The flash flood that has killed thousands of people in Libya this week followed a “medicane”, a rare but destructive weather phenomenon that scientists believe will intensify in a warming world.…Continue readingMedicanes: rare, ‘supercharging’ Mediterranean storms
Tag: europe
After the northern summer of extreme heat and disastrous fires, we’ve seen more exceptional autumn weather over Europe with record-breaking heat in the UK. Meanwhile, record-breaking rain and intense flash floods…Continue readingFaster disaster: Climate change fuels ‘flash droughts’, intense downpours and storms
An Indigenous Sami activist has set up camp outside the Norwegian parliament to protest against wind turbines built on land traditionally used by Sami reindeer herders. In October 2021, Norway’s Supreme…Continue readingSami activist protests in front of Norwegian parliament over wind turbines
Storm Daniel, which wrought devastation across the Mediterranean in the past week, killed 15 people in central Greece where it dumped more rain than previously recorded before sweeping across to Libya…Continue readingMediterranean’s devastating Storm Daniel may be harbinger of storms to come
Floods, wildfires and a deadly train collision this year have raised questions about the competence of state authorities and central government.Continue readingAfter slew of disasters, Greeks wonder what is happening to their democracy
Flash floods were triggered by rainfall from the arrival of Storm Daniel on Monday September 4 which also affected Turkey and Bulgaria. The following day, in the village of Zagora, a…Continue readingGreece’s record rainfall and flash floods: Across the Mediterranean, the weather is becoming more dangerous
At least three people have died and two are missing in Spain after heavy rains triggered flash floods and impacted transportation systems. The weekend storm affected almost the whole country. The…Continue readingRoads turned into rivers as torrential rains lash Spain
Devastating wildfires in Greece will ravage more than 150,000 hectares (370,600 acres) by the end of the summer, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis estimated Thursday, blaming the climate crisis for the disaster.…Continue readingGreek summer wildfires will burn over 150,000 hectares
The intent of the project is to boost production by 26 million barrels of oil equivalents from the satellite field of the Statfjord oil and gas field. The oil volume originally…Continue readingEquinor begins production from Statfjord Øst expansion project in North Sea
The regional government for the Canary Islands said that 4,000 more people were ordered to evacuate on Saturday. Those were in addition to the 4,500 people who on Friday were forced…Continue readingTenerife: thousands more flee their homes as ‘out of ‘control’ wildfires rage
In late July, a study published in Nature Communications warned that a critical ocean system that brings warm water up the North Atlantic, also known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation…Continue readingAtlantic collapse: Q&A with scientists behind controversial study predicting a colder Europe
Spain’s eastern city of Valencia set a new temperature record on Thursday as the country baked under its third heat wave of the summer. The mercury soared to 46.8˚C (116.2˚F) at…Continue readingSpanish city shatters heat record
Subject to certain conditions, the approval secures the future operation of Snøhvit natural gas field in the Norwegian Sea and the Hammerfest LNG plant located on the island of Melkøya. Operating…Continue readingEquinor gets Norway’s approval for $1.3bn Snøhvit Future project
Siemens Energy expects to rack up a €4.5bn loss this year as the German group struggles to fix its ailing wind turbine business. The Dax-listed group warned investors on Monday that…Continue readingSiemens Energy warns of €4.5bn loss from ailing wind turbine division
Hundreds of firefighters were on Tuesday battling a wildfire that has burned for four days in Portugal, which, like neighboring Spain, is sweltering in a heat wave that has triggered widespread…Continue readingPortugal, Spain battle wildfires amid heat wave alerts
Slovenia on Sunday called for help from the EU and Nato alliance to deal with the aftermath of flooding that killed at least three people and caused damage estimated at more…Continue readingSlovenia asks for support from EU and Nato after devastating floods
