Germany's 'Energiewende' has made the country a global renewable energy powerhouse. So why have its carbon emissions gone up? Not because of nuclear closures, writes Melanie Mattauch, but because powerful fossil fuel companies have blocked effective climate action. Now the fight is on as public calls to keep the coal in the ground get too loud to ignore.
Chemical giant Bayer has failed in its attempt to sue Friends of the Earth Germany over its claims that its pesticide Thiacloprid harms bees. Now pressure is growing on the EU to add the neonicotinoid to the three already banned.
The UK's troubled Hinkley C nuclear power station faces a legal challenge from Germany's biggest energy co-op, which claims that the subsidy package will distort energy markets across Europe and disadvantage renewable generators and vendors.
The global rebirth of nuclear power was meant to be well under way by now, writes Jim Green. But in fact, nuclear's share of world power generation is on a steady long term decline, and new reactors are getting ever harder to build, and finance. The only real growth area is decommissioning, but that too has a problem: where's the money to pay for it?
Germany cut emissions and boosted renewables to record levels last year, writes Henner Weithöner. Yet the country's coal burn remains the EU's highest - and ambitious emissions targets can only be met by closing coal-burning power stations.
Germany's transition to a renewable power system is on track, writes Gert Brunekreeft. But it's costing households €218 a year in surcharges, causing voter enthusiasm to wane. That may be about to change though. The surcharge is about to fall, while targets stay the same - a sign that renewable energy costs may be falling faster than expected.
The widely used herbicide glyphosate has been judged 'safe', write Pete Farrer & Marianne Falck. But by the time it's used, it's in a 'formulation' with toxic surfactants, which escape EU regulation despite their known dangers. Germany alone has forbidden the use of the most dangerous surfactant - but is keeping its evidence secret.
Consumers around the world want their electricity to come from renewable sources, writes Paul Brown. Yet governments from the UK to Australia are defying the popular will as they push for fossil fuels and nuclear power. The good news? Renewable energy is surging ahead regardless.
Controversy has been raging for decades over the link between nuclear power stations and childhood leukemia. But as with tobacco and lung cancer, it's all about hiding the truth, writes Ian Fairlie. Combining data from four countries shows, with high statistical significance, that radioactive releases from nuclear plants are the cause of the excess leukemia cases.
How did Germany do it? No, not its World Cup victory - how did Germany engineer Europe's highest penetration of renewable energy, plus fast-dropping electricity prices? Keith Barnham explains - and says the UK could do the same, and better!
A new report names the 30 biggest sources of greenhouse gases in the EU, writes Kieran Cooke. Coal-fired power plants are undermining Europe's long-term targets on emissions reductions - and the UK and Germany lead the list of shame.
France, Germany and other wealthy countries have positive policies on climate change, writes Steven Herz. So why are they handing out back door financing for new coal power stations abroad via 'export credits'? Over $5 billion from EU countries since 2007 ...
German dairy farmer Gottfried Glöckner told F William Engdahl how the Anglo-Swiss GMO and agrochemicals giant Syngenta tried to crush him after he denounced the company's products as toxic - recruiting the resources of the German state and legal system to destroy his life.
With the help of some clever engineering, writes Paul Brown, the power of the Sun can now produce electricity on demand - day and night, bright or cloudy. The key technology has just won a prestigious DESERTEC Award.
Germany's Energiewende or Energy Path is leading Europe's dominant industrial power into wholly new territory. Sober bureaucrats see a 100% renewable energy economy by 2050 as technically feasible. Chris Goodall asks - have they all gone mad?
From the volcanic caldera of Mount Teide to the craggy tors of Dartmoor, Europe’s national parks combine stunning scenery with wonderful flora and fauna. Ruth Styles rounds up ten of the best
Turkey's plans for a hydroelectric dam on the Tigris have been scrapped as Europe withdraws funds for a failure to meet environmental obligations, while plans for the trans-Europe Nabucco gas pipeline are ratified
New research has revealed that a lack of finance and political commitment lie at the heart of the slow take-up of renewables, as a UK think tank calls for cash for low-carbon technology to be ringfenced
