Spain withdraws support for renewable energies

Last Friday, the Spanish Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, announced a temporary cessation of government aid to renewable energy projects. This troubling decision comes at a time Spanish government continues to support and fund dirty energy, as well as new permits for oil and gas exploration, which damage our already overfished … Read more

Oceana bemoans lack of ambition in EU’s 2050 energy roadmap; calls for immediate binding energy efficient targets

Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, bemoans the lack of ambition in the EU´s Energy Efficiency Action Plan presented last week by the European Commission. The plan only considers setting mandatory energy efficiency targets in 2013, if the voluntary approach has not worked at national levels. Out of the EU’s three 2020 targets adopted in … Read more

Oceana applauds offshore wind energy advances in Spain and Portugal

Oceana, the international marine conservation organisation, applauds the steps being taken both in the Canaries, with the launch of the Offshore Wind Atlas, and in Portugal with the proposal to develop an initial prototype of a floating wind turbine. Various other initiatives being developed in Cantabria and Catalonia are also helping to set the stage … Read more

Eye on Cancun

Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of all the international conferences going on that affect the issues we care about. ICCAT came to a close on the 27th – with terribly disappointing results for bluefin and swordfish, and relatively positive results for sharks – and today, COP16, the annual climate change conference, begins. We are … Read more

Oceana highlights critical need for an ambitious and binding agreement in the upcoming climate change conference

The EU must strengthen its objective to reduce CO2 emissions, reaching a minimum of 30% for 2020. Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, calls attention to the need to reach a comprehensive, legally binding agreement on the CO2 emission reduction regime during the upcoming Conference on Climate Change (COP16) to be held in Cancun between … Read more

Oceana concludes its first expedition to the Gulf of Mexico

After sailing through more than 4,000, during this campaign the international organization has conducted studies such as: shark tagging, plankton surveys, contaminated sediments sampling and marine and seabed documentation. Oceana has just concluded its first expedition to the Gulf of Mexico to assess the long-term effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon spill. During the two-month … Read more

10/10/10 – A Global Day for Work on Climate Action

On Sunday, 10/10/10, over 6600 events in support of climate change solutions will be taking place in 188 countries. International climate action organization 350.org and partners are coordinating a “Global Work Day” to take a stand against climate change and help out our local communities. We certainly hope you can find the time to do … Read more

Last Call for Climate Talks in Tianjin

Today is the first day of the interim talks for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Tianjin, China. This meeting is the last opportunity for negotiations before the official UNFCCC summit in Cancun from November 29 through December 10th 2010. If you recall, last year’s climate change summit in Copenhagen was … Read more

Feature: Global Warming Causes the Disappearance of Corals and Beaches

Did you know that the climate change is the main cause of the disappearance of corals and gorgonians in the Mediterranean? Increased global temperature is causing a series of significant changes around the world. Melting ice caps and glaciers cause the sea level to rise, hurricanes are stronger and more frequent, droughts alternate with floods … Read more

Learn more: Impacts of Climate Change

Ocean Acidification As carbon dioxide levels increase in the atmosphere, the amount the oceans absorb also increases, leading to chemical changes that result in the oceans becoming more acidic. While the oceans are becoming more acidic, they are still on the basic side of the pH scale (basic – neutral – acidic). It is highly … Read more