The collapse of a glacier in the Dolomites and a landslide on the island of Ischia. Devastating floods, wildfires and record-breaking heatwaves. The worst drought of the Po, Italy’s longest river,…Continue readingClimatologist warns of Italy’s vulnerability to climate crisis
Ongoing droughts and an over-exploitation of land for both agriculture and industry have stoked fears in Spain over the creeping spread of “sterile soil” which could devastate Europe’s kitchen garden. “Spain…Continue readingSpain worries over ‘lifeless land’ amid creeping desertification
For centuries, wolves have roamed the mountain ranges of Andalucía in southern Spain, but after years of decline the creature has been officially declared extinct in the region. “This is bad…Continue reading‘Shameful loss’: wolves declared extinct in Andalucía
Algeria: At least 34 people were killed, where 8,000 firefighters battled blazes across the tinder-dry north. Fires burned in a total of 15 provinces, leading to the evacuation of more than…Continue readingMediterranean on fire as blazes spread across nine countries
Temperatures have consistently topped 40 degrees Celsius this week across southern and eastern European countries, and for some areas like Sicily there remains no respite. The Italian island was baking in…Continue readingFrom scorching heat to deadly storms, Europe has no rest from ‘summer of hell’
France is being badly hit by climate change, is not prepared for its effects and is failing to sufficiently reduce its emissions, an independent climate body warned. The record heat and…Continue readingFrance badly hit by climate change and ill-prepared
Norway’s government gave the green light to 19 oil and gas projects worth more than 200 billion kroner ($18.6 billion). The 19 projects involve the opening of new fields, the extension…Continue readingNorway approves fossil fuel projects
Norway’s government is readying plans to open an area of ocean nearly the size of Germany to deep-sea mining as it seeks to become the first country to extract battery metals…Continue readingNorway seeks to open vast ocean area to deep-sea mining
French oil and gas major TotalEnergies has announced a 20-year renewal of the production license of the offshore Nigerian block OML130 in the Gulf of Guinea. In December 2018, TotalEnergies, then…Continue readingTotalEnergies renews offshore Nigerian block OML130 for 20 years
Three of Europe’s biggest insurers have quit the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance as growing US political pressure and legal fears plunge the climate initiative into crisis.Continue readingThree of Europe’s biggest insurers quit industry net-zero initiative
Oil from the Fenja field is transported through a 36km long electrically trace-heated (ETH) pipe-in-pipe solution to the Njord A platform for processing and subsequently for transport.Continue readingNeptune Energy and partners begin production from Fenja oil and gas field
Equinor Energy and its partners have started production from the Bauge oil and gas field in the southern Norwegian Sea, which has been developed with an investment of NOK4.6bn ($438.2m). Bauge…Continue readingEquinor begins production from Bauge oil and gas field in Norwegian Sea
The UK has lost 40m birds since 1970 and Europe as a whole has lost 600m birds since 1980. The British figures, especially for farmland species such as skylark and lapwing,…Continue readingLook up, listen, and be very concerned. Birds are vanishing – and their crisis is our crisis
The LDS-01 structure was successfully drilled around the end of 2022. The well has been tied into the neighbouring commercial gas production infrastructure in just a few weeks, demonstrating again the…Continue readingParkmead starts production from new Dutch gas discovery
Oxford University-led study detects 26 types of PFAS compounds in ice around Svalbard, threatening downstream ecosystems.Continue readingAlarming levels of PFAS in Norwegian Arctic ice pose new risk to wildlife
Preliminary estimates indicate that the discovery holds 17-47 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent, with the majority being oil.Continue readingEquinor makes oil and gas discovery near Troll field in Norwegian North Sea
“Shell can’t claim to be in transition as long as investments in fossil fuels dwarf investments in renewables,” said Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, an activist shareholder group.Continue readingShell profits more than double to record $40bn
