This is Beirut - environment

Lebanon Ranks 124th Globally in 2024 Environmental Performance Index

This is Beirut, 07/05 17:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United Arab Emirates lebanon EPI Yale environment

Lebanon ranked 124th out of 180 countries in the 2024 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), published by Yale and Columbia Universities in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. With a score of 40.1 out of 100, Lebanon also placed 10th among Arab nations, falling below both regional and global averages. The EPI assesses countries based on ...

David Attenborough Urges 'Save the Oceans' as New Film Premieres

This is Beirut, 06/05 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Britain Movie Oceanography Environment Culture Documentary

David Attenborough's latest film Ocean, highlighting the perils facing the world's seas, was to mark its global premiere in London Tuesday, as the veteran natural history broadcaster prepares to turn 99. Attenborough's Life on Earth in 1979 was watched by 500 million people worldwide, while dozens of subsequent documentaries and associated books ...

Coral Reefs on the Verge of Collapse as Bleaching Crisis Escalates

This is Beirut, 23/04 13:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Oceans Climate Environment Corals

An unprecedented coral bleaching episode has spread to 84 percent of the world's reefs in an unfolding human-caused crisis that could kill off swathes of the essential ecosystems, scientists warned Wednesday. Since it began in early 2023, the global coral bleaching event has mushroomed into the biggest and most intense on record, with reefs ...

Himalayan Snow at 23-Year Low, Threatening 2 Billion People

This is Beirut, 21/04 13:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Climate Environment Water Himalaya

Snowfall in Asia's Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water, scientists warned in a report on Monday. The Hindu Kush-Himalayan range, which stretches from Afghanistan to Myanmar, holds the largest reserves of ice and snow outside the Arctic and ...

Trump Administration Plans to Cancel Biden-era Green Policies

This is Beirut, 13/03 05:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Environment Donald Trump Joe Biden

President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday announced a wave of environmental rollbacks targeting Biden-era green policies, including carbon limits on power plants, tailpipe emissions standards and protections for waterways. The 31 actions are part of what Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin called "the ...

Alarm Sounded Over Lebanon’s Vanishing Public Shores

Vanessa Kallas, 10/02 16:20 - Reading : 8 minute(s)

Tyre Najib Mikati Naser Yassine coast environment

In the last cabinet session before the presidential election, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati approved land reclamation projects privatizing 85,000 m² of public maritime land in northern and southern Lebanon. This decision would accelerate coastal degradation, as only 20% of the coast remains public, according to architect and urban ...

Yassin Inspects Progress at Karantina Sorting Plant

This is Beirut, 20/01 15:30 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanon Environment Nasser Yassine UNDP World Bank

Caretaker Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin, accompanied by Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud, inspected the Karantina waste sorting plant to assess ongoing restoration efforts. The facility sustained severe damage during the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020. According to Yassin, the plant is expected to resume operations by the end of ...

Will Post-War Debris End Up in the Sea?

Paul Guillot, 2024-12-17 13:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AUB South Lebanon rubble environment

On Tuesday, December 17, the pressing matter of managing post-war debris will be discussed at the Council of Ministers. Among the key agenda items is the monumental task of handling millions of tons of rubble, and the unclear stance of the Caretaker Minister of Public Works, Ali Hamiyeh. Despite a request for clarification from his media advisor, ...

Halt of Illegal Sand Extraction Work Off the Coast of Chekka

Élie-Joe Kamel, 2024-11-13 20:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Sand extraction Environment Chekka

Illegal sand extraction operations on the beach of El Heri, located on the coast of the city of Chekka (North Lebanon), were halted after days of mobilization and negotiations, confirmed Pierre Abi Chahine, president of the Environmental Protection Committee in Chekka, on Wednesday evening to This is Beirut, following a visit to the site. The ...

LEM: Lebanon, a Treasure of Biodiversity

Lyne Sammouri, 2023-12-16 17:41 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

biodiversity Eco Movement environment

At a time when biodiversity and the environment are considered “abstract” or “rich people's problems” by most, the Lebanon Eco Movement thought otherwise in their “Biodiversity National Dialogue" event, organized alongside the Institut Français on Friday, December 15. Lebanon’s biodiversity has been heavily affected following the ...

Western Powers, Environmentalists Criticize COP28 Summit

This Is Beirut, 2023-12-11 19:41 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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On Monday, the Emirati leader of the COP28 climate talks, president Sultan Al Jaber, refrained from advocating for the complete phase-out of fossil fuels in an initial attempt to achieve consensus. This approach immediately faced criticism from Western powers and environmentalists, who had anticipated a historic turning point in the ...

KSA Takes Lead in Climate Donations

This Is Beirut, 2023-12-04 20:16 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister brushed off Western contributions to a recently established climate loss and damage fund, describing them as "insignificant," while emphasizing Riyadh's financial commitments to developing countries on Monday. Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman dismissed Western donations to a new climate loss and ...

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