New study reveals that previous estimates of ocean temperatures in the first part of the 20th century were too low. Research supported by the EU-funded AI4PEX and XAIDA projects has brought to light errors in estimates of ocean temperatures from the first half of the 1900s. In their paper published in ‘Nature’, researchers suggest that […]
Council publishes 2023 international climate finance figures
In 2023, the European Union and its 27 member states contributed €28.6 billion in climate finance from public sources and mobilised an additional amount of €7.2 billion of private finance to support developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Council published the figures today, in […]
EU calls for efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 °C
Climate change is an existential threat to humanity, ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as to peace and security. At the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), the EU will support an effective, achievable and ambitious global goal on climate finance and will call for ambitious climate plans in order to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C […]
Tracking breaches of the 1.5⁰C global warming threshold
Global-mean surface air temperatures for the first days of June 2023 were the highest in the ERA5 data record for early June by a substantial margin, following a May during which sea-surface temperatures were at unprecedented levels for the time of year. Also in May, the World Meteorological Organization published a report highlighting a 66% […]
We need to urgently address climate change and halt and reverse biodiversity loss
This issue is alarmingly serious. Our planet is warming and destroying species at an alarming rate. Two global conferences in the last two months have brought people from around the world together on a common theme: climate and biodiversity. The challenges in both areas are symptoms of the same problem: the unsustainability of our production […]
The EU’s goal is to drastically reduce greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of many greenhouse gases. Learn about the impact of global warming, its origins and its contribution to the EU’s emissions, which aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the best known, but other substances present in smaller quantities in the atmosphere can contribute […]
Waste no more coffee grounds!
Why waste spent coffee grounds after the coffee has been made? An EU-backed company now uses them to make a bio-based plastic film. The world’s love of coffee results in millions of tonnes of used coffee grounds being dumped in landfills every year. They decompose and emit methane, one of the major causes of […]
CryoSat brings us closer to understanding what happens in the Antarctica’s biggest glacier
Ice loss from Pine Island Glacier has contributed more to sea-level rise over the past four decades than any other glacier in Antarctica. The way this huge glacier is thinning is complex, leading to uncertainty about how it is likely to raise sea level in the future. Thanks to ESA’s CryoSat mission, scientists have now […]