The EU Commission presented its climate targets for 2040 in Brussels on Wednesday. Under pressure from some member states, it wants to create more leeway. The goal remains to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990. However, from 2036, up to three percent of 1990 emissions are to be offset through international certificate trading. More flexibility was also promised.
For the first time, the military in the EU has to disclose its emissions. For many, this is an opportunity to think about CO2-saving technologies.
Under a new international regulation, the military’s greenhouse gas emissions can now be publicly documented for the first time. As the NATO states meet for their summit in The Hague and military spending reaches new records, a previously concealed significant contribution to the climate crisis is coming under the spotlight.
Smartphones and tablets launched on the EU market from Friday will have a new energy label. According to the European Commission, this will enable consumers to assess how durable and repairable a device is in future. The label indicates how energy-efficient a product is and how long the battery lasts.
With the guide “The path to climate neutrality”, the Climate Change Center Austria wants to help companies become credibly climate-friendly
What do the confectionery company Katjes, the sporting goods manufacturer Adidas and the airline AUA have in common? They have all falsely advertised themselves as climate-friendly companies and have been convicted by the courts for misleading the public.
It’s been 10 years since the creation of the first vertical forest, Milan’s Bosco Verticale. How has it inspired other buildings – and affected their residents’ happiness and health?
In 2007, Italian architect Stefano Boeri witnessed the frantic construction of a city in the Dubai desert dominated by energy-wasting skyscrapers covered in glass, ceramic and metal.
Microsoft has released its 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report, marking the halfway point to its 2030 climate commitments.
In the 90-page document, the US-based tech giant reflects on the progress it has made against the pledges it made in 2020.
The goals it had aimed to accomplish by 2030 were various and ambitious.
They included becoming carbon negative and water positive, whilst also producing zero waste and protecting more land than it used.
China is the world’s largest energy consumer – driven by rapid economic growth, industrialization and a population of over 1.4 billion people. For decades, the country relied on coal to cover its huge electricity needs. But a change has begun: In the first quarter of 2025, China’s CO2 emissions fell for the first time, although demand for electricity has continued to rise.
Chancellor Merz faces headwind from Brussels. One of his prominent demands has been rejected – even by his own Vice-Chancellor.
The EU Commission is opposing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s call to abolish the European Supply Chain Act. The Commission’s position on the Supply Chain Directive is public knowledge and it is about simplification, said a spokeswoman for the authority in Brussels. “It is not about abolishing it.”
One person in Germany (as of 2025) produces an average of 10.4 tons of greenhouse gases per year in CO₂ equivalents. 22% (2.2 tons of CO₂ equivalents) is attributable to housing, 15% (1.6 tons) to food and 28% (2.9 tons) to other consumption (such as clothing and leisure activities). This average greenhouse gas balance is higher than the usual figures for Germany’s per capita emissions, as it takes into account emissions caused by the consumption of products manufactured abroad.
The “traffic light” coalition failed, but the CDU/CSU and SPD now want to make CCS possible for German industry for the first time – before the summer break. But there is potential for controversy.
The new governing coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD is not even in office yet. But the future coalition partners want to make a far-reaching decision within just a few weeks.