Seventy years after the worst natural disaster to strike the Netherlands, Chiem de Vos, seven at the time, still hears his neighbour’s desperate cries of “My children are drowning!” ringing in…Continue readingDutch flood memories unleash new climate fears
Sovereign wealth fund has gained 5% so far this year but chief executive warns of ‘uncertain’ 2023.Continue readingNorway’s $1.3tn oil fund bounces back after worst year since 2008
The energy agreement, signed during Italian PM Meloni’s visit to Tripoli, seeks to boost Libya’s gas output through new offshore gas fields.Continue readingItaly’s Eni signs $8bn gas deal with Libya amid energy crunch
“The Adorf field is already an important contributor to domestic energy supplies in Germany, providing enough gas to heat more than 100,000 households.”Continue readingNeptune Energy commences drilling at Adorf gas development
“New gas volumes will be key to enabling the development of new value chains for hydrogen for Europe.”Continue readingNorway offers 47 new offshore production licences to 25 oil companies
The phase II of Johan Sverdrup project entails an investment of NOK48bn ($4.8bn) and includes a new platform, five new subsea systems, 28 new wells, a new module for the existing…Continue readingEquinor begins production from Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 project
Almost one fourth of Sweden’s last unprotected old-growth forest was logged between 2003 and 2019. At this rate, all of these ecologically unique and valuable forests will be lost in about…Continue readingStudy uncovers widespread and ongoing clearcutting of Swedish old forests
Big polluting industries have been given almost €100 billion (£86 billion) in free carbon permits by the EU in the last nine years. The free permits did not come with climate…Continue readingBig polluters given almost €100 billion in free carbon permits by EU
QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips have signed two sales and purchase agreements to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany for at least 15 years starting 2026 – the first such supply deal…Continue readingQatarEnergy, ConocoPhillips sign LNG deal for Germany
Equinor has submitted a plan for development and operation (PDO) for the NOK 14.8 billion ($1.46 billion) Irpa gas project in the Norwegian Sea to the Norwegian Petroleum and Energy Minister…Continue readingEquinor submits PDO for $1.5 billion Irpa gas project in Norwegian Sea
Dutch construction company HSM Offshore Energy has secured a contract for the construction of a production platform at N05-A gas field in the North Sea. HSM will build the N05-A gas…Continue readingHSM wins contract to build N05-A gas production platform in North Sea
Tens of thousands of delegates have descended on Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort town, for COP27, the UN climate summit. Of the 33,000-odd that registered, about 16,000 represent the 197 countries…Continue readingWhat is the fossil-fuel industry doing at COP27?
There’s some hocus-pocus going on with the emissions reduction numbers the European Union is proudly touting at the COP27 climate summit, climate campaigners allege. The EU says it’s one of the…Continue readingEU accused of climate accounting tricks
More than 30 tankers holding liquefied natural gas (LNG) are floating just off Europe’s shoreline as energy traders bet the autumn price reprieve prompted by robust supplies and warm weather will…Continue readingLNG tankers idle off Europe’s coast as traders wait for gas price rise
More and more scientists are now admitting publicly that they are scared by the recent climate extremes, such as the floods in Pakistan and west Africa, the droughts and heatwaves in…Continue readingWhy scientists are using the word scary over the climate crisis
The Ugandan government has secured support from the African, Caribbean, Pacific -European Union (ACP-EU) for proceeding with the East African crude oil pipeline project (EACOP), a 1,443km (896 mile) long pipeline…Continue readingUganda secures support from ACP-EU for East African crude oil pipeline
The fossil fuel industry is experiencing a remarkable rebound, with sudden momentum behind more than 80 projects that range from coal-fired power plants to hulking gas export terminals, many of which…Continue readingFossil fuel projects were stalled a year ago. Now they’re making a comeback.
