<p>The Spanish government has given oil group Repsol the go-ahead to begin drilling in the Canary Islands. Repsol, which has long sought approval to tap what may be Spain’s most significant oil source, has been held up by environmental concerns and government delays for over a decade. Now, the industry ministry has granted the company a three-year license to drill in several sites off the coast of the archipelago. While the Spanish government states that its decision was backed by rigorous scientific research, the drilling project has been met with strong opposition.

<p>The United States, Taiwan, and Clean Air Asia—an alliance representing organizations in China, India, and Indonesia—have signed a deal to curb city air pollution. The new deal, called the Cities Clean Air Partnership (CCAP), is the first major clean air partnership program designed to clean up cities in the Asia-Pacific region. The program will include sharing technologies, instituting a certification and scoring system to encourage clean air actions, and offering financial incentives to high-performing cities.

<p>Last week, Chilean lawmakers approved an initiative to ban trawling, a method of fishing that involves pulling a net through the water behind boats. The draft agreement, which would prohibit trawling within Chile’s exclusive economic zone and territorial sea, pointed to the damage the use of trawl nets can do to marine ecosystems.