Ecology

Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs new movie, Planet of the Humans (POTH) serves to uncomfortably remind viewers that in many ways, despite our increased awareness of the growing biodiversity and climate crises, often our “environmental” and “sustainable” solutions, such as “natural” fossil gas, biomass and biofuels, have proven as bad or worse than the coal and petroleum they were intended to replace.

In much of Europe, this April is proving one of the driest in history. According to climate scientists, this could be the new normal as global warming enhances the frequency of severe droughts. Farmers though could do more to secure stable harvests: by growing more diverse crops.

After the first steps made towards designing the National CAP Strategic Plans, this article analyses transparency and stakeholder inclusivity in six selected Member States: France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Poland. 

For the Ukrainian energy sector, the beginning of the year was marked by the “Ukrainian Green Deal” proposal developed by the Ministry of energy and environmental protection. But when it comes to near-term plans, further investments of public funds in nuclear and gas projects are still being considered by the government.

Norway is considered one of the ‘greenest’ countries on the planet but recently the country has come under fire for approving a copper mine in the Arctic described as the “most environmentally damaging project in the country's history”. This article aims to explore how green technology is still being recapitulated by capitalism and ‘business as usual' and uses a gender lens to explore the relationship of nature, green technologies and capitalism.

Mother Nature is once again the subject of the male gaze but this time the impact may be even more oppressive. This article expands the feminist concept of ‘male gaze’ towards nature and critiques geoengineering as being an inherently male/masculine technology that is a product of and a means to further capitalistic agenda.

Latest newsletter of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union office.

The governments gathered in Madrid failed to embrace the urgent need for progress towards climate justice and higher ambitions. A broad analysis of the global climate negotiations addressing various angles:  from fossil fuels, ecosystems and biodiversity, climate finance and justice, gender and indigenous people's rights, to emissions trading and Latin America. 

The climate conference in Madrid had to be extended longer than any climate conference to date. Negotiations lasted until Sunday morning. And yet only a weak final document was agreed which postponed almost all essential questions until next year. A failure, even a catastrophe for the efforts to save the planet? Was this failure nonetheless even a good thing in the end? Focus on emissions trading.

Hosting COP 25 in Chile would have been an excellent chance to visualize the continent’s environmental problems and improve the space for negotiations. Now, Latin American civil society is making an effort to make their voices heard in Madrid.