International: Europe
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.
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.
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.
