International: Europe
EU efforts not living up to Paris promises
20 Jun 2018
Many EU countries are veering off the course of action they committed to under the Paris Agreement, according to a new report.
EU sets 32% renewable energy target by 2030
19 Jun 2018
European Union lawmakers and member states have agreed on a renewable energy law, including support for electric vehicles and rooftop solar panels.
EU closes in on clean energy package
13 Jun 2018
The EU is near agreement on measures to put its 2030 climate target into action, with a meeting of energy ministers swinging towards more ambition.
Dutch government appeals emissions ruling
30 May 2018
The Dutch government has launched a bid to overturn a landmark climate ruling, arguing that judges in The Hague “sidelined democracy” when they ordered a 25 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2020.
'We can't see a future' group takes EU to court
29 May 2018
Litigants from eight countries are claiming EU institutions are not protecting their fundamental rights.
New rules make investors report on e-risks
28 May 2018
The European Commission has released fresh proposals to ensure the financial sector contributes to combating climate change.
Shareholders put pressure on Shell
22 May 2018
Royal Dutch Shell faces a shareholder challenge over climate change this week, as investors insist oil and gas firms should offer more transparency and action on carbon emissions.
Europe renewables up - so are emissions
17 May 2018
A bumper year for renewable energy didn’t stop Europe from increasing its emissions.
Lack of models holding back e-car market
10 May 2018
The rise of electric cars in Europe is being hampered by a lack of models for consumers to choose from rather than a lack of public recharging points, say energy companies and carmakers.
The hills are alive with the signs of plastic
1 May 2018
A major study has found microplastics in soil across Switzerland and scientists warn urgent research is needed into impacts on food safety.
EU votes to ban bee-killing pesticide
30 Apr 2018
The EU has overwhelmingly voted for a ban on the use of a pesticide known to be harmful to bees.
EU backs new circular economy measures
26 Apr 2018
The EU has taken a significant step towards principles which make an asset out of waste.
Dutch group threatens take Shell to court
5 Apr 2018
Campaigners are threatening to take Royal Dutch Shell to court in the Netherlands unless it takes major climate action.
Europe's electric cars herald march of the gigafactories
4 Apr 2018
Across Europe a wave of gigafactories are coming online, ready to meet the battery demands of a continent-wide switch to electric cars.
Europe's carbon market finally doing its job
28 Mar 2018
Europe’s $38 billion a year carbon market is finally starting to work the way it was intended, reining in pollution with a minimum of squealing from industry.
Macron pushes for EU minimum carbon price
26 Mar 2018
Europe must set a minimum price for carbon, says French President Emmanuel Macron, something that would require a new tax on imports from non-EU countries that are not doing enough to tackle climate change.
BIRDS EMBATTLED; Europe faces biodiversity oblivion
23 Mar 2018
Intensive farming and pesticides could turn Europe’s farmland into a desert that ultimately imperils all humans, say the authors of report on the decline of bird numbers.
Europe goes for two-speed approach to sustainable finance
19 Mar 2018
Europe is quickly adopting an imbalanced, two-speed approach to sustainable finance, in which the “green” is moving much faster than the “social”.
Nervous about nukes? Don't worry, just swallow this pill
16 Mar 2018
Belgian pharmacies will provide radiation-busting iodine tablets free of charge to anyone as part of the country’s new nuclear strategy,
Germany’s new government deal fails Paris test
14 Mar 2018
With the coalition agreement for a new German government under Angela Merkel, a major opportunity to realign German climate policy to the challenges of the Paris climate change agreement has passed.
Europe, too, likes the look of circular economy
13 Mar 2018
As the EU doubles down on its waste management efforts and sets its sights on tackling plastic waste, the idea of a circular economy and internal market for recycling is gathering momentum.
EC unveils new action plan on sustainable finance
13 Mar 2018
The European Commission has produced its strategy to make sustainability a key component of the financial sector within Europe for years to come.
Luxembourg home to half world’s green bonds
9 Mar 2018
Luxembourg and its very international stock exchange are well positioned to become the standard bearer that leads the green and sustainable finance industry of the future.
Spanish bank announces €100 billion climate plan
8 Mar 2018
The second-largest bank in Spain has launched a 100 billion euros initiative to support sustainable development and combat climate change.
Ban on bee-killer pesticide likely after new study
6 Mar 2018
A new study from the EU has found that the widespread use of a controversial pesticide on crops is harmful to the bee population.
Brussels eyes free transport on bad air days
1 Mar 2018
Brussels has moved to make the city’s public transport and bike share system free on the smoggiest days in a bid to drive down pollution levels.
German court rules cities can ban vehicles to tackle pollution
28 Feb 2018
Germany’s highest administrative court has ruled that diesel and other vehicles can be banned from some city streets as part of efforts to improve air quality,
China must sign up to climate rules, says EU
28 Feb 2018
EU foreign ministers have set a collision course with China in a statement calling for the same rules to bind all countries under the Paris climate deal.
German carmakers nervous on eve of court's diesel ban ruling
21 Feb 2018
A court will decide tomorrow whether German cities can ban heavily polluting cars, potentially wiping hundreds of millions of euros off the value of diesel cars on the country’s roads.
