International: Europe
GHGs thousands of times more damaging than CO2 are being smuggled into Europe
9 Apr 2024
The impact of hydrofluorocarbons on global warming can be up to thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide.
Germany's national postal carrier stops using domestic flights to send letters
4 Apr 2024
Deutsche Post says it will no longer use domestic flights to transport letters, in a bid to improve its climate footprint.
A Spanish energy is suing another energy company for alleged greenwashing
27 Mar 2024
Spanish utility Iberdrola has filed a lawsuit against energy company Repsol for alleged greenwashing and unfair competition practices.
Dutch court finds KLM ads were misleading in 'greenwashing' case
22 Mar 2024
A Dutch court ruled that KLM had misled customers with an advertising campaign aimed at improving the company's environmental image, in a case of so-called "greenwashing"
Europe must do more against ‘catastrophic’ climate risks
12 Mar 2024
Europe could suffer “catastrophic” consequences from climate change if it fails to take urgent and decisive action to adapt to risks, a new EU analysis warned.
UN and France co-host forum in Paris to decarbonise construction sector
12 Mar 2024
France and the UN Environment Programme co-hosted the Buildings and Climate Global Forum to find ways to cut the sizeable carbon footprint of the construction sector, a major contributor to climate change.
France is one step closer to taxing fast fashion
7 Mar 2024
Proposed by parliament ministers, a new bill suggests fines of up to 10 euros or 50 percent of the selling price of garments for major players like Shein, aiming to counterbalance their environmental impact.
Iceland is closing the circle on geothermal
6 Mar 2024
Iceland is pioneering a circular economy based on its abundant geothermal energy, offering a replicable template for the world’s net-zero transition.
Spanish power almost free with record renewable generations
5 Mar 2024
Spanish power prices have tumbled in February to a fraction of the price in neighbouring France as record wind and solar power generation in Spain has triggered an extreme slump in prices.
Europe’s carbon price crash looks like serious market myopia
1 Mar 2024
The emissions trading system is too clunky to deliver the required impetus to decarbonisation.
EU's appetite for Beyond Meat lifts share price
1 Mar 2024
At first glance, the fourth quarter earnings report published in February by the plant-based foods company Beyond Meat is nothing to write home about.
EU poised to OK major plan to meet climate goals despite farmer protests
29 Feb 2024
The European Union is on the brink of approving a major plan to fight climate change and better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc after protests from farmers.
Flooded Greek lake a warning to European farmers battling climate change
28 Feb 2024
Sitting in a small motorboat, farmer Babis Evangelinos glides over land he once cultivated on the Thessaly plain in central Greece, the nearby trunks of his fruitless almond trees submerged by floodwater.
Spain’s plan to ban domestic flights where you can take a train in under two and half hours
26 Feb 2024
Spain is banning some short-haul domestic flights as part of its plan to reduce carbon emissions.
UK government acted unlawfully by approving climate plan, High Court told
22 Feb 2024
The UK government was “not even aware” of the risks involved with implementing its strategy to meet the climate targets, the High Court has been told.
Danish farmers must cut production to achieve climate goal, says government advisor
22 Feb 2024
Denmark’s farmers must reduce production by as much as one-fifth by 2030 if the country is to achieve its ambitious climate goals, a government-commissioned group said.
Climate trial against oil giant Eni opens in Italy
21 Feb 2024
The case coincides with a new Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon report showing Eni’s technical consultants have wide links to climate denier groups.
Developers in England will be forced to create habitats for wildlife – here’s how it works
21 Feb 2024
Most new developments – everything from a few houses to large solar farms or new roads and railways – will now have to provide a 10% net gain in biodiversity, maintained for at least 30 years.
Switzerland proposes first UN expert group on solar geoengineering
19 Feb 2024
A draft resolution aimed at creating a space for discussion on sun dimming technologies will be debated at the summit of the UN’s environment body this month.
EU calls for 90% emissions cut by 2040
12 Feb 2024
The EU executive’s recommendation comes as the bloc’s green policies are facing a growing backlash.
