The
60 Debates
60 Debates
The
The UN
The EU member states reached an agreement on Wednesday on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy. In future, 20 percent of each EU country's direct payments to farmers must be reserved for organic regulations. The current subusidies system is mainly based on the area cultivated and has been blamed for the decline of small farms and
Apart from the rout suffered by President Macron's LREM party, the most striking feature of the
Members of the French
Sweden's highest environmental court on Monday gave the green light for Preem, the country's largest oil company, to expand its refinery in Lysekil in western Sweden. The Social Democrat-led government is expected to approve the project despite the concerns of its junior partner, the Green Party. Sweden's press is unhappy.
People all over the world are affected by the coronavirus and the associated restrictions. At the same time the lockdown is a positive development for the climate. Nitrogen dioxide levels in major southern European cities such as Madrid and Milan have gone down by around 50 percent, for example. The difference can even be seen from space. Commentators discuss whether the pandemic could have a lasting positive impact on the environment.
With winters getting warmer real snow is becoming increasingly rare in the Alps. Ski races often require the creation of artificial snow pistes in a complicated process that leaves a white track surrounded by brown, snowless areas. In mountainous Switzerland, where skiing is very popular, a debate has broken out about whether the sport has a future in these times of climate change.
The bushfires in Australia have claimed at least 27 human lives and according to estimates killed more than a billion animals since October. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who until now had fiercely defended the coal industry, has announced the introduction of new measures to reduce CO2 levels. Commentators discuss what can be done to prevent such disasters and what role Europe can play.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has unveiled a package of measures aimed at making Europe climate neutral by 2050. The plan foresees the EU spending a trillion euros on its 'Green Deal' by 2030 and includes a CO2 tax on imports produced under conditions that don't conform to EU climate standards. Commentators in Northern, Eastern and Central Europe voice their concerns - for very different reasons.
Under the "climate emergency" declared by the European Parliament after a vote passed by an overwhelming majority the EU Commission and the member states must in future assess all their decisions in terms of their impact on the
Shortly before COP25 - the UN Climate Change Conference - kicks off in Madrid, a new
According to the Fridays for Future movement more than four million people in over 160 countries took part in the global climate strike on Friday. They called on politicians to meet the targets set out in the
With the Amazon region facing the worst fires in years, Brazil's government has banned slash-and-burn clearance in the dry season. The G7 states offered financial support to fight the fires but Bolsonaro said he would only take the money if Macron apologised for accusing him of lying about his commitments to environmental protection.
Bucharest's Mayor Gabriela Firea wants to combat air pollution in the city by introducing controls on traffic. Among other measures a tax is to be levied on vehicles that drive through Bucharest. Residents of the city and surrounding areas would, however, be exempted from the tax. Opinions in the Romanian press are divided.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has started out on her voyage across the Atlantic from Plymouth, in southern England. In roughly two weeks't time the yacht will reach New York, where Thunberg will participate in the UN Climate Change Summit in September. Commentators increasingly criticise the
This summer an area of the Amazon region almost four times as large as in the previous years has been deforested, satellite images show. The rainforest produces a fifth of the planet's oxygen and is therefore considered the 'lungs of the world'. Sixty percent of the forest is in Brazil - where President Jair Bolsanaro is pushing deforestation. Europe's press issue urgent calls to action.
Agricultural experts from SPD, the Greens and the German animal protection association Deutsche Tierschutzbund, are calling for an increase in VAT on meat products, which in Germany currently stands at seven percent. Among those to reject the motion are the party leaders and the minister for agriculture. But the debate has long since exploded in the European media.
With effect from next year France will introduce an eco-tax on flights ranging from 1.50 to 18 euros on the ticket price, depending on the distance flown. The EU Commission is also apparently
The EU heads of government and state were unable to agree at a special summit on the goal of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050 because Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia blocked the decision. A mere footnote now states that "a large number of states" want to achieve this goal. Commentators are incensed and stress that this won't be the end of the matter.
Finland has announced plans to reduce its emissions to zero by 2035, however its government has yet to name specific measures. The UK, by contrast, has unveiled a list of measures ranging from expanding renewable energies and reforestation to dietary changes with which its aims to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. What else needs to be done?
Approximately one million plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction. With this figure the World Biodiversity Council underlined the urgency of its first global report on Monday in Paris. Human beings are destroying the very life they depend on, warned Robert Watson, chairman of the UN body. Commentators say they know what needs to be done - but not how to do it.
A team of Australian scientists has assessed 73 studies on species extinction from around the world and come to a dramatic conclusion: the populations of almost half of all insect species are declining so rapidly that insects could die out completely in the next hundred years. The major causes are intensive farming and urbanisation, the researchers say. What should be done?
The Fridays for Future
The Austrian government passed a law banning plastic bags at the end of last year. Now its implementation is being worked out with retailers. Environment Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) wants "an end to plastic waste". It is estimated that the ban on plastic bags will reduce such waste by 5,000 to 7,000 tonnes. But commentators have their doubts about the effectiveness of the ban.
The EU has agreed on a law that would ban
The EU has
At the UN summit in Katowice the international community of states has agreed on a joint set of regulations for
197 states at the Climate Change Conference in Katovice are discussing how to
The EU Commission's new climate strategy aims to make the EU 'climate neutral' by 2050, mainly by replacing oil, coal and gas with eco-friendly energy sources. In the run-up to the climate summit in Katowice some media are pushing for the EU and its member states to go even further, while others pin their hopes on future generations.
A citizens' initiative in Finland aimed at having a special tax on diesel cars abolished gained far more than the required 50,000 signatures within 24 hours. Now the parliament must address the issue. The initiative came about in response to a rise in the price of diesel fuel, which now costs as much as gasoline at many filling stations. Finnish commentators stress the advantages of diesel.
The EU Parliament voted on Wednesday in favour of banning throwaway plastic products. Prior to the vote researchers announced that they have detected plastic particles in human stool for the first time and now assume that there are no more plastic-free areas on the planet. But not all commentators are convinced that the decision passed by the MEPs will solve the problem.
The EU's environmental ministers have agreed on a compromise for CO2 emissions limits for new cars. They are to be 35 percent lower compared to 2021 levels by 2030. The EU Parliament had demanded a
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned in its Special Report on Global Warming that the world is heating up faster than previously believed and with more drastic consequences. But the panel claims it is still "technically and economically possible" to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Commentators look at what needs to be done to achieve that goal.
The EU Parliament has declared war on CO2 emissions in transportation with new limits. From 2030 the CO2 emissions limit for new cars is to be on average 40 percent lower than for 2021. Negotiations with the EU Commission and the member states are next on the agenda. Is the Parliament jeopardising the future of Europe's automotive industry with its decision?
French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot announced his resignation in a live broadcast by radio station France Inter on Tuesday. The former environmental activist justified his decision saying that he felt that the government had left him "all alone" in his campaign for the environment. Many commentators find his actions understandable.
Beekeepers in Estonia have sounded the alarm after the death of millions of bees in the country in recent weeks. Government investigations into the first case of mass bee deaths have revealed that the bees were poisoned by a crop protection product used on a field of rapeseed. The Estonian press is shocked and decries modern man's alienation from nature.
With the One Planet Summit French President Macron has called for increased commitment on climate protection. More effort is needed to reach the climate targets
The EU member states are grappling over the issue of whether to relicense the weedkiller glyphosate, which is suspected of causing cancer in humans. Time is pressing as the current license expires on December 15. Commentators warn that consumer protection must be taken seriously and that the debate about the pros and cons of a ban should be transparent.
The EU Commission has presented a compromise proposal on CO2 emissions limits for carmakers: a binding quota for e-cars is off the table but the CO2 emissions of new cars are to be reduced by 30 percent by 2030 instead. According to media reports the car lobby and the German government put enormous pressure on EU Commissioners over the last couple of days to ease the regulations. Commentators are up in arms.
The UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn attended by almost 200 states comes to an end today, Friday. One main bone of contention was whether industrial countries should support poorer, developing states. Commentators have harsh words for the rich nations' lack of solidarity and take differing views of the coal phase-out initiative proposed by some countries.
The controversial weedkiller glyphosate can be sprayed on European crops for another five years, after 18 ouf of 28 countries voted in favour of the extension on Monday - with Germany's vote tipping the scales. While some observers are enraged by the way in which the decision was reached, others point out that the weedkiller shouldn't be demonised.
The EU Commission plans to tackle the plastic waste problem. Disposable products like plastic tableware, straws and cotton buds for which alternatives out of other materials exist are to be banned. Manufacturers of plastic products are also to be made to pay for their disposal and new subsidies will be introduced for recycling. This is a good initiative but it doesn't go far enough, according to press commentaries.
In Stockholm, the red-green government wants to introduce a tiered flight tax as of next year. A holiday trip to Thailand would then cost about 40 euros more, a trip to London about eight euros more. The idea is to encourage people to use more climate-friendly means of transport. Sweden's commentators are divided in their opinions on this issue.
One country after another is making moves to ensure that diesel and petrol engines become a thing of the past: