Blockade Australia climate protests cause traffic chaos in Brisbane and Melbourne

Climate activists have launched a second day of nationwide protests, with campaigners warning the public to brace for rolling protests across Australia.

‘Unheard of’ marine heatwave off UK and Irish coasts poses serious threat

An “unheard of” marine heatwave off the coasts of the UK and Ireland poses a serious threat to species, scientists have warned.

Swans decapitated amid rising attacks against waterfowl in England and Wales

Nine decapitated swans are among the victims of a rising number of sadistic attacks against waterfowl, according to police data.

Ministers to block plans to ban new coal mines

The government is planning to remove a ban on opening new coal mines from a bill that is going through Parliament. The ban was added to the Energy Bill by peers in the House of Lords.

Switzerland referendum: Voters back carbon cuts as glaciers melt

Voters in Switzerland have backed a new climate bill designed to cut fossil fuel use and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The government says the country needs to protect its energy security and the environment, as glaciers melt rapidly in the Swiss Alps.

Climate change: Sudden heat increase in seas around UK and Ireland

Some of the most intense marine heat increases on Earth have developed in seas around the UK and Ireland, the European Space Agency (Esa) says.

EU’s climate calculator needs an overhaul

The European Commission’s energy system modelling will not produce accurate calculations about the EU’s climate future until it receives the update it needs, writes Niels Fuglsang. 

Scientific advisers urge EU to cut emissions 90-95% by 2040

The European Union will have to aim for a near-total reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 if it wants to meet its 2050 climate neutrality goal, according to a report by the bloc’s climate advisory board, published on Thursday (15 June).

What’s the EU’s 2040 climate target?

After decades of profit, the oil and gas industry should split the climate clean-up tab

With its first-ever target for CO2 geological storage, the European Commission’s Net-Zero Industry Act has the potential to truly mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on the environment – but in order to be effective, the legislation needs to cover all oil and gas companies, write Kayla C

Bulgaria edges closer to building US nuclear reactor

Bulgaria is getting closer to making a US nuclear reactor after the Bulgarian nuclear power plant Kozloduy signed an official engineering contract for Front-End Engineering and Design of a nuclear reactor using the AP-1000 technology with Westinghouse on Wednesday.

World breaks average temperature record for early June: EU

Average global temperatures at the start of June were the warmest the European Union’s climate monitoring unit has ever recorded for the period, trouncing previous records by a “substantial margin”, it said on Thursday (15 June).

CO2 cuts v. cash: Climate talks stymied by stand-off

Pressure to speed cuts in carbon pollution took a back seat at UN climate talks that ended late Thursday night (15 June), as emerging economies, including China, demanded that rich ones vastly scale up climate financing.

France barred from ‘Friends of Renewables’ EU ministerial meeting

France was not invited to a meeting of pro-renewables countries on Monday (19 June) after Paris delayed the adoption of the EU’s renewable energy directive, an EU diplomat told EURACTIV.

Paris summit to push for global pact on climate and debt reform

World leaders will gather in Paris this week with ambitions to reimagine global financing for a new era shaped by climate change, as a cascade of crises swamps debt-burdened countries.

France finally satisfied with EU deal on renewables directive

  The EU-27 reached a compromise on Friday (16 June), which satisfies French interests in nuclear power, without reopening negotiations on the Renewable Energy Directive.

Late push for coal subsidies upsets EU deal on electricity market reform

A late proposal to extend subsidies for coal plants has upset European Union plans to agree a reform of the bloc’s power market, which was designed to shift the electricity system towards cleaner energy sources.

Bitter conflicts stop Eastern Europe from choosing next year’s Cop host

Conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Armenia and Azerbaijan have stopped the group of Eastern European nations from picking the host of the Cop29 climate talks next November.

One of Britain’s largest sunken forests reveals its secrets

On a broad expanse of beach overlooked by towering cliffs on the UK’s south coast, a ghost forest can be glimpsed at low tide.

Our future as an electrostate: Alan Finkel on how Australia gets to net zero from here

“It won’t be easy getting to zero, Kathleen.”