Environment

The Warsaw climate conference (COP19) succeeded in setting a pathway towards the Paris COP21 in 2015, where states should strike a new global climate deal. Yet it showed how long and difficult the road will be and fundamental questions remain unanswered, requiring high level political engagement.

The ongoing Climate Summit in Warsaw has been relegated to the sidelines by the Polish media – the social and political debate in Poland definitely doesn’t tend to question a coal, shale gas and nuclear future for the country.

In Greece, probably one of the first victims of austerity has been environmental protection, just at the moment where there can be no response to the crisis without considering the environmental dimension. A recent article by the WWF takes issue with the EU response to the crisis which has seen environmental protection sidelined like never before.

Though Croatia is now a full Member State of the European Union, it faces a tough path to full compliance with the Union’s environmental legislation. However, the potential benefits to Croatia are clear – from safer water to more green jobs.

Is the fight against climate change a declarative one, or a genuine one?

A problem cannot be solved using the same thought that created it.

As the level of CO2 in the atmosphere passes the 400ppm mark, the failure of the European Parliament to rescue Europe’s emissions trading scheme looks even more alarming.

The Green movement needs to move away from alarmist arguments and moralising and towards a more inclusive way of discussing climate change, which leaves room political dispute as to the solutions needed.

The German Bundestag committee which is examining the future of growth has, in advance of its full report, issued an interim report on the use of material resources. The final report will be available in May 2013.

A year after Fukushima, the debate around nuclear power continues.