No collapswashing

Het Nederlands-Belgische spoorbedrijf European Sleeper zal in februari en maart volgend jaar een nachttrein laten rijden tussen Brussel en Venetië. Het is de bedoeling om die trein 2 keer per week te laten rijden. Naast de eindbestemming Venetië zal de nieuwe verbinding ook halt houden in onder meer de Beierse hoofdstad München, de Oostenrijkse stad Innsbruck en het Italiaanse wintersportoord Bolzano. European Sleeper spoort nu al 3 keer per week tussen Brussel en de Tsjechische hoofdstad Praag, via de Duitse hoofdstad Berlijn.

From farmers to disaster survivors, new plaintiffs and progressing lawsuits are putting pressure on industry polluters.

Duizenden gevallen van hoge bloeddruk, diabetes en dementie kunnen gelinkt worden aan de vervuiling rond luchthavens. Dat zegt onderzoek van CE Delft. Ook rond Brussels Airport is de milieu-impact groot.

The law will come into force in national parks within two years and in all of the country’s marine protected areas by 2030

We owe all children a planet Earth as wonderful as the one we have enjoyed!

European nations must end the repression and criminalisation of peaceful protest and urgently take action to cut emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement to limit global heating to 1.5C, the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders has said.

In Munich I heard both Ukrainians and Alexei Navalny’s widow tell us why Putin must be defeated, says Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash

European and US oil and gas majors have made profits of more than a quarter of a trillion dollars since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to a new analysis by Global Witness marking two years since the conflict began. After posting record gains in 2022 off the back of soaring energy prices, the big five fossil fuel companies paid shareholders an unprecedented $111 billion in 2023. In the hottest year ever recorded, this figure is some 158 times what was pledged to vulnerable nations at last year’s COP28 climate summit.

EUCityCalc has officially launched its free, open source online platform that allows local councils and other stakeholders to visualise and simulate low-carbon scenarios for their towns and cities, as well as to assess the trade-offs related to available choices.

La France a développé un arsenal législatif pour lutter contre le gaspillage et favoriser la transition verte. Mais quiconque fait ses courses aujourd’hui dans le pays peut constater que la société, les entreprises et les individus ne sont pas tout à fait à la hauteur de ses lois citées en exemple à l’étranger.

UK has led the way, with countries across the continent making mass arrests, passing draconian new laws and labelling activists as eco-terrorists

In recent years, droughts have had substantial impacts on nearly all regions of the EU, affecting several critical systems such as agriculture, water supply, energy, river transport, and ecosystems. These impacts are projected to further increase due to climate change. While some of the drivers of drought risk are well known for some systems and regions, drought risks and impacts remain hard to assess and quantify. The European Drought Risk Atlas is a step towards impact-based drought assessment and can support the development and implementation of drought management and adaptation policies and actions. It characterises how drought hazard, exposure and vulnerability interact and affect different but interconnected systems: agriculture, public water supply, energy, riverine transport, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. The Atlas presents both a conceptual and quantitative approach to drought risk for these systems. The conceptual drought risk models (impact chains) are the result of a review of the literat

De blootstelling van de Europeanen aan de chemische stof bisphenol A ligt veel te hoog en vormt een gezondheidsrisico voor miljoenen mensen. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van het Europees Milieuagentschap (EEA).

BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies found to be leading a multi-pronged influencing campaign that could lock in fossil gas across both continents, with push back coming from more renewables-focused European energy players.

De zomer van vorig jaar was de warmste ooit gemeten in Europa en heeft geleid tot 61.000 vroegtijdige overlijdens. Volgens een analyse in wetenschappelijk tijdschrift Nature Medicine werden vooral vrouwen van boven de 80 slachtoffer van de hitte.

