This archive covers progress stories and milestones from across Europe, spanning health, climate policy, social equity, and scientific research. From small-nation experiments to E.U.-wide initiatives, these reports highlight what is working and why.
This milestone follows Volvo’s previous announcement in 2022 to discontinue the development of new internal combustion engines. By selling its stake in Aurobay, the joint venture responsible for its remaining combustion engine assets, Volvo redirected its focus entirely towards electric powertrains.
This year, Germany will add at least 9 gigawatts to its 67 gigawatts of solar capacity, with much of the growth driven by rooftop installations. It will also add around 3 gigawatts to its 58 gigawatts of onshore wind.
The new vaccine developed by the International Vaccine Institute, Gotovax, and Valneva Sweden is low-cost, lasts longer than alternatives, and is easier and cheaper to deliver around the globe. Cholera kills more than 100,000 people worldwide every year.
Liquid hydrogen is a giant pain to handle, but it’s one of the few technologies with a genuine chance of decarbonizing long-range flight.
Fossil fuels generated just 33% of the European Union’s electricity in the first half of 2023, the lowest share ever recorded. Coal had an especially striking moment: in May, it covered only 10% of EU power, and the Netherlands ran 17 straight days without burning any at all. Seventeen member states set new records for renewable generation, with Portugal and Denmark both crossing 75%. Solar kept climbing, and wind and solar together outproduced fossil fuels across the bloc in May for the first time. It’s a real glimpse of what a cleaner grid looks like — and a reminder that the next push is building enough renewables, storage, and grid capacity to power everything we’ll ask of electricity next.
The GBFF has been designed to mobilize and accelerate investment in the conservation and sustainability of wild species and ecosystems and has already drawn over $200 million in investments from Canada and the U.K.
Floating offshore wind just powered an oil rig for the first time — Norway’s Hywind Tampen now supplies roughly 35% of the annual electricity for five North Sea platforms, cutting around 200,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. Its 11 turbines float in deep water where fixed-bottom towers can’t reach, and the cost per megawatt came in about 35% lower than its 2017 predecessor, Hywind Scotland. Norwegian suppliers won 60% of the contracts, turning decades of offshore oil expertise into a new green industry at home. The deeper hope: floating wind could eventually unlock more than 80% of the world’s offshore wind potential — energy reserves that were, until recently, simply out of reach.
In a study at the UK’s Nottingham Trent University, biomedical scientist Biola Egbowon and colleagues used nanotechnology to successfully treat macular degeneration.
UK clean home energy hit a record-breaking stretch in the first half of 2023, with rooftop solar installations climbing 62 percent compared to the same months a year earlier. That works out to roughly 17,000 households each month deciding to put panels on their roofs — a pace that suggests solar has crossed from premium choice to practical one. Heat pumps are gaining ground too, with nearly 18,000 installed alongside government schemes easing upfront costs. Together, the country’s small-scale renewables now hold four gigawatts of capacity, more than Europe’s largest gas plant produces. It’s a quietly powerful reminder that the energy transition isn’t only built in boardrooms — it’s built one rooftop, one home, one decision at a time.
Campaigners had been pushing for the site in Merthyr Tydfil to close since its planning permission expired in September last year after 15 years.
