Tag: climate change

A leading climate professor says that new evidence which further reinforces the connection between global warming and extreme rainfall is "extremely important" in setting out a methodology which could one day be used to sue energy companies for climate damage.

Scientists at an Arctic tipping point conference in Norway are trying to agree terms for an early warning system that could monitor sudden climate shifts, such as the much-feared melting of glaciers.

A UN-backed study says that major financial firms feel too uninformed about climate change to advise their clients on risks, such as heatwaves and floods.

The European Commission is preparing tighter regulation for the European carbon market in a bid to clamp down on insider dealing, fraud and manipulation within the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

A perfect storm of environmental deterioration, economic opportunism and geopolitical jockeying for position is fuelling a rapid Chinese move into renewable technologies such as wind, solar and wave power, according to Miranda Schreurs, director of the Environmental Policy Research Institute at the Freie Universität Berlin.  

Some 190 nations agreed to a compromise text on Friday night which makes progress on a number of issues, including forest protection and the establishment of a Green Fund to deliver climate cash to developing countries.

The chances of concluding a broad-based agreement at the UN climate talks in Cancún are slim as a result of divergent economic interests, write Graham Weale and Alexander Nolden from German energy utility RWE AG. Subsidised jobs in the renewable energy sector are already costing jobs elsewhere, they warn.

Today's lack of leadership could make tomorrow far more dangerous, argues Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, a former EU commissioner for external affairs and chancellor of the University of Oxford.

A number of large European cities are promising to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions as part of a major international initiative to tackle climate change. The initiative was launched at a conference in Mexico City on 21 November 2010.

US President Barack Obama will meet EU leaders for a two-hour meeting in Lisbon on the sidelines of a NATO summit on Saturday (20 November).

Environment ministers from almost 200 countries on Friday (29 October) adopted historic targets to halve loss of natural habitats and dramatically increase nature reserves to 17% of the world's land area by 2020 from less than 10% today.

Environment ministers yesterday (14 October) postponed a decision on whether the EU should raise its 2020 emissions reduction target, in a debate that brought to the surface a division between businesses.

A deal struck by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on capping emissions from international aviation paves the way for swift inclusion of aviation in the EU's emissions trading scheme, the European Commission said on Saturday (9 October).

Institutional investors have warned European countries that repeated policy changes across the continent are discouraging investment in low-carbon technologies.

Europe will have to triple the scale of its energy efficiency policies in order to attain its 2020 climate goals, according to a new report to be released today (15 September).

For several months, Germany has been discussing the future of its energy policy. Last month, Chancellor Angela Merkel went on an 'energy tour' across the country to meet different stakeholders and visit various power plants. These included renewable energy as well as nuclear sites. EurActiv Germany reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out in favour of extending the use of nuclear power plants in Germany in a television interview on 29 August, saying it would be reasonable if they could run another 10 to 15 years.

The holiday season should still bring about some serious policy thinking, writes University of Oxford Chancellor Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former EU commissioner for external affairs.

Sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan have the most insecure food supplies in the world, while Nordic countries are least at risk, shows an index published yesterday (19 August).

Kristalina Georgieva, the EU commissioner responsible for humanitarian aid and crisis response, will soon present a political proposal to reinforce the EU's capacity to respond to crises, the European Commission said yesterday (16 August). The announcement appears to represent a response to recent calls from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, inspired by the unprecedented floods in Pakistan.

Countries' pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions offer virtually no chance of halting global warming before it reaches dangerous levels, researchers said as negotiators gather in Bonn to continue climate talks next week. 

The EU's Eastern European newcomers, who still need to catch up with the rest of the Union in terms of economic and social development, face an uphill battle to attain the 'climate targets' laid out in the bloc's 'Europe 2020' strategy, a round-up of articles from the EurActiv media network reveals.

New ways of thinking are needed to tackle short-termism and secure our future well-being, writes Dr. Maja Göpel, director of the Future Justice department at the World Future Council, in an exclusive op-ed for EurActiv.

China will host an extra round of international negotiations in October aimed at fostering agreement over a new climate treaty, the United Nations' top environment official said in remarks published on Monday.