International: Europe
Sicily may have recorded highest ever European temp - 48.8C
13 Aug 2021
UN weather experts said on Thursday that they’re “actively looking” into a possible record temperature for Continental Europe of 48.8 Celsius near the town of Syracuse in Sicily, amid devastating wildfires in Mediterranean countries and Russia.
Priest sews his mouth shut over 'muting of climate science
4 Aug 2021
A priest has sewn his lips together to protest against the “suppression” of climate science in Rupert Murdoch's media outlets.
Carbon tariffs ‘not a bad thing’: WWF
30 Jul 2021
WWF International president Pavan Sukhde. a former managing director of Deutsche Bank, has expressed support for carbon tariffs in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
EU's electricity demand jumps but emissions steady
29 Jul 2021
Electricity demand in the European Union has returned to pre-pandemic levels without a corresponding rise in emissions.
Analysts raise EU carbon price forecasts
28 Jul 2021
Analysts have raised their European carbon market average price forecasts after the European Commission unveiled a package of policies to implement its climate targets, including reforms to limit the number of carbon permits available.
Ireland signs ambitious Climate Act into law
28 Jul 2021
Ireland’s ambitious Climate Act, which has set a legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030, has now been signed into law.
French lawmakers adopt compromise climate bill
21 Jul 2021
France’s parliament yesterday approved a compromise climate bill that was intended to transform travel, housing and industry but which environmental activists said doesn’t go fast or far enough to slash the country’s carbon emissions.
Angela Merkel calls for climate change action
19 Jul 2021
"The German language hardly knows any words for the devastation that has been caused here," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Before adding, the force of this weekend's storms suggested they had something to do with climate change.
EU unveils sweeping climate change plan
15 Jul 2021
The European Union has announced a raft of climate change proposals aimed at pushing it towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Methane-powered moped
15 Jul 2021
Dutchman Gijs Schalkx harvests methane from ponds — by hand — and uses it to power his moped.
Europe's addiction to climate subsidies risks trade war
13 Jul 2021
Former EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard and former WTO director-general Pascal Lamy are warning that the addiction of some of Europe's industries to climate subsidies risks sparking a trade war.
Major overhaul of Europe's ETS on the cards
13 Jul 2021
The European Union is due to propose an unprecedented overhaul to its carbon market this week, seeking to put a price on shipping emissions for the first time.
Europe's plan to grow carbon sinks
9 Jul 2021
The European Union has drafted plans to build up forests, grasslands and other natural "carbon sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to help curb climate change.
Emissions should be treated like financial debt: researchers
9 Jul 2021
Researchers have proposed a scheme that treats carbon emissions like financial debt.
Green hydrogen uneconomic without subsidies
8 Jul 2021
Even if European carbon prices more than tripled to 200 euros ($236), hydrogen from renewable energy would still struggle to compete with fossil fuels without further government support.
Sami object to geoengineering plans
8 Jul 2021
The Sami people of Northern Sweden say blocking out the sun with reflective particles to cool the earth is the kind of thinking that produced the climate crisis in the first place
French court orders government to act on climate
7 Jul 2021
France’s top administrative court has ordered the government to take “all necessary additional steps” within the next nine months to enable it to reach its climate crisis targets or face possible sanctions, including substantial fines.
EU to funnel hundreds of billions to sustainable finance
7 Jul 2021
The European Union says it will harness banks and markets to funnel hundreds of billions of euros annually into sustainable investments and create the first “climate-neutral continent” by 2050.
Business views EU carbon levy as protectionest
6 Jul 2021
The EU faces an uphill battle to convince trading partners that the world’s first levy on carbon imports is fair, workable and a necessary part of the bloc’s attempted green revolution as opposed to a protectionist tool.
More than 90% of Europeans consider climate change a serious problem
6 Jul 2021
A new Eurobarometer survey shows that European citizens believe climate change is the single most serious problem facing the world.
EVs make up one in nine of all new cars in Europe
30 Jun 2021
One in every nine new cars sold in Europe last year was an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, with low-emission car sales surging even as the COVID-19 pandemic knocked overall vehicle sales.
EU approves landmark climate law
29 Jun 2021
European Union countries yesterday gave the final seal of approval to a law to make the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions targets legally binding, as EU policymakers prepare a huge new package of policies to fight climate change.
German citizens' assembly offers emission-slashing solutions
25 Jun 2021
To a flurry of online applause and waving hands, citizens from across Germany agreed Wednesday night on more than 80 ways for the country to meet its commitments to slash emissions under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
France introduces corporate climate disclosures
23 Jun 2021
France is striving to confirm its position as a global leader in corporate climate disclosures with a new set of binding targets that require investors to declare how green their assets.
EU to compensate vulnerable household for carbon related price hikes
16 Jun 2021
The European Commission is setting up a fund to support vulnerable households whose fuel bills increase as a result of its plan to expand carbon pricing to transport and buildings’ heating systems.
Fighting climate change one maggot burger at a time
15 Jun 2021
Fancy maggot burgers for dinner? Eating animals and plants which revolt many of us could cut hunger caused by climate change.
Swiss reject climate tax hike
14 Jun 2021
Exit polls on Sunday indicated that Swiss voters appear to have narrowly rejected a proposed “carbon dioxide law” that would have hiked fees and taxes on fuels that produce greenhouse gases.
Looming EU carbon tariffs
11 Jun 2021
Europe is preparing legislation that would jolt the rules of international trade by taxing imported goods based on the greenhouse gases emitted to make them.
Germany's citizens' assembly on climate
8 Jun 2021
A diverse group of 160 German citizens have until the end of June to present their recommendations for climate protection to the government. DW spoke to two participants.
World's first carbon-neutral cement plant to open in Sweden
3 Jun 2021
HeidelbergCement have announced its intention to upgrade its facility on the Swedish island of Gotland to become the world’s first carbon-neutral cement plant.
Finland aims to be carbon negative
1 Jun 2021
Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin outlines her country's ambitious plan to be climate neutral by 2035 and carbon negative - removing more carbon than it emits - soon after.
Doctors urge global action against climate-linked health risks
31 May 2021
Hundreds of health workers marched to the World Health Organisation on Saturday demanding that authorities in all countries recognise and act to counter the health risks of climate change.
Shell Oil ordered to limit emissions in historic court case
27 May 2021
Environmental campaigners in the Netherlands and around the world are celebrating today after a court in The Hague ordered oil firm Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions, in a first-of-its-kind case that pitted climate activists against an oil giant.
EU attempt to set tougher climate change target stalls
26 May 2021
European Union leaders on Tuesday shelved an attempt to direct how the bloc will set new national targets for emissions cuts, weeks before Brussels is due to propose a huge package of tougher climate change policies.
Demand for "green aluminium" growing
25 May 2021
Russia’s Rusal ,the world’s largest aluminium producer outside China, announced last week it plans to spin off its higher-carbon production assets into a new company, leaving its low-carbon refineries and smelters in a rebranded “AL+” \
World's largest carbon market booming
20 May 2021
The cost of polluting in Europe is experiencing a meteoric rise unlike any period since its inception in 2005, driven higher by the region’s ambitious climate policy and increased financial investment in the market.
High carbon price hits coal
13 May 2021
Europe's record-high carbon prices are driving down coal use,
German constitutional court backs climate action
10 May 2021
A ruling last week by the German Constitutional Court in favour of ecological NGOs has major significance—and not just for Germany.
Climate change impacts price stability: ECB
10 May 2021
Climate change is already impacting price stability and it will have an effect on monetary policy, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Friday.
Dutch banning fossil fuel advertising
7 May 2021
How do you wean the Dutch off fossil fuels? Well, you could always start by banning advertisements that promote them.
