Europe

Person happily holding a trans pride flag

European court rules member states must recognize trans people’s names and genders

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The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that member states must recognize legal documents from other countries that reflect a person’s changed name and gender identity, regardless of the member state’s own laws on changing one’s name and identity. Marie-Hélène Ludwig, senior strategic litigator with the LGBTQ+ rights organization ILGA-Europe, said in a statement, “This judgement will have an immensely positive impact, increasing legal protection for all trans people in the E.U…”

Scientists in the U.K. developing world’s first vaccine to prevent ovarian cancer

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Researchers at the University of Oxford are working on the world’s first ovarian cancer vaccine, aiming to prevent the disease that kills nearly 26,000 women in the European Union every year. The vaccine, called OvarianVax, would train the immune system to recognize and fight back against the earliest stages of ovarian cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer among women which often isn’t detected until a later stage when it’s harder to treat. Cancer Research U.K. will fund the OvarianVax research with up to £600,000 for the effort.

Baby sea turtle on the beach

Greece’s sea turtle nests reach record numbers as conservation efforts pay off

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From Spain in the west to Cyprus in the east, the Mediterranean has witnessed a record rise in sea turtle nesting – testimony to the painstaking efforts of environmentalists determined to save an ancient mariner that not that long ago was on the verge of extinction. In Greece, which hosts 60% of Caretta caretta nests, the rebound has been phenomenal: from an average of 5,000 to 7,000 nests per year, since 2023 over 10,000 nests have been recorded annually, according to Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece.

ING headquarters

Dutch bank ING to ditch climate laggards as clients

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Dutch bank ING will dump large clients it believes are not making sufficient progress on reducing their climate impact, in the latest sign of divergence between European and US banks over the risks of global warming. Chief executive Steven van Rijswijk said ING had put its clients on notice that it would either restrict or stop providing finance to companies that fail to address their carbon footprint on a case-by-case basis. Van Rijswijk said ING had assessed 2,000 of its largest clients based on their publicly available climate transition plans and other data. Companies had until 2026 to make sufficient progress, he said.   

Good news for transition to EVs

Norway becomes world’s first country to have more fully electric cars than gas cars

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Norway has long been a standout, with the highest level of EV market share of any country and an aspiration to end sales of new gas cars by 2025. And now, sometime in September 2024, Norway will have more electric cars on its roads than petrol-only vehicles, according to an analysis of Norwegian government data. It set another world record with 94% EV new car market share in August.

The Hague waterfront and buildings

The Hague becomes world’s first city to pass law banning fossil fuel-related ads

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New legislation in the Dutch city spells the end of publicly and privately funded advertising for petrol and diesel, aviation and cruise ships in city streets, including on billboards and bus shelters. It takes effect from the start of next year. It is the first time a city has banned high-carbon advertising through local legislation. The decision follows a call by the U.N. chief, António Guterres, earlier this year for governments and media to enact such bans, as they have done with tobacco.

Trees

Norway’s forests have more than tripled in a hundred years

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Over the course of the last hundred years, Norwegian forests have tripled in size according to a new report. The survey from Statistics Norway shows that forest growth continued for the whole of the 20th and much of the 21st century, but has begun tapering off as spruce saplings planted by schoolchildren in the 1960s are now fully mature and beginning in some cases to die or be logged.

Helsinki

World’s largest air-to-water heat pump to warm 30,000 homes in Finland

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Finland’s capital city, Helsinki, is building the world’s largest heat pump to keep as many as 30,000 homes warm in the winter while reducing carbon emissions. The pump can operate at temperatures as low as -4 Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) while being powered by only renewable energy sources. Unlike furnaces or air conditioners, which work well in a single season, heat pumps are more energy efficient and can work in all climates.

Green ammonia plant

World’s first green ammonia plant is now open for business in Denmark

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The new plant – located in Ramme, Denmark – is said to be capable of producing 5,000 tons of green ammonia per year, entirely from solar and wind energy. Topsoe reports that this effort will prevent 8,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Gray ammonia production – which uses fossil fuels – is currently the norm around the globe, and accounts for about 1.2% of all carbon dioxide emissions.