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Researchers on a mission | Environment
On a mission to bring nature back into cities
Polish geographer Dr Iwona Zwierzchowska is on a mission to develop green spaces in the city of Poznań with the help of EU funding and 30 partners across Europe and beyond.
Researchers on a mission | Environment
On a mission to beat plastic pollution
German marine biologist Dr Tim Kiessling is on a mission to discover the true scale of plastic pollution in…
Sharing good practices will help farms and forests become more sustainable and open up new eco-friendly income streams. © Theastock, Shutterstock.com
Agriculture | Environment
Turning local know-how into European solutions for smarter bio-based farming
Farmers and foresters across Europe are sharing sustainable bio-based practices and technologies, showing how…
Didier Schmitt, Scientific Adviser, European Commission.
Opinion | Environment | Innovation Convention
Arctic: the challenges of opening up the northern route
As the northern route opens, the melting ice will have a significant impact on the transportation of goods around the world, and the consequences are manifold, said Didier Schmitt, a scientific…
Global warming could mean cargo ships will be crossing the Arctic to access the Pacific Ocean, avoiding the Panama Canal. © Shutterstock/ Aleksey Stemmer
Environment | Policy | Energy
As the ice melts, the Arctic opens up to cargo ships and energy firms
The Nordic Orion became the first cargo ship to take the treacherous Northwest Passage from the Pacific Ocean to Europe last year, and now its Danish operators are planning more trips…
Professor Mike Jetten is hunting for bacteria that consume methane below the waterline.
Environment | Bioeconomy | Frontier research
Methane-munching bacteria that can help save the environment
Professor Mike Jetten of Radboud University believes he can help tackle global warming by uncovering bacteria that consume methane before it reaches the environment.
A large piece of ice collapses off of the edge of the Glacier Perito Moreno in Argentina, South America. Image courtesy of Calyponte, Wikimedia Commons
Environment | Innovation Union | Policy
Cost of climate change in Europe could reach 4 % of GDP
If no new policy measures are adopted to combat global warming, the cost of climate change in Europe could reach almost 4 % of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union by the end of the…
While the US saw freezing temperatures in early January 2014, Europe has experienced an unusually wet period with mild temperatures and high winds. An unusual southward movement in the stratospheric vortex is responsible. © Shutterstock/ Bas Meelker
Environment
European temperatures likely to fall due to Arctic vortex as US thaws
The big freeze in the US was part of an Arctic weather system that is being displaced more and more frequently because of global warming, European researchers believe. As it re-centres itself over…
One of the sites of the EU-funded Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) project. Photo: Ove Hermansen/NILU
Environment | Innovation Union
From Europe and Asia, countries head to Svalbard to monitor the Arctic
From Europe and Asia, 14 countries – encompassing a total of 26 institutions – have come together to set up an Arctic observatory that will combine data from the sea, the atmosphere and the ground to…
Dr Marc von Hobe, coordinator of the EU-funded RECONCILE project, believes more work needs to be done to control greenhouse gas emissions.
Opinion | Environment | Horizon 2020
Ozone depletion and climate change – a continuing challenge
Dr Marc von Hobe, from the German Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH research centre, is coordinator of the EU-funded RECONCILE project. The project contributed to the first detection in 2011 of a hole in…
North central Siberia is captured in this image. On the left is the Yenisei river, which flows north into the Kara Sea (not shown). The majority of the area pictured lies above the Arctic Circle. This is an area of continuous permafrost, where the soil is at or below freezing throughout the year. From space, the satellite is able to capture changes in the soil moisture, surface temperature, and land cover. Image: ESA
Environment
Thawing permafrost could release vast carbon deposits, diseases
The frozen ground that covers a sixth of the planet is thawing due to climate change, releasing trapped carbon and the DNA of long-forgotten diseases.
The SHOAL robots swim using a tailfin rather than a propeller, minimising noise and disruption to marine life. Image courtesy of SHOAL
ICT | Innovation Union | Environment
A shoal of underwater robots to protect the environment
Teams of robotic fish are drawing on the intelligence of swarms of social insects and other organisms in new ways to help protect the environment.
The Algete Demo Park testing facility for energy efficiency in buildings, where Cool-Coverings is conducting research. The scaled test houses have been designed to replicate real buildings. Image courtesy of Cool-Coverings.
Energy | Environment
Energy saving begins at home
Scientists have developed a covering for buildings that keeps them cool by reflecting the sun's rays, potentially saving huge amounts of energy for European households. 

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