In the UK, the opposition leader Kemi Badenoch’s decision to abandon cross-party consensus on climate change and the need to meet net zero targets may win her plaudits from some right-wing commentators, but places her in opposition to popular opinion and the scientific world. The debate taking place in Britain has significance far beyond the … Continue reading When net zero becomes a political dividing line
China shows how to defuse an oil crisis: use less oil
In an article on The Conversation website, Lurion De Mello, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Macquarie University, discusses the contrast between vulnerability to disrupted oil supplies and the resilience that comes from reducing oil demand. China becomes the unexpected illustration of how electrification can also be an energy-security strategy. Energy security is usually discussed in terms … Continue reading China shows how to defuse an oil crisis: use less oil
New EEA briefing on progress towards sustainability by exploring rapidly developing digital trends and technologies
Europe’s progress towards sustainability requires new means of consumption and production with significantly lower impacts. This horizon scan explores those rapidly developing digital trends and technologies, and some of the opportunities and risks they present for sustainability. EEA-Eionet horizon scan – emerging trends in production and consumption Key messages Digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI) … Continue reading New EEA briefing on progress towards sustainability by exploring rapidly developing digital trends and technologies
Energy in Demand News, September 20-21, 2026
Multilateral development banks are under pressure from the United States to scrap climate finance targets. “The UN agreement to provide $1.3tn in climate finance is under threat, as multilateral lenders are expected to follow the World Bank in dumping green targets after intense US pressure,” the Financial Times reports. “At least two multilateral development banks, … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, September 20-21, 2026
Data centre heat is too valuable to waste
Dorota Derlicka and Tomasz Chabrzyk write on the Bird & Bird website that data-centre waste heat is shifting from being an interesting sustainability opportunity to something developers may actually have to plan for and justify under EU law. Poland provides a particularly useful example of what that change could mean in practice. Waste heat … Continue reading Data centre heat is too valuable to waste
Blog by Grace Waters – Texas, Europe, India: what a summer of brownouts tells us about the grid we’re building
In 2026, many nations experienced the most extreme temperature fluctuations they had ever experienced during the summer months. It has led to an unsustainable number of brownouts, or major voltage reductions. When demand gets high, power systems malfunction or are intentionally shut down for emergencies. Grid tensions are growing higher, as citizens and governments await … Continue reading Blog by Grace Waters – Texas, Europe, India: what a summer of brownouts tells us about the grid we’re building
Climate change is redrawing the world’s wine map
In an article on The Conversation website, Kathiana Luk, Andrew Dowdy and Hamish Clarke, all from The University of Melbourne, discuss how climate change is beginning to redraw the world’s wine map. Traditional regions are becoming hotter, drier and more fire-prone, while cooler places may become increasingly suitable for varieties previously grown much farther south. … Continue reading Climate change is redrawing the world’s wine map
Europe has the metals it needs — in its waste
In an article on The Conversation website, Nils Pauliks, PhD Candidate, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, writes that Europe already possesses significant quantities of the critical metals it worries about importing—it is simply throwing many of them away. This is as much a resource-security story as a recycling story. Europe’s e‑waste is a … Continue reading Europe has the metals it needs — in its waste
Blog by Rose Morrison – Europe’s industrial battery compliance countdown: why forklift fleet managers have 6 months to prepare for the battery passport
Image: Unsplash Forklift fleets have helped contribute to the sustainability of building operations ever since battery-powered units became widely adopted. However, incoming updates to Europe’s battery compliance programmes will require a new set of factors to consider. Understanding the EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 Industrial batteries are regulated under the EU Regulation 2023/1542 to ensure producer … Continue reading Blog by Rose Morrison – Europe’s industrial battery compliance countdown: why forklift fleet managers have 6 months to prepare for the battery passport
Europe’s climate insurance gap is becoming impossible to ignore
Kate Abnett writes on the Reuters website that Europe is beginning to confront the financial consequences of climate change, not simply the physical ones. With only about a quarter of climate-related economic losses insured, governments increasingly risk becoming the insurer of last resort. EU to launch climate insurance scheme after summer of extreme weather … Continue reading Europe’s climate insurance gap is becoming impossible to ignore