The first LNG (liquid natural gas) import terminal in Finland has been connected to the transmission network. Hamina LNG provides LNG storage services, regasification and injection services into the Finnish gas…Continue readingFinland’s first LNG import terminal has started commercial operations
Human-driven climate change made the droughts that gripped large swaths of Europe, China and North America this year at least 20 times more likely, an international group of scientists has concluded.…Continue reading2022 droughts ‘virtually impossible without climate change’, study finds
The waters of the EU are in a “dismal” state, with only a third of fish populations studied in the north-east Atlantic considered to be in good condition, according to more…Continue readingEU slammed over failure to protect marine life from ‘destructive’ fishing
Germany is relying on highly polluting coal for almost a third of its electricity, as the impact of government policies and the war in Ukraine leads producers in Europe’s largest economy…Continue readingGermany turns to coal for a third of its electricity
Amid blistering heat waves, brutal drought and widespread wildfires, Europe just notched its hottest summer in recorded history, new data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service shows. It was the second…Continue readingEurope just had its hottest summer on record
Norway’s last remaining coal mine on a geopolitically important Arctic archipelago will stay open. Store Norske, the state-owned mining company, said on Friday it had originally planned to close Mine 7…Continue readingNorway prolongs life of Arctic coal mine
47% of Europe is undergoing warning conditions, as moisture in the soil dries out and 17% of the region is on a state of alert as vegetation is affected. The current…Continue readingEurope facing its worst drought for 500 years
Blazes that have torched tens of thousands of hectares of forest in France, Spain and Portugal have made 2022 a record year for wildfire activity in southwestern Europe. France had in…Continue reading2022 sets record fire activity in southwest Europe
Europe’s most severe drought in decades is hitting homes, factories, farmers and freight across the continent, as experts warn drier winters and searing summers fuelled by global heating mean water shortages…Continue reading‘The new normal’: how Europe is being hit by a climate-driven drought crisis
Portugal recorded its hottest July on record. The average temperature was 25.1˚C (77.3 ˚F), it said. That was almost 3˚C higher than the expected July average. The heat worsened Portugal’s drought,…Continue readingPortugal sets new July heat record, worsening severe drought
Coal – France, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands have all announced plans to reactivate old coal power plants. But nowhere are the plans as extensive as in Germany, which is allowing…Continue readingGermany increases reliance on coal and oil
Wintershall Dea and its partners Sval Energi and Pandion Energy Norge have started production from the Nova oil field (previously Skarfjell) located in the Norwegian North Sea. The development costs of…Continue readingWintershall Dea begins production from Nova oil field, offshore Norway
The more than 4,000km (2,485 mile) long onshore gas pipeline is planned to start in Warri in Nigeria, travel through Niger, and end in Hassi R’Mel in Algeria, from where it…Continue readingAlgeria, Nigeria, and Niger sign MoU for $13 billion Trans Saharan gas pipeline
GAZ-SYSTEM said that the Baltic Pipe project, a 900km long offshore and onshore natural gas pipeline has been connected to the Polish and Danish transmission systems. The pipeline project will bring…Continue readingGAZ-SYSTEM connects Baltic Pipe to Polish and Danish transmission systems
At a sprawling landfill near Madrid, hundreds of white storks dodge garbage trucks as they look for scraps of food among the mountains of multicoloured garbage bags. The birds have traditionally…Continue readingStorks give up migrating to live on landfill in Spain
Italy faced the hottest day of the current heatwave Friday with red extreme heat warnings issued for 16 cities across the country, as firefighters battled blazes up and down the country.…Continue readingItaly heatwave peaks with 16 cities on red alert as Tuscany burns
A heat wave that brought record temperatures to Britain and parts of France swelled over Central Europe. The toll from a heat dome is rising, and Portugal alone has reported more…Continue readingBrutal heat dome moves east, with Central Europe sweltering
France, Portugal and Spain are among the European countries particularly affected, with temperatures of more than 45˚C (113˚F) recorded during a heatwave that is also sweeping the UK. France: 3,000 firefighters,…Continue readingFirefighters tackle southern Europe wildfires as heatwave passes 45˚C