New apartment block will look like a forest
20 Feb 2018
Apartments to be built in the Dutch city of Eindhoven will be a 75m high skyscraper, which will include space for 125 trees, and 5200 plants.
Cow dung overload brings call for cut in dairy herd numbers
19 Feb 2018
Dairy farms in the Netherlands are producing so much dung they can’t get rid of it safely. Now the WWF is calling for a 40 per cent cut in herd numbers.
Nordic nations usher in new era of green finance
19 Feb 2018
New research has highlighted how the Nordic countries are leading by example in the green finance market.
Germany takes close look at free public transport
16 Feb 2018
Germany is thinking of making public transport free as it scrambles to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines.
Germany’s energy and climate policy is taking shape
15 Feb 2018
The coalition agreement between the German Conservatives and the Social Democrats outlines a relatively ambitious energy policy.
Paris might take fuel companies to court
13 Feb 2018
Paris could become the first city in Europe to try to defray the cost of climate change by taking fossil fuel companies to court.
EU to define what exactly is green investment
8 Feb 2018
The European Commission will present legislation in May to define what represents "green" investment.
Europe’s biggest fossil fuel project gets public loan
8 Feb 2018
The European Investment Bank has approved a loan to the Southern Gas Corridor, in a move environmentalists described as a “historical mistake”.
EU says no trade deals with countries not in Paris pact
7 Feb 2018
The EU has backed French calls to make trade deals with the world’s second-biggest economy contingent on membership of the Paris climate agreement.
New index will track EU sustainable investment
2 Feb 2018
A sustainability index has been launched to track the performance of environmentally and socially responsible European companies.
EU renewables overtake coal for first time
1 Feb 2018
Renewable technologies - wind, solar and biomass - have beaten coal generation for the first time in the EU.
France to close coal plants two years early
31 Jan 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that all the country’s coal-fired plants will shut down by 2021- two years earlier than initially planned.
Gas field earthquakes put firms on notice
26 Jan 2018
Two hundred of the Netherlands’ biggest companies have been told by their government to stop sourcing fuel from a major Dutch gas field within four years following a series of increasingly significant earthquakes.
German emissions rise for second year in a row
26 Jan 2018
An increase in transport sector emissions drove up Germany’s total greenhouse gas emissions for the second time in a row in 2016.
The climate solution no-one in Davos will be talking about
25 Jan 2018
Economists say a global carbon tax would efficiently shift the world to safer energy production. So why is it barely mentioned?
Poland’s new leader eyes nuclear future
15 Dec 2017
Poland is in no hurry to ditch coal power any time soon but the new prime minister insists nuclear energy and renewable sources are a part of the country’s future energy mix.
Germany the champion nation for recycling
14 Dec 2017
Germany is the leading nation for recycling, followed closely by Wales and Singapore, according to new research.
... and France is best at food sustainability
14 Dec 2017
A war on waste food in France has helped it secure the top spot in a ranking of countries by their food sustainability.
Europe utilities vow to be carbon neutral by 2050
14 Dec 2017
More than 3500 European utility companies have vowed to lead the low-carbon energy transition, calling on policymakers to accelerate electrification.
Macron pays US scientists to move to France
13 Dec 2017
Eighteen climate scientists from the US and elsewhere have hit the jackpot as France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, awarded them millions of euros in grants to relocate to France.
Europe's coal plants bleeding cash
11 Dec 2017
Almost all coal plants in the European Union will be outspending their income by the end of the next decade, relying on subsidies to stay open to back up wind and solar generation.
Australian Nationals formally abandon commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Nationals leader David Littleproud said the party would shift its focus to climate adaptation instead of being "focused solely" on reducing emissions, noting Australia's small share of the global effort.
Exxon funded thinktanks to spread climate denial in Latin America, documents reveal
Today 12:00pm
Texas-based fossil fuel company financed Atlas Network in attempt to derail UN-led climate treaty process.
Why climate change now threatens China’s future
Today 12:00pm
Extreme weather is hurting its economy and worrying its leaders.
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
Today 12:00pm
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
Renewables are a global economic engine, not a culture war threat
2 Oct 2025
Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
For Indian women workers, a just transition means surviving climate impacts with dignity
Today 12:00pm
Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) members call for just transition talks at COP30 to help them become more resilient to climate shocks by building social protection systems that secure their livelihoods.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
21 Oct 2025
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
Nigerian billionaire plans expansion of Africa’s biggest oil refinery
Fri 31 Oct 2025
The billionaire owner of Africa’s largest refinery plans to expand its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day to meet growing fuel needs in the continent and beyond.
Police raids in Brazil’s Rio kill 64 ahead of events related to COP30 climate summit
Thu 30 Oct 2025
At least 64 people died on Oct 28 in Rio de Janeiro’s most deadly police operation ever, which targeted a major gang days before the city hosts global events related to the United Nations climate summit known as COP30.
Brazil opens three weeks of COP30-linked climate events
Today 12:00pm
Brazil on Monday opens three weeks of events linked to the COP30 climate summit, hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming
