A hybrid bus given a trial run on Copenhagen’s busiest route has been sent back to the garage

An ambitious plan to replace Copenhagen’s diesel powered buses with hybrid vehicles has been shelved after trials revealed that the new climate-friendly bus had too few seats.

Although the single bus successfully managed the busy 5A route from Amager to Husum, and cut down CO2 emissions by as much as 30 percent, it proved to be too small to carry the number of passengers required, according to Netbus, the company which arranged the one-month trial.

New EU regulations on the treatment and disposal of manure have been difficult for Danish councils and farmers to get a grip on

Environmental organisations are having unlimited success in cases they have filed against councils and farmers over the handling and disposal of animal waste, reports Berlingske Tidende newspaper.

According to the newspaper, the Ecological Council (DØR) has won all of its 28 complaints with the Environmental Appeals Board since the latest EU rule revisions on preserving protected areas and limited manure odours were recently enacted.

Arrival of species on the brink of extinction heralds hope that conservation efforts are working

Ornithologists are flocking to the island of Amager, near Copenhagen Airport, to spot a group of pygmy geese that has landed there.  Ten of the birds, thought to represent half of the entire population, were seen at a nature reserve on the southern tip of the island. The birds were stopping off on their annual migration route which takes them from the Caspian Sea to their summer breeding grounds in northern Norway.

The birds’ numbers have plummeted in recent years as they have been hunted and driven out of their natural habitat. But an international initiative to give them a fighting chance, including measures such as taking their eggs and hatching them in ‘safe’ areas of Lapland, seems to be paying off.

Thousands of tonnes of industrial and building waste discovered ploughed into land adjacent to local beauty spot

An investigation has been launched after it was revealed that some 20,000 tonnes of waste has been discovered ploughed into farmland next to the Mariager Fjord in Jutland, reports broadcaster DR.

Plasterboard, Styrofoam chips, copper wire and paint are just some of the materials that have ended up in the ground. Nearby is a 50 meter-long and seven-meter-deep pile of waste, seemingly ready for to be ploughed in.

Kasper Fuhr Christensen, chairman of the technical and environmental department at Randers Council, said the discovery is worrying.

‘We will immediately begin to explore what it is and what has happened,’ he said.

‘And then, of course, we expect that this kind of thing will never happen again – it’s just not acceptable,’ he added.

Heavy police presence as Australian COP15 climate activist appears at Copenhagen City Court

Natasha Verco, the climate activist arrested at the start of the COP15 climate conference last year arrived in Copenhagen City Court looking nervous ahead of her hearing this morning.  She is charged with planning illegal protests – something she strongly denies.

Verco, a founding member of the Australian branch of Friends of the Earth, was arrested by plain clothes officers while she was riding her bike last December and held in custody for three weeks.

There was a heavy police presence at the courthouse and the hearing had to be moved to a larger room to accommodate Verco’s numerous supporters. Also at the court was American Noah Daniel Weiss, who was also arrested in December and will face similar charges on 19 March.

Verco, who lives in Sweden with her partner, does not deny participating in demonstrations during the summit, but denies that she was instrumental in planning any unlawful activities. She also alleges that the police used unnecessary force during her arrest, when, she said, she was pushed off her bicycle by a group of undercover officers.

Company beats its own targets for lowering emissions of greenhouse gases five years ahead of schedule

Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has managed to lower its CO2 emissions by 30 percent despite significantly increasing production. The reduction is so large that the company has now reached its goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions five years ahead of target, reports trade journal Ingeniøren.

A target of a 10 percent reduction by 2014 was set in 2004 and, even though the company produced more insulin during the period, the target was easily reached ahead of schedule.

Agricultural practices and high reliance on coal, oil and gas gives the country a poor environmental ranking

Denmark is ranked a modest 32nd in the ‘Environmental Performance Index 2010’, compiled by researchers from American Ivy League universities Yale and Columbia.

The index ranks 163 countries, measuring factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, protection of habitats for fauna and flora, general pollution, aquatic environments and sanitation.

Police release four Royal gala dinner gate-crashers after more than three weeks in custody

The Greenpeace activists who gate-crashed a royal reception for heads of state during the UN climate conference in December have been released after spending 20 days in police custody.

The four climate change activists managed to slip past heavy security at Christiansborg Palace after arriving in limousines and evening dress, and with the help of false number plates and blue flashing lights purchased in a toy store.

Two of the activists unfurled banners that read ‘Politicians Talk, Leaders Act’ in front of the media before security officers got hold of them.

Three of the activists have been held for 20 days, while the fourth has spent 19 days behind bars.

The four are director of Greenpeace Spain Juan Lopez de Uralde, Norwegian development manager Nora Christiansen, Greenpeace Switzerland logistics coordinator Christian Schmutz, and Joris Thijssen from the Netherlands.

Greenpeace accused Danish police of unwarranted retaliation by detaining the four.

‘These four brave colleagues have spent many long nights, including Christmas and New Year away from their partners and children because police lost their cool,’ said Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace’s International Executive Director.

The four were released after Greenpeace cooperated and provided police with the details of five accomplices who helped the activists to gatecrash the event.