Hybrid cars are a regular sight on European roads today. Sitting between internal combustion engines and fully electric vehicles, they run on fuel for some of the journey and electricity for the rest. That concept might be about to shake up the aviation industry. Aviation accounts for around 2.5% of global carbon emissions,
In the village of Suonenjoki, the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) stands surrounded by a forest of pine trees. The local soils are not fertile and pine is pretty much the only species that can grow there. But in a nursery on campus, where young trees are grown from seed before being planted,
In September 2026, naval architect Thomas Koch is bringing his firm’s virtual shipyard to a maritime trade fair in Hamburg, Germany. The virtual shipyard is a digital replica that tracks shipbuilding progress in real time and can suggest improvements that save money and energy. Such tools are badly needed as European shipbuilding struggles to keep up with
What if schools could do more than teach sustainability? What if they could test it, measure it and experience it in real time? Across Europe, students and teachers have been turning classrooms into small-scale laboratories for environmental change. Over the past four years, schools and universities in Finland, Portugal, Romania and Spain trialled more
Strolling through a forest, you may notice that the air is filled with sound. Birds sing, insects and small mammals rustle through the undergrowth, and at dusk bats squeak as they communicate with each other. These soundscapes contain a wealth of information about which animals are present, how many there are and how healthy an
Ph. Severe flooding hit the town of Czechowice-Dziedzice, Southern Poland, in September 2024. Ela73/Shutterstock Clotilde Cerdan Amiard, IE University As climate change makes extreme weather events more intense and frequent, “uninsurable areas” are becoming increasingly common. They are a clear demonstration that insurance – the mechanism through which modern societies deal with all
Soils feed us, filter our water and support most of the food chain on Earth. But they are also among Europe’s most neglected resources –quietly degrading beneath our feet while we look elsewhere. Andrés Rodríguez Seijo from the University of Vigo in Spain is one of the researchers working to change that. He
In Ranerou, north-east Senegal, locals and environmental experts are working side by side to improve livelihoods and farming conditions, and protect the region’s biodiversity. They are planting and managing trees to improve soil quality and excavating and reinforcing a local pond to help it hold more rainwater. The work is taking place at
Visitors to Utrecht’s Wilhelmina Park in the summer of 2023 may have come across an unusual sight: volunteers on stationary exercise bikes, cycling for science. The bikes were set up in different parts of the park – in its centre, beside a busy road and at a traffic junction where cars constantly stopped
Ph. Male sylvan chameleon (Nadzikambia goodallae) from Mount Ribáuè, Mozambique. Krystal Tolley, CC BY Krystal Tolley, University of Johannesburg Tropical rainforests are known for their unique biodiversity, with species found nowhere else on Earth. But nearly 30% of tropical rainforest has been destroyed or has become seriously degraded since 1990. Many of these