The first month of 2025 was the warmest January on record globally, continuing a streak of record or near-record temperatures recorded over the past two years. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) monthly bulletin for January 2025, the global average surface temperature in the ERA5 reanalysis dataset was 13.23ºC, 0.79ºC above the climatological January average for the period 1991-2020. The Arctic experienced its lowest sea ice extent on record for January. (More on climate.copernicus.eu)

Call for proposals from the European Commission to support projects that highlight the sustainability of Union agriculture, highlighting its beneficial role for the climate, the environment and animal welfare.

Call ID: AGRIP-MULTI-2025-IM-SUSTAINABLE

goal(s)

The specific objectives of this program are:

a) raise awareness of the benefits of EU agricultural products and the high standards applicable to production methods in the EU

•b) increase the competitiveness and consumption of EU agricultural products and certain food products and raise their profile both within the EU and outside it

c) increase awareness and recognition of EU quality systems

(d) increase the market share of EU agricultural products and certain food products, in particular by targeting those markets in third countries with the highest growth potential

(e) restore normal market conditions in the event of serious market disruption, loss of consumer confidence or other specific problems. (More on ec.europa.eu)

A message "Implementing the EU 2040 Climate Target: Building Blocks and Measures" by Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf et al. from the Ecologic Institute and the Oeko-Institute deals with the implementation of the new EU 2040 climate target, (more…)

Increasing levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere are leading to ocean acidification. The oceans absorb significant amounts of CO₂ from the atmosphere. When CO₂ dissolves in seawater, chemical reactions occur that lower the pH of the ocean, making it more acidic.

Here are the main points that explain this relationship:

• Dissolving CO₂: Atmospheric CO₂ dissolves in the surface waters of the ocean.
• Carbonic acid formation: Dissolved CO₂ reacts with water to form carbonic acid (H₂CO₃).
  • • Dissociation: Carbonic acid dissociates into bicarbonate ions (HCO₃-) and hydrogen ions (H+).
• Increased acidity: Increasing the concentration of hydrogen ions lowers the pH of the ocean, increasing its acidity.

The overall reaction can be represented by the equation: 2KOH+CO₂ → H₂O+K₂CO₃

This process has several important consequences:

• Decrease in carbonate ion concentration: Increasing acidity reduces the concentration of carbonate ions (CO₃²-), which are important for marine organisms such as coral reefs and mollusks, which need them to build their shells and skeletons.
• Threat to marine ecosystems: Ocean acidification can have negative impacts on marine ecosystems, including slowing coral growth, disrupting food chains, and threatening biodiversity.
• CO₂ absorption: The ocean's ability to absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere decreases as acidity increases, which may lead to an even faster increase in atmospheric CO₂ and intensify climate change.

The pH of ocean surface waters has dropped from about 8.1 to 8.05 over the past 30 years. Although this change seems small, it actually represents an increase in hydrogen ion concentration of 20 to 35 parts per million, which has a significant impact on the marine environment. Spring

This natural climate phenomenon, part of the ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) cycle, intensifies trade winds and brings deep, cold ocean water to the surface, changing temperatures and precipitation around the world. (more…)

In 2016, nearly 200 world leaders pledged to do everything they could to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Since then, policymakers around the world have proposed countless laws based on the assumption that warming will never exceed that limit.

But scientists can share some sobering news: The Earth surpassed 1.5 degrees of warming in 2024, is rapidly heading toward even greater warming, and has already been irreversibly changed.

According to research published on Thursday, February 6, in in the journal Science , even if every country were to meet their current Paris Agreement commitments—and that's a big if—the globe would still be on track to warm by 2.7 degrees Celsius, or 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit, by 2100. (More on phys.org)

Proposal for a global action plan The Climate Change and Health Plan (2025-2028) aims to address the global health crisis caused by climate changeThe plan was developed following extensive consultations with Member States, civil society organisations, experts and WHO staff. (more…)

Report EB156/24 submitted by the WHO Executive Board contains an updated plan to respond to the adverse health effects of air pollution. This plan builds on the previous plan and proposes a voluntary target (more…)

The European Union is back in the spotlight with a proposal for new measures that could fundamentally change the electric car market. Brussels is considering introducing mandatory electrification targets for large companies, (more…)

Arctic carbon cycle is being affected by anthropogenic climate warming and extreme events such as heat waves and fires in boreal and tundra regions. These changes have a direct (more…)

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2024/3012 of November 27, 2024 establishes a Union certification framework for permanent carbon removal, carbon agriculture and carbon sequestration in products. (more…)

The Greenland ice sheet is cracking at its seams and literally falling apart at a rate that is a testament to the brutal and accelerating impact of global climate change. In just five years, 930 million cubic meters of cracks have opened up in the Greenland ice sheet. A recent, large-scale study from the University of Florida shows how this vast frozen region—the world’s second-largest ice sheet—is breaking apart faster than expected. (Eric Ralls, more at earth.com)

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), January 2025 was the warmest January on record, with an average global temperature of 13.23 °C, which is 0.79 °C higher than the average for the period 1991–2020. This temperature is also 1.75 °C higher than pre-industrial levels.
Despite the expected cooling effect of the La Niña phenomenon, which is usually associated with lower global temperatures, this record was achieved. It suggests that natural climate patterns are unable to compensate for the effects of human-caused global warming. More on climate.copernicus.eu

Keeping long-term global warming to two degrees Celsius – the backup target of the Paris climate agreement – is now “impossible”, according to a brand new analysis published by leading scientists. The work, led by renowned climatologist James Hansen, appears in the journal Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development and concludes that the Earth's climate is more sensitive to increasing greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought.

