Agrofood Planet

Norway Provides a UN Environment Programme with over US$30 Million of Support

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:54:18 +0000

Cape Verde presents a twin disadvantage to meridian change, both as a tiny island building State, and as an dull nation in a Africa’s Sahel region, and is already battling with increasing vigour on wanting H2O resources, and some-more visit impassioned events.

Read More and Comment Posted On: 2/22/2012

Article source: http://www.unep.org/NewsCentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2667&ArticleID=9049&l=en

Premier Foods hosts Olympics dessert competition

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:53:50 +0000

The organisation will be hosting a Premier Foods Make It Enterprising Challenge on Thursday Mar 1. The foe will see youngsters from 13 schools around South and West Yorkshire contest to set adult their possess mini-manufacturing businesses during a Holiday Inn in Barnsley.

The foe is partial of a Manufacturing Institute’s Make It campaign, designed to attract a brightest and best new immature talent into production by compelling a zone as an sparkling and rewarding career option.

“On a day, teams will finish a array of tasks, any holding on pursuit roles from md to operations managers by to finance, sales and selling managers,” according to an MI statement.

Dragon’s Den

“The budding food workers will rise a sales and selling plan and afterwards representation their ideas in a Dragons’ Den-style display to managers from Premier Foods, who will decider a winning group and runner-up. Premier will also give special awards to superb individuals.”

Since 2006, over 30,000 immature people and teachers have taken partial in hands-on production Make It activities that have been proven to urge perceptions of careers in a sector, according to a MI.

Meanwhile, because not book your place during a giveaway skills convention for HR directors and managers holding place on a morning of Monday Mar 26 during a National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham?

On offer will be a resources of information about a latest production tutelage schemes and a new negotiable skills initiative.

For some-more information about a seminar, that will take place alongside a Foodex trade eventuality or to book your giveaway place, click here
or hit Hannah Rosevear on 01293 610431 or email Hannah.Rosevear@wrbm.com
.

Article source: http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Manufacturing/Premier-Foods-hosts-Olympics-dessert-competition?utm_source=RSS_text_news&utm_medium=RSS%2Bfeed&utm_campaign=RSS%2BText%2BNews

E.P.A. hothouse gas manners face new authorised challenges

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:53:13 +0000

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON |
Mon Feb 27, 2012 2:28pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. boundary on hothouse gas emissions face a plea in sovereign justice this week from some-more than 100 attention groups and several U.S. states, a latest high-profile bid to hindrance or overturn a Environmental Protection Agency’s rules.

Three sovereign judges will hear arguments on Tuesday and Wednesday during a D.C. Court of Appeals from groups seeking to overturn a regulations and also remonstrate a judges that a scholarship used by a EPA is wrong.

The EPA’s raft of new purify atmosphere manners has divided a appetite attention between companies that have changed toward cleaner energy, including Exelon and NextEra and those who beget many of their appetite from coal, including Southern Co and American Electric Power.

Environmental groups and activists endangered about tellurian warming support a EPA regulations since a U.S. Congress has not enacted legislation to top emissions.

The petitioners, who total a dozen apart identical lawsuits underneath a name a Coalition for Responsible Regulation, will aim 4 EPA rules:

* The “endangerment finding” – a systematic anticipating done by a EPA in Dec 2009 that found that hothouse gases discredit open health, enabling a group to umpire them underneath a Clean Air Act.

* The “tailpipe rule” – a May 2010 rule, that set hothouse gas glimmer and fuel economy standards for new light-duty vehicles.

* The “timing rule” – a Apr 2010 order that will need generators and industrial plants to request for permits to cover hothouse gas emissions once a manners for vehicles flog in.

* The “tailoring rule” released in Jun 2010, that set a timeline to start requiring those industrial and application sources to request for permits according to a scale of their emissions.

On Friday, a EPA due that usually a largest polluters would be compulsory to reason CO permits. The pierce was directed during shortening burdens on states and internal supervision needing agencies.

SUPREME COURT RULING IN FOCUS

The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 statute that a EPA had a management to umpire greenhouses gases controlling a Clean Air Act if it dynamic CO dioxide emissions discredit open health.

