Can Ghana save its forests without abandoning cocoa farmers?
“We earn around $200 [€175, ed] a month, and every expense has to come out of that,” says Francis Tenor, president of the Boase Sibi cocoa cooperative in Ghana’s Eastern ...
Europe moves to secure gallium supply as METLEN signs US deal
On July 29, METLEN Energy & Metals announced a long-term deal to supply approximately 25% of the annual gallium output expected from its planned production facility in Greece. The agreement was ...
Circularity in models for assessing the construction sector’s emissions impacts
The starting point, as Pierluigi Zerbino explained to an audience of businesses and academics, is disarmingly simple: “We asked ourselves: can the circular economy help to decarbonise the cons...
ETS reform: the EU is going along with the most polluting industries
On Friday 17 July, the European Commission presented its proposal to revise the Emissions Trading System (ETS), the EU’s carbon market, which since 2005 has helped halve emissions from th...
Critical raw materials, Luca Meini: “It’s urgent to move from strategy to execution”
In just a few years, critical raw materials (CRMs) have become the true bottleneck for Europe’s green and digital transition. Lithium, cobalt, rare earths, gallium, germanium – without t...
Underused power plants, high costs: EU pays the price for its dependence on gas
The Hormuz Strait energy crisis has reignited the debate over fossil fuel subsidies: should governments pitch in to limit the cost of fuel – and risk reinforcing their countries’ depende...
EurEau presents the state-of-the-art of european water services in 2026
This article is part of the thematic channel The Water Observer: subscribe to our newsletter and receive exclusive contents from the world of water One year after the presentation of the Europ...
Why restoring soil health is a win-win for farmers and the environment
Soils feed us, filter our water and support most of the food chain on Earth. But they are also among Europe’s most neglected resources –quietly degrading beneath our feet while we look e...
Europe's waste could supply more than half of its CRMs by 2050
Building an onshore wind farm requires nearly nine times more mineral resources than a gas-fired power station. And as the energy transition accelerates, driven by electrification, the spread of ren...
Fabrizio Penna: “The PNRR transformed the Ministry and our relationship with Brussels”
MASE is the beneficiary of a substantial portion of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan: €33.7 billion spread across 49 measures, with 119 milestones and targets to be achieved. The ninth...
Electric Vehicles: how the Hormuz crisis changes the European market
Faced with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, car electrification in Europe no longer appears to be merely a matter of climate policy or industrial innovation. After all, even now that the fragile...
Up to 500,000 heat pumps per year: this is how Vaillant is investing in Europe
Bratislava – Visiting the Vaillant Group’s new mega-factory in Senica, Slovakia, one figure stands out above all others: a potential capacity of 500,000 electric heat pumps per year. A p...
The future of grid intelligence
Helsinki – European utilities are facing a historic turning point: increasingly complex grids, extreme weather events and customers demanding reliable and sustainable electricity are exerting ...
CBAM: the challenges of international accreditation
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter Who monitors emissions from a steel mill in Wuhan on behalf of Europe when we import material...
Getting the best out of the ETS/MSR reform and flexibilities
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter Twenty years since its launch, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has become the w...
ECESP 2026: Circularity as the foundation of European security
Brussels – “In times of instability, circular economy is not a choice, it’s a necessity.” With these words, European Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall kic...
Europe is warming faster than the global average: the ESOTC 2025 report
2025 is proving to be a record-breaking year for Europe’s climate. The latest European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report, published on 29 April by Copernicus Climate Change Service and the W...
Helsinki to host Eurelectric Power Summit 2026
On 3–4 June 2026, Helsinki will host the Eurelectric Power Summit, a high-level gathering of policymakers, industry leaders and experts focused on the evolving “energy trilemma” of...
EUSEW 2026 opens registrations for landmark clean energy event
The European Commission has officially launched the programme and registrations for the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2026, marking the 20th anniversary of one of the EU’s flag...
From materials to systems: rethinking Europe’s packaging future
Brussels – At the 2026 edition of the Packaging Waste & Sustainability Forum in Brussels, the future of packaging emerged less as a breakthrough material and more as a complex system in de...