World
US and Saudi Arabia block geoengineering governance push
Countries failed to agree on a Swiss resolution to consider regulating technologies that aim to cool the planet, at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi
Energy and oil majors turn to rural Africa in grab for world’s next billion customers
Once basic energy is established in disconnected regions, the companies that supply it hope to cash in on demand for a slew of new products and services
Environment community mourns victims of Ethiopian Airlines crash
UN staff and delegates to the UN Environment Assembly, which opened in Nairobi on Monday, were among 157 to die on the way from Addis Ababa
Belfast’s bid to join UK environment law raises post-Brexit border issues
Adding Northern Ireland to the environment law adds pressure on London to keep its regulations in step with the EU’s
The Green New Deal contains a tension between climate and social goals
The original New Deal spurred a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions, so can it be successfully adapted for the transition away from fossil fuels?
Macron puts European climate bank on EU election agenda
French proponent ‘pleased’ Macron has backed a new institution, although the president’s support was left deliberately vague, said a government official
New UK green watchdog to be based on EU system, says Gove
‘Whatever else are the defects of the EU – that is a good working model,’ the environment secretary told MPs
Weeds flourish and fish decline in Lake Victoria’s ‘deadest’ corner
As invasive water hyacinth chokes fishing communities, the World Bank launches a third phase of investment to try and restore the degraded lake
Burning wood for power breaches EU treaty, new lawsuit claims
Plaintiffs from six European countries and the US argue biomass does more harm than good and should be not be counted as a renewable energy source
French experts propose trillion-euro EU climate finance pact
Economist Pierre Larrouturou and climate scientist Jean Jouzel are leading a call to mobilise funds on a large scale, backed by more than 600 political figures
Costa Rica targets electric cars and forest growth in 2050 climate strategy
President Carlos Alvarado Quesada has launched an economy-wide plan to slash his country’s greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century
German climate law draft calls for net-zero emissions by 2050
The environment ministry is calling to hike the target to 95% and ensure that any remaining emissions are removed
Alberta’s oil production cut shows the Keystone XL protest worked
Widely dismissed as a symbolic victory in 2015, the blocking of a major pipeline project has forced Canada’s oil patch to limit its output, vindicating activists
South Africa set to introduce long-awaited carbon tax in June
The levy will make polluters report and pay for their emissions, but experts say the starting rate is too low to spur a rapid shift to clean energy
Brazil’s first indigenous congresswoman defends her people’s rights from Bolsonaro
Joênia Wapichana helped to win land titles for five indigenous groups in Brazil’s far north, but the president is threatening to re-open the area to white farmers and miners
EU foreign ministers back UN call to raise climate ambition
In a statement on Monday, the European Council said UN chief Antonio Guterres’ summit in September is “an essential opportunity” to ramp up national commitments
Ireland’s democratic experiment lays the ground for stronger climate action
The Citizen’s Assembly could become a model for developing informed, fair and ambitious climate policy – if the government accepts its recommendations
‘If not us, who?’ Failure of representation drives youth climate strike
As a movement grows across the world, young people say they want politicians to protect their interests
Labour scrambles to develop a British Green New Deal
Jeremy Corbyn meets AOC advisor to discuss US green stimulus package, while inside Labour, two camps are forming different proposals for a UK version
Ireland needs new oil and gas fields to ease reliance on Brexit UK, say drillers
Oil and gas explorers are gearing up to drill offshore Ireland in a bid to boost its energy independence from Britain