is in the borders of Natura 2000, but that doesn't exclude the threat of punishment procedure, which EC may start against Bulgaria.
Irina Mateeva, from Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), says the way Government treats the problem with Via Pontica over cape Kaliakra is not serious and will lead to punishment procedure.
On today's conference the Committee for Biodiversity decided to put 24 of the 26 zones unchanged into Natura 2000'. The other two zones - Emine and Kaliakra are highly reduced. According to BSPB, due to investment appetites.
From "Natura 2000' also drops out the Rila mountain-buffer zone.
http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_146859515
26 octobre 2007
EU to decide on Bulgaria, Romania, German CO2 plans
BRUSSELS, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The European Commission will decide on Friday whether to approve plans laying out rights to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) by industry in Bulgaria and Romania on Friday, the EU executive said on Thursday.
The decisions will cover the 2005-2007 trading period of the European Union's emissions trading scheme as well as the second phase period, which runs from 2008-2012.
The Commission will also confirm on Friday amendments to Germany's emissions plan for the 2008-2012 trading period, it said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKBRU00606720071025
Major resort developments escape Natura catch
| 26 October 2007 | 00:09 | FOCUS News Agency |
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Sofia. The biodiversity council with the Bulgarian eco ministry Thursday rejected the proposal to include the Rila Buffer zone in the Natura 2000 network of protected wilderness sites. |
24 octobre 2007
27 settlements in Sevlievo, Gabrovo and Dryanovo without water supply
| 24 October 2007 | 07:59 | FOCUS News Agency |
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27 settlements in the districts of Sevlievo, Gabrovo and Dryanovo are left without water supply, the Ministry of State Policy for Disasters and Accidents /MSPDA/ announced to the Focus News Agency. |
23 septembre 2007
Between EUR 500million and EUR1 milliard are necessary to eradicate Kremikovtsi
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| 23 September 2007 | 11:27 | FOCUS News Agency |
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Sofia. More than 40 years on all the persons that have been in the power were acquainted with Kremikovtsi misapprehension but the company still exists, main Sofia’s architecture Petar Dikov told BNR. Everybody pretend that they can’t see problem. The expert opinion is that there will be needed between EUR 500million and EUR1 milliard to eradicate Kremikovtsi. There are investors that will give that sum if we are not an obstacle for them. Sofia may become great place for living if Kremikovtsi will be closed, Dikov stressed |
16 septembre 2007
Next week will start with sunny weather but will end with rains
| 16 September 2007 | 09:34 | FOCUS News Agency |
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Sofia. The weather on Sunday will be windy with temperate westerly and northwesterly wind. It is expected the wind to grow less intense till the end of the day. Teperatures will be lower than yesterdays – maximum temperatures 21-26 degrees Celsius, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology from Bulgarian Academy of Science told FOCUS News Agency. There will be predominated sunny weather over the state. |