Hansen and colleagues argued that the crisis was compounded by a recent decline in sun-blocking aerosol pollution from the shipping industry, which was moderating some of the warming.

The ambitious climate change scenario outlined by the UN climate panel, which gives the planet a 50 percent chance of keeping warming below 2°C by 2100, “is an unlikely scenario,” Hansen said at a briefing on Tuesday.

“This scenario is now impossible,” said Hansen, a former top NASA climate scientist who famously told the U.S. Congress in 1988 that global warming was underway.

"The two-degree goal is dead." (More on phys.org)

Health systems, including hospitals, are on the front lines of climate change, bearing the costs associated with increasing disease burdens and more frequent extreme weather events, while also inadvertently contributing to negative environmental and climate impacts.

A new project called ANIPH (Avoiding the Negative Impacts produced by Plastic materials in Humanitarian contexts) aims to redefine the role of plastics in humanitarian contexts and address environmental challenges through the introduction of bio-plastic and biodegradable plastic products (BBpPs). The project focuses on safety, sustainability and the circular economy.

Plastic pollution represents a critical problem, especially for single-use healthcare products and waste packaging, in humanitarian contexts such as armed conflicts and natural disasters. ANIPH aims to address this problem by using polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a family of biodegradable biopolymers. PHAs are known for their biocompatibility and ability to completely degrade in a variety of environments, including soil, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.

The aim of the ANIPH project is to create new PHA value chain, which will enable the production of advanced wound dressings and recyclable packaging with a water barrier. These products will have programmed biodegradability at every stage of their life cycle. The project uses artificial intelligence for predicting biodegradability, assessing ecotoxicity and optimizing material properties, while a digital tracking tool ensures secure tracking of materials throughout the value chain.

ANIPH focuses on the use of renewable raw materials and reducing industrial waste through innovative manufacturing processes, such as 3D printing of wound dressings. The project also emphasizes end-of-life solutions, including mono-material designs for packaging that allows for recycling and safe biodegradation. The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 43% for packaging and 68% for wound dressings, and to recycle 1,475 kilotonnes of biomass. In addition, the use of 12.93 kilotonnes of hazardous substances will be avoided.

In addition to environmental benefits, ANIPH contributes to development of new standards and certification schemesto ensure the safe and sustainable deployment of BBpPs. The project will also provide capacity resources on the use and disposal of bioplastics, increasing public trust and understanding. Over the next four years, eight European partners, coordinated by CETEC, will combine their scientific expertise and knowledge to deliver lasting environmental, economic and social benefits. Spring

On 29 January 2025, the Commission presented the Competitiveness Compass, the first major initiative of this mandate, providing a strategic and clear framework to guide the Commission's work. The Compass sets out the path for Europe to become the place where future technologies, services and clean products are invented, produced and marketed, while being the first continent to become climate neutral.

Over the past two decades, Europe has lagged behind other major economies due to a persistent productivity growth gap. The EU has what it takes to reverse this trend, with its talented and educated workforce, capital, savings, single market, and unparalleled social infrastructure, provided it acts swiftly to remove the long-standing obstacles and structural weaknesses that hold it back. More on ec.europa.eu

Economic models are significantly underestimating the potential financial losses from climate change, and the global economy could face a loss of at least 50 trillion euros of GDP between 2070 and 2090 if nothing is done to curb emissions, a new report has found. In a report with scientists from the University of Exeter, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) have urged political leaders to take more action to avoid what they call a “planetary default,” a disruption of the Earth’s climate systems so severe that it would destabilize societies. (Moriah Costa, more at greencentralbanking.com)

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The Greenland Ice Sheet is opening up faster as it responds to climate change. The warning comes in a new, large-scale study of cracks in the world's second-largest body of ice. Using 3D surface maps, scientists led by Durham University in the UK found that cracks significantly increased in size and depth on the fast-flowing edges of the ice sheet over the five years between 2016 and 2021. (More on phys.org)

In recent years, energy poverty has become an increasingly pressing problem across Europe. In 2023, more than 10 % Europeans were unable to keep their homes adequately warm during the winter (Eurostat 2023). The situation is likely to be even worse in the summer, as heat waves become more frequent and intense, leaving many unable to maintain a safe and comfortable temperature in their homes. (More on eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu)