Mads Christensen is Executive Director of Greenpeace International. As the military and diplomatic establishment gather for the annual Munich Security Conference, the air will be thick with talk of “strategic autonomy” and “energy security.” But there is little autonomy to talk of when sovereignty is for sale, and security is a hollow promise while regional […]
After failing to get some of their main asks at the COP30 climate summit in November, European Union environment ministers are considering a new strategy for international climate negotiations which they describe as “less naive”, and more “realistic” and “pragmatic”. On their way into a meeting to discuss the strategy in Cyprus last Friday, several […]
Türkiye’s COP31 chief condemned the backsliding of global climate action as “unacceptable”, but said efforts to cut emissions in the coal-dependent nation should not come at the expense of economic growth. Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s environment minister, warned countries that flexibility in implementing climate targets “is now at zero”, speaking in Istanbul after a first strategy […]
In an increasingly unstable world of “strong arms and trade wars”, climate action is the “not-so-secret weapon” that can deliver security, the UN climate chief said in his first speech of the year. Speaking in Istanbul alongside Turkiye’s COP31 president on Thursday, Simon Stiell warned that, while security is on most leaders’ lips at the […]
Felix Horne is a senior expert with Climate Rights International. When The Washington Post laid off more than 300 staff last week, including journalists who covered climate and the environment, it was more than another grim headline about the state of the media. The cuts marked the loss of expertise and sustained scrutiny at one […]
Donald Trump’s designs on Venezuela and Greenland have sent shock waves around the world. Canadian premier Mark Carney said they have created a “rupture in the world order”, as political alliances that have held for over 80 years are thrown aside. And as the US seeks to carve out a Western Hemispheric sphere of influence, […]
Countries responsible for climate change could be required to pay “full and prompt reparation” for the damage they have caused, under a new United Nations resolution being pursued by the Pacific island state of Vanuatu, an initial draft shows. The resolution seeks to turn into action last year’s landmark advisory opinion from the International Court […]
Even the busiest streets of Shanghai have become noticeably quieter as sales of electric vehicles (EVs) skyrocketed in China, with charging points mushrooming in residential compounds, car parks and service stations across the megacity. Many Chinese drivers have upgraded their conventional vehicles to electric ones – or already replaced old EVs with newer models – […]
Under pressure from Congress, President Donald Trump quietly signed into law a funding package that provides billions of dollars more in foreign assistance spending than he had originally wanted to for the fiscal year between October 2025 and September 2026. The legislation allocates $50 billion, $9 billion less than the level agreed the previous year […]
Environmental campaigners and community groups are suing the European Commission over its decision to designate a controversial lithium mine in Portugal as “strategic” to secure the minerals it needs for the energy transition. They argue that the Barroso mine, intended to supply lithium to the EV battery industry, poses serious environmental, social and safety risks […]
