International: Europe
Austria govt unveils 'eco' tax reform
4 Oct 2021
Austria's government unveiled on Sunday what it calls an "eco-social" reform of the tax system, a key promise of the conservative-green coalition.
Irish environmentalists call for phasing out of €2bn fossil fuel subsidies
4 Oct 2021
The Irish government must set out a plan in the forthcoming Budget for the removal of over €2 billion in fossil fuels subsidies a year, the climate change umbrella group the Environmental Pillar says.
Climate change concerns influenced German election but will it make a difference to policy?
4 Oct 2021
The impacts of global warming motivated voters, but the results won’t deliver the swift policy changes needed to stop them, writes Inside Climate News' Bob Berwyn.
Data centres should be bound by emissions ceilings: Irish govt
30 Sep 2021
The Irish government will reject a Social Democrats motion in the Dáil to impose a moratorium on the further expansion of data centres, with Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan dismissing it as a “blunt instrument”.
World's largest carbon market is set for a historic revamp
29 Sep 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.
Climate change to loom large in talks to form new German government
28 Sep 2021
Climate and energy policies are expected to loom large in talks to determine which parties will form Germany's next government, following a much-anticipated federal election on 26 September.
Opinion: tax corporations to pay for climate change adaptation
24 Sep 2021
The rapid, radical decarbonisation needed to save the planet will cost a lot. Taxing multinationals and the wealthy properly can help pay for it, argues Eva Joly, a member of the Independent Commission for International Corporate Tax Reform (ICRICT).
German automakers sued over climate
22 Sep 2021
German activists have filed a lawsuit against automakers BMW and Daimler for refusing to tighten carbon emissions targets, the first time German citizens have sued private companies for exacerbating climate change
German activists starving themselves to make politicians face the climate crisis
21 Sep 2021
The Last Generation, a six-strong group, is camping out near the Reichstag determined to force a commitment to limit global heating.
Climate dominates Germany’s most unpredictable election in decades
20 Sep 2021
Never before in German history has climate policy played a role as big as it does in 2021. Even after one and a half years of a turbulent pandemic, credible climate policies remain the yardstick many voters plan to base their decision on.
Meet the world’s first carbon-neutral soccer club
15 Sep 2021
An all-vegan stadium. A field fertilized with seaweed. How the owner of the sport’s most sustainable team is cultivating “a new kind of soccer fan.”
Almost certainly the world's coolest climate change research centre
13 Sep 2021
Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter has revealed the first photographs of the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, a climate research and visitor centre on Greenland's rugged coastal landscape.
Norway’s oil and money up for grabs in the coming election
10 Sep 2021
Norway’s electorate has an existential choice to face about its Oil Fund, associated with domestic prosperity but looming climate catastrophe.
Not seeing the wood for the trees—the EU’s environmental blunder
8 Sep 2021
The European Union is leading the world in adopting limits on greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, notably via hefty carbon taxes. New policies always experience teething problems but an EU environmental regulation adopted in 2009 has become an embarrassing own goal.
Swiss Re signs a $10 million carbon capture deal
7 Sep 2021
Reinsurance giant Swiss Re announced last week that it had signed the world’s first long-term agreement to take carbon directly out of the air.
Europe could miss its 2030 greenhouse gas targets by 21 years
6 Sep 2021
Europe might be making progress on reducing emissions, but its largest utility company doesn't think officials are moving quickly enough. Reuters reports Enel has issued a study warning Europe could be late on reducing greenhouse gas emissions if it continues at its "current pace.
Climate change in election spotlight in Norway
1 Sep 2021
Climate change has surfaced as a key issue for Norwegian voters in an upcoming parliamentary election that polls show could usher in more lawmakers who want to curtail oil and gas drilling.
Price of carbon crosses 60 euro for first time
31 Aug 2021
The European benchmark price for carbon allowances on Monday morning climbed above 60 euros per tonne for the first time since the European Union’s carbon market launched in 2005.
Forced farm buy outs mooted in Netherlands
31 Aug 2021
One solution to reduce the Netherlands’ nitrogen compound emissions would be for the state to buy out farmers, according to experts.
Europe's extreme rains made more likely by humans
25 Aug 2021
The heavy rainfall behind deadly flooding in Europe in July was made more likely by climate change, scientists say.
Greenland halts new oil exploration
19 Aug 2021
Greenland has suspended all new oil and gas exploration, the country's government announced Thursday. Government officials said they believe the "price of oil extraction is too high," citing both economic considerations and the fight against climate change.
Danish carbon capture project backed by fossil fuel producers
18 Aug 2021
Denmark’s Greensand carbon capture and storage (CCS) project has received major backing from a consortium of energy firms as the country makes strides towards its goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 70 per cent by 2030.
Priests call on parishes to set up climate change committees
17 Aug 2021
Every Catholic parish “needs to set up a climate change committee and work with other Churches and other religions to address this critical issue of our time,” the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has said.
French cuisine goes off grid
16 Aug 2021
As other businesses go green, food service remains an energy-intensive outlier. Europe’s first solar-powered restaurant wants to change the recipe.
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.
Australia opens first carbon refinery, making new products from captured CO2
Wed 24 Jun 2026
Australia’s first carbon refinery opened in New South Wales, capturing carbon dioxide from explosives giant Orica's ammonia-making operations on Kooragang Island and turning it into products such as concrete, paper and glass.
I cold-called President Trump. Here's what he told me about an oil tycoon and major donor.
Mon 29 Jun 2026
I was hoping the president would give me some color about his relationship with billionaire Jeffery Hildebrand. I walked away with a clearer picture of what matters in Washington right now.
China's coal power on the rise again in 2026, reversing first-in-a-decade decline
Thu 25 Jun 2026
China's coal-fired power generation is set to rebound this year from its first fall in a decade, analysts said, due to the impact of El Nino and the Iran war and as renewable sources of energy have failed to keep pace with demand.
Wales' emissions fall significantly after steelworks changes
Mon 29 Jun 2026
There has been a "significant" cut to Wales' greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to the closure of the blast furnaces at Port Talbot steelworks, according to a new report.
Canada signs landmark LNG energy deal with Germany
29 May 2026
Canada has announced a landmark energy agreement with Germany that will see the first-ever long-term shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to Europe in the coming years.
Asia warming nearly twice as fast as before
19 Jun 2026
A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) highlights record ocean heat, accelerating glacier loss and a series of extreme weather events causing significant human and economic losses across Asia.
‘Those blocking climate science are not our friends': Pacific leaders warn at Bonn talks
23 Jun 2026
Pacific nations and civil society groups have united at UN climate talks, pushing back against efforts to weaken agreed language on global temperature limits as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
16 Jun 2026
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’.
Verra reinstates Kenya carbon project despite ongoing court case
Thu 25 Jun 2026
The Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon project is “the world’s largest soil carbon removal project” according the organisation running the project. It is also one of the most controversial carbon projects anywhere in the world.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
UN chief says fossil fuel industry must cut methane for warming “relief”
Thu 25 Jun 2026
UN chief António Guterres called for stronger action to cut emissions of planet-heating methane, taking aim at the fossil fuel industry’s practices and profits, and pointing to coal, oil and gas as the root of today’s climate and energy crises.
