Global warming alters plankton communities Plankton are cornerstones in marine food webs. Now research in the Mediterranean Sea shows that even short-term heat waves in the oceans can cause great damage to plankton communities. Read more
Editorial: Need for an integrated view on oceans and climate The oceans are hotter than ever. New records for marine heatwaves seem to be set more or less annually. Read more
Mediterranean Sea will become a low-sulphur fuel area by 2025 The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the IMO met for its 79th session in December 2022. The MEPC adopted amendments ... Read more
Overcoming windpower conflicts in the Baltic Sea Two conflicts regarding the location of offshore wind power in Estonia and Poland, show the benefit of including a wide range of stakeholders at an early stage in the planning process. Read more
The long-term goal is 1.5°C UN and G20 summits reaffirm that limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires global CO2 emissions to be reduced by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net zero by 2050. Read more
CO₂ from the cement industry can be reduced without CCS There are good opportunities to reduce emissions from cement production, which now amount to some 7 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Read more
Measuring ozone the right way Ground-level ozone affects our crop yields, with wheat being the most sensitive. Various indices can be used to express the ozone exposure of crops. Read more
New US standard for fine particles to be expected The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) proposes to tighten national air quality standards for fine particle matter (PM2.5) for the first time since 2012. Read more
Renewables are planable There is no need for fossil fuels or nuclear power to stabilise our power system. Large power plants actually increase uncertainty, since the effects are so great when they fail to deliver. Read more
Harvests from rewetted land To reduce greenhouse gas emissions we need to restore huge areas of degraded peatland. Paludiculture can play an important part in stimulating interest among landowners. Read more
Carbon removal proposal – a gift to emitting industries A new Commission proposal presents carbon dioxide removal as an alternative to stop emitting CO2. This may open up large loopholes in EU climate policy. Read more
Flemish nitrogen breakdown Nitrogen policy in the Flanders, in Belgium, has now become as explosive as it has been in the Netherlands in recent years. Read more
Energy savings in buildings – an untapped potential Heating and cooling of buildings is behind a third of CO2 emissions in the EU. Less than 1% of the stock is renovated each year; member states must step up and increase the pace. Read more
Wind, water and solar – enough to solve the climate crisis The payback time for a transition to a completely renewable energy system is less than six years. Additionally, it would require only about 0.53% of the world’s land for new energy which is less than the land required for the current energy system. Read more
Greening electricity Wind and solar produced more than 10% of global electricity in 2021, for the first time. They also surpassed nuclear, which fell below 10% for the first time in several decades. Hydro is still the top non-fossil electricity producer, but solar and wind are growing much faster. Read more
EU is too slow on phasing-out fossil fuels in transport sector The EU reached agreement in February 2023 on ending sales of new combustion engine cars and vans by 2035. But phasing out sales of new cars with internal combustion engines in the EU by 2035 ... Read more
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