Analysis and opinion on environmental issues. Updated first of each month.
Latest from COMMENTARY
William Todts, “Think global, act local to transform cities but also the planet”
The idea that cities should be designed for cars is long dead.
Emily Macintosh, “Local communities work to stop Northern Irish mining boom”
A focus on Northern Ireland where 5 companies currently hold 10 mineral prospecting licences for different locations
1 Sep 2018Joe Romm, “The argument for fracking as a climate solution just went down in flames: Methane leaks from natural gas production wipe out any climate benefit”
New study of methane leaks in the oil and gas industry is the final piece of evidence that natural gas is not part of the climate solution.
1 Aug 2018Catherine O’Toole, “Case Study: Creating change through the Public Participation Network”
On effective community participation in environmental projects and policies at the local level in Ireland
1 Jul 2018Joe Romm, “Paul Krugman explains why there’s no future for the coal industry”
Bringing back coal jobs is ‘about as practical as bringing back the buggy whip industry’, explains Krugman.
1 Jun 2018Florent Grelier, “Carmakers delaying more efficient models until 2019 to maximise profit, but most remain on track to meet 2021 CO2 targets – report”
Carmakers complain they can’t meet their CO2 targets, blaming declining diesel sales, while pushing old, inefficient, high-performance SUVs to maximise their profits
1 May 2018Transport & Environment, “How to get rid of Dirty diesels on city roads: Analysis of diesel restriction measures in European cities to date”
Local access restrictions can succeed in removing polluting vehicles from city centers and encourage cleaner alternatives
1 Apr 2018Joe Romm, “Trump’s infrastructure plan is ‘a whole lot of waste’ just like his border wall”
On the folly of Trump’s infrastructure plans to spend billions of dollars on developing projects that will likely be ruined by the impacts of a rapidly changing climate
6 Mar 2018Greg Archer, “Reconfirmed: Transport is Europe’s biggest climate problem”
Why transport is EU’s biggest climate problem, and what needs to be done to change that
1 Feb 2018Frank Convery, “Where climate change will hurt most”
We are only beginning to learn where the climate damages will be, when they will occur and how catastrophic they will be
1 Jan 2018John Sweeney, “Some Reflections on Attending the Bonn Global Climate Change Talks”
Ireland’s leading climatologist reflects on what has just happened during the UN global climate talks in Bonn, Germany
1 Dec 2017Joe Romm, “With fast-charging, electric cars will soon match or beat gasoline cars in every respect”
Electric cars are on the verge of solving the last challenge they face in competing with gasoline cars — speed of recharging
2 Nov 2017Transport & Environment, “Diesel: the true (dirty) story”
Executive Summary of T&E’s report on why diesel cars are not needed for EU economy, climate or environment Two years after the Dieselgate scandal …
1 Oct 2017Peter Lehner, “Feed More With Less”
Redesigning our food system to radically reduce all types of waste from farm to fork
1 Sep 2017European Geosciences Union, “Removing CO2 from the air required to safeguard children’s future”
Part of scientific basis for a lawsuit filed by 21 young people against the US government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty and property by failing to protect them against climate change.
1 Aug 2017Joe Romm, “The ‘ancient carbon’ of Alaska’s tundra is being released, speeding up global warming”
The Alaskan tundra is warming so quickly it has become a net emitter of carbon dioxide ahead of schedule
1 Jul 2017Andrew Murphy, “EU publishes damning report of emissions offsets, calling into question EU’s aviation climate strategy”
Relying solely on offsets to address aviation’s climate impact is unsustainable
1 Jun 2017William Todts, “Europe’s love affair with biofuels is on the rocks”
The changing landscape for biofuels in Europe
2 May 2017European Environmental Bureau (EEB), FROM FARM TO FORK: REDUCING FOOD WASTE
The paradox of so many going hungry and so many others wasting food
1 Apr 2017Climate Analytics, “A stress test for coal in Europe under the Paris Agreement” (2017)
How to phase out coal by 2030, with different plans for different coal-dependent countries
1 Mar 2017Samuel Kenny, “Vans: Falling through the cracks of Europe’s transport policy”
The use of vans has exploded since the 1990s, yet vans are truly the neglected outlier of Europe’s freight transport policy
1 Feb 2017Richard K.F. Unsworth, Jessie Jarvis, Len McKenzie, and Mike van Keulen, “Seagrass is a marine powerhouse, so why isn’t it on the world’s conservation agenda?”
Seagrass, around since dinosaurs, keeps the world’s coastlines clean and healthy, and supports many different species of animal, including humans
1 Dec 2016Thomas Quinn, “Lipstick on a pig? The 2nd Cork Declaration on Rural Development”
In the wake of the 2nd Cork Declaration on Rural Development, Thomas Quinn weighs up the chronic imbalances of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
1 Nov 2016David Roberts, “Relax, your electric car isn’t going to run out of juice”
“Range anxiety” from driving electric cars is very rapidly going to become an anachronism.
1 Oct 2016Carlos Calvo Ambel, “4 reasons why cutting transport emissions is not expensive”
It’s time to break the mantra that reducing the sector’s climate impact will be costly
1 Sep 2016