Europe at the forefront of the climate challenge The European Union is a global leader in the transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy. Playing a crucial role in international political efforts to tackle the climate challenge, Europe is one of the main players moving with urgency toward the Paris Agreement objectives. Now, with a European Green Deal and a commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030, Europe has a clear, tangible roadmap to deliver such ambition. A wave of mass mobilisation, from climate marches to school strikes, is pressuring politicians to go further and faster. As a free-market democracy and the world’s largest single market, Europe is a key laboratory for innovative business and progressive social reform. It promises to bring groundbreaking change to globalised industries, from shipping to finance to aviation. Europe also has the power to demonstrate to the world that tackling climate change can go hand in hand with economic growth, social justice and a better qualit

De la santé à l’éducation, le bond en avant technologique actuel peut déboucher sur une amélioration de nos conditions de vie, veut croire ce philosophe spécialiste de l’IA dans le journal britannique “The New European”.

In de zomer van vorig jaar kampte Europa met een van de ergste droogtes sinds de metingen. Dit jaar zit er niet veel beterschap in.

We owe all children a planet Earth as wonderful as the one we have enjoyed!

The total concentration of greenhouse gases and other forcing agents, including cooling aerosols, reached 465 parts per million CO2 equivalents in 2020. This is around the peak level that the International Panel on Climate Change states 'should not be exceeded if — with a 67% likelihood and not allowing a temperature overshoot — the global temperature increase is to be limited to 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels'. When allowing for a temperature overshoot, the peak level could be exceeded in 2024. The peak concentrations corresponding to a temperature increase of 2oC by 2100 could be exceeded between 2027 and 2030.

En cette nouvelle année, il est indispensable de faire le bilan de la production d’électricité en 2022. Pour cela, nous comparerons l’Allemagne, souvent mise en avant par de nombreux politiques français pour son avance dans la transition énergétique, et la France, que ces mêmes politiques disent en retard. Attention, l’électricité ne représente que 20 à 25% de l’énergie consommée. De plus, l’empreinte carbone des habitants tient compte des importations (soit 50% pour un Français). Les émissions de CO2 présentées dans cet article ne concernent donc que celles liés à la production d’électricité.

Nous réalisons – même tardivement – que les enjeux climatiques sont des enjeux de guerre et de paix. Mais en avons-nous tiré toutes les conséquences  ? A l’heure où une génération se mobilise pour tenter de sauver le monde, d’autres se mobilisent pour le détruire. Le scandale est là. Alors, après le flop de la COP 25 à Madrid, et dans la perspective de Glasgow 2021, il va falloir pointer les méfaits de l’empreinte carbone des militaires et les risques encourus si les activités destructives ne sont pas intégrées dans les négociations à venir. 

Wheat is an important global crop, but new research suggests that fungal toxins have contaminated half of all European wheat produced for food. the widespread presence of vomitoxin in our food is concerning. It is not yet known how constant, low-level dietary exposure to mycotoxins can affect human health in the long term. This is compounded by the fact that one-quarter of the wheat contaminated with vomitoxin also contained other FHB mycotoxins, raising concerns of synergism, where toxins interact with each other and cause greater harm than the sum of the individual toxins acting alone.

Dat de economische sancties ten gevolge van de inval in Oekraïne Europa meer treffen dan Rusland is een vervelend feit. Maar nu blijkt uit een recente studie van The Economist dat omwille van de hoge brandstofprijzen het aantal extra doden in Europa in de komende winter groter zou kunnen zijn dan het aantal soldaten dat tot nu toe in de strijd in Oekraïne is omgekomen. Stof om eens goed over na te denken.

Presidents of Senegal, DRC and Ghana travelled to Rotterdam to talk about adapting to climate change. Only one European leader was there to meet them

The EDO pages contain drought-relevant information such as maps of indicators derived from different data sources (e.g., precipitation measurements, satellite measurements, modelled soil moisture content). Different tools, like Compare Layers, allow for displaying and analysing the information and drought reports give an overview of the situation in case of imminent droughts.

