Last month, Parisians voted in a referendum to turn an additional 500 streets over to pedestrians. A year earlier, Paris had moved to sharply increase parking fees for SUVs, forcing drivers…Continue readingParis said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change.
Tag: transport
A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém. The Amazon…Continue readingAmazon forest felled to build road for climate summit
SUVs and huge utes have become the most popular vehicles in Australia. Of the 1,220,607 new vehicles sold in 2024, most were SUVs, with about 57% market share. Light commercial vehicles…Continue readingAustralians are obsessed with SUVs and huge utes, but experts say they are making our roads deadlier
The first section of London’s Ulez scheme was launched in 2019 in the central part of the city. The zone was expanded across inner London boroughs in 2021 and enlarged again…Continue readingDramatic fall in London’s levels of deadly pollutants after Ulez expansion
BMW has pledged to continue investing in combustion engine and hybrid technology as it warned of a “rollercoaster ride” in the US transition to electric vehicles following the return of Donald…Continue readingBMW bets on petrol cars as it warns of US ‘rollercoaster’ EV transition
States trying to build a network of EV chargers are reeling after the Trump administration abruptly ordered a halt to a $5 billion program to build the chargers on highways nationwide.…Continue readingTransportation Department suspends EV charger program
Airbus has delayed plans to fly a hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035 in a setback for the aviation industry’s hopes to achieve net zero. The decision to abandon the deadline for the…Continue readingAirbus pushes back plans to fly hydrogen plane by 2035
German sports-car maker Porsche plans to overhaul its product portfolio to include more combustion engine and plug-in hybrid vehicles, putting additional strain on its already squeezed profit margins. The Stuttgart-based carmaker…Continue readingPorsche margins set to fall with greater combustion engine and hybrid investment
Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and much is broken down into small fragments. Microplastics were already known to have polluted the entire planet, from the…Continue readingVehicle tyres found to be biggest source of nanoplastics in the high Alps
During the traditional 40-day period that runs before, during and after the holidays, some nine billion interprovincial passenger trips, on all forms of transport combined, are expected to be made, according…Continue readingMillions in China head home for Lunar New Year in ‘record high’ migration
Ministers have seen off a bill that would have made the UK’s climate and environment targets legally binding, after promising Labour backbenchers that they would have input into environmental legislation. The…Continue readingUK climate and nature bill dropped after deal with Labour backbenchers
Over the past six years, Mexico’s left-wing ruling party has created a government-run airline, bank and tourism company. Its next business venture? A low-cost electric vehicle. This month President Claudia Sheinbaum…Continue readingMexico’s government to make a low-cost electric car
California officials are withdrawing their final requests to enforce their nation-leading electric vehicle rules, days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. State officials told U.S. EPA on Monday they wouldn’t seek federal…Continue readingCalifornia withdraws requests to enforce pollution rules ahead of Trump
The research, involving more than 200,000 people in Scotland, found an increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide in particular was associated with a higher number of people being admitted to hospital…Continue readingPollution exposure linked to mental health hospital admissions
Norway has suspended plans to start giving licenses for deep-sea mining next year. Norway had planned to become one of the world’s first countries to start handing out rights to tens…Continue readingNorway suspends deep-sea mining projects: govt allies
Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tons of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by the wear and tear of normal driving, eventually accumulate…Continue readingCar tires shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment. Urgent action is needed
There are two main types of microplastics. One is primary microplastics, which are small to begin with, like the microbeads sometimes added to personal care products. Then there are secondary microplastics:…Continue readingExperts study where microplastics are winding up—and what risks they pose
A new study led by an international team of scientists highlights tire particles (TPs) as the leading contributor to microplastics and calls for urgent, targeted research to address their unique environmental…Continue readingResearchers call for recognition of tire particles as a distinct environmental threat
Northvolt is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Europe’s best-funded start-up and main hope for countering Asian dominance in electric vehicle batteries failed to agree a last-minute rescue package with investors.…Continue readingBattery start-up Northvolt files for bankruptcy protection
People involved in the negotiations about the future of the one-time big hope for Europe’s automotive industry said that its future was likely to be decided in the coming days after…Continue readingNorthvolt’s future hangs in balance as bankruptcy looms
Air pollution in Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore soared on Saturday, with an official calling it a record high for the smog-choked mega city. For days, the city of 14 million…Continue readingPollution level in Pakistan megacity hits new high
Nearly 1.4 million hectares of tree cover was lost between 2001 and 2020 in areas where mining and related activities have taken place, analysis of University of Maryland data by the…Continue readingMining eats into more of the world’s forests
Schoolchildren in Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore have been banned from outdoor exercise until January because of hazardous smog levels, officials said Friday. The eastern megacity near the border with India…Continue readingSmog in Pakistan megacity ends outdoor play for schoolkids
Funded by StB Capital Partners based in Brisbane, Australia, the factory sets the stage for the Philippines to become a key player in clean energy storage in Southeast Asia. “I cannot…Continue readingPBBM launches PH’s first advanced lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries factory in Tarlac
Northvolt is to be served with an investigation notice regarding suspicion of gross manslaughter in the coming weeks by Swedish prosecutors over the death of one of the battery manufacturer’s workers in an explosion…Continue readingNorthvolt to be served ‘suspicion of gross manslaughter’ notice over worker death
Microplastics are widespread, accumulating in the remotest parts of our planet. There is evidence of their toxic effects at every level of biological organization, from tiny insects at the bottom of…Continue readingScientists reviewed 7,000 studies on microplastics. Their alarming conclusion puts humanity on notice.
