Austria and Slovenia are the only European countries whose defence ministries have committed to reaching net zero military emissions, according to an analysis of 30 European countries (EU 27 plus Norway, Switzerland and UK). An article in the Guardian on the analysis added that only about one-third have worked out the size of their carbon footprint. The article quotes Florian Krampe, who leads climate research at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri): “Ignoring military emissions is not just concerning with regard to climate change. It ignores the growing recognition of climate change being a serious security risk for Europe and beyond.” The report goes on: “Campaigners say the efforts being made to cut military carbon emissions greatly lag behind other sectors of the economy and are likely to be insufficient to compensate for a rise in spending on fuel, infrastructure and equipment.” Krampe continues: “The defence sector can no longer be a blind spot in climate action. Rising military spending should drive green innovation, not lock in carbon dependence.” With expectations that Europe will increase its military spending, attention to energy demand must become a priority.
The Financial Times wrote that the EU is close to reaching climate goals despite green backlash. It reports that the European Commission will announce next week that the EU is broadly within target to reduce its GHG emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, according to three EU officials with knowledge of the figures. Yet, there are concerns. The NGO CAN Europe says the achievement is “largely superficial”: “In most countries, the underlying policies and measures are still insufficient to deliver the promised targets.”
A Financial Times newsletter focused on Norway’s giant sovereign wealth fund. Norges Bank Investment Management — which manages a $1.8tn pot of cash from the country’s oil revenues — said it believed that the financial sector’s conventional approaches to estimating climate risk were massively understating the scale of the threat. It goes on to say that NBIM’s own modelling suggested that the long-term impacts of climate change would wipe out 19 per cent of the value of its US equity holdings. NBIM is due to update its climate strategy this year, amid pressure from some civil society groups for it to take a more assertive stance. Now let’s see other wealth funds do the same.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:
- Country Living Magazine provides 3 European train routes set to transform travel in 2025.
- World Walks provides us with the top spring walks in Europe.
- For those who want to combine hiking with food and wine in Europe and Australia, check out the Hedonistic Hiking website.
- Cycling for Softies provides us with the 15 Best Cycling Holidays in Europe 2025.
- Turin, Italy is embracing a new era, transforming from an industrial powerhouse into a flourishing tourism destination: Torino Named European Capital of Smart Tourism 2025.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), a German philosopher dubbed the artist’s philosopher on account of the inspiration his aesthetics has provided to artists, gives us his views on truth: “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- What roles do our pensions, investments and banking decisions play in supporting fossil fuel projects?
- Earth is now expected to cross 1.5°C warming by 2027, WMO warns
- Save twice the ice by limiting global warming
- Impact of cuts to US National Science Foundation by Trump administration
- There are mounting calls for international cooperation to ensure production of “critical” minerals is sustainable and equitable
- Peruvian farmer loses climate case against RWE – but paves way for future action
- Impact of climate change on bird migration
- The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, passed by the US House of Representatives last week, would slow efforts to green the energy system as climate change accelerated
Please send your comments on any of the posts. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 
Nice post