International: Europe
Damage to Ukraine’s renewable energy sector could surpass $1 billion
22 Apr 2022
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has leveled schools, businesses, hospitals, and homes, causing up to $63 billion in damages to Ukraine’s infrastructure by the end of March, according to estimates by the Kyiv School of Economics
Vehicle CO2 emissions fall in 17 Europe markets
22 Apr 2022
Volume weighted average CO2 emissions in some Europe markets fell from 117.7g/km in 2020 to 99g/km last year, following introduction of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).
To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas
21 Apr 2022
European officials are debating whether they can stop buying natural gas imports from Russia. Many say it can't be done. But the biggest city in Switzerland — Zurich — is already taking ambitious steps to wean itself off gas. It's shutting down the flow of gas to whole parts of the city.
Climate action in Ireland is not following climate ambition
21 Apr 2022
During 2021, Ireland (https://www.irishtimes.com/news) made a transformational change in terms of climate ambition.
Methane reducing pilot to reduce GHG emissions from cows by 30%
21 Apr 2022
European dairy co-operative, Arla Foods and global science-based company, Royal DSM are set to start a large-scale, on-farm pilot with the methane-reducing feed additive Bovaer, involving 10,000 dairy cows across three European countries.
Denmark ‘first country in the world’ to develop its own climate label for food
20 Apr 2022
Denmark is investing DKK 9m (€1.2m) in the development of a government-run climate label for food.
Germany’s largest dairy co-op launches vegan product range
20 Apr 2022
Germany’s biggest dairy co-op, DMK Group, is expanding its Milram range to include oat-based desserts and drinks.
Macron uses climate change to attack Le Pen
19 Apr 2022
In a bid to woo left-wing voters for the final round of the French presidential election, Emmanuel Macron on Saturday slammed his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen as a “climate skeptic” and trumpeted his own plans to build a green economy.
Biomass industry pushes back against Europe's plans to protect forests
14 Apr 2022
A powerful US biomass lobby group is pushing for a raft of changes that would weaken European renewable energy rules geared to better protect biodiversity and tackle climate change, DeSmog can reveal.
Sweden set to be world’s first country to target consumption-based emission cuts
12 Apr 2022
Sweden’s political parties have agreed to include consumption-based emissions within its climate targets, making it the first country in the world to make the leap into the complex realm of overseas emissions reporting.
KLM’s carbon neutral claim is misleading: watchdog
11 Apr 2022
KLM cannot truthfully say its flights are carbon neutral, according to Dutch advertising watchdog Stichting Reclame Code (SRC). The committee's verdict was seen Friday by Bloomberg.
EU Commission lays out plan to become climate neutral by 2030
7 Apr 2022
The European Commission unveiled plans to cut its own greenhouse gas emissions by 60% before the end of the decade, saying the remainder will be compensated with carbon removals
Milking the EU’s carbon market cash cow for industry
7 Apr 2022
Rather than propose amendments to the EU’s Emissions Trading System that would take the heat off the climate and serve society, European parliamentarians are squabbling over the quantity of freebies to offer polluting industries.
Germany boosts renewables with “biggest energy policy reform in decades”
7 Apr 2022
Germany wants to fight the climate crisis and its heavy dependence on fossil fuel imports by speeding up the rollout of renewables with a massive overhaul of key energy legislation.
France fails to meet court deadline to get Paris climate deal objectives back on track
1 Apr 2022
With 10 days to go to the French presidential election, the government has just broken a deadline to realign itself with the Paris Climate Agreement objectives.
In Austria, the government pays to repair your stuff
1 Apr 2022
Taking the “right to repair” one step further, a Viennese repair bonus is going national — and keeping thousands of items out of the junkyard
Sweden’s innovative wooden skyscraper captures as much carbon as 10,000 forests
29 Mar 2022
Between the towering trees of Sweden's Bothnian coastline, a new skyscraper is bucking the trend of the traditionally carbon-heavy construction industry.
Germany’s new government had big plans on climate, then Russia invaded Ukraine
28 Mar 2022
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has made Germany’s reliance on Russian oil and gas untenable, and led the center-left government of Chancellor Olav Scholz to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
Germany lowers petrol and public transport prices
25 Mar 2022
Germany’s government coalition will introduce one-off bonuses, lower taxes on fuels and cheap public transport tickets as part of a wide-ranging relief package against rising energy costs.
