Environment

28 Sep 2021; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi yesterday inaugurated the world's largest wastewater treatment plant.

The Egyptian presidency said in a statement that 20 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.14 billion) were spent on building and preparing the facility, adding that it has a production capacity of 5.6 million cubic metres a day.

Water from the Bahr Al-Baqar plant will be transferred to North Sinai and used to irrigate 476,000 feddans (494 acres) of land.

REYKJAVIK , Iceland (AP) — Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming.

All nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation’s Parliament, or Althing, acknowledge global warming as a force of change in a sub-Arctic landscape.

22 Sep 2021; MEMO: President Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that the Paris climate agreement would be presented to the Turkish parliament for approval next month, which would make it the last G20 country to ratify the deal, Reuters reports.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Erdogan said Turkey had not ratified the deal due to injustices regarding responsibilities.

"Following the distance covered in this framework, I want to announce the decision we have taken to the world from here," he said.

Pune, Sep 21 (PTI) The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has indigenously developed a charger for electric vehicles to give a push to the EV ecosystem in the country, as per a statement.

ARAI Director Reji Mathai said to promote EVs, infrastructure for charging is important and since the mobility chargers are imported, the association's focus is to develop these indigenously, which will be cost-effective and boost the local economy.

19 Sep 2021; MEMO: Mediterranean nations must lead the way in addressing climate change, the Greek prime minister said, warning that the cost of doing nothing was unimaginable, with mankind possibly struggling to survive beyond the turn of the next century, reports Reuters.

New Delhi, Sep 13 (PTI) US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on Monday met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and discussed issues relating to "climate action".

"Good to see @ClimateEnvoy John Kerry. Continued our discussions on climate action and climate justice," Jaishankar tweeted.

Kerry is on a two-day visit to India, ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasglow in November.

10 Sep 2021; MEMO: The UAE's Barakah nuclear power station began operating its second reactor, the Abu Dhabi government media office said today, after the first reactor started commercial operations in April.

When completed Barakah, which is being built by a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), will have four reactors with a total capacity of 5,600 megawatts (MW), equivalent to about 25 per cent of the UAE's peak demand.

Kochi, Sep 6 (PTI) The Lakshadweep administration has launched a programme to turn its nine inhabited islands into a hub of seaweed cultivation, officials said here on Monday.

Prioritising seaweed farming as the driver of development of the islands, the administration, with the technical support of the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), held a demonstration on farming seaweed on the nine islands, a press release from the institute said.

Kanpur: Researchers of both the The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, are conducting a study to find out the appropriate policy instruments that can help the country to reduce lead pollution.

The problem of lead recycling harms not only the mental and physical health of people but also contaminates the environment.

The lead-acid batteries in a fashion causes spillage of acid and lead dust in the soil and surroundings. The melting in open furnaces release poisonous gases into the air.

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the "country's first smog tower" at Connaught Place in Delhi on Monday and said it will prove to be a milestone and many such structures can be installed in the city if the pilot project yields results.

He also said that the concentration of PM2.5 has reduced from 150 micrograms per cubic metre to 100 g/m and that of PM10 has dipped from 300 g/m to 150 g/m in the national capital since 2014 due to the efforts made in the last few years.