Challengers to a EPA meridian module operation from governments of states and municipalities where practice and taxation income count on industries that evacuate hothouse gasses, to business run groups such as a U.S. Chamber of Commerce. These groups disagree that a 1970 Clean Air Act was never dictated for controlling hothouse gasses.

Although many experts design a judges to support a EPA’s “endangerment finding,” a other due regulations might be some-more exposed underneath a authorised spotlight.

David Doniger, routine executive for a meridian and atmosphere module of a Natural Resources Defense Council, pronounced opponents have a “ghost of a chance” to plea a difficult routine used by a EPA to strech a endangerment decision.

“This kind of conflict that will go nowhere in a court,” he said, adding that a preference was a product of a “multi-layered pyramid of peer-reviewed systematic investigate and assessment.”

Jeff Holmstead, a partner during law organisation Bracewell Guiliani who represents utilities and other appetite attention clients, conceded that a challengers face an “uphill” conflict with a endangerment anticipating since a judges – David Tatel, David Sentelle and Judith Rogers – have all sided with a EPA in progressing cases that challenged a regulatory management over hothouse gases.

But Holmstead, a former partner executive of a EPA, pronounced a challengers might have a stronger box opposite some of a EPA’s other hothouse gas regulations.

“In terms of where a EPA is many vulnerable, it is substantially a tailoring rule,” he said.

The EPA combined a tailoring order to reinterpret a territory of a Clean Air Act that requires any trickery whose emissions surpass 250 tons per year of any pollutant to request for a assent from a state group and uncover it is controlling a cleanest accessible technology.

Unlike other pollutants for that 250 tons of emissions would paint a vast amount, CO is issued in most aloft quantities, definition even comforts such as schools or churches would be forced to request for permitting.

Critics of a EPA have argued that a agency’s try to “tailor” a Clean Air Act is bootleg since it rewrites a existent law.

“The tailoring order is a weakest of a EPA’s manners since it violates pithy denunciation in a Clean Air Act,” pronounced Howard Feldman, executive of regulatory and systematic affairs during a American Petroleum Institute, a postulant in subsequent week’s justice hearings.

He pronounced a EPA’s altering of a Clean Air Act denunciation proves that a law was never designed to umpire CO emissions.

“We consider a EPA has clearly overstepped Congressional intent,” he said.

PRESSURING CONGRESS

Bracewell Giuliani’s Holmstead pronounced if a judges confirm to overturn a tailoring rule, it could replenish vigour on lawmakers to residence appetite plant emissions.

“I consider a lot of people design that a justice will expected overturn a tailoring order and that is expected to occur in mid-summer,” pronounced Holmstead, who had formerly served as an partner executive of a EPA.

“If a tailoring order is struck down, there will be vigour to do something immediately,” he said, adding that there will be vigour from both sides to come adult with “sensible” legislation.

But Rob Brenner, a comparison associate during Duke University who recently late from a EPA final year, pronounced he expects a judges to defend all a EPA manners when they emanate their preference this summer.

“I consider in a finish what will occur here is that it is going to be apparent how distant off bottom a critics are,” Brenner said.

He remarkable that a EPA is scheduled to recover hothouse gas regulations for new appetite plants this spring, and combined that he expects those manners will pull identical authorised challenges.

But Brenner pronounced a EPA has done a accordant try to write a regulations in a approach that is not toilsome to industry.

“When people see a proposal, these arguments that a new (power plant) standards will be a genocide knell for spark or any other kinds of arguments are not going to reason up,” he said.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by David Gregorio)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/_7Lgmoi1p-Q/us-usa-epa-court-idUSTRE81Q1Y120120227

WTO members examination Azerbaijan’s trade reforms

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:54:45 +0000

At a 9th assembly of a Working Party on a Accession of Azerbaijan, members reviewed Azerbaijan’s trade-related reforms and assessed their consent with WTO rules. They also examined legislative developments and evaluated a swell done in a shared negotiations on marketplace entrance for products and services. Azerbaijan is now negotiating with 10 members.

