International: Europe
Norway selling out-of-date food to help to tackle waste
18 Aug 2017
Supermarkets selling out-of-date produce and apps that identify food at risk of being binned are part of an ambitious plan to slash the nation’s food waste
Switzerland and EU agree to link carbon markets
17 Aug 2017
An agreement to link the Swiss and European Union carbon markets could pave the way for other markets to link to the EU emissions trading scheme in future, says the International Emissions Trading Association.
EU said to be considering electric car quota
16 Aug 2017
Despite public denials, the European Commission is considering implementing an electric car quota to be achieved by automakers by 2030.
Norway's push for Arctic oil threatens Paris goals
15 Aug 2017
Norway’s plan to ramp up oil and gas production in the Arctic threatens global efforts to tackle climate change, according to a new study.
Climate change is triple risk to Europe
15 Aug 2017
New studies confirm climate change’s triple risk to Europe. The heat is on, lives are at risk and the floods are arriving earlier.
Sahara solar project aims to power Europe
8 Aug 2017
A consortium of clean energy developers has applied for permission to build a gigantic solar power plant on the edge of the Sahara desert which could power more than five million EU homes.
Melting Alps glaciers could reveal hundreds of corpses
7 Aug 2017
Swiss police say hundreds of bodies of mountaineers who have gone missing in the Alps in the past century could emerge in coming years as global warming forces the country’s glaciers to retreat.
Coal lobby threatens to sue over clean air rules
3 Aug 2017
Tough air pollution limits for Europe’s coal plants announced on Monday could be engulfed in a firestorm of lawsuits and counter-suits, Climate Home has learned.
EU court orders Poland to stop logging forest
31 Jul 2017
The European Union’s top court has ordered Poland to immediate halt large-scale logging in a Unesco-listed ancient forest.
Europe’s wind capacity grows but concerns persist
31 Jul 2017
The first half of 2017 saw 6.1 gigawatts of extra wind power capacity installed in Europe. But a lack of long-term political commitment has hit investment and market concentration remains problematic.
UK businesses urge PM to raise climate ambitions
26 Jul 2017
A group of UK businesses and investors have written to Prime MInister Theresa May, urging her to raise the country’s ambitions to tackle climate change.
Electric trams shuttle goods around Europe cities
26 Jul 2017
French and German cities using trams to move products are showing how to cut congestion while making a profit from the network.
Work for me, says Macron, and scientists flock to France
21 Jul 2017
Hundreds of climate scientists, including many from the United States, have applied to work in France under a multi-million dollar scheme set up by President Emmanuel Macron.
EU slapped for breaching access to environmental justice
20 Jul 2017
The European Union has accepted a UN ruling that found the bloc in breach of international laws requiring the public to have access to justice on environmental matters.
Finland ignores scientists and increases logging
13 Jul 2017
Plans to increase logging in Finnish forests will have dire impacts on the climate; yet the Finnish government is ignoring evidence and denigrating scientists.
Changing climate puts load on labourers
12 Jul 2017
Climate change could affect labour productivity – at least in the wine industry, new research suggests.
France decrees commercial rooftops must be green
7 Jul 2017
According to a new law, rooftops on new buildings in commercial zones across France must either be partially covered in plants or solar panels.
In the Netherlands, a better way to rebuild the beach
5 Jul 2017
A $US78 million experiment aims to reinforce the rapidly eroding coastline, while avoiding the ecological damage common with other nourishment schemes.
Europe's contribution to deforestation set to rise
4 Jul 2017
Europe’s consumption of products such as beef, soy and palm oil could increase its contribution to global deforestation by more than a quarter by 2030, analysis shows.
Germany ‘massively weakens’ draft G20 climate plan
3 Jul 2017
The latest draft of the German plan for this week’s G20 Hamburg meeting contains major concessions to the US and opens the door for coal projects to be defined as “clean”.
Lack of green options traps Europe’s energy poor
3 Jul 2017
Fuel poverty affects tens of millions of Europeans. Coupled with continuing subsidies for fossil fuel boilers, this means decarbonisation efforts face an uphill struggle.
French leader vows to stop oil and gas licences
28 Jun 2017
The new French government has announced it will stop granting licences for new oil and gas exploration.
EU acts to restrict hormone-disrupting chemical in plastics
19 Jun 2017
A chemical found in CDs, DVDs, kettles and water bottles could soon be restricted after EU authorities ruled that it posed a threat to human health because of its effects on hormones.
IT'S THE LAW: Sweden aims to be carbon neutral by 2045
16 Jun 2017
Sweden has committed to becoming a net-zero carbon emitter by 2045, under a law just passed in parliament.
Germany and California strengthen climate ties
15 Jun 2017
Europe’s largest economy and the largest state economy in the US have issued a joint statement of intent to boost climate cooperation.
UK leads way in Europe emissions reductions
8 Jun 2017
The UK recorded the largest decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union in 2015, although new research has found the emissions from the bloc increased for the first time in five years.
Europe's last big primeval forest on brink of collapse
25 May 2017
The Polish government has been accused of pushing a primeval forest system to the point of no return with state-sanctioned logging in a Unesco world heritage site.
Swiss referendum votes in favour of renewables
24 May 2017
Swiss voters have said yes to the government’s plan to provide billions of dollars in subsidies for renewables, in addition to banning nuclear power.
UK companies better to stay with European ETS
23 May 2017
An international carbon trading organisation says British companies should stay in the European Emissions Trading Scheme until at least 2020, despite Brexit.
Shell shareholders to vote for new climate goals
23 May 2017
Shell shareholders including the Church of England, European pension funds and Dutch activists will send a signal to the board of the Anglo-Dutch company this week by voting for it to set new climate-change goals.
'Climate heroes' fight EU land and forest rules
19 May 2017
Former climate heroes France, Finland, Sweden and Austria are fighting tooth and nail to weaken EU land accounting rules, also known as the LULUCF Regulation.
Shell paid university for say on curriculum
18 May 2017
Funding from Shell and other oil majors has turned a prestigious Dutch University into a conduit for fossil fuel policy gambits, according to an explosive new report.
EU countries paying coal companies to stick around
11 May 2017
EU countries are using the low carbon transition to justify new subsidies to the coal industry, instead of investing in clean alternatives.
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.