Hungary’s government has declared an “energy emergency” in response to supply disruptions and skyrocketing energy prices in Europe, an official said. There is “unlikely to be enough gas in Europe for…Continue readingHungary declares ‘energy emergency’ over threat of fuel shortages
United States: In Texas, temperatures hit triple digits Fahrenheit over the weekend, with some places breaking century-old records. On Saturday, Waco reached 108˚F (42˚C), smashing the 104˚F (40˚C) high set in…Continue readingHeatwaves in the US, China and Spain
Under the plans, gas can be classed as a sustainable investment if “the same energy capacity cannot be generated with renewable sources” and plans are in place to switch to renewables…Continue readingEU votes to class gas and nuclear as green
Italy is facing an unusually early heatwave and a lack of rainfall, particularly in the northern agricultural Po valley, which has been hit by its worst drought in decades. The drought…Continue readingItaly declares state of emergency in five regions over drought
Most rain on the Iberian peninsula (most of Spain and Portugal, as well as a small area of Southern France, Andorra, and Gibraltar) falls in winter as wet, low-pressure systems blow…Continue readingSpain and Portugal suffering driest climate for 1,200 years
The Netherlands said it would lift all restrictions on power stations fired by the fossil fuel, which were previously limited to just over a third of output. Berlin and Vienna made…Continue readingDutch join Germany, Austria, in reverting to coal
Firefighters in Spain and Germany are struggling to contain wildfires amid a heatwave in Western Europe, unusual for this time of year. The worst damage in Spain has been in the…Continue readingSpain, Germany battle wildfires amid unusual heatwave in Europe
In just more than two decades, the continent has experienced its five hottest summers since 1500. 2021: Hottest ever Last year was Europe’s hottest summer on record. Greece endured what Prime…Continue readingEurope’s five hottest summers since 1500
Almost the whole of Portugal was in severe drought at the end of May. The month of May was the hottest in the southern European country for the last 92 years.…Continue reading97% of Portugal in severe drought
Coal prices are soaring, hitting $462 per tonne today, up from $186 on the 23rd of February and likely to pass $500 this year. Russia is Europe’s largest supplier of thermal coal. Last…Continue readingOld King Coal: price reaches highest level in more than 200 years, on track for $500
Qatar and Germany have signed a declaration to deepen their energy partnership, with a focus on trade in hydrogen and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as Europe’s biggest economy looks for alternative…Continue readingGermany, Qatar sign energy partnership agreement
Brussels has given the green light for the EU to burn more coal over the next decade as it tries to end the use of Russian gas and oil. Coal is…Continue readingEU accepts it will burn more coal in move away from Russian gas
A scientific team recommends excluding and moving offshore wind farms from the protected areas in the Mediterranean due to the serious negative impacts these facilities can cause on the marine biodiversity…Continue readingStudy recommends excluding and moving offshore wind farms away from the protected areas in the Mediterranean
From the U.S. to China, in Europe, India and Japan, fossil fuels are staging a comeback, clean energy stocks are taking a hammering, and the prospects for speeding the transition to…Continue readingThe great climate backslide: How governments are regressing worldwide
25 European banks have provided $US33 billion (£24 billion) in loans and other financing to 50 companies with large oil and gas expansion plans, less than a year since pledging to…Continue readingEurope’s biggest banks provide £24 billion to oil and gas firms despite net zero pledges
The European Commission has been accused of undermining its climate goals after it defied critics by pushing ahead with plans to include gas and nuclear in an EU guidebook for “green”…Continue readingEU includes gas and nuclear in guidebook for ‘green’ investments
One of every six birds – a net loss of 600 million breeding birds in total – have disappeared over less than four decades. The study by scientists from the RSPB,…Continue readingHumans kill off 1 in 6 birds in the EU and UK
Germany’s Garzweiler coal mine has already swallowed more than a dozen villages. Centuries-old churches and family homes have been razed and the land they were built on torn away. Farmland has…Continue readingGermany portrays itself as a climate leader. But it’s still razing villages for coal mines.