Members requested some-more information on Azerbaijan’s pricing policies, state trade enterprises, investment regime, foe policy, trade rights, tariff rate quotas, trade duties and restrictions, trade subsidies, rural policy, trade remedies, giveaway trade zones, egghead property, spotless and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and supervision procurement.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev pronounced that his nation faced a plea of high coherence on a oil and gas sector. Therefore, diversifying a economy was a priority of a Government to encourage a amicable and mercantile growth of a regions. Deputy-Minister Mammad-Guliyev resolved that WTO advent was executive to Azerbaijan’s diversification and long-term mercantile sustainability efforts.

The Chairperson of a Working Party, Ambassador Walter Lewalter (Germany), urged Azerbaijan to continue posterior a domestic reforms and marketplace entrance negotiations in a active demeanour to pierce a routine forward.

Article source: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news12_e/acc_aze_24feb12_e.htm

Nations Commit to Scaling adult Environmental Sustainability in UNEP’s 40th Anniversary Year

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:54:16 +0000

Read More and Comment Posted On: 2/22/2012

Article source: http://www.unep.org/NewsCentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2667&ArticleID=9050&l=en

Associated British Foods sugarine expansion to sweeten

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:53:47 +0000

Experts suggested that ABF’s sugarine multiplication can design estimable distinction expansion this year, led by a arise in production, that has increasing from 1Mt to an estimated 1.3Mt for this year.

Graham Jones, an researcher during Panmure Gordon, said: “We foresee ABF’s initial half sugarine gain before seductiveness taxation and amortisation rising by 56% to £169M. This comes notwithstanding somewhat reduce increase in China due to reduce shaft production, reflecting final year’s drought and prices somewhat reduce than final year’s record highs.

“The UK will see estimable increase expansion due to a most improved crop, a deficiency of high estimate costs, clever bureau opening and high prices.”

ABF reliable Jones’ predictions and attributed a arise to clever expansion in a UK and Spain.

“In a UK, a sugarine debate progressed well,” a organisation suggested in a statement.

Beet processing

“Beet estimate is now probably finish and sugarine prolongation is now estimated to be 1.3Mt compared with usually underneath 1Mt final year.

“Profit in a UK in a initial half will be good forward of final year benefiting from a deficiency of a aloft estimate costs compared with a oppressive winter, a clever bureau performance, high sugarine calm in a beet and aloft prices.”

Despite a clever sugarine performance, a estimable tumble in grocery increase of over £25M had strike altogether expansion during ABF, according to Jones.

He suggested that restructuring costs, following a closure of dual UK bakeries, had dented increase for a duration finale Mar 31.

Ahead of final year

He said: “ABF continues to dwindle that it usually expects initial half gain per share (EPS) to be a small forward of final year. We foresee 1.7% distinction before taxation expansion to £359M and 2.1% EPS expansion to 33.6p.

“This expansion comes notwithstanding a estimable tumble in grocery multiplication increase predominantly due to restructuring costs of, we believe, over £25M; aloft than approaching due to a closure of dual UK bakeries.”

This was reliable by ABF, that suggested that restructuring and domain declines during Allied Bakeries in a UK, total with rising handling costs in Australia, had resulted in “substantially lower” grocery increase for a initial half of a year.

“Revenue in a initial half is approaching to be forward of final year, though Grocery distinction in a initial half will be almost lower,” a matter from a organisation revealed.

“In Allied Bakeries, Kingsmill achieved income expansion though clever competition, driven by a high turn of promotion, influenced margins. The business has continued to invest, particularly with a new bread line during a Stockport bakery. A definition assign has been done for a closure of dual smaller bakeries and a cost of serve beyond reduction.”

The halt formula for ABF were in line with expectations, with all segments delivering income growth, according to a firm.

Article source: http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Business-News/Associated-British-Foods-sugar-growth-to-sweeten?utm_source=RSS_text_news&utm_medium=RSS%2Bfeed&utm_campaign=RSS%2BText%2BNews

E.P.A. proposes streamlining CO2 needing for complicated industry

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:53:11 +0000

WASHINGTON |
Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:13am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. environmental regulators have due a new order that boundary mandate for factories to reason permits for hothouse gas CO emissions to a largest sources such as large coal-fired energy plants and large manufacturers.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s arch Lisa Jackson sealed on Friday a third step of a supposed “tailoring rule” on CO emissions that proposes to keep hothouse gas needing during stream levels of during slightest 100,000 tons per year of CO dioxide equivalent.