Expert calls for drastic cut to size of houses
4 May 2021
Energy efficient building renovation is not enough to lessen the climate impact of residential buildings, according to one sustainability expert who is calling for a limit on the living space allocated per person in residential homes.
The geopolitics of climate change
30 Apr 2021
The European Union is emerging as the world’s climate trailblazer - argue two top ranking European Union bureaucrats.
Online platform to sell forests
29 Apr 2021
RTE reports on a new online platform to sell off-setting forests.
EU carbon prices hit all-time high
23 Apr 2021
EU carbon allowance prices hit an all-time high of over Eur47/mt April 22 as bullish mood continued in the market in the wake of the EU's informal agreement on a revamped 2030 emissions reduction goal.
Europe to overhaul corporate climate disclosure
22 Apr 2021
The European Commission is proposing an overhaul of the union's corporate sustainability reporting and disclosure framework.
Dutch cities heading for zero emission deliveries
21 Apr 2021
Cities in the Netherlands want to make their air cleaner by banning fossil fuel delivery vehicles from urban areas from 2025.
Europe risks €87 billion in stranded fossil gas assets
15 Apr 2021
Europe is building or planning to build €87 billion worth of fossil gas infrastructure in a continued expansion of pipelines and LNG terminals, despite the need to halve emissions by 2030.
Dutch going with the flow
15 Apr 2021
In Amsterdam, a group of forward-thinking people decided to go with the flow. Schoonschip, a self-sustaining floating community of more than 100 residents, boasts innovative technology like 500 solar panels and a green roof on every house.
France's e-bikes for clunkers scheme
13 Apr 2021
France is offering the owners of old, exhaust-belching cars the opportunity to hand over their vehicles for scrap in return for a 2,500 euro grant to buy an electric bicycle.
Greenlanders vote for the environment
12 Apr 2021
A fight over Greenland's rich oil, gas and mineral deposits is raging, as global warming melts ice and exposes rich reserves. Now Greenlanders are struggling to balance economic growth and environmental protection.
Datacentres should be forced to invest in wind and solar energy, all states agree – except Queensland
Wed 13 May 2026
Power hungry datacentres that are growing to meet the demands of artificial intelligence could be forced to invest in enough new solar and wind generation to completely cover their electricity needs.
US EPA moves to speed clean air permits for power plants, industry
Wed 13 May 2026
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it would speed up the process for large polluters to obtain clean air permits, the latest move by the Trump administration to ease regulatory burdens on American power plants and industry.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
Nature recovery zones inspired by Attenborough
Tue 12 May 2026
A wildlife trust has been inspired by Sir David Attenborough's climate change mantra to designate 11 nature recovery zones in honour of the broadcaster's 100th birthday.
Carbon capture ‘doesn’t work’: Former British Columbia premier
Fri 8 May 2026
Former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell warned the costly, troubled technology has failed to deliver, undercutting a central justification for billions in public subsidies and new oil infrastructure.
Climate change, socioeconomic shifts threaten Nepal’s yak herding traditions
7 May 2026
According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), warming temperatures are fundamentally altering Himalayan high-altitude ecosystems.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
4 May 2026
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
Mon 11 May 2026
Scientists have finally identified the ‘triple whammy’ behind Antarctica’s dramatic collapse, shedding new light on the chain reaction that has pushed its sea ice to record lows.
With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future
5 May 2026
Comment: Last month, Ghana made news when it declared its first marine reserve and sited it in one of the nation’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments.
The country where lethal hantavirus cases are on the rise. Experts blame climate change
Wed 13 May 2026
Experts believe environmental degradation caused by climate change and human activity is contributing to its spread by allowing the rodents that transmit the virus to thrive in new areas.
UN methane alert system expanded to coal and waste sectors after Indian landfill named among world’s top emitters
6 May 2026
The United Nations is expanding its methane monitoring system to cover coal mines and waste facilities, after satellite analysis identified a landfill in India among the world’s three largest methane-emitting sites.
