International: Europe
Protesters celebrate German forest's reprieve
8 Oct 2018
Thousands of demonstrators have descended on Germany’s Hambach forest to celebrate an unexpected court victory over a coal mine.
Denmark ban plan includes hybrid cars
5 Oct 2018
Denmark has proposed a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and hybrid from 2035.
MEPs vote for 40% cut in car emissions by 2030
4 Oct 2018
MEPs have voted for a 40 per cent cut in car emissions by 2030, in a rebuke to more cautious proposals by the European commission that signals tough negotiations with national governments ahead.
Paris builds zero-carbon future with a conscience
4 Oct 2018
Paris is pioneering an “eco-district” aimed at slashing emissions while also providing affordable housing.
German official backs clearing forest for coal mine
4 Oct 2018
Controversial plans to chop down a German forest to build a coal mine should proceed because Germany needs the polluting fuel to keep the lights on, according to a senior official.
Climate proposals terrify Polish unionists
26 Sep 2018
Polish trade unionists see EU and international climate action as terrifying and a threat to their way of life.
Rubbish is powering Sweden’s electricity and buses
26 Sep 2018
At a power plant in Sweden, a municipal government company is burning rubbish to turn waste into energy.
Switzerland's 'eternal' snow is melting faster
24 Sep 2018
Parts of Europe’s alpine mountain chain are undergoing accelerating melting, as the “eternal” Swiss snow thaws ever faster, threatening both the skiing industry and the nation’s water supply.
Business lobby plans to veto EU emissions cuts
21 Sep 2018
A leaked memo shows that BusinessEurope is preparing to resist a stronger EU 2030 emissions target, ahead of the climate summit in Poland later this year.
Dutch recycling plant does the 'impossible'
21 Sep 2018
A Netherlands recycling plant is doing what many in the industry have labelled impossible - recycling household packaging and making a financial success of it.
France plans to go big on bikes
19 Sep 2018
France plans to launch a major endeavour to triple the amount of cyclists on its streets within the next seven years.
Europe must cut meat and dairy by 2050, says expert
17 Sep 2018
Europe’s animal farming sector has exceeded safe bounds for greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient flows and biodiversity loss, and urgently needs to be scaled back, according to a new report.
Court orders Frankfurt to ban diesels
14 Sep 2018
The German city of Frankfurt has received a court-ordered ban on diesel after regularly exceeding pollution limits.
Europe air pollution killing 1000 a day
13 Sep 2018
Governments are failing to tackle an air pollution crisis that causes 1000 early deaths a day, says a damning EU report.
End nuclear power war, says France’s new minister
12 Sep 2018
France’s new environment minister François de Rugy is calling for an end to what he called the “religious war” on nuclear power and pleading for a more pragmatic approach to environmental policy.
Macron under pressure to up his game
6 Sep 2018
French environment campaigners have warned president Emmanuel Macron is doing too little to combat climate change and must radically rethink his environment policy if he is to honour his promise to “make this planet great again”.
French environment minister walks out
30 Aug 2018
France’s high-profile environment minister Nicolas Hulot has unexpectedly announced his resignation live on national radio, lamenting the government’s lack of decisive action on green issues.
Truck makers push back against EU carbon limits
29 Aug 2018
The European Commission’s proposal to mandate a 15 per cent cut in CO2 emission from trucks by 2025 is overly ambitious, according to an industry association.
Tropical disease outbreaks growing in Europe
28 Aug 2018
Europe is facing a growing threat of tropical disease outbreaks, as rising temperatures linked to climate change cause illnesses brought by travellers to spread more easily.
Europe to ban halogen lightbulbs
28 Aug 2018
After nearly 60 years of brightening homes and streets, halogen lightbulbs will be banned across Europe on 1 September 1.
Don't divest, government advisers tell Norway
27 Aug 2018
Government advisers have urged Norway not to ditch oil and gas investments from its $1trillion sovereign wealth fund.
Sweden's reindeer at risk of starvation
24 Aug 2018
Sweden's indigenous Sami reindeer herders have urged the state to help to mitigate the impact of climate change in the Arctic circle.
EU carbon prices could rise quickly, says report
23 Aug 2018
EU carbon prices could average 35-40 euros ($NZ60-70) a tonne over 2019-2023, says a new report.
On the world's first floating farm, robots milk the cows
22 Aug 2018
Rotterdam has become a pilot city for the world’s first floating farm where robots do the hard work.
This new coal mine in Germany will soon gobble up 20 villages
16 Aug 2018
When the Garzweiler open cast coal mine in Germany is finished, 5000 people will have been relocated and 20 villages will have been wiped off the face of the Earth.
Europe facing trillion-euros coastal flooding bill
16 Aug 2018
Costs from coastal flooding in Europe could hit almost one trillion euros by 2100, according to researchers.
Rising sea levels threaten Sinatra's old hangout
16 Aug 2018
A proposed island to protect a resort that once was the haunt of stars like Frank Sinatra and Marlene Dietrich could be its ruin.
France to set penalties on non-recycled plastic
15 Aug 2018
France plans to introduce a penalty system next year that would increase the costs of consumer goods with packaging made of non-recycled plastic.
