Make the super-rich pay

The myth of the ‘self-made millionaire’ conceals a system of privilege and exploitation  Eva de Bock & Anna Sach Welcome to the community of greatness. Be here & be great. At first glance, this bombastic, elitist language seems to come straight from Trumpian political theatre, far removed from the down-to-earth attitude of the Netherlands. Yet these … Read more

The EU and 1.5 °C

Arthur Oldeman The EU presented new emission targets (90% reduction compared to 1990 by 2040 and between 66% and 72% by 2035) on top of the already established 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. The EU claims to be committed to the 1.5 °C target in the Paris Agreement. However, a calculation based … Read more

Extreme urgency

There is little time left to prevent global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions from exceeding 1.5 °C (compared to the pre-industrial period). In other words, the amount of greenhouse gases we can still emit – the carbon reserve – is almost depleted. Meanwhile, in the United States, President Donald Trump is rapidly dismantling virtually … Read more

Why I’m active: Arjen Markus

I have been involved in water quality studies for more than 30 years now, mostly concerning coastal areas but also inland waters. Over the years I have seen the focus of such studies change between heavy metals, nutrients and emerging contaminants such medicines, pesticides, (micro)plastics and PFAS. I have also seen the problems concerning climate … Read more

Why I’m active: Rosa Groen

As a scientist, it is important to me to make an impact with my research. We always conduct research in collaboration with students, organisations, governments and companies. This helps all parties to work on new insights, sustainable and fair transitions, and to learn specific research skills to be able to do this. However, conducting practice-oriented … Read more

“You can’t hide from climate change”

There are no places on Earth where we are guaranteed to be safe from the effects of climate change. This became apparent when the residents of Asheville (North Carolina, USA) were surprised at the end of September 2024 by Hurricane Helene, which caused devastation and claimed victims far from the coast. The artists’ town of … Read more

Gender equality is essential for climate justice

Eva de Bock No country in the world has yet achieved full gender equality. Globally, women earn less than men, are less likely to be in paid employment and have less access to education, land and financial resources. Moreover, the effects of climate change hit women harder, reinforcing existing gender inequalities. At the same time, … Read more

What suffering will humanity prevent during COP30?

This is republished from the site Covering Climate Now. “Suffering increases with each tenth of a degree of warming.” So says renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, speaking yesterday in an expert panel that CCNow and Sammy Roth of the new newsletter Climate-Colored Goggles convened in response to a widely circulated and much-discussed memo by Bill Gates, in which the … Read more

Planet B

U.S. environmental policy shifted from historic bipartisan support—embodied by the EPA, Clean Air/Water Acts—to partisan opposition driven by conservative distrust of regulation. Recent rollbacks threaten decades‑long air, water, and climate gains, prompting a call for cross‑ideological cooperation because there truly is no “planet B.” An editorial by R. Kelman Wieder “There is no planet B” in the journal Biogeochemistry reflects on … Read more

May 6, 2024. Climate Alarm

Scientist Rebellion (SR) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) are sounding the alarm with a major protest at the Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem on Monday 6 May at 12:00. At exactly 12:00, during the air-raid siren, more than a hundred rebels will collapse as if dead amongst the public. With this public-friendly ‘climate alarm’, they … Read more