Putin’s climate envoy Anatoly Chubais quits
24 Mar 2022
Anatoly Chubais, the architect of Russia's market reforms in the 1990s and President Vladimir Putin's climate envoy, has quit his post, becoming the highest-ranking official to stand down following the invasion of Ukraine.
High energy costs intensify debate over Europe's carbon plan
18 Mar 2022
A European Union plan to charge fuel suppliers for the CO2 emitted by cars and heating buildings is emerging as the most contentious element in a raft of climate change policies the bloc’s member states are negotiating this year.
Some EU members turn back to coal to cut reliance on Russian gas
17 Mar 2022
Several EU countries have put their coal phase-out plans on hold as to continue would mean relying on natural gas imports from Russia. Instead of investments in gas infrastructure, renewables or other alternatives, the extension of coal mining is considered the quickest and most viable solution.
French election campaign ignores ‘humanity’s greatest challenge’
17 Mar 2022
It’s a key preoccupation of the French and the greatest challenge to our planet – and yet the subject of climate change has all but vanished from France’s presidential campaign, sidelined by the war in Ukraine, a lack of media exposure, and candidates’ own reluctance to broach the subject.
EU nations reach agreement on carbon tax
16 Mar 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron has revealed that European Union (EU) member states have reached an agreement on a carbon tax.
Climate group prepares legal action against Shell directors
16 Mar 2022
Shell’s board of directors bears personal responsibility for not preparing to cut emissions quickly enough, an environmental shareholder group has claimed in the first significant attempt to hold individual executives legally accountable for alleged failures to tackle climate change.
Germany plans new energy price relief for consumers
15 Mar 2022
The German government plans a new relief package to help consumers cope with rising energy prices. The price increases overburden many people, Green economy and climate minister Robert Habeck told newswire dpa.
Tens of thousands march in climate protests across France
14 Mar 2022
Tens of thousands of people protested across France Saturday to call for more attention to the climate crisis in the runup to presidential polls next month.
Ukraine invasion crashes carbon credit prices
11 Mar 2022
The Russian invasion of Ukraine roiled financial markets across the world, and the European carbon credit market was no exception. As the price of oil surged, carbon credit prices plummeted.
Barcelona-style “superblocks” could make a surprising number of cities greener and less car-centric
10 Mar 2022
More than 40% of the street network in some cities is suitable for transformation similar to Barcelona-style “superblocks,” according to a new study. The findings highlight the possibilities as well as the complexities of making neighborhoods in diverse cities greener and less car-centric.
EU unveils plan to end reliance on Russian gas
9 Mar 2022
As countries scramble to reduce their reliance on Russia's oil and gas in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, few places are as exposed as the European Union.
Carbon prices in the EU crash despite rising fossil fuel prices
8 Mar 2022
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the price of carbon allowances in the EU has fallen drastically, lowering the cost to emit carbon despite record high fossil fuel prices.
Berlin to unleash €200 billion for climate protection until 2026
8 Mar 2022
The German government will funnel an extra €200 billion into climate protection, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in a move widely considered a bid to pacify their Green coalition partners over increased military spending.
A radical, carbon negative project in Turkey is turning algae into bio-jet fuel
8 Mar 2022
The first carbon-negative biorefinery in Europe opened in Istanbul and is utilising algae to make a variety of products for multiple sectors in Turkey.
EU carbon permit prices crash after Russian invasion of Ukraine
3 Mar 2022
The price of carbon permits in Europe has crashed dramatically following Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, lowering the cost of emitting carbon for the EU’s most polluting companies.
Stilride uses "industrial origami" to create stainless steel electric scooter
3 Mar 2022
Swedish startup Stilride has unveiled the electric Sport Utility Scooter One, which is manufactured from stainless steel using an origami-like process that reduces the amount of material used.
100% green power by 2035 – high hopes for Germany's next renewables reform
2 Mar 2022
Germany’s government has initiated the first steps of a wide-ranging renewables reform that should make the country’s power supply almost 100 percent renewable by 2035.
EU wants to reward farmers and foresters for nature-based carbon removals
25 Feb 2022
By 2030, the European Commission wants a complete overhaul of Europe’s natural landscapes – switching from unhealthy ecosystems at risk of emitting carbon to restored homes for biodiversity that capture and store carbon.
Guinness aims to brew good by cutting the carbon footprint of its barley
24 Feb 2022
My goodness — my Guinness is going green. The Irish brewery is launching an agricultural program to make its iconic stouts more sustainable.
Why plant-based biofuels are not the silver bullet to Europe's carbon problem
24 Feb 2022
Crop fuels are "fake solutions" to the pressing problem of reducing carbon emissions, concludes a new study commissioned by Environmental Action Germany (DUH).
