European Union

By Laura Hood | – Results are still rolling in but it looks as though Prime Minister Boris Johnson has secured a big victory in the British general election. He looks set to have gone from a minority government to a very large parliamentary majority. Projections based on exit polling and early results indicate his […]

Germany

Green Democracy: This small German town took back the power – and went fully renewable

The Conversation

By Bertie Russell | – The case for ambitious and transformative environmental policy is being made with increasing fervour and a series of “Green New Deals” – a reference to Roosevelt’s economic reform programme in the 1930s – have been proposed over the past 12 months in the US, Europe, and the UK. Such policies […]

Featured

At NATO, Trump irrelevant as France’s Macron Confronts Turkey on Invasion of Syrian Kurds

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The 70th anniversary of NATO was commemorated with a low-key meeting rather than a summit and was not the united show of success hoped for by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, reports Al Jazeera. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan made waves. And a CBC camera crew caught some NATO leaders, including Canada’s Justin […]

Climate Crisis

Turning point in Climate Activism? Germans Block Coal Mines with their Bodies

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Deutsche Welle reports that that more than 1,000 green activists made their way past police lines and blocked trains at 3 important coal mines in eastern Germany on Saturday. A few clashes took place between police and protesters. The environmental group End of the Road claimed more like 4,000 people […]

Germany

Brexit decides Tesla to Open Gigafactory in Germany in Win for E-Mobility

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang | – Tesla’s announcement to build a “gigafactory” for e-car production in Germany is likely to speed up the slow shift to electric mobility in the country, politicians and mobility experts have said. Media called the announcement a “head-on attack” on the country’s mighty carmakers BMW, Daimler and VW that will force […]

Climate Crisis

Germany’s Carbon Dioxide Emissions to Fall “Markedly” in 2019 as Energy Use Declines

Clean Energy Wire

By Benjamin Wehrmann and Julian Wettengel | – Germany is headed for second consecutive year of substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as a sharp drop in coal consumption is driving a decline of the country’s overall energy use in 2019. If this trend continues, the country could get much closer to its 2020 climate […]

Climate Crisis

Not done Destroying Earth, Germany’s Far Right to Make anti-Climate Activism Major Plank in Campaign

Clean Energy Wire

By Julian Wettengel | – (Clean Energy Wire) – Germany’s right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has made its critique of policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect the global climate a major issue in its political strategy. “After the euro and immigration, criticism of the so-called climate action policy is the third major […]

Climate Change

The Anti-Trump: Germany’s Merkel Commits to Ambitious 2030 Climate Goals

Clean Energy Wire

With Incentives, CO2 Price

European Union

Britain’s Trump: The Further Failure of Right Wing Populism

Farhang Jahanpour

(Informed Comment) – After only six weeks in office, Johnson’s grand plan to leave the European Union with or without a deal by 31 October has collapsed like a pack of cards and, instead, he may have the shortest term as prime minister in British history. So, unlike the United States, the cause of right […]