International: Europe
Green Deal could cost 11m jobs, say unions
10 Mar 2020
Trade unions have stepped up warnings that the Green Deal put forward by the European Commission in December last year could put 11 million jobs at risk.
Build a North Sea wall and save Europe
6 Mar 2020
Two European scientists have proposed the ultimate flood barrier: they want to dam the North Sea and the English Channel with more than 600 kilometres of sea wall.
EU unveils law for climate neutrality by 2050
5 Mar 2020
Net-zero emissions by 2050 is set to be a legally binding objective for all 27 EU member states, according to the bloc's first climate law.
Countries line up for EU climate fight cash
4 Mar 2020
The European Commission has revealed which countries are eligible to split a €7.5 billion-strong climate fund, earmarked for spending on cleaning up heavy industry and supporting workers in the fossil fuel industry.
EIB vows new backing for environment projects
3 Mar 2020
The European Investment Bank is promising to help to boost climate and environment funding.
Netherlands faces pressure as global test case
28 Feb 2020
The Netherlands is under pressure to slash emissions in sectors such as power generation and agriculture after a ruling by a top court made the government a reluctant test case for tougher global climate policies.
EU plans to halve municipal waste by 2030
18 Feb 2020
The European Commission will aim to “absolutely decouple” economic growth from natural resource use in a draft circular economy action plan due to be unveiled in March.
Europe’s airports face watery grave
18 Feb 2020
More than 20 of Europe’s airports could be under water by the end of the century if current climate trends continue.
Maps of Europe predict scale of climate catastrophe
12 Feb 2020
A series of detailed maps have laid bare the scale of possible forest fires, floods, droughts and deluges that Europe could face by the end of the century without urgent action to adapt to and confront global heating.
Europe falls off the pace with solar power
10 Feb 2020
Europe is falling well behind in the race to install enough solar power to keep the rise in global temperatures below dangerous levels, and to reach its own renewable energy targets.
Timber buildings can slow climate change
5 Feb 2020
European and US scientists have a root-and-branch answer to the challenge of tomorrow’s cities: switch to wood construct timber buildings and reduce the risk of even more devastating global temperature rise.
Oslo court backs Arctic oil exploration
30 Jan 2020
An Oslo appeals court has endorsed Norway’s plan for new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.
Europe Green Deal will change whole economy
12 Dec 2019
Nearly every major aspect of the European economy is to be re-evaluated in light of the imperatives of the climate and ecological emergency, according to sweeping new plans set out by the European Commission.
This small German town took back the power
11 Dec 2019
The case for ambitious and transformative environmental policy is being made with increasing fervour and a series of “Green New Deals” have been proposed.
Denmark adopts climate law to cut emissions
10 Dec 2019
Denmark’s parliament has adopted a new climate law, committing to reach 70 per cent below its 1990 emissions in the next 11 years.
Iceland does an Ardern on green priority
6 Dec 2019
Iceland Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir has urged governments to adopt green and family-friendly priorities, instead of just focusing on economic growth figures.
EU parliament declares climate emergency
29 Nov 2019
The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
New EU chief flags climate policy as top issue
28 Nov 2019
European Commission Presiden Ursula von der Leyen has cited climate policy as the most pressing issue facing her new executive team.
EU split on declaring climate emergency
27 Nov 2019
The European parliament is split over whether to declare a global climate emergency before next week’s crucial UN summit.
EU cities confront building emissions
22 Nov 2019
The European Union last year embarked on a mission to decarbonise the building sector, currently responsible for 40% of the bloc’s energy use.
Germany approves climate protection law
19 Nov 2019
The German lower house has approved a major climate protection package which aims to ensure the country will meet its 2030 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
No more money for fossil-fuel projects, says EIB
18 Nov 2019
The European Investment Bank will stop funding fossil-fuel projects at the end of 2021, a landmark decision that potentially deals a blow to billions of dollars of gas projects in the pipeline.
Green-wise Norway is drilling more wells
14 Nov 2019
Never mind how many electric cars are sold there, Norway has to change tack and end prospecting for new oil reserves.
Fuel industry forces Russia to change plans
30 Oct 2019
The Russian government has gutted its proposed law to regulate emissions, apparently caving in to the country’s powerful fossil fuel industry.
FARTY PARTY: Munich beer bash is a gas for emissions
29 Oct 2019
Scientists say the annual Munich Oktoberfest celebration of beer, bands and bratwurst produces methane emissions as high as some major cities.
Macron turns on climate protesters
25 Oct 2019
Why are climate protesters being tear-gassed under the watch of France’s president, a self-defined climate champion?
Europe’s largest floating solar plant up and running
21 Oct 2019
The Rhône valley in southern France is best known for its wines and food. Now, it can also add solar power to its list of attractions.
EU bank puts off climate policy decision
18 Oct 2019
The European Investment Bank has decided to delay until next month a decision on updating its energy lending policy.
Italy eyes cheaper food without packaging
18 Oct 2019
Italian shoppers could soon enjoy a discount on products sold loose as part of a range of measures expected to be approved by the government.
Copenhagen sprints to crown of first carbon-neutral capital
16 Oct 2019
Green growth and ‘hedonistic sustainability’ have helped to keep the public on board as Copenhagen seeks to be the first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
VILLAGERS DIG IN: 'Human rights before mining rights'
1 Oct 2019
Villagers living on the edge of one of Germany’s biggest surface coalmines have vowed not sell their properties to the energy company RWE, and to fight any attempt to oust them from their homes.
Poland plunges ahead with new coal mines
30 Sep 2019
Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party plans to introduce legislation that will allow the government to open new coal mines without the approval of local authorities.
Activists suing Europe’s biggest coal plant
27 Sep 2019
It is Europe’s biggest coal plant, with annual CO2 emissions roughly equivalent to those of the whole of New Zealand – but the future of the Beùchatów power station in central Poland has been called into question.
Newspaper says no thanks to ads from fossil fuel companies
27 Sep 2019
A Swedish newspaper has announced it will stop taking advertising that promotes fossil fuel-based goods and services with immediate effect.
EU bank begins green metamorphosis
10 Sep 2019
European Investment Bank directors are about to begin discussing an updated lending policy which could see the EU bank stop funding fossil fuel projects.
Green is all the go in Ireland
6 Sep 2019
Ireland is about to get a whole lot greener by planting 440 million trees.
Europe facing dramatic farmland devaluation
5 Sep 2019
Climate change could turn the entire EU agribusiness upside down, according to the European Environment Agency.
Europe confounds warming predictions
3 Sep 2019
Climate change is raising temperatures in Europe even faster than climate models projected.
Frankfurt steels itself for car show anger
30 Aug 2019
The Frankfurt car show is stepping up security checks to prepare for potential disruption by climate activists who are calling for people to join anti-car protests.
How Europe could power the world
16 Aug 2019
Europe has enough space to create millions of wind turbines that could power the entire world until 2050, according to a new scientific analysis.
Glasgow likely host of 2020 climate summit
12 Aug 2019
The UK government has announced the Scottish city of Glasgow would be the stage for next year’s UN climate talks.
The Med is Europe’s most waste-polluted sea
2 Aug 2019
The Mediterranean Sea is the most waste-polluted sea in Europe, according to a 20-year study.
Airport expansion stalls on climate grounds
1 Aug 2019
Marseille Provence Airport has been forced to revisit expansion plans, after the environment authority questioned how they fit with France’s climate targets.
European bank looks to cut all fossil fuel projects
29 Jul 2019
The European Investment Bank has vowed to end its multibillion euro financing for fossil fuel projects by the end of next year.
Von der Leyen faces carbon border tax battle
26 Jul 2019
New European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen must tread carefully if she is to meet her promise to make polluting importers pay.
Climate stance pays off for new EC leader
17 Jul 2019
Ursula von der Leyen has been confirmed as the first women president of the European Commission in a nail-biting vote that put climate change centre stage.
EC candidate sees carbon first for Europe
12 Jul 2019
Europe should become the world’s first climate-neutral continent, says Ursula von der Leyen, who is chasing the European Commission's top job.
France plans eco tax on plane tickets
12 Jul 2019
The French government announced that it will roll out a tax on all international flights departing from France starting in 2020.
Europe tackls China’s dominance of rare earth metals
8 Jul 2019
A new industry association has been launched in Brussels with the aim of bringing together all the players in the supply chain of rare earth metals.
What did Irish citizens’ climate assembly achieve
2 Jul 2019
Ireland’s Citizens' Assembly process has been praised internationally, but citizens’ assemblies are not without their critics.
Australian farmers face 'new world' of extreme weather as scientists urge action on climate change
Fri 6 Jun 2025
Scientists and politicians are warning big policy shifts are needed to mitigate extreme weather impacts, following what farmers describe as unprecedented flooding in the New South Wales Hunter and Mid North Coast regions last month.
How the little-known ‘dark roof’ lobby may be making US cities hotter
Fri 6 Jun 2025
As cities heat up, reflective roofs could lower energy bills and help the climate. But dark-roofing manufacturers are waging a quiet campaign to block new rules.
China's ecology ministry to set up 100 new key labs in eight research fields by 2035
Thu 5 Jun 2025
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China plans to establish around 100 new key laboratories covering eight major research areas over the next ten years to enhance the country's environmental science and technology level.
British farmers 'making a change' to cut carbon emissions
Fri 6 Jun 2025
It follows the UK experiencing the warmest spring on record and predictions of a hotter-than-normal summer, with an increased chance for heatwaves.
'This is classic climate change': Canada's Saskatchewan faces worst wildfire season in decades
Wed 4 Jun 2025
There have been 207 wildfires this year as of Friday – 40 more than in the same period last year.
India calls for more climate contributions ahead of key meeting
Thu 5 Jun 2025
India has put forth its expectations on the ideal “Baku To Belem Roadmap to 1.3T” ahead of the Bonn Climate Meeting which begins on June 16, stating that without sufficient climate finance, even proposed nationally determined contributions will not materialise, leave alone any ambitious future NDCs.
Vanuatu criticises Australia for extending gas project while making COP31 bid
Wed 4 Jun 2025
Vanuatu’s climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia’s decision to extend one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the COP31 summit with Pacific nations.
I just returned from Antarctica: climate change isn’t some far-off problem – it’s here and hitting hard
13 May 2025
Antarctica is often viewed as the last truly remote place on Earth – frozen, wild and untouched. But is it really as untouched as it seems?
Death toll from Nigeria flash floods rises to 151
Tue 3 Jun 2025
At least 151 people in central Nigeria are now known to have died following flash floods that destroyed homes and displaced thousands of residents earlier this week.
South America sets historic benchmark: Zero new coal plants planned
28 May 2025
South America just achieved a remarkable energy milestone, quietly setting a global benchmark: for the first time in history, the entire continent now has zero new coal-fired power plants planned.
From sovereignty to sustainability: United Nations Ocean Conference
Thu 5 Jun 2025
While ocean governance was once designed to protect the marine interests of states, nowadays it must also address the numerous climate and environmental challenges facing the oceans.