Irish opposition demands scrapping of carbon tax increase to fight cost of living crisis
22 Feb 2022
Opposition party Sinn Féin will this week table a motion to scrap the increase in carbon tax scheduled for this spring in response to Ireland’s cost of living crisis.
German NGOs call on govt to soon start returning CO2 price revenues to citizens
18 Feb 2022
Germany’s government should soon introduce a so-called climate premium (“Klimageld”) to return the revenues from the national carbon price on transport and heating fuels to citizens, said a group of civil society groups including Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and Germanwatch.
Lead EU lawmaker proposes carbon market rules to respond to price spikes
17 Feb 2022
The European Parliament's lead lawmaker on reforms to the EU carbon market on Wednesday proposed rules to make it easier for policymakers to intervene in the scheme if prices rise too fast.
Poland calls on EU to remove 'speculators' from its carbon market
16 Feb 2022
Poland has urged the European Union to introduce "control mechanisms" to the bloc's carbon market and curb financial speculators' participation in the scheme, the Polish government said on Tuesday.
German transport ministry opposes raising ambition in EU fleet emission target
15 Feb 2022
The German transport ministry wants to prevent attempts to step up the climate ambitions of the EU's future car fleet emission targets, reports Der Spiegel.
Italy expects EU carbon price to trade around 80 euros per tonne this year
9 Feb 2022
Italy expects the price of permits on the European Union's carbon market to trade at an average of 80 euros ($91) per tonne this year, giving the government more funds to curb soaring energy bills, a Treasury document seen by Reuters showed.
Greenpeace International boss appointed as Germany's climate envoy
9 Feb 2022
Jennifer Morgan, who heads the environmental group Greenpeace International, is to become Germany's new climate envoy.
European carbon price climbs to new high
4 Feb 2022
The cost of polluting in the European Union jumped to a fresh record, with utilities looking to burn more coal just as the supply of permits dries up.
New EU green finance strategy shuns decision on nuclear and gas power
3 Feb 2022
The EU is seeking to underpin its ambition to become the world's leading market for climate-friendly investments with an overhauled sustainable finance strategy and a new green bond standard.
New transport blueprint unveiled for Scotland
1 Feb 2022
A mass transit network in Glasgow and bridges or tunnels to some of Scotland's islands are among the ideas in the Scottish government's new transport strategy.
8 reasons Finland is winning on climate: opinion
31 Jan 2022
The race to act on climate breakdown and ecological crisis is against time - rather than each other. Finland, though, is definitely way ahead of the pack.
Rio Tinto urges Albanese govt to reimpose carbon tax, boost green energy subsidies
Thu 17 Jul 2025
The mining giant has used it’s submission to the Productivity Commission ahead of the Albanese government’s economic roundtable to lobby for the re-imposition of a carbon pricing scheme and bolstered green energy subsidies.
Why flash floods like those in Texas and New York are becoming more common
Fri 18 Jul 2025
Storms sweeping through the U.S. this summer have dumped intense rain on cities across the country, left towns flood-ravaged and forced water rescues.
EU wants to see China take more ambitious climate action
Tue 15 Jul 2025
The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
Thu 17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Is Mark Carney turning his back on climate action?
23 Jun 2025
The G7 summit in Alberta, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, has ended with only passing mention of fighting climate change, including a statement on wildfires that is silent on the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Amid stifling summers Japan warns of future restrictions on children’s sport
Fri 18 Jul 2025
As soon as 2060, global heating may send temperatures high enough to stop children in most parts of country from taking part in outdoor summer sports, study shows.
Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
27 Jun 2025
With their country threatened by sea level rise, the people of Tuvalu have been offered an escape route through an agreement with Australia, and many are contemplating leaving their home.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
How Ireland’s ‘mediocre’ milk powder made it big in West Africa
Wed 16 Jul 2025
Polluting dairy industry accused of using “highly unethical” marketing to pass off ultra-processed “poor quality by-products” as milk.
Illegal loggers profit from Brazil’s carbon credit projects
Thu 17 Jul 2025
How a system designed to protect the world’s biggest rainforest is funding businesses with a track record of illegal deforestation.
UN Human Rights Council fails to call out fossil fuels after decision cuts mention
11 Jul 2025
A proposal by the Marshall Islands and Colombia calling for a transition away from fossil fuels at the UN Human Rights Council failed to make it into the council’s declaration on climate change and human rights issued on Tuesday.
