Plans for coal-fired power plants drop by almost half in 2016. Image copyright Getty Images Twenty-sixteen saw a "dramatic" decline in the number of coal-fired power stations in pre-construction globally. The authors of a new study say there was a 48% fall in planned coal units, with a 62% drop in construction starts. The report, from several green campaign groups, claims changing policies and economic conditions in China and India were behind the decline. However, the coal industry argues the fuel will remain essential to economic growth in Asia for decades to come.
Between 2006 and 2016, India and China together accounted for 85% of the coal plants built around the world. But according to the Boom and Bust 2017 report, put together by Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and CoalSwarm, there has been a huge swing away from coal in these two countries in just 12 months. The main causes of the decline are the imposition of restrictive measures by China's central government - with the equivalent of 600 coal-fired units being put on hold until at least 2020.
North Korea hunger: Two in five undernourished, says UN. Image copyright Getty Images Two in five North Koreans are undernourished and more than 70% of the population relies on food aid, the United Nations says. In a new report, it said most North Koreans also lacked access to basic healthcare or sanitation. Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the two main causes of death for children under five, the report said. Humanitarian needs had been exacerbated by "recurrent natural hazards", such as frequent floods and drought.
"Amidst political tensions, an estimated 18 million people across DPRK [North Korea] continue to suffer from food insecurity and undernutrition, as well as a lack of access to basic services," the UN report said. "Furthermore, 10.5 million people, or 41% of the total population, are undernourished. " Isolated North Korea, which has a population of about 25 million, has faced significant food shortages for years. Hundreds of thousands are believed to have died during a widespread famine in the 1990s. Image copyright AFP. Superbugs which pose greatest threat to humanity identified by World Health Organisation Fifth of world's food lost to over-eating and waste. Malaria drugs fail for first time on patients in UK.
Image copyright Spl A key malaria treatment has failed for the first time in patients being treated in the UK, doctors say. The drug combination was unable to cure four patients, who had all visited Africa, in early signs the parasite is evolving resistance. A team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said it was too early to panic. But it warned things could suddenly get worse and demanded an urgent appraisal of drug-resistance levels in Africa.
Malaria parasites are spread by bites from infected mosquitoes. It is a major killer of the under-fives with one child dying from the disease every two minutes. Between 1,500 and 2,000 people are treated for malaria in the UK each year - always after foreign travel. Most are treated with the combination drug: artemether-lumefantrine. But clinical reports, now detailed in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, showed the therapy failed in four patients between October 2015 and February 2016. Scotland sets 50% renewable energy target. Image copyright Getty Images Half of Scotland's heat, transport and electricity energy needs will be met by renewables by 2030 under plans published by the Scottish government. The draft Scottish Energy Strategy sets out a vision for the transition away from oil and gas dependency and towards a low-carbon economy by 2050. Only 13% of Scotland's total final energy consumption came from renewable sources in 2013.
Environmental groups had been campaigning for the 50% target. A public consultation on the proposals will run until the end of May. 'Fuel poverty' Last week, the Scottish government set a new target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 66% by 2032. Its energy strategy, which was unveiled by Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse at Holyrood, includes exploring the "re-powering" of existing power stations, which could see Longannet reopen as a coal-fired station with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). 'Landmark proposal' In the future, will farming be fully automated? Image copyright CNH Industrial In the not-too-distant future, our fields could be tilled, sown, tended and harvested entirely by fleets of co-operating autonomous machines by land and air. And they'll be working both day and night.
Driverless tractors that can follow pre-programmed routes are already being deployed at large farms around the world. Drones are buzzing over fields assessing crop health and soil conditions. And in Japan, the world's first entirely automated lettuce farm is due for launch next year. The future of farming is automated. Food shortages, big business The World Bank says we'll need to produce 50% more food by 2050 if the global population continues to rise at its current pace.
But the effects of climate change could see crop yields falling by more than a quarter. So autonomous tractors, ground-based sensors, flying drones and enclosed hydroponic farms could all help farmers produce more food, more sustainably at lower cost. Image copyright Harper Adams University. Can Thailand's rice farmers survive low prices? Earthquake sparks Japan tsunami warning.
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake off eastern Japan near Fukushima prefecture has prompted a tsunami warning of possible 3m (10ft) waves. The quake struck on Tuesday morning at about 06:00 local time (21:00 GMT, Monday), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The depth of the quake was estimated to be around 11km (7 miles). In 2011, a large tsunami caused by a quake destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Broadcaster NHK said Tokyo Electric Power was checking the plant for damage. Image copyright Reuters There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but tremors were felt in Tokyo and residents were urged to evacuate some coastal areas. Ships could be seen moving away from the coast of Fukushima prefecture. So far, a wave of 60cm (2ft) has arrived in Onahama Port in Fukushima, NHK reported, but the warning of possible larger waves remains in force.
The US Geological Survey initially put the magnitude at 7.3 but later downgraded this to 6.9. Have you been affected by the earthquake? What the death of Dory the penguin says about India's zoos. Animals saunter listlessly in grubby enclosures. A crocodile suns itself in algae-covered water. The cramped birdcages are strangely silent. Outside, the leafy walkways overflow with canoodling couples. In tiny, unkempt parks, children play on rotting swings and jungle gyms. In July, Mumbai's main zoo located in the neighbourhood of Byculla welcomed a waddle of living penguins - the first to be displayed in India in more than a decade - to spruce up its flagging image. The Byculla zoo is hardly an ideal - or safe - home for animals and birds. In January 2006, a stampede of blackbuck at the zoo resulted in the deaths of 13 animals. What is also questionable is the wisdom of importing aquatic birds - who need controlled environments to survive in captivity - into a city with erratic water supply and scarce local expertise to look after them.
Worst fears Three months later, and one of the birds, named Dory, is dead. For one thing, officials say, the penguins belong to the Humboldt species. CO2 levels mark 'new era' in the world's changing climate. Image copyright NASA Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have surged past an important threshold and may not dip below it for "many generations". The 400 parts per million benchmark was broken globally for the first time in recorded history in 2015. But according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), 2016 will likely be the first full year to exceed the mark. The high levels can be partly attributed to a strong El Niño event. While human emissions of CO2 remained fairly static between 2014 and 2015, the onset of a strong El Niño weather phenomenon caused a spike in levels of the gas in the atmosphere.
That's because the drought conditions in tropical regions produced by El Niño meant that vegetation was less able to absorb CO2. In its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, the World Meteorological Organisation says the conditions helped push the growth in the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere above the average for the last ten years. Image copyright NOAA. Census shows agricultural workforce falls to record low.
Image copyright PA Scotland's agricultural workforce has fallen to its lowest level on record, according to official figures. The June 2016 farming census found 63,400 people were employed on agricultural holdings. That was 1,900, or 3%, fewer than the previous year and the lowest figure since current records began in 1982. Scotland's chief statistician largely attributed the fall to a drop in the number of working occupiers, which fell by 1,200, or 3.3%. Working occupiers made up 58% of total workers, with regular staff accounting for 32%.
Casual and seasonal workers, which represented 10% of the total, saw a notable decrease in their numbers, dropping by 7% to 6,350 - the lowest figure since 2010. Figures on migrant workers, published for the first time this year, showed that 430,000 migrant working-days were reported during the year - down by 7% on 2015. "Instead, they are opting to use family, part-time labour, machinery rings and contactors more and more. " Geography AS Notes.