Leading environmental research organisation Earthwatch has announced a new five-year learning and research partnership with global financial services provider HSBC.

Part of the HSBC Water Programme, the partnership will see up to HSBC 100,000 employees worldwide engaged in online learning, ‘hands-on’ research days, and ongoing self-directed data collection.

Working with local conservation partners, Earthwatch will develop research projects in more than 20 of the world’s biggest cities, located near to major HSBC employment hubs.

European Union's 2010 greenhouse gas emissions rise of 2.4% blamed on cold winter and economic recovery in some areas.

Greenhouse gas emissions for the European Union increased in 2010, despite the economic recession and policies intended to tackle climate change.

The increase of 2.4% takes Europe further away from its international commitments to cut carbon dioxide by 2020, and runs counter to advice from climate scientists, who agree that global emissions must peak by 2020 if climate change is not to become catastrophic and irreversible.

More localised flooding could hit parts of southern and eastern England and Wales as another band of heavy rain sweeps in, the Environment Agency has warned.

The agency said the wettest April on record, which caused flooding in some areas last week, had left rivers high and soils saturated, and rain expected to spread across England and Wales in the next 24 hours could lead to localised flooding.

Forecasters say spells of persistent and heavy rain are expected, accompanied by winds of up to 50mph in some areas.

Hundreds of pleasure boats equipped with sophisticated miniature environmental sensors forming a monitoring network transmitting real-time data on the state of the oceans and coasts to scientists might sound like a sci-fi scenario, but it is actually the brain child of an international initiative with an exotic name, YachtGOOS.

YachtGOOS is a recreational Global Ocean Observing System involving yachtsmen and women in a number of countries. It enables real-time, automated monitoring of the marine environment and covers diverse regions of the coastal and open ocean, leading the way in the use of state-of-the-art technology and environmental policy.