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Conservationists got a mixed bag of news following an international group overseeing the world's species protection initiatives meeting this weekend. On the positive side, officials decided to officially take the giant panda off of the endangered species list, citing steady successes in preserving the bears' natural habitats. But though this is certainly a small victory, pandas are far from out of the woods when it comes to their species' long-term survival.

Coral reefs around the globe already are facing unprecedented damage due to warmer and more acidic oceans. If carbon dioxide emissions continue to fuel the rise in temperature, the widespread loss of coral reefs by 2050 could have devastating consequences, according to new research published in the scientific journal PLOS. "Some of the places that have the most to lose... are also among the biggest carbon emitters," Dr Pendleton said. "They really have it in their power to bring down the levels of carbon" they emit into the atmosphere. The researchers acknowledged that further study is needed to more fully understand what is happening to coral reefs around the globe and how that will affect humans.

Ending food waste is a key concern across the Western world, with new initiatives cropping up almost every day. Now, a group of British companies and universities have won access to a £340 million EU innovation program aimed at changing the way we eat, grow and distribute food. The new project, called EIT Food, has ambitious aims to halve food waste in Europe within a decade and reduce diet-related illness diet by 2030. It has received €400 million (£340m) of EU research funding, matched by €1.2 billion (£1 billion) of funding from industry and other sources over seven years.

According to a new Pure Strategies study, over $8 billion was earned in 2015 from the sustainability efforts of 153 survey respondents, signaling a new way of defining sources of business value. Taking inspiration from sustainability's positive performance, companies should position their programs to generate the greatest business benefits and to measure and celebrate the gains.

What's the best way to protect elephants? One way is refusing to buy ivory-demand for the material stokes poaching, which has demolished elephant populations in Africa. Now, the United States is taking an even stronger stance on ivory in a bid to protect the majestic creatures. As Jada F. Smith reports for The New York Times, the United States will now almost totally ban the sale of African elephant ivory.

New data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration also highlighted another potential contradiction: Virtually every state suing to block the Clean Power Plan has itself shifted toward burning less coal to generate the electricity its residents need since the year 2007 - in some cases by very large amounts.

Scotland surpassed its goal to cut GHG emissions by 42% six years ahead of schedule, according to figures published by the Scottish government. As a result, the Scottish government plans to set a new 2020 goal to further reduce GHG emissions.

In a dystopian portrayal of the future, the landscape is rife with fires, rising seas, and thick clouds billowing from power plant smokestacks; humans must wear gas masks for their own survival. This apocalyptic vision is captured in a series of photos featuring 8 popular Vietnamese singers, actors and dance artists as part of a new anti-coal campaign. Pollution from coal-fired power plants already causes an estimated 4,300 premature deaths in Vietnam annually, yet the country has the third largest pipeline of new coal plants in the world - behind only China and India.

The Paris Agreement and the global divestment campaign has secured one of its biggest victories to date, after banking giant Deutsche Bank announced it would halt investment in new coal projects in line with its commitment to the international climate change treaty.

Plastics are an important part of the global economy and have many practical applications for everyday life, but their indisputable benefits are significantly outweighed by their environmental drawbacks - namely in regards to ocean pollution. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, Dell, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and NatureWorks are finding new and innovative ways to tackle plastic pollution both at the source and at end-of-life.

Carnival, docked in the spotlight when it received the New Economy's Clean Tech Award for Best Marine Solutions Company. The award recognized Carnival's decision to install a new exhaust filtration system on its North American ships, at an estimated cost of $180m

A liquid ammonia leak from a frozen storage and logistics business in Shanghai sent stinging fumes into a nearby residential area, killing at least 15 people and injuring 25 others, reports China's Xinhua News Agency.

At the kick-off of the Berlin Fashion Week, World Wide Fund For Nature Germany and Welthungerhilfe invited leading textile companies to Berlin. The goal was to provide information about the use of sustainable cotton fundamental for a responsible clothing industry and to discuss possibilities to increase transparency in the textile supply chain.

Threatened with expulsion from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Indonesian pulp and paper company Asia Pacific Resources International re-committed to an earlier pledge to stop clearing forests for new plantations by the end of 2014. The company also pledged to double its forest restoration program to 40,000 hectares and use 100% plantation fiber by the end of 2019.

Organic dairy producer Stonyfield Farm, Inc. announced this week that it will utilize a new tool to manage its supply chain: SupplyShift™ - a new, cloud-based, supply chain management platform focused on sustainability, but flexible enough to assess any procurement need or supply chain risks.

Stricter regulations, the explosive growth of new hydraulic fracturing shale oil and gas wells and limited available water resources are driving the popularity of centralized wastewater management in North America, according to Pollution Engineering magazine

The Green Building Initiative (GBI) launched its Guiding Principles Compliance for New Construction (GPC NC) of federal buildings.

Americans renew their relationship with paper, ditching the cheap stuff for reading news to buy expensive stock for photo-based cards and albums.

The global volume of e-waste generated is expected to reach 93.5 million tons in 2016 from 41.5 million tons in 2011 at a compound annual growth rate of 17.6 percent from 2011 to 2016, according to a new report from Marketsandmarkets.

A new maritime fuel regulation from the EPA could crowd roads and increase onshore air pollution, according to a shipping group. The rule requires the use of high-cost, ultra-low sulfur fuels in ships operating within the 200 nautical mile boundary of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA).