Pope Francis blames 'human selfishness' for global warming

Pope Francis has blamed human selfishness for global warming in his long-awaited encyclical calling for action on climate change.

The Pope calls for a radical change in behaviour to save the planet for future generations

In the letter, he urges the rich to change their lifestyles to avert the destruction of the ecosystem.

Environmentalists hope the message will spur on nations ahead of the UN climate conference in Paris in December.

But parts of the document, leaked earlier this week, have already been criticised by some US conservatives.

It has been dismissed by two Republican presidential candidates.

Humans to blame

The encyclical, named "Laudato Si (Be Praised), On the Care of Our Common Home", aims to inspire everyone - not just Roman Catholics - to protect the Earth.

The 192-page letter, which is the highest level teaching document a pope can issue, lays much of the blame for global warming on human activities.

Pope Francis writes that: "We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.

"The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life."

The letter highlights the loss of biodiversity in Amazonian rainforests and the melting of polar glaciers

He criticises what he calls a "collective selfishness", but says that there is still time to stop the damage, calling for an end to consumerism and greed.

'Moral approach'

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi launched the pontiff's second encyclical at a news conference on Thursday.

The teaching is more evidence of a pontiff determined to act as a catalyst for change, and a powerful diplomatic player on the world stage, says the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt.

The release comes six months before international leaders gather in Paris to try to seal a deal to reduce carbon emissions.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the document, saying climate change was a "moral issue requiring respectful dialogue with all parts of society".

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Bioenergy can deliver cleaner future, says global report

A global bioenergy assessment has said biofuels could meet up to a third of the world's transportation fuel needs by the middle of the century.

Bioenergy crops, like willow, could play a key role in delivering a low carbon future, the report says

The report - involving experts from 24 nations - said bioenergy had the potential to be a key driver in delivering a low-carbon future.

It added that concerns that growth in the sector would increase food insecurities were misplaced.

The details were outlined in Brussels as part of EU Sustainable Energy Week.

The report, Bioenergy and Sustainability, was led by researchers from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil.

The authors said: "Bioenergy derived from plants can play an essential role in satisfying the world's growing energy demand, mitigating climate change, sustainably feeding a growing population, improving socio-economic equity, minimising ecological disruption and preserving biodiversity."

Energy definitions

•Biomass - biological material that can be used as a fuel or for industrial production, such as wood, plant or animal products

•Bioenergy - energy generated by combusting solid, liquid or gas fuels made from biomass        feedstocks

(Source: UK Bioenergy Strategy)

The 779-page study considered the current bioenergy landscape, technologies and practices and considered their social, economic and environmental impacts.

The publication looked at liquid biofuels, bioelectricity and heat, and biogas. It also considered areas such as energy security, food security as well as climate and environmental security.

"The resources and technologies are within our reach but achieving the critical contributions needed from modern bioenergy call for political and individual will," the authors observed.

Close scrutiny

Although it was once hailed by politicians and environmentalists as the green alternative to fossil fuels, bioenergy - particularly biofuels - has come under close scrutiny in recent years.

Questions have been raised about the level of greenhouse gas savings it delivered, especially when rainforests were being felled to allow biofuel crops to be planted instead.

Concerns were also raised about food security as people asked whether it was more profitable to plant energy crops rather than food crops on arable land.

This was reflected at a policy-making level. In 2012, the EU changed its policy on biofuels, encouraging production from waste materials rather than from food crops. It imposed a 5% cap on food-based biofuel allowed to be used in transportation fuel.

In the same year, the UN called for a renewed debate on the merits and impacts of biofuels and the CEO of a global food producer said that the growth in the global biofuels sector was increasing food prices.

However, the assessment published on Wednesday in Brussels challenged this assertion by suggesting that modern bioenergy could "help improve food security by optimising land productivity and agricultural management".

It added: "About 70-80% of food insecurity problems occur in rural [areas] where energy insecurity or energy poverty are also concentrated."

"Bioenergy can be a driver to transform the way we use resources and land," it concluded.

"Inefficiently used land, extensive pastures, degraded lands and excess agricultural capacity and residues can be used for energy production and to bring added value and resilience into agricultural economies and human wellbeing."

From BBC Science / Environment

Puffins under threat across Europe

Its black and white body and brightly-coloured bill make the puffin one of Britain's best-loved birds.

But across Europe puffins have been classified as at risk of extinction because of climate change and a lack of food.

From BBC News

Roadside verges 'last refuge for wild flowers'

More than 700 species of wild plants - almost half of the native flora of the British Isles - are found on road verges, according to a study.

Pyramidal orchid on the roadside

Many plants once found in meadows now only thrive beside roads, where they provide essential habitat for insects, says charity Plantlife International.

But it says one in 10 of the plants is at risk of extinction, in part because councils cut verges too early.

Local authorities say shorter verges are safer for drivers and pedestrians.

Dr Trevor Dines, botanical specialist for the charity, said more than 97% of meadows had been destroyed in England since the 1930s, with road verges becoming the last stretches of natural habitat for wildlife such as bees and other insects.

Road verges can be a haven for wild plants like cow parsley

"Most of our farmland is now hostile to many of our wild plants and other wildlife due to the loss of wild flower meadows and the use of herbicides and fertilisers," he told BBC News.

"The roadside verges are often the last refuge for wild flowers and the wildlife there depends on them.

"It's almost as if plants have been squeezed out of farmland and now they're being squeezed out of road verges from bad management."

The Local Government Association has said keeping road verges well-maintained means motorists have a good line of sight and allows pedestrians to walk more safely alongside busy roads.

Full flower

Around one in ten of these wild plants is threatened with extinction

Plantlife International says road verges are of particular importance to rare plants such as Deptford pink, tower mustard and spiked rampion.

They also act as wildlife corridors and provide pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and moths.

The wild plant conservation charity says many of Britain's road verges are being cut down in full flower threatening the wildflowers and the wildlife that depends on them.

It is calling on members of the public to sign a petition urging councils to do more to enhance the wildlife value of road verges.

Its management principles for road verges include:

• Allowing plants to complete their full life cycle, ie to grow, flower and set seed

• Removing grass cuttings

• Allowing flowers to return over time as they spread naturally.

Dr Dines added: "If we just give them a chance, wildflowers can return."

From BBC Science/Environment

How Arctic ozone hole was avoided by Montreal Protocol

The Antarctic ozone hole would have been 40% bigger by now if ozone-depleting chemicals had not been banned in the 1980s, according to research.

Arctic ozone without the Montreal Protocol (left) and following its implementation (right)

Models also show that at certain times, a large hole would have opened up at the other end of the globe.

The Arctic hole would have been large enough to affect northern Europe, including the UK, scientists say.

The Montreal Protocol is regarded as one of the most important global treaties in history.

It was signed in 1987 after the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic, the part of the upper atmosphere where ozone is found in high concentrations.

Ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation, preventing most of it from reaching the ground.

Concerted international action led to the signing in Montreal of a UN agreement which phased out ozone-depleting chemicals, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - once widely used in fridges and spray cans.

The new research, led by scientists at the University of Leeds, simulated what the ozone hole would have been like today if nothing had been done.

The largest hole in the ozone layer appears over Antarctica

Lead researcher, Martyn Chipperfield, said: ''We would be living in an era of having regular Arctic ozone holes.

''The Antarctic ozone hole which was discovered before 1987 would have got bigger and we would also have a fairly significant ozone depletion over mid-latitudes where there are high populations, including parts of Europe.''

Foresight

The study found that the Antarctic ozone hole would have grown in size by 40% by 2013, and the ozone layer would be thinner over middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere.

There would also have been a hole over the Arctic at times, which would have rivalled that of the Antarctic and would have affected northern Europe, including the UK.

The ozone loss would have led to increases in UV levels of about 10% in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, leading to more skin cancers, the study concludes.

Jonathan Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey is one of three Cambridge scientists who discovered the ozone hole 30 years ago this month.

He said the Montreal Protocol was the UN's most successful treaty to date and observations from the British Antarctic base were showing signs of a ''recovery'' in ozone levels.

''The protocol provides a lesson for the future and we must hope that the coming climate change talks show the same foresight and result in a treaty that will benefit the whole planet,'' said Dr Shanklin.

Since the Montreal Protocol came into force, levels of chlorine and bromine containing ozone depleting chemicals have peaked and then declined.

The new research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

From BBC Science/Environment