Climate change is one of the biggest existential threats to people and the planet. Its harmful effects undermine the full enjoyment and realization of all human rights, posing serious risks to the basic rights to life, health, nutrition and an adequate standard of living of individuals and communities worldwide, and disproportionately affecting those already in such situations. vulnerabilities. This page highlights the role played by stakeholders from International Geneva as a global center for environmental governance in promoting a human rights-based approach to combating climate change. (More on genevaenvironmentnetwork.org)

Amid the unrelenting onslaught of extreme weather events, mitigating climate change is no longer sufficient – although it is crucial. We must also learn to live with the consequences, which are happening here and now and which affect the most vulnerable European citizens and regions the most. 

Recent findings from the European Environment Agency show that Europe is the fastest warming continent on the planet. Climate risks affect everything from energy and food security to ecosystems, infrastructure and public health. In the European Union alone, floods, devastating fires, heatwaves and prolonged droughts have already caused staggering economic losses exceeding 650 billion euros since 1980 and claimed 195,000 lives. According to the same agency, approximately EUR 520 billion is needed annually to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and to implement the Green Deal. (Hang on socialistsanddemocrats.eu)

Hundreds of the world's leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise at least 2.5°C (4.5°F) above pre-industrial levels this century, exceeding internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive has revealed Guardian survey.

Almost 80 % respondents, all from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), predict global warming of at least 2.5°C, with nearly half predicting at least 3°C (5.4°F). Only 6 % thought the internationally agreed limit of 1.5C (2.7F) would be met.

Many scientists envision a "semi-dystopian" future with famines, conflicts and mass migration, fueled by heat waves, fires, floods and storms with an intensity and frequency far exceeding those that have already struck. (Damian Carrington, more at theguardian.com)

The issue of plastic packaging waste has been at the forefront of political thinking in Europe in recent years. On January 1, 2021, the European Union (EU) introduced a levy based on the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging waste produced by each EU member state (Czech Republic). This "plastic levy" is designed to reduce the spread of non-recycled plastic waste while funding the EU's 2021-2027 budget against the backdrop of increased spending resulting from the pandemic. Each member state is obliged to pay a levy, which is determined by multiplying the rate of 0.80 euros per kilogram by the weight of non-recycled plastic packaging waste. While some Member States pay levies from their national budgets, others have introduced (or are about to introduce) new taxes, duties, fees, charges or contributions on plastic products or have extended (or are considering extending) existing systems to tax plastic products as well. (Inés Blanco de Tord, more at lexology.com)

Although Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, it is currently unprepared to face the consequences. Climate risks threaten several areas: energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, citizens' health. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), many of these risks have already reached a critical level that could become a disaster without quick interventions. The European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) report highlights how the combination of climatic and non-climatic hazards increases the overall economic, social and environmental risks to which the community is exposed. In addition, the report highlights the links between different risks and their ability to spread from one sector to another and from one region to another. (Riccardo Lo Buea, more at scienzainrete.it)

Climate change is one of the most pressing and complex challenges facing humanity today. Its consequences are already evident around the world, with extreme weather events, rising sea levels and loss of biodiversity threatening our safety, health and well-being. To address this crisis, it is essential that we all act together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to ongoing climate change. And the basic tool for achieving this goal is education. (Theo Bianchi, more at ecoblog.it)

About five and a half millennia ago, North Africa underwent a dramatic transformation. The Sahara desert expanded and the grasslands, forests and lakes that people loved disappeared. People were forced to retreat to the mountains, oases, the Nile valley and the delta.

As a relatively large and dispersed population was squeezed into smaller and more fertile areas, it needed to innovate new ways of producing food and organizing society. Soon after, one of the first great civilizations in the world arose - ancient Egypt.

This transition from the last "African Wet Period," which lasted 15,000 to 5,500 years ago, to the current dry conditions in North Africa is the clearest example of a climate tipping point in recent geologic history. Climate tipping points are threshold values that, when exceeded, lead to a dramatic change in climate to a new stable climate. ( Martin H. Trauth , University of Potsdam , Asfawossen Asrat , Addis Ababa University , Mark Maslin , UCL, more at theconversation.com)

Europeans want their governments to focus more on curbing immigration than climate change. Globally, 33 %s believe climate change is one of the world's top three challenges, but only 14 %s say fighting it should be among their government's top three priorities.

The Germans were in the lead, 44 % want their government to focus on reducing immigration, while almost a quarter of respondents said that the fight against climate change is a priority. (Ruth Wright with AP, more at euronews.com)

The European strategy to combat climate change lacks timing, courage and foresight; climate investment in EU countries is growing too slowly to reach the targets set for 2030 and to be in line with the Paris goals.

We need a decisive stance from the institutions and the release of at least 406 billion euros per year to make up for lost time and stop the warming of the planet. (More on elettricomagazine.it)

Hackathon EU Sparks for Climate is an EU-backed initiative that aims to bring together citizens and experts to develop innovative solutions to climate challenges. Teams of citizens and researchers will work together in a series of 3-stage EU-wide hackathons to co-create solutions that can support the EU's climate change adaptation and climate neutral and smart cities missions. (More on climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu)

The amended implementing regulation sets out the structure, format, procedures for submission and review of information reported by Member States under the Energy Union Governance and Climate Action Regulation. Specifically, the templates that have been updated relate to Member States' reporting on:

• the use of revenues generated by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) Directive, which must now be fully dedicated to climate action;
• at the national level, covered by the Regulation on joint efforts of emissions and removals at the national level, covered by the Regulation on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) .

The data collected through these reporting templates helps the Commission determine whether Member States and the EU are on track to meet their climate targets and is part of the EU's annual progress report on climate action. (More on climate.ec.europa.eu)

A study of this collected data shows that if we change our diet to comply with current guidelines, the result will be about 15 % less greenhouse gas emissions than our current eating habits produce. It would also lead to the improvement of several other environmental indicators.

This means eating less red meat, dairy products, sugary drinks, sweets and snacks and more whole grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables. (by Anne Wennberg, University of Oslo, more at phys.org)

In the summer of 2020, wildfires consumed vast swathes of the western United States. The entire landscape dissolved in an otherworldly glow of orange and yellow. A sick mandarin was seething in the sky over Oregon and California. Forest fires roared in China, India, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Greece. Australia's fire season has destroyed 25 million acres after six full months. Flames crawled along the edge of the Arctic and burned across Siberia. The question of whether to have children in the midst of a deepening climate crisis has been fodder for endless essays and op-eds, books and newsletters; columnist and podcaster New York Times Ezra Klein said it's the most popular question from his listeners. (Anna Louie Sussman, more at newrepublic.com)

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled for the first time that the government has an obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights to protect its citizens from serious consequences climate change. On April 9, 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the ECHR) ruled on three climate disputes in which states were required to establish an obligation to protect their citizens from the effects of the climate crisis.

Global biodiversity has decreased by 2 % to 11 % over the last century due to land use changes. Climate change could exacerbate this trend and become the main driver of species extinction in the future, according to modeling results of a current study from Germany. Due to land use changes, global biodiversity decreased by 2 to 11 % in the 20th century. This follows from a model study by the German Center for Integrated Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). (AgE, more on schweizerbauer.ch)

Engagement in the field of climate between the EU and its neighboring countries in Europe goes beyond the framework of dialogue and cooperation and is reflected in the support of the harmonization of EU climate legislation acquis. Agreements on the European Economic Area. The EU has extended large parts of its climate acquis, including the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive, the Effort Sharing Regulation and the LULUCF Regulations to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Similarly, the integration of the EU climate acquis is one of the elements of the ongoing negotiations on association agreements with Andorra and San Marino. (More on climate.ec.europa.eu)

This report focuses on the intersection of environmental change with movements into the European Union from Central Asia. It contributes to the growing body of literature on migration in the context of climate and environmental change1, including movements affected by the slow and sudden impacts of climate change. The report identifies new trends in migration affecting the European Union and Central Asia and discusses the current state of legal and policy responses to these movements. It helps countries in the European Union and Central Asia fulfill the commitments made in the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (hereinafter referred to as the Global Compact on Migration) related to understanding the driving forces of migration in the context of climate and environmental change. The report's recommendations should also help European and Central Asian governments develop policies that enable them to respond more effectively to these movements. (IOM, more at reliefweb.int)

Only a few tree species are flexible enough to survive a century of rapid climate change. European forests have already been seriously affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists from the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now investigated which trees can be usefully reforested. Their result: Only a few types of trees are suitable for the future, in Austria, for example, English oak, winter linden and silver fir. Mixed forests are important for forest survival, otherwise the forest ecosystem as a whole could be weakened. (More on schweizerbauer.ch)

New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) casts doubt on plans to combat climate change. A study published in Nature  points to a significant gap between the measures nations have promised and what is actually needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C, a key goal of the Paris Agreement.

The research points to a worrying "emissions gap": the amount of CO2 that countries have pledged to remove from the atmosphere by 2050 is 3.2 billion tonnes less than is actually needed to prevent the most serious consequences of climate change. (More on hdblog.it)