Persistent heat extremes can have severe impacts on ecosystems and societies, including excess mortality, wildfires, and harvest failures. Here we identify Europe as a heatwave hotspot, exhibiting upward trends that are three-to-four times faster compared to the rest of the northern midlatitudes over the past 42 years. This accelerated trend is linked to atmospheric dynamical changes via an increase in the frequency and persistence of double jet stream states over Eurasia. We find that double jet occurrences are particularly important for western European heatwaves, explaining up to 35% of temperature variability. The upward trend in the persistence of double jet events explains almost all of the accelerated heatwave trend in western Europe, and about 30% of it over the extended European region. Those findings provide evidence that in addition to thermodynamical drivers, atmospheric dynamical changes have contributed to the increased rate of European heatwaves, with implications for risk management and potent

Cancer affects the lives of many Europeans. Environmental and occupational exposure to air pollution, radon, UV radiation, chemical carcinogens, asbestos and other risks contributes significantly to the high burden of cancer in Europe. However, all environmental and occupational cancer risk factors are largely preventable. This web report provides a brief overview of the evidence on the environmental and occupational determinants of cancer in Europe and of EU policy responses.

Ember modelling of least-cost power system pathways reveals that a clean power system (70-80% wind and solar) by 2035 should be at the core of energy planning for a net-zero continent by mid-century.

La jurisprudence Urgenda est à l’origine d’innombrables condamnations de l’insuffisance des politiques à réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. S’il est logique de s’attaquer ainsi à la source du problème, l’impossibilité de ces politiques à en supprimer les conséquences pose la question de l’insuffisance des mesures destinées à y faire face.

Avec la participation de délégués d'États membres, d'organisations non gouvernementales et d'universités, ainsi que d'entrepreneurs à la recherche de moyens de développer durablement l'"économie bleue", on espère que cet événement, qui se déroulera dans la ville portugaise de Lisbonne du 27 juin au Le 1er juillet marquera une nouvelle ère pour l'Océan.

Davantage de pays doivent «penser résilience» et adopter et améliorer de toute urgence des systèmes d'alerte précoce afin de réduire les risques liés à un nombre croissant de catastrophes dans le monde, a conclu vendredi un forum des Nations Unies sur les catastrophes.

Microplastics are deposited in river floodplains and carried down to deeper levels, according to a study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. Local topography, frequency of floods, and soil characteristics can affect the amount of plastic particles that are deposited and potentially carried into deeper soil.

Countries should move from coal to renewable energy without shifting to gas as a “transition” fuel to save money, as high gas prices and market volatility have made the fossil fuel an expensive option, analysis has found. Natural gas has long been touted as a “transition” fuel for economies dependent on coal for their power needs, as it has lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal but requires similar centralised infrastructure, and gas-fired power stations take only a couple of years to build. Earlier this year, before Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Commission angered green campaigners by including gas as a “bridge” to clean energy in its guidebook for green investment.

A liquified natural gas (LNG) crisis is brewing for European countries dealing with energy insecurity in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as demand will outstrip supply by the end of this year, Rystad Energy research shows. Although soaring demand has spurred the greatest rush of new LNG projects worldwide in more than a decade, construction timelines mean material relief is unlikely only after 2024. Global LNG demand is expected to hit 436 million tonnes in 2022, outpacing the available supply of just 410 million tonnes. A perfect winter storm may be forming for Europe as the continent seeks to limit Russian gas flows. The supply imbalance and high prices will set the scene for the most bullish environment for LNG projects in more than a decade, although supply from these projects will only arrive and provide relief from after 2024 The European Union’s REPowerEU plan has set an ambitious target to reduce dependence on Russian gas by 66% within this year – an aim that will clash with the EU’s goal of

the new study has uncovered five other events around the world which were even more severe but were never reported. “The recent heatwave in Canada and the United States shocked the world. Yet we show there have been some even greater extremes in the last few decades. Using climate models, we also find extreme heat events are likely to increase in magnitude over the coming century – at the same rate as the local average temperature,”

Reaching climate neutrality by 2050 will require 35 more times lithium and up to 26 more times the amount of rare metals compared to today’s limited use, according to a study by a team of researchers from the Belgian university KU Leuven. The study “Metals for Clean Energy” was commissioned by Eurometaux, Europe’s association of metal producers.

Strong measures by Europe could quickly deprive Russia of oil and gas income worth billions, experts say

Measures implemented this year could bring down gas imports from Russia by over one-third, with additional temporary options to deepen these cuts to well over half while still lowering emissions.

Suffering from Parkinson’s disease or cancer, European farm workers experience inadequate recognition and failing compensation schemes.

We may lose up to three meters of coastline in the Arctic every year by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The authors also warn about bigger waves due to increasing temperatures, making the coastline very vulnerable to further losses due to erosion.

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L’EPR 2 est un projet de version « optimisée » du réacteur nucléaire EPR – ou réacteur pressurisé européen (initialement european pressurized reactor, renommé evolutionary power reactor) –, voulue plus simple et moins chère à construire que ce dernier.

Een grote meerderheid van de Europeanen is voorstander van strengere uitstootnormen voor autobouwers, blijkt uit een enquête door YouGov. Bijna tweederde is zelfs bereid daar meer voor te betalen.

Lancé par l’Institut Veblen et la Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, le projet « European Green Deal Watch » explore les chances du « Pacte vert européen » de tenir ses promesses, à savoir mettre l’Europe sur la voie vers la neutralité carbone et une société plus soutenable.

Politician says droughts and climate-induced famine in the country are a result of the behaviours of rich nations

Een nooit gezien Europees plan, “Fit for 55”, moet de uitstoot van broeikasgassen écht terugdringen. Het begin van een krachtig klimaatbeleid én van een sociaal klimaatbeleid, stelt MO*journalist John Vandaele vast. En voor het eerst komen er nu ook structurele inkomsten voor zo’n sociaal klimaatbeleid: een klimaatbonus van zo’n 160 euro per Belgisch gezin. ‘Zonder die klimaatmarsen van de jongeren hadden we de European Green Deal er nooit op enkele maanden door gekregen.’

la Commission a établi un système d’échange de quotas d’émission de gaz à effet de serre (SEQE-UE, ou ETS pour European Union Emission Trading System en anglais). Il s’agit d’une sorte de "bourse du carbone" qui concerne donc les émissions de CO2 ou autres gaz à effet de serre, et qui fonctionne dans tous les pays de l’UE, plus l’Islande, le Liechtenstein et la Norvège.

A UN analysis today revealed a bleak upward trajectory for global carbon dioxide emissions, despite new CO2-curbing plans by scores of countries, including major emitters such as the US and the European Union’s 27 member states.

Today, the European Court of Justice stated that EU energy companies will no longer be allowed to sue EU governments using the Energy Charter Treaty – throwing into doubt a number of ongoing billion-euro arbitrations.

Extreme heatwave is challenging temperature records this week. Just a day after Italy tied with its all-time national record, the same weather station in the town of Siracusa, Sicily might shatter the European highest temperature record! This afternoon, Wednesday, Aug 11th, Siracusa has reported an astonishing peak temperature of +48.8 °C (119.8 °F). Heatwave now shifts to Spain and Portugal!

The European Commission just released on Friday 16 July its new EU Forest Strategy. This Strategy supplements the Fit for 55 Package (published on 14 of July) and will contribute to achieve the EU’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 55% by 2030, as set out in the European legislation on Climate. This new ambitious strategy “recognises the central and multi-functional role of forests, and the contribution of foresters and the entire forest-based value chain for achieving by 2050 a sustainable and climate-neutral economy

A new study has revealed the top five countries that would survive the collapse of global civilisation. New Zealand (already home to a wealth of billionaire preppers) takes the top spot, with the other five entrants being Iceland, Ireland, Australia and the UK.

A Belgian climatologist surveys the wreckage of his hometown. Pierre Ozer has been expecting these floods for decades.

Demographic statistics are among the most popular data Eurostat produces, and they are important for almost every area of policy. This new interactive publication Demography of Europe produced by Eurostat aims to bring these statistics to a new audience, providing clear visualisations and interactive features to help non-specialist users see what official European statistics can tell us about how the population is developing, ageing, and much more.

La neutralité climatique introduite à l’article 4 de l’accord de Paris s’applique à l’échelle de la planète. Elle vise à équilibrer les rejets anthropiques de gaz à effet de serre et leur élimination par les puits. Autrement dit, à atteindre une situation « ZEN » (« Zéro Emissions Nettes ») dans laquelle le flux des émissions entrant dans l’atmosphère s’équilibre avec celui qui s’en échappe.

The potent greenhouse gas methane is spewing out of natural gas infrastructure across the European Union because of leaks and venting. Using an infrared camera, non-profit Clean Air Task Force (CATF) found methane seeping into the atmosphere at 123 oil and gas sites in several countries this year. Methane, the biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide (CO2), is the main component of natural gas and over 80 times more potent than CO2 in its first 20 years in the air.

InfluenceMap, a think tank that monitors corporate lobbying around climate change, reveals: while the 10 European airlines looked at for this report have received around €30 billion in bailouts during the pandemic – some of which came with conditions attached to encourage climate-friendly actions – most have simultaneously lobbied to delay new proposals to cut aviation emissions.

To understand how long it will take to recover from this extinction event, a team of European scientists from Germany, Switzerland, the UK and The Netherlands decided to compare it with the previous mass extinction event, which occurred 66 million years ago when an asteroid hit our planet. This was a major event event that wiped off dinosaurs along with 75% of all species.

Le Système d’échange de quotas d’émission de l’Union européenne (SEQE-UE), le principal levier de l’UE pour lutter contre les émissions de CO2, semble ne pas avoir obtenu les résultats escomptés. Des groupes industriels de premier plan, souvent avec l’accord de leurs propres gouvernements, profitent des faiblesses du système et continuent à produire de l’énergie fossile. L’une des solutions pour réduire les émissions de CO2 - les gaz à effet de serre étant l’une des principales causes du réchauffement climatique - est de les taxer...

En termes de CO2, la production d’électricité est l’activité humaine qui a le pire impact sur l’environnement en Europe. Si les émissions de gaz à effet de serre dans l’UE tendent à diminuer, elles restent des obstacles majeurs pour atteindre la neutralité carbone. Pendant ce temps, à l’Est, des dizaines de centrales à charbon sont amenées à être construites très prochainement.

Notre analyse se concentre sur l’augmentation de la température moyenne d’environ 100 000 communes européennes. La température moyenne des années 1960 a été comparée avec celle des années 2010 afin de rendre compte de l’impact du réchauffement climatique au niveau local.

Cinq ans après le scandale du Dieselgate, de nouvelles études ont chiffré les coûts sociaux engendrés par les émissions de véhicules dans les zones urbaines les plus polluées d'Europe. À l'occasion du cinquième anniversaire du Dieselgate, une nouvelle étude a montré que 130 millions d'habitants des plus grandes zones urbaines européennes ont payé des coûts sociaux de plus de 166 milliards d'euros par an à cause de la pollution du trafic routier.

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Is it possible to enjoy both economic growth and environmental sustainability? This question is a matter of fierce political debate between green growth and post-growth advocates. Considering what is at stake, a careful assessment to determine whether the scientific foundations behind this decoupling hypothesis are robust or not is needed.

Gérer la contrainte carbone, un jeu d'enfant ?

Selon une méta analyse internationale publiée, en août 2017, par les Comptes rendus de l’Académie américaine des sciences (Pnas), les effets du réchauffement climatique n’affectent pas uniquement le mercure. Les rendements agricoles et la qualité nutritionnelle des céréales sont eux aussi sensiblement impactés par le printemps humide et la canicule estivale. En effet, ces conditions favorisent la prolifération des insectes, y compris les ravageurs s’attaquant aux récoltes.

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