EU carbon emissions price hits 10-year high
14 Aug 2018
The amount polluters pay for emitting carbon in the EU has hit a 10-year high, in a blow for coal power station owners and a boost for renewable energy.
LITTER TWITTER: In this park, clever crows do the dirty work
13 Aug 2018
Six crows trained to pick up cigarette ends and rubbish will be put to work this week at a French historical theme park.
Unions want Poland to push coal at UN climate talks
9 Aug 2018
Poland's trade unions are mounting a defence of coal workers against the impacts of climate policies in an effort to influence the agenda of the UN climate summit to be held in Katowice this December.
Battery makers fight for foothold in Europe
8 Aug 2018
Battery manufacturers are jostling for a leadership position in Europe as electric vehicle sales gather momentum.
Ireland sees need to increase carbon tax
7 Aug 2018
The Irish Government is planning to increase the country’s carbon tax in a bid to meet its climate-change goals.
German farmers want $1b in drought aid
2 Aug 2018
Farmers in the north and east of Germany are seeking more than $1 billion in aid for unprecedented losses as a result of continued high temperatures and lack of rain.
HOT NEWS: How the media has reported the northern heatwave
31 Jul 2018
This year’s northern-hemisphere summer has seen a succession of heatwaves. How has the media reported the extreme weather and how has the coverage referenced climate change?
Anchovies, the fish that gave too much
27 Jul 2018
The Italian fish sauce colatura is made from anchovies and literally adds the Med into the famously healthy Mediterranean diet. So many good things, however, have a downside.
Germany finds reaching climate targets hard work
26 Jul 2018
The German government will introduce a climate protection law to ensure the country reaches its 2030 climate targets.
Europe keeps on setting clean-energy records
18 Jul 2018
Two of the biggest economies in Europe last week set new records for clean energy.
Can Norway solve the plastic crisis, one bottle at a time?
17 Jul 2018
A bottle deposit hub on the outskirts of Oslo has had a stream of high-level international visitors. Can its success be replicated worldwide?
Huge iceberg threatens Greenland village
16 Jul 2018
A 100-metre high iceberg has drifted close to a village on Greenland’s west coast, prompting fears of a tsunami if it breaks up.
Ireland first country to divest from fossil fuels
13 Jul 2018
Ireland will become the first country to sell off its investments in fossil fuel companies, after a bill was passed with all-party support in the lower house of parliament.
Germany powers to renewables record
13 Jul 2018
Germany has set a record for renewable power production during the first six months of 2018.
Plastic waste makes floating pleasure park
13 Jul 2018
More than 1000 square feet of plastic ultimately destined to pollute the ocean is getting a second lease on life in Rotterdam.
Spain to lead energy transition in Europe?
10 Jul 2018
The creation of the new ministry for ecological transition in Spain brings fresh air not only at the national level but also at the EU level as Spain can give a push in the fight against climate change.
TV coverage of bike races holds climate change clues
10 Jul 2018
The impact of climate change on trees has been detected by analysing almost four decades of archive video footage from the Tour of Flanders cycling race.
POPE'S PLEA: Don't turn Earth into a rubbish pile
9 Jul 2018
POPE FRANCIS has urged governments to make good on their commitments to curb global warming, warning that climate change threatens to turn the Earth into a vast pile of “rubble, deserts and refuse”.
Baltic Sea oxygen levels at 1500-year low
9 Jul 2018
The coastal waters of the Baltic have been starved of oxygen to a level unseen in at least 1500 years largely as a result of modern human activity, scientists say.
Italy wants to put a million e-cars on the road
28 Jun 2018
The populist government in Italy, Europe’s most sluggish market for electric cars, has a big-bang plan to put a million of the vehicles on the nation’s roads.
France approves six offshore wind farms
26 Jun 2018
France has given the go ahead to six new wind farms off the country's west coast.
European banks launch green mortgage scheme
21 Jun 2018
A group of 37 major European banks are joining forces to launch a new energy efficiency scheme.
Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Australian federal and state government subsidies that encourage fossil fuel use and help drive the climate crisis will reach $16.3bn this year after leaping by nearly 10%, according to a new analysis.
US National Academies of Sciences says no to demands it remove climate info
Wed 18 Mar 2026
State attorneys general won't get climate chapter removed from a legal manual.
What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
10 Mar 2026
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
UK emissions fall 2.4% in 2025 as coal hits 400-year low
9 Mar 2026
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.4% in 2025 to their lowest level in more than 150 years, according to new analysis.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
Asia pivots to coal as Middle East conflict chokes LNG supply
Today 10:30am
Asian utilities are boosting coal-fired power generation to cut costs and safeguard energy supply, industry officials say, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran chokes liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and soaring prices threaten to suppress LNG demand.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
9 Mar 2026
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Surfing’s big break: how climate crisis insurance may save El Salvador’s waves
Today 10:30am
Fearing that extreme weather threatened its epic breaks, Oriente Salvaje is piloting the first surf insurance policy to protect livelihoods and ecosystems.
Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says
Wed 18 Mar 2026
The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is a lesson on the risks of relying on fossil fuels which should drive governments to wean their economies off oil and gas faster, the U.N. climate secretary told Reuters on Monday.
