ederal prosecutors filed multiple criminal charges against Duke Energy on Friday over years of illegal pollution leaking from coal ash dumps at five North Carolina power plants.

The three U.S. Attorney's Offices covering the state charged Duke with nine misdemeanor counts involving violations of the Clean Water Act. The prosecutors say the nation's largest electricity company engaged in unlawful dumping at coal-fired power plants in Eden, Moncure, Asheville, Goldsboro and Mt. Holly.

Corals may be better equipped to tolerate climate change than previously believed, according to research led by Griffith University's Dr Emma Kennedy.

Working with scientists from the University of Exeter in the UK, Dr Kennedy says the findings -- published in the journal Coral Reefs -- relate to an extensive study of Caribbean corals, but could influence future analysis of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

A landmark directive with the potential to ban tar sands oil from Europe has been reprieved, the Guardian has learned.

The EU’s most senior energy official confirmed that the fuel quality directive (FQD) to encourage greener road fuels will not be scrapped at the end of the decade, as had been thought.

Around 15% of Europe’s carbon emissions come from road transport and ambitious plans for cutting emissions from vehicles are expected to form a significant chunk of the bloc’s ‘Energy Union’ proposals next week.

2015 could see coral bleaching on a global scale for the third time in history – and the first in the absence of an El Niño.

That is the latest prediction from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), which has just launched a model to forecast threats facing the colourful reefs.