Plants with that turn of wickedness that make changes that would lead to an boost in a wickedness of 75,000 tons per year would have to get another turn of permits.

Under a new rule, a EPA will not need industrial plants that evacuate 50,000 tons per year of CO dioxide, or a bit more, to reason permits for releasing CO dioxide, according to papers on a agency’s web site.

The EPA’s module on fighting emissions blamed for warming a world will be challenged in a sovereign justice this week, with opening arguments being listened on Tuesday and Wednesday.

An environmentalist pronounced a proposals tying needing to a largest sources done sense.

“I don’t consider you’d get most benefit from a headache of going after a smaller sources,” pronounced Frank O’Donnell, boss of Clean Air Watch. He pronounced state and internal needing agencies that have faced bill cuts could have difficulty doing work bucket if permits for a smaller polluters were required.

The EPA will take open criticism on a due changes until Apr 20.

(Reporting By Timothy Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/environment/~3/bAduB1pLtmQ/us-usa-epa-carbon-idUSTRE81Q1JG20120227

Lamy records “significant decline” in anti-dumping investigations

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:54:36 +0000

Good morning and acquire to this Fifth Workshop for Heads of Investigating Authorities.

I am really gratified to see so many of we here. It is indeed a singular arise to have so many consultant trust and knowledge in a margin of trade remedies fabricated in one room! we am assured that this fabricated imagination will make for really sharp-witted and engaging discussions.

We have had good practice in a past workshops of this kind, where Heads of Investigating Authorities have discussed issues of common seductiveness in an spontaneous setting. The discussions have been varied, and really open. The feedback from past participants has been regularly positive. we trust this year’s seminar will be no exception, and we wish that on a approach behind home we will all feel that your outing to Geneva has been worthwhile.

One new component this year is that, in serve to a Heads of active Investigating Authorities from building members, we have also invited your counterparts from all 6 grown members with active Investigating Authorities — and all 6 have supposed a invitation. We have finished this during a pithy ask of a attendees of a final workshop. we wish to demonstrate my low appreciation for their committing a time and resources to be here, quite in perspective of a serious budgetary constraints underneath that we all have to work these days.

I trust that this brew of Heads of Authorities from developed, as good as building members, will be jointly profitable to all participants, and in sold will safeguard a abounding contention of a far-reaching range of topics on a agenda. And maybe we am an optimist, though we like to consider that by a finish of a workshop, we will have identified some-more that unites Investigating Authorities from both building and grown members than what divides you.

This has maybe never been some-more loyal than during present, with a universe economy and many inhabitant economies, grown and developing, still feeling a serious impact of a predicament that started in 2008, and with universe trade as well, remaining next a chronological peak. Indeed, nonetheless universe sell exports in 2010 available their top ever annual increase, that is, 14.5 per cent, following a 12 per cent dump in 2009, we witnessed a reduce boost final year.

Of course, whatever a proxy fluctuations in trade flows, trade problems and frictions tend to persist, and mostly are accentuated, during cyclical downturns in mercantile activity and trade. As we know, a WTO is personification a purpose in this regard, among other things, by arising unchanging monitoring reports on members’ practices inspiring trade, including a use of trade remedies.

You will remember that in prior tellurian mercantile downturns trade pill actions have tended to increase. Many observers therefore approaching a exercise of this settlement during a stream crisis. Looking during trade remedies as a whole, however, this has not happened to date. In fact, concerning anti-dumping, a many frequently used trade pill instrument, there has been a poignant decrease in initiations of new investigations, from 213 in 2008 down to 153 in 2011. As for safeguards, nonetheless initiations surged between 2008 and 2009, they have been disappearing given then. The trends in countervailing measures are different, as here initiations have followed an ceiling trend given 2005, with indications that this competence continue in a entrance months and years. That said, for a time being, a comprehensive numbers of countervailing initiations are distant next those of anti-dumping.

Although altogether trade pill activity has not increasing given a start of a stream crisis, a seductiveness in apropos a user of trade remedies continues to grow. Of a 153 WTO members, tighten to 100 have put in place a compulsory authorised horizon to control trade pill investigations, and this series is growing. Of these 100 members, on average, about half (counting a EU as 27) trigger a trade pill review per year. Since 1995, some-more than 70 members have conducted trade pill investigations. Thus some-more and some-more members are versed to use trade remedies, definition that a activity turn could boost during any time. This stems from ability building, an bid in which, as per a mandate, a WTO Secretariat plays an critical role.