Northvolt’s sub-Arctic battery factory in northern Sweden was meant to symbolise Europe’s green fightback against China and the US. Instead, the start-up is in danger of turning into an emblem of…Continue readingEurope’s great battery hope Northvolt fights for survival
A new international coalition is disrupting airports to make one demand: the adoption of a treaty to end fossil fuels by 2030. Under the banner Oil Kills, small groups of activists…Continue readingOil Kills: Inside the International Uprising Disrupting the Aviation Industry
Passenger traffic at European airports reached pre-Covid levels in the first half of this year, according to industry data, driven by a rise in leisure and family travel. “Flight shame is…Continue reading‘Flight shame is dead’: concern grows over climate impact of tourism boom
The study found that compact cities, characterized by high density, mixed land use, and efficient public transportation, produce significantly lower carbon emissions. “Contrary to what we might initially think, more compact…Continue readingResearchers highlight the carbon-saving potential of compact cities
Minister of Transport Eamon Ryan today welcomed the publication of the new National Cycle Network (NCN) plan which sets out how Ireland will be criss-crossed with 3,500 km of safe, high…Continue readingNational Cycling Network will see 3,500km of safe bike corridors, connecting 2.8 million people in cities and towns
A proposal to create Germany’s biggest motorway has sparked a backlash, with critics fearful the “monstrosity” will increase climate-damaging emissions, worsen noise pollution and harm biodiverse habitats. The recommendation suggests widening…Continue readingHighway to hell? Plan for Germany’s biggest motorway sparks anger
The world faces a “staggering” surplus of oil equating to millions of barrels a day by the end of the decade, as oil companies increase production the International Energy Agency has…Continue readingWorld faces ‘staggering’ oil glut by end of decade, energy watchdog warns
Some of the world’s most profitable – and most polluting corporations – have invested in carbon offset projects that have fundamental failings and are “probably junk”, suggesting industry claims about greenhouse…Continue readingCorporations invested in carbon offsets that were ‘likely junk’, analysis says
Toyota has unveiled plans for a new generation of internal combustion engines, betting on a continued need for older technologies even as car buyers shift towards Tesla and other electric-vehicle makers.…Continue readingToyota bets on new line of combustion engines in challenge to Tesla
In rich countries, almost 20 million new SUVs were sold in 2023, surpassing a market share of 50% for the first time. Globally, 48% of new cars were SUVs and, including…Continue readingGlobal sales of polluting SUVs hit record high in 2023, data shows
For decades, concerns about automobile pollution have focused on what comes out of the tailpipe. Now, researchers and regulators say, we need to pay more attention to toxic emissions from tires…Continue readingTire toxicity faces fresh scrutiny after salmon die-offs
Plastic microparticles released into the environment from common road tires should be treated as a “high concern” pollutant that may exceed chronic safety limits in some heavily contaminated environments, new research…Continue readingMicroparticles from road tires are ‘high concern’
A research study for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics focused on the number of daily trips taken in the United States. In 2021, 52% of all trips, including all modes of…Continue readingMore than Half of all Daily Trips in US Were Less than Three Miles in 2021
When 6PPD, which occurs in tire dust, is exposed to ground-level ozone, it’s transformed into multiple other chemicals, including 6PPD-quinone, or 6PPD-q. The compound is acutely toxic to four of 11…Continue readingRoad Hazard: Evidence Mounts on Toxic Pollution from Tires
Urban stormwater particles from tire wear were the most prevalent microplastic a new Griffith-led study has found. Published in Environmental Science & Technology, the study showed that in stormwater runoff during…Continue readingBit by bit, microplastics from tires are polluting our waterways
Communities around the world emitted more carbon dioxide in 2022 than in any other year on records dating to 1900, a result of air travel rebounding from the pandemic and more…Continue readingCarbon dioxide emissions reached a record high in 2022
DfT refuses to publish emission figures, which campaigners say could make new road projects unviable.Continue readingUK government blocks release of CO₂ figures behind transport plan