Year: 2022

SARAJEVO, Bosnia — Dozens of people on Monday gathered for a protest in Sarajevo because of dangerously high levels of air pollution in the past few weeks in the Bosnian capital.

Some of the participants wore face masks at the rally Monday held outside the building hosting Sarajevo’s government.

Organizers say they want to encourage people into action and draw public attention to the decades-old problem typical for the city that is squeezed in a deep valley among the mountains.

Air pollution measurements in the past weeks have shown that levels of damaging airborne particles have exceeded European Union’s safety norms by several times.

Local authorities had introduced emergency measures for days last week, urging citizens not to use coal and wood for heating and banning diesel cars.

Local head of government Edin Forto told the protesters that the situation can’t change in a few months, but will take much

TORONTO — The materials sector helped Canada’s main stock index march higher into record territory in late-morning trading.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 39.42 points at 17,598.44

U.S. stock markets are closed due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The Canadian dollar traded for 76.58 cents US compared with an average of 76.56 cents US on Friday.

The March crude contract was up six cents at US$58.64 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down 9.1 cents at US$1.91 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up 60 cents at US$1,560.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 0.3 of a cent at US$2.84 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)

The Canadian Press

BRUSSELS — European Union countries have agreed to “refocus” the mission of the bloc’s anti-migrant smuggler naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea so that it concentrates on upholding the U.N. arms embargo against Libya, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday.

After chairing talks between EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Borrell said that the bloc will also examine ways to help monitor a cease-fire in the conflict-torn country once one actually comes into force and replaces the shaky truce currently in place.

He told reporters that EU ambassadors and experts have been tasked with presenting “concrete proposals on how to implement this cease-fire and enforcing the U.N. arms embargo, by the time the ministers next meet in Brussels on Feb. 17.

“In the meantime, we have to pass from truce to a real cease-fire,” Borrell said. “We are in a truce, which is unstable. A truce can be violated

DAVOS, Switzerland — Climate issues are set to be one of the main talking points at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week, but a survey of CEOs released Monday shows that they are not even ranked among the top ten threats to business growth.

In its annual report ahead of the gathering in Davos, financial services group PwC said climate change and environmental issues are ranked as the 11th biggest threat to their companies’ growth prospects. Though up one spot from the same survey a year ago, climate-related issues lag way behind other concerns such as over-regulation, which ranks as the number 1 worry. Other concerns in the top 10 include trade conflicts, lack of skills among workers and populism in politics.

According to the survey, 24% of CEOs are “extremely concerned” about climate-related issues, compared to 38% for over-regulation.

As they gather

CALGARY — The oil and gas industry needs to increase efforts to address climate change or risk becoming socially unacceptable and unprofitable, according to a new International Energy Agency report.

“No energy company will be unaffected by clean energy transitions,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, in a statement Monday.

The world is demanding energy services and emissions reductions at the same time, the report said. Social pressures on the industry are rising, it noted, highlighting growing opposition to new infrastructure projects in certain areas and fracking bans.

“Every part of the industry needs to consider how to respond. Doing nothing is simply not an option.”

Some companies have taken steps to address climate change, but the report said the industry as a whole could do more.

The diverse industry requires a variety of approaches dependant on individual company’s circumstances, according to the report, which was produced in co-operation