Europe needs drastic pesticide reduction
A leaked proposal from the European Commission would favour the agrochemical industry, not the citizenry.
Climate accountability now
Major emitters must deliver on critical ‘climate justice’ issues, such as financing for vulnerable countries.
Europe’s utilities: net zero or not zero?
Europe’s largest energy companies are failing on their net-zero pledges.
Green taxonomy: traffic-light coalition flashes amber
The EU’s controversial proposal to label nuclear energy ‘green’ could jeopardise the future of the German coalition.
Building back greener?
The Recovery and Resilience Facility is important but will not mobilise sufficient green investment by itself.
EU cash floodgates open for nuclear and gas
There is no environmental, climate or economic reason to include nuclear and fossil gas in the EU investment taxonomy.
Social-ecological policy options: free green services
How to avoid ecological policies having adverse social effects? Make the associated services (partly) free.
‘Leaving no one behind’: putting words into actions
The climate transition and its social dimension demand more powerful instruments than the European Commission proposes.
European Green Deal: can it tackle the climate crisis?
Public-private partnerships must be replaced by public-community collaborations for wellbeing and the climate.
High-speed rail along a ‘European silk road’
The Recovery and Resilience Facility aims to finance national projects. Yet a pan-European rail network could yield big emissions cuts.
Buildings key to achieving Europe’s climate goals
There are fears the revised directive on energy performance due from the European Commission will not be adequate to the task.
Burying the problem: carbon markets and sustainable agriculture
The European Commission initiative on ‘carbon farming’ due today is expected to rely on a market in sequestration.
Germany’s new coalition: changing gear on climate
Germany’s ‘traffic light’ coalition is sending strong green signals. But political roadblocks lie ahead.
Getting to zero—what’s the beef?
Most livestock land will have to be repurposed as carbon sinks to remove the huge global emissions related to food production.
The right institutions for the climate transition
Global climate commitments will not amount to much without the institutional foundation the transition to a zero-carbon economy needs.
Fixing climate finance
Finance was at the heart of the COP26 rupture between developed and developing countries—it’s time for a new approach.
How the climate crisis is changing Europe’s economic landscape
After four decades, the pandemic and especially the climate crisis have silenced the exponents of fiscal orthodoxy. Keynes is back.
Jobs and a just transition can deliver climate ambition
As COP26 continues, global social ambition will have to match that for the climate to secure a liveable world for all.
Time for a proactive domestic and European industrial policy
There is growing recognition in Europe of the need to steer an ecological industrial transition—just not enough.
The gamble for the planet: young climate activists could tilt the scales
Government leaders in Glasgow are still behind the climate curve but young activists might just drag the world ahead of it.
Climate conference: fix article 6
Alongside ambitious emissions-reductions targets, well-functioning carbon markets are key to success at COP26 and on today’s agenda.