International: Europe
"World's largest wooden city" set to be built in Stockholm
30 Jun 2023
A Scandinavian architecture studio is designing Stockholm Wood City, which will become the world's largest mass-timber development and have the "serenity of a forest".
Big herbivores could help save the tundra from rising heat and shrinking ice—if they can survive themselves
29 Jun 2023
Scientists in Greenland found that tundra vegetation fares better when caribou and muskoxen are around to dine on encroaching, heat-loving shrubs.
Ukraine targets initial $40 billion for 'Green Marshall Plan'
21 Jun 2023
Ukraine is seeking up to $40 billion to fund the first part of a "Green Marshall Plan" to rebuild its economy, including developing a coal-free steel industry, a senior Ukrainian official said ahead of an international summit.
Switzerland backs net-zero climate law in referendum
20 Jun 2023
Almost 60% of Swiss voters have backed plans to severely cut emissions by 2050 despite opposition from the right-wing Swiss People's Party.
Europe's city schools, hospitals at risk from extreme heat, EU agency says
16 Jun 2023
Nearly half of schools and hospitals in European cities are located in urban "heat islands", exposing vulnerable populations to health-threatening temperatures as climate change impacts worsen, the European Union's environment agency has said.
France seeks to rally support for emissions levy on shipping
14 Jun 2023
France is drumming up support for a global levy on greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry ahead of a summit hosted by Emmanuel Macron this month.
Ireland proposes culling 200,000 cows, farmers push back
13 Jun 2023
Countries across Europe are working to fulfill their commitment to shift to a climate-neutral economy.
EU mayors list climate action as top priority
13 Jun 2023
Climate change is a key concern for Europe's local leaders, with a majority of mayors in 92 major cities across the bloc listing it as a top priority in a new survey published today.
Climate change is causing more turbulence on flights, say scientists
12 Jun 2023
Clear-air turbulence was long predicted to increase under climate change, but a new study from Reading University has painted the most detailed picture yet of the effects kicking in.
Wales falling behind on targets
7 Jun 2023
Wales is falling behind on actions needed to fight climate change, according to a major report.
Accounting for war - Ukraine's climate fallout
7 Jun 2023
The war in Ukraine is deepening the climate crisis at time when global greenhouse gas emissions are already running at a record high, according to report by carbon accounting experts who have tallied the overall impact of the conflict.
Germany: govt body warns of increased health threats from climate change
2 Jun 2023
Germany’s disease control agency warns that rising temperatures due to global warming will increase the likelihood of heat stroke, vector-borne illnesses and other health risks in the country.
EU doubles firefighting fleet in preparation for climate change impacts
31 May 2023
The EU said on Tuesday it is doubling its aerial firefighting fleet for the summer of 2023, citing challenges such as increasing forest fires due to the climate crisis.
More than 1,500 arrested during Netherlands climate protests
30 May 2023
Activists blocked a section of a motorway in the centre of the city during the afternoon, in protest against Dutch fossil fuel subsidies.
UN advises against offsets for carbon removal technologies
29 May 2023
Billions of dollars are pouring into tech-based solutions to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but the UNFCCC says they are unproven and pose unknown risks.
Irish farmers convert ocean carbon to fertiliser via seaweed
26 May 2023
UK start-up Carbon Kapture has joined forces with Irish shellfish farmers to launch a seaweed farm, absorbing CO₂ and enriching soil with converted biochar.
France bans short-haul flights in effort to fight climate change
25 May 2023
France has formally banned domestic flights on short routes that can be covered by train in less than two-and-a-half hours in a move aimed at reducing airline emissions.
Climate change: Ministers lack urgency on flood risks, critics say
23 May 2023
Welsh ministers have been accused of lacking urgency on flood risks due to climate change, after postponing planning rule changes twice.
Italy's Deadly Floods: Climate Change's All-Or-Nothing Weather Extremes
23 May 2023
In a changing climate, more rain is coming, but it’s falling on fewer days in less useful and more dangerous downpours.
Norway under pressure to scale back fossil fuel expansion plans
19 May 2023
The Norwegian government is facing growing pressure to scale back its huge global fossil fuel expansion plans – including the development of a controversial new oilfield in the North Sea.
Meteorologists are the new targets in global social media misinformation
16 May 2023
Once trusted faces on the news, meteorologists now brave threats, insults and slander online from conspiracy theorists and climate change deniers who accuse them of faking or even fixing the weather.
Ukraine’s already planning its green rebuilding
16 May 2023
Ukrainian activists, scientists and architects are pushing for a postwar recovery unlike any in history, with a focus on climate resilience and clean energy.
Paris agreement’s police force begins with rebuke to Vatican
15 May 2023
A committee set up to pressure governments into complying with the Paris Agreement has issued its first warnings, rebuking the Vatican City for not submitting a climate plan.
EU Parliament advances methane reduction with Fit for 55 legislation
12 May 2023
The new initiative is designed to help the EU achieve its climate goals and improve air quality.
Sweden to pave world’s first permanent e-road for EV charging while driving
12 May 2023
As countries across Europe scale up efforts towards fossil fuel-free mobility, Sweden is working on the world’s first permanent electric road — allowing electric cars and trucks to charge while driving.
Climate change raising heat risks for workers: experts
11 May 2023
Rising global temperatures are increasing the risk of workers dying or becoming disabled from labouring in extreme heat, an international conference has been told.
New tech to turn hydrogen and CO2 into lower-carbon aviation fuel announced
11 May 2023
Honeywell International Inc (HON.O) has announced announced a new technology to produce lower-carbon aviation fuel from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured from industry, which can help cut greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, one of the hardest sectors to electrify and decarbonise.
Greenpeace sues Italian energy company ENI over climate change
11 May 2023
Greenpeace and an environmental coalition including 12 Italian citizens are suing Italian energy company ENI, accusing it of knowingly contributing to climate change.
Sweden lowers fossil fuel reduction targets, risks 2030 climate goals
9 May 2023
Sweden’s ruling coalition decided on Sunday to lower the minimum fossil fuel emission reduction targets, a move criticised by the opposition as Sweden risks its 2030 climate goals, while the influential right-wing populist Sweden Democrats claim “victory”.
Germany’s top Green slams radical climate protesters
8 May 2023
Germany's most senior Green politician, Robert Habeck, has slammed radical activists who glue themselves to the ground to highlight the climate emergency, saying such protests are "unhelpful" and "downright wrong."
April heat in western Med 'almost impossible without climate change'
8 May 2023
The extreme heat that engulfed the Iberian peninsula and parts of North Africa last week would have been "almost impossible without climate change", an international scientific study found on Friday.
Ireland commits €169 million for climate transition in peat-dependent "midlands"
4 May 2023
Ireland is committing €169 million to help the country’s so-called ‘midlands’ to transition away from the carbon-intensive fossil energy industry.
Climate group hails 'productive' meeting with minister
3 May 2023
Climate activists from the Last Generation group say a meeting with German Transport Minister Volker Wissing was productive. However, there appears to be no end in sight to protests that have blocked Berlin's roads.
Irish SUV sales 'cancelling out' emissions benefits of EVs
3 May 2023
Increased sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have “not made a dent” in transport emissions, a leading expert has said, as he called for SUVs “to be phased out of the market”.
Germany hopes to help climate with discount travel card
2 May 2023
Germany launches on Monday a new flat-rate public transport ticket valid across the country, but the €49 (NZ$87) price point has raised doubts about the pass's potential impact.
German climate activists disrupt traffic in central Berlin
28 Apr 2023
Climate activists continued their protests in Berlin on Thursday, blocking more than a dozen streets by gluing themselves to the ground.
Europe's ETS sets tougher target
27 Apr 2023
EU countries have given the green light to the biggest overhaul to date of the bloc’s carbon market, raising costs for polluting industries and increasing its emissions reduction target from 43% to 62% by 2030.
Germans willing to sacrifice for climate
27 Apr 2023
Two-thirds of people in Germany said they were willing to make personal sacrifices to fight climate change, according to a YouGov poll, further demonstrating the varied attitudes toward lifestyle changes for the environment among European Union countries.
Europe’s biggest petrochemical plant in 30 years a ‘carbon bomb’, court to hear
26 Apr 2023
Environment groups challenge the decision to approve a £3.5bn Ineos facility in Antwerp, saying it will make the climate crisis worse.
EU, Norway to bolster clean energy ties, with focus on carbon and hydrogen
26 Apr 2023
The EU and Norway have established a Green Alliance to strengthen their joint climate action, environmental protection efforts and cooperation on clean energy.
Border tax on carbon dioxide offers huge opportunity to fight climate change, say researchers
26 Apr 2023
A tax on CO2 emissions from products entering the EU offers unprecedented opportunities in the fight against global warming.
Record breaking heatwaves cause 15,000 deaths in Europe
24 Apr 2023
Record-breaking heatwaves over the last few years, affecting the Europen continent and parts of China during the summer, have caused nearly 15,700 deaths, an analysis published by the United Nations Agency for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology, and Geophysics, claimed.
Earth Day — climate, protest and policy in 2023
24 Apr 2023
As activists mark Earth Day this Saturday, it feels like the climate coverage in the first months of 2023 has been dominated by extreme weather events including droughts, fires and floods, and by images of angry protesters demanding action. But some initiatives offer a glimmer of hope and possible ways to tackle climate emergencies.
World’s first carbon import tax gets green light
21 Apr 2023
The European Parliament has approved the world’s first “carbon tax” for imported goods, imposing tariffs based on the amount of emissions generated in their production.
Austria's 'Climate Shakira' has come up with a novel way to try and escape deportation
21 Apr 2023
"It is sometimes quite painful. Especially when you have glued your hand already on several occasions as I did then the skin irritation gets greater each time."
The 'ninjas' fighting climate change denial on Twitter
20 Apr 2023
Secretive internet vigilantes have made it their mission to fight climate change denial on Twitter. But, as a vicious information war rages online, do they risk becoming the very trolls they claim to be targeting?
EU Parliament adopts 'holy trinity' of climate laws
19 Apr 2023
The European Parliament has approved three climate laws that form the heart of EU efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
Germany reaches 2022 CO2 targets, but not thanks to climate measures
19 Apr 2023
Germany met its emissions reduction targets for 2022, according to preliminary data from the country’s Climate Expert Council (Expertenrat fur Klimafragen).
Climate council warns Germany against 'pushing off' responsibility to Europe
18 Apr 2023
Germany must increase efforts to reduce emissions even as the European Union introduces stricter climate legislation, said Brigitte Knopf, deputy chairwoman of the country’s Council of Experts on Climate Change.
EU exit from climate-killing energy treaty looms
18 Apr 2023
Denmark joins a spate of EU nations including Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands who are exiting the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an investment pact weaponised by big emitters to sue governments — most recently for phasing out fossil fuels.
NSW to ban new coalmines in major shake-up for $23bn industry
Today 11:15am
A major shake-up is on the way for one Australian state’s single biggest export, which powers homes here and abroad.
Thousands remain under evacuation orders in Hawaii flooding
Today 11:15am
Flooding across Oahu is now the worst Hawaii has seen in over 20 years. More than 230 people have been rescued so far. Some 5,500 people remain under evacuation orders in part because of rising water levels at the Wahiawa dam.
China tells oil refiners to suspend exports
Fri 20 Mar 2026
China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.
UK climate aid cuts ‘short-sighted’ and leave ‘fossil fuel profits untouched’, campaigners say
Today 11:15am
Campaigners have condemned the UK government's decision to cut its international climate finance as "extremely short-sighted" and a "moral abdication," warning the move threatens national security, abandons communities on the frontlines of climate change, and leaves "windfall profits from fossil fuels untouched".
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
Thu 19 Mar 2026
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.
Pacific Nations fear fuel shortages as Middle East war sends oil prices soaring
Fri 20 Mar 2026
Leaders of Samoa and Tonga appealed for help this week as the import-reliant Pacific nations raised fears over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the Middle East.
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
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
Thu 19 Mar 2026
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.
