Wasteland

April 2023

Europe's plastic disaster

Europe has a problem with plastics. Cheap, versatile and in constant production, plastic is in our milk bottles and toothpaste tubes. And our seas, fields and streams. Can EU plans for a circular economy tackle this mounting waste crisis?

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Investigations

Silent Death

June 2022

Europe’s deep-rooted pesticide problem and a biodiversity crisis

Europe is stuck in a toxic relationship. For decades, farmers have relied on chemicals to produce the food that feeds the continent. The perils of pesticides are widely known, but their use remains largely unchecked. As a biodiversity crisis unfolds, can Europe address its silent pesticide problem?

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Energy Charter Treaty

February 2021

How an obscure EU legislation threatens our climate goals

Europe has to cut almost all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That is going to be hard enough. But the little-known Energy Charter Treaty could become a massive threat to the EU and its member states in trying to achieve their climate targets.

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Derailed

November 2021

The desolate state of European railways

2021 is the official “Year of Rail” in the EU, and the “Connecting Europe Express” train recently finished its tour of Europe to promote the great advantages and decisive importance of railways in the green transition. But what was meant as a PR coup revealed the weaknesses of the system, which is more a patchwork than a coordinated network of trains across the continent.

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Gas Trap

October 2020

Europe in the Gas Trap

The climate goals of the European Union and its member states are clear: reaching climate neutrality by the year 2050 and limiting warming to a maximum of two Celsius degrees. Nonetheless, natural gas projects are being planned and built all over Europe. Read more about investigation into the "Gas Trap" here.

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Dirty subsidies

July 2020

How Europe sabotages its climate goals

2020 was supposed to be the year the EU would launch its ambitious plan to tackle the climate crisis. But why does Europe sabotage its climate goals by subsidising the fossil sector by more than €137 billion per year?

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