Raphael Ofner

A North Dakota jury on Wednesday awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the Texas-based pipeline company Energy Transfer, which had sued Greenpeace over its role in protests nearly a decade ago against its Dakota Access Pipeline.

9 out of 10 cars sold in Norway are electric. Copenhagen in Denmark has become one of THE biking cities worldwide. Skandinavia as a whole leads in heat pump installations (thanks for sharing @janrosenow.bsky.social). The northern countries of Europe show: There is no excuse for climate inaction.

9 out of 10 cars sold in Norway are electric. Copenhagen in Denmark has become one of THE biking cities worldwide. Skandinavia as a whole leads in heat pump installations (thanks for sharing @janrosenow.bsky.social). The northern countries of Europe show: There is no excuse for climate inaction.

Remarkable climate news from Germany! Conservatives (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) agreed in principle with the Green Party on plans for a massive increase in state borrowing for infrastructure and military. The Greens secured a €100 billion fund for climate and economic transformation.

Some context for those less familiar with German politics (1/2): Germany's constitution includes a so-called "debt brake", which has restricted investment for years. Loosening its rules requires a two-thirds majority. SPD and CDU/CSU are currently negotiating a coalition government.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave a remarkable speech these days. Not that his unreflected pro-fossil-fuels standpoint was in any way surprising (Wright is a fracking magnate). But telling ... as even he admitted: “We have indeed raised global atmospheric CO2 concentration by 50 percent..."

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave a remarkable speech these days. Not that his unreflected pro-fossil-fuels standpoint was in any way surprising (Wright is a fracking magnate). But telling ... as even he admitted: “We have indeed raised global atmospheric CO2 concentration by 50 percent..."

AUSTRIA DISPATCH 🇦🇹 On Monday, a new coalition government will be inaugurated in Austria - consisting of Conservatives, Social Democrats and Liberals. What might be interesting for international readers? - The government was formed after talks with the far-right Freedom Party had failed.

- To improve the integration of young refugees and other immigrants, the coalition plans to make a second year of kindergarden mandatory. This is meant to improve language skills from a young age on. - Plans to temporarily stop family reunification of refugees will probably face legal hurdles.

AUSTRIA DISPATCH 🇦🇹 On Monday, a new coalition government will be inaugurated in Austria - consisting of Conservatives, Social Democrats and Liberals. What might be interesting for international readers? - The government was formed after talks with the far-right Freedom Party had failed.

- Freedom Party plans to end public funding of the public broadcaster ORF (the "Austrian BBC") have been scrapped, though there will be financial cutbacks. - The government (for now) does not give up the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, which was set by the previous administration.

Friendly reminder because it is more important than ever: A 2021 survey of 90.000 (!) peer-reviewed articles found more than 99 percent agreement on human-caused climate change.

Being a citizen of Austria, the birthplace of Adolf Hitler, and having personally talked to survivors of the Nazi regime, I must emplore you: Stand up against this madness or it might be too late!

Being a citizen of Austria, the birthplace of Adolf Hitler, and having personally talked to survivors of the Nazi regime, I must emplore you: Stand up against this madness or it might be too late!

BREAKING NEWS: The negotiations of the Conservatives and the right-wing Freedom Party to form a coalition government in Austria have FAILED. Plans to role back climate legislation and to end independent funding of the public broadcaster ORF are halted for now. © C.Stadler/Bwag

The "Heartland Institute", a lobbying organization infamous for denying the overwhelming scientific consensus on manmade climate change, is getting a foothold in Europe - aided by Austrian politicians.

@nytimes.com climate alert: E.P.A. Tells More Than 1,000 They Could Be Fired ‘Immediately’ www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/c...

In the negotiations to form a coalition government in Austria, the right-wing Freedom party pushes to end public funding for the public broadcaster ORF (the Austrian equivalent to the BBC) and make it depend on the goodwill of the government. This petition aims to stop these dangerous plans:

In just one year (2024), China has newly installed more solar power capacity than the entire existing solar power capacity of the United States.

The Austrian right-wing Freedom Party (who is currently negotiating a coalition government with the Conservatives) is pushing to defund the public broadcaster ORF, the Austrian equivalent to the BBC. Journalists are asking politicians and civil society to stop the "destruction of the ORF":

“Homeowners’ insurance is where many Americans are now feeling the financial effect of climate change directly, in their pocketbook. Nature doesn’t really care whether people are living in a blue state or a red state or another state, or whether you do or don’t believe in climate change.”