The WTO Secretariat has been really active in providing members, on request, with hands-on unsentimental training in a control of trade pill investigations. In fact, all a building members in this room have benefited from WTO training on trade remedies, a immeasurable infancy from dedicated inhabitant training workshops.

The Rules Division, that is where a imagination in trade counterclaim instruments lies in a Secretariat, has recently “overhauled” a e-learning materials on trade remedies. These materials will be serve stretched with a design that a fanciful partial of trade pill training can be finished by stretch learning, with destiny workshops to concentration on unsentimental exercises only.

We are also building a computer-based “mock” anti-dumping review that will afterwards be used in workshops to element a e-training. Trainees will afterwards be means to do a “real” review during a march of a workshop. No some-more speculation during workshops — usually action!

The aim date for execution of a alleviation of these stretched training collection is a finish of this year — keep your fingers crossed! we know that your views and inputs on these matters will be sought during this workshop.

The Secretariat is, as we can see, perplexing to residence a requests by a building members to ascent their ability in this field. The direct is there, as evidenced by a ACP acquiescence to a Rules Negotiating Group in 2010.

It is for all these reasons that this seminar is both timely and important. It provides an opportunity, during this really formidable period, for all of we to shun for a brief while from a trenches of investigations for some moments of open-ended thoughtfulness and contention with your peers, including on a basement of thematic presentations by experts. we wish and trust that these really spontaneous discussions of issues of common seductiveness will assistance all of we to raise your bargain of one another’s systems, to brand common ground, and to forge new veteran contacts and communication channels. we so inspire all of we to take full advantage of a seminar by pity your possess practice and training from a practice of others.

With that, we wish all of we a best for a really cultivatable and successful workshop.

Thank you.

Article source: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl218_e.htm

Empowering a Public by Greater Information

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:54:27 +0000

By Gina McCarthy

EPA recently noted a vital miracle in a work to commission a open by larger clarity and information. Last month we released a initial set of hothouse gas (GHG) information from vast comforts and suppliers opposite a nation collected by a GHG Reporting program.

To make it easy to perspective a 2010 GHG information collected from some-more than 6,700 U.S. comforts and suppliers, EPA launched an online information announcement tool. The interactive apparatus allows users to perspective and arrange a information in a accumulation of ways, including by location, facility, or industrial sector. we inspire we to try a apparatus and share your commentary with friends regulating your favorite amicable media tools.

Judging by a response to a tool’s launch on Facebook, Twitter, and online, folks are already anticipating a apparatus helpful— a site has perceived over 1,000 Facebook “likes” and captivated some-more than 100,000 web visitors given a launch.

Our thought behind this apparatus is simple: it’s about augmenting open appearance in environmental protection. EPA knows that improved information leads to a improved sensitive open ensuing in improved environmental protection.

Communities can use this information to brand circuitously sources of GHG pollution. Businesses can use this information to find cost- and fuel-saving opportunities. States and internal supervision can use this information to surprise policymaking. The financial zone can use this information to make more-informed investment decisions.

People are already examining and presenting a information in suggestive ways, including from state and internal perspectives. Media outlets like The Chicago Tribune and Salt Lake Tribune have used a information to surprise readers about GHG emissions from comforts in their community.

We will acquire your thoughts on how to urge a apparatus and demeanour brazen to a second year of information that will concede all of us to start tracking emissions trends.

About a author: Gina McCarthy is a Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Editor’s Note: The opinions voiced in Greenversations are those of a author. They do not simulate EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not determine a correctness or scholarship of a essence of a blog.

Tags: Air, fuel savings, GHG Emissions, GHG Pollution, GHG Reporting Program, greenhouse gas

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Art & Environment: Wife of Former UNEP Executive Director Opens New Gallery beside Nairobi National Park

tntfactory — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:54:11 +0000

Read More and Comment Posted On: 2/22/2012

Article source: http://www.unep.org/NewsCentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2667&ArticleID=9053&l=en