The climate denial network behind ‘classic astroturf’ farmers’ campaign
12 Feb 2024
Producers say ‘No Farmers, No Food’ is a populist initiative that serves to “whip up indignation and anger”.
ICC prosecutor wants court to try 'environmental crimes'
8 Feb 2024
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor told AFP that he wants the tribunal to start trying suspects for "environmental crimes" without having to modify its founding statutes.
Paris banned e-scooters. Now it's taking on SUVs
8 Feb 2024
Parisians voted “oui” on a proposal to triple the parking charges for SUVs in the city centre — a vote that was closely watched by the auto industry and city officials across Europe.
As a Swiss glacier melts, a trove of invaluable climate data is being lost
31 Jan 2024
By analysing ice collected from glaciers, scientists can study the past composition of the atmosphere and better understand how humans have altered the climate.
EU warns countries are off track for 2030 climate goal
20 Dec 2023
European Union countries are falling behind on their core climate change target and without stronger emissions-cutting policies risk missing the goal, the European Commission said.
Solar bike paths go online in Netherlands
20 Dec 2023
Two new PV bike-path projects are now operating in the Netherlands under an initiative launched in 2018 by Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch water management agency.
Bollards and ‘superblocks’: how Europe’s cities are turning on the car
19 Dec 2023
In Paris, Barcelona and Brussels, authorities are adopting varied approaches to the task of reducing congestion and pollution.
Portugal just ran on 100 percent renewables for six days in a row
28 Nov 2023
For nearly a week, the country of 10 million met customer needs with wind, hydro and solar — a test run for operating the grid without fossil fuels.
EU greenhouse gas emissions drop 5% in the second quarter
17 Nov 2023
Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by more than 5% in the second quarter of 2023, with the biggest decline recorded in electricity and gas supply.
Amsterdam marchers demand climate action as Dutch election nears
16 Nov 2023
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Amsterdam on Sunday demanding immediate action against climate change, 10 days before the country holds a general election.
Italy's extreme drought mirrors climate in Ethiopia as climate change creates 'whiplash' of extremes
15 Nov 2023
Climate change is creating a "whiplash effect", with drought-prone areas flooding and wet areas drying out. Researchers say it is having a devastating effect on millions living in poverty.
France moves into action with new climate plan, green industry makeover
13 Nov 2023
France has unveiled a new strategy for climate action with a view to slashing its carbon emissions by 55 percent compared to 1990 levels by the end of this decade.
Levy on aviation and maritime firms should be considered
3 Nov 2023
Ireland’s environment minister made the case for the World Bank to administer any agreed climate loss and damage funding.
Vivaldi's Four Seasons gets climate change makeover
26 Oct 2023
A Spanish music director has adapted Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" to the grim reality of global warming.
EU to push for COP28 deal on phasing out fossil fuels
20 Oct 2023
EU countries' climate ministers approved the bloc's negotiating position for this year's U.N. COP28 climate summit, agreeing to push for a world-first deal to phase out CO2-emitting fossil fuels.
Dense micro-forests are thriving in France
12 Oct 2023
Developed by a Japanese botanist, the Miyawaki method of reforestation has taken root in a wide range of landscapes.
Pope Francis calls for rapid decarbonization, ‘abandonment of fossil fuels’
6 Oct 2023
The pontiff's latest decree urges Western countries to do more to avert climate disaster.
Broken zipper? France will pay to get it fixed.
5 Oct 2023
Cheap, disposable clothing is causing an environmental disaster. Now, the home of haute couture is chipping in for its citizens’ garment repairs.
Germany tops €6 bln climate finance target for poorer nations three years early
4 Oct 2023
Public climate financing from Germany for poorer countries reached a new record level last year, already surpassing the 6-billion euro target set for 2025, the government has said.
Europe takes climate fight global as carbon border tax goes live
3 Oct 2023
The EU's effort to become climate neutral is kicking into high gear — as of Sunday the bloc's carbon border tax enters a trial period, which is likely to raise tensions with key trading partners.
Sweden’s ‘off the rails’ climate policy
3 Oct 2023
A government beholden to the radical right is a warning that the green transition can go into reverse.
Swiss glaciers lose 10% of volume in worst two years on record
3 Oct 2023
Switzerland's glaciers suffered their second worst melt rate this year after record 2022 losses, shrinking their overall volume by 10% in the last two years.
Climate change: Six young people take 32 countries to court
29 Sep 2023
"What I felt was fear," says Claudia Duarte Agostinho as she remembers the extreme heatwave and fires that ripped through Portugal in 2017 and killed more than 100 people. "The wildfires made me really anxious about what sort of future I would have."
Europe’s banks helped fossil fuel firms raise more than €1tn from global bond markets
28 Sep 2023
Banks including some of Europe’s largest lenders have helped fossil fuel companies to raise more than €1tn from the global bond markets since the Paris climate agreement.
Paris is undergoing a water revolution
15 Sep 2023
From urban swimming to fixing leaks to public fountains, France’s capital is getting smart about its most precious resource.
Netherlands police use water cannon, detain 2,400 climate activists
12 Sep 2023
Police deployed water cannons to disperse thousands of climate activists protesting on a highway in the Netherlands to demand an end to government subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
The world’s largest low-carbon steel plant moves closer to completion
12 Sep 2023
A new $1.6 billion investment puts a hydrogen-fueled plant on track to open in Sweden in 2025, in what would be a first for the hard-to-decarbonise industry.
School strikes led a third of Swiss citizens to change their habits
11 Sep 2023
Almost a third of Swiss people changed their daily habits as a result of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future climate strikes, new research has found.
Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece streets turn to rivers in deadly floods
8 Sep 2023
Flooding caused by heavy rain has led to at least 10 deaths in Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.
There’s a battle over carbon emerging from the war in Ukraine
5 Sep 2023
A new international effort is working to hold Russia accountable for the climate impact of its invasion.
Labor accused of ‘gaslighting’ Australians on climate crisis as fossil fuel projects keep getting approved
9 Jun 2025
‘They offer sympathy and then just go and approve massive fossil fuel projects anyway,’ one advocate says.
EPA to propose rolling back climate rule for power plants Wednesday
Thu 12 Jun 2025
It marks an escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to purge climate initiatives from the federal government.
China's approvals of coal power plants grow after 2024 decline
Wed 11 Jun 2025
China approved 11.29 gigawatts of new coal power plants in the first three months of 2025, already exceeding the 10.34 GW approved in the first half of 2024.
Oil giant funds computer game that promotes fossil fuels to schoolchildren
9 Jun 2025
Equinor, the company looking to develop the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, has funded a computer game aimed at UK school children, promoting the idea that fossil fuels are part of a green energy mix.
'This is classic climate change': Canada's Saskatchewan faces worst wildfire season in decades
4 Jun 2025
There have been 207 wildfires this year as of Friday – 40 more than in the same period last year.
Carbon capture projects promise a climate fix – and a fossil fuel lifeline
Wed 11 Jun 2025
Governments across Southeast Asia are looking at carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a way to meet climate targets.
Vanuatu criticises Australia for extending gas project while making COP31 bid
4 Jun 2025
Vanuatu’s climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia’s decision to extend one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the COP31 summit with Pacific nations.
I just returned from Antarctica: climate change isn’t some far-off problem – it’s here and hitting hard
13 May 2025
Antarctica is often viewed as the last truly remote place on Earth – frozen, wild and untouched. But is it really as untouched as it seems?
Death toll from Nigeria flash floods rises to 151
3 Jun 2025
At least 151 people in central Nigeria are now known to have died following flash floods that destroyed homes and displaced thousands of residents earlier this week.
Pará’s Amazon forest carbon deal in doubt as prosecutors move to block it
Fri 13 Jun 2025
The Brazilian state’s contract with foreign governments and companies has run into trouble over concerns it was premature and agreed without consulting Indigenous communities.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
Fri 13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
