Today's top story
Environment
Jun 11, 2026 · 08:00 GMT
The EU's plan to extend carbon pricing to road transport and heating fuels from 2028 (the 'ETS2') is set to push energy prices higher — and Brussels is moving to shield households from the spike. Investors managing trillions urge Europe to evolve and strengthen the carbon market rather than dilute it; others stress the cost-of-living hit on ordinary Europeans.
A group of investors managing some €11.4 trillion urge the EU to evolve and strengthen — not water down — its carbon market, paired with policies like grids, electrification and clean-tech financing, arguing strong carbon pricing is essential to hit climate goals and steer long-term investment.
Euronews ↗With new carbon costs due to hit road transport and buildings from 2028, likely raising energy prices, the EU is stepping in to protect households from the spike — reflecting pressure to soften the policy so it does not deepen a cost-of-living squeeze on ordinary Europeans.
Euronews ↗
President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to steer some $700 million to coal-fired power — including two new plants in Alaska and West Virginia — backing what he calls 'clean, beautiful coal.' Supporters call it a grid-reliability and energy-security move; critics call it an emergency-powers lifeline for the dirtiest fossil fuel.
A €1.4bn luxury resort backed by Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners — on Albania's Sazan island and the protected Vjosa-Narta lagoon — has triggered mass protests and an anti-corruption probe. The government calls it a once-in-a-generation investment; opponents call it a stolen, protected coast.
With climate deadlines looming, one camp says we need nuclear's reliable, carbon-free power now; another says it's too slow and expensive, and the money should go to renewables.
Companies and governments want to scoop metal-rich nodules from the ocean floor to feed the clean-energy and tech boom. Scientists warn we know too little about the deep sea to risk wrecking it.
Brazil approved Petrobras drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River, weeks before hosting the COP30 climate summit. The government calls it sovereign development; critics call it climate hypocrisy near a fragile reef.
Carbon capture and storage promises to mop up emissions from industries that are hard to clean up. Critics say it's costly, unproven at scale, and mostly an excuse to keep burning fossil fuels.
Wolves have rebounded across the US and Europe after decades of protection. Conservationists hail healthier ecosystems; ranchers and hunters demand the right to cull predators that kill livestock.
Spraying reflective particles into the stratosphere could cool the planet fast and cheap. Supporters want research now; opponents warn it's a dangerous distraction with unknowable, planet-wide side effects.