EU Carbon Permit price, 2005-2022. The price on 8 June 2022 is indicated. Graphic: Trading Economics

Risk of delay to carbon market reforms after surprise EU vote – “All those that voted against today can think twice … please don’t kill the ETS”

By Kate Abnett 8 June 2022 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected a proposal to upgrade the European Union’s carbon market, an unexpected move that exposed divisions over the bloc’s core climate policy and could delay negotiations to finish the measure. A committee of lawmakers must now try to forge a new […]

Surface temperature map for Europe and North Africa on 20 May 2022. Morocco observed its hottest day in May on 20 May 2022, recording a temperature of 45.7°C (114°F). With some areas reaching a scorching 44ºC in Spain on 21 May 2022, this unprecedented heatwave could make May the hottest month of the century. Graphic: Scott Duncan

Spain endures record heatwave as May 2022 to become hottest month of the century – Morocco suffers hottest day in May on record

22 May 2022 (Euronews) – Spain is feeling the heat after temperatures soared this weekend, reaching up to 15 degrees above average for the season. With some areas reaching a scorching 44ºC on Saturday, this unprecedented heatwave could make May the hottest month of the century. At least 13 regions were on alert due to […]

Global quantities of amphetamine-type stimulants seized, 2009-2019. Data: Responses to the annual report questionnaire (UNODC, 2021). Graphic: EMCDDA

Europe turns into cocaine hub as multi-billion-euro market expands, EU says

By Francesco Guarascio 6 May 2022 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe is increasingly becoming a hub for production and trans-shipment of cocaine to other regions of the world, in addition to being a major consumption market, EU agencies said on Friday, warning also about the expanding methamphetamine industry. After cannabis, cocaine is the most consumed drug […]

European surface air temperature anomalies for summer (JJA) 1950–2021, relative to the average for the 1991–2020 reference period. In 2021, summer temperatures were about 1 degree Celsius above the average over the past three decades, with Italy even recording temperatures of 48.8C – a provisional record for the whole of Europe. Data source: ERA5, E-OBS. Credit: C3S / ECMWF / KNMI

Europe suffered year of climate chaos in 2021 with hottest summer on record – “We are facing a lot of challenges”

By Gloria Dickie and Kate Abnett 22 April 2022 (Reuters) – Europeans endured the hottest summer on record last year, with wildfires, floods and intense heatwaves hitting the continent, according to a report by EU scientists released Friday. Summer temperatures were about 1 degree Celsius above the average over the past three decades, with Italy even recording […]

Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Africa in 2019 (left), and top eight wheat importers in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 (right). Challenges for food security in Sub-Saharan Africa will increase as Russia’s war on Ukraine persists. Graphic: IMF

Russia’s war on Ukraine dims global economic outlook as inflation accelerates – Africa faces new shock as war raises food and fuel costs – “This crisis unfolds even as the global economy has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic”

By Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas 19 April 2022 (IMF) – Global economic prospects have been severely set back, largely because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This crisis unfolds even as the global economy has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic. Even before the war, inflation in many countries had been rising due to supply-demand imbalances and […]

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 5–19 years in the WHO European Region, by sex, 1975–2016. Graphic: WHO

World Health Organization warns of obesity epidemic in Europe – “Overweight and obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions across the region and are still escalating”

3 May 2022 (AFP) – The WHO said Tuesday that “epidemic” overweight and obesity rates are linked to over 1.2 million deaths annually across Europe, calling for swift policy changes to reverse the dangerous trend. Obesity rates in the region have ballooned by 138 percent in the past five decades, the World Health Organization said […]

Press freedom situation in 180 countries and territories, 2013-2022. Graphic: Reporters Sans Frontières

RSF’s 2022 World Press Freedom Index: a new era of polarisation – Journalism situation classified “very bad” in record number of 28 countries

2 May 2022 (RSF) – The 20th World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reveals a two-fold increase in polarisation amplified by information chaos – that is, media polarisation fuelling divisions within countries, as well as polarisation between countries at the international level. Читать на русском / Read in Russian The 2022 […]

Vandals defaced Jewish gravestones with swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti at a Jewish cemetery near Strasbourg in eastern France, 3 December 2019. Photo: AFP

Antisemitism rose dramatically in 2021 – “Right at the outset of the pandemic in 2020, conspiracy theories began to sprout around the world, blaming the Jews and Israel for spreading the virus”

27 April 2022 (BBC News) – The number of anti-Semitic incidents around the world dramatically increased last year, a study by Tel Aviv University has found. The report identifies the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia as among countries where there was a sharp rise. This was fuelled by radical left- and right-wing political […]

Estonian cargo vessel the Helt sinks off Odessa, Ukraine, 3 March 2022. Reports claimed the Helt was captured by Russian forces on 2 March 2022 and scuttled. Photo: Andrii Klymenko

Russia’s war destroys Ukraine’s economy, spurs global food and economic crisis – “The war in Ukraine can throw more than 1/5 of humanity into poverty, destitution, and hunger on a scale not seen in decades”

25 April 2022 (Euromaidan Press) – February 23 was an ordinary workday for the thousands of employees on two very different facilities: Chornobayivka chicken farm near Kherson and Azovstal, a giant steel mill in Mariupol. Now, after two months of the war, they are equally jobless due to the destruction of both enterprises: either by […]

FAO Food Price Index (left) and FAO Food Commodity Price Indices (right), January 2021 - March 2022. Graphic: FAO

The FAO Food Price Index makes a giant leap to another all-time high in March 2022

8 April 2022 (FAO) – The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 159.3 points in March 2022, up 17.9 points (12.6 percent) from February, making a giant leap to a new highest level since its inception in 1990. The latest increase reflects new all-time highs for vegetable oils, cereals, and meat sub-indices, while those of […]

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