A common “old world” tree, European beech can be found across Europe — from southern Scandinavia and Spain to Sicily and northwest Turkey. A new study by an international team of researchers has found that the summer solstice triggers synchronized beech tree reproduction all over the continent, influencing ecosystem functions. “We got inspired by a […]
The European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) have partnered to use satellites to address climate crisis threats and illegal logging in European Union (EU) forests. The commission has proposed a new law where the EU would use Copernicus Sentinel satellites to collect forest data in order to stay on top of threats like […]
European Union (EU) member states and lawmakers have reached an agreement to stop exports of certain types of waste, including plastics, to countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of mostly rich countries starting in mid-2026. “Exports of certain non-hazardous wastes and mixtures of non-hazardous wastes… will be allowed only to […]
The European Union (EU) has agreed on a provisional agreement for a Nature Restoration Law — first proposed by the European Commission in June of last year — that would require member states to introduce measures for the restoration of 20 percent of the bloc’s land and sea ecosystems by 2030. More than 80 percent […]
The most recent assessment of 14,669 threatened European plant and animal species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species has found that 19 percent are at risk of extinction. Some of the main reasons for the decline in biodiversity are habitat loss, changes in agricultural land use, overexploitation of […]
The Environment Committee of European Parliament has voted to ensure sustainable use of pesticides and reduce their use by at least half by 2030. Members of Parliament (MEPs) voted to also reduce the use of “more hazardous products” by 65 percent as compared to the average from 2013 to 2017, a press release from European […]
Mont Blanc has shrunk 2.22 meters (approximately 7.3 feet) since 2021, leaving it at its lowest height in the 22 years since recordings began in 2001. Mont Blanc is famous for being the tallest mountain in the Alps and of Western Europe, but it has now declined to a height of 4,805.59 meters (15,766 feet). […]
In an “unprecedented” climate change case, six young people from areas in Portugal affected by heat waves and wildfires took 32 European governments to court today, arguing that the countries’ failure to take swift action on the climate crisis violated their human rights. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will hear the case, which […]
Wildfires are spreading in nine Mediterranean countries, killing dozens of people and causing thousands to evacuate. Heat waves and dry vegetation have created conditions for the wildfires to spread, and the extreme heat has been made more likely because of climate change, scientists say. Algeria has experienced the highest death toll of 34 people, as […]