Volvo Cars to buy out Northvolt from jointly owned gigafactory in Sweden

Plans are further blow to Europeโ€™s hopes of creating a homegrown electric car batteryVolvo Cars plans to buy out the struggling battery maker Northvolt from their jointly owned gigafactory in Sweden in another blow to Europeโ€™s hopes of creating a homeg…

Consumers embrace Irelandโ€™s first bottle deposit return scheme

Since February, 630m empty cans and bottles have been deposited at reverse vending machinesAfter initial consumer confusion and irritation, Irelandโ€™s first ever bottle deposit return scheme has finally been embraced by the public, with 111m containers …

About 500,000 trees cut down at site of Tesla gigafactory near Berlin

Satellite image analysis shows 329 hectares of forest cleared during development of factory in GermanyThe development of a Tesla gigafactory near Berlin has resulted in about 500,000 trees being felled, according to satellite analysis.The building of t…

The EUโ€™s โ€˜right to repairโ€™ rule is truly radical โ€“ British builders should copy it wholesale |

The construction sector accounts for 62% of waste: that could be drastically cut if we chose refurbishment over demolitionMy first phone was a Nokia 3210, a cute grey brick with just enough computing power to run Snake. Compared with todayโ€™s sleek 5G t…

Why Elon Musk is right โ€“ once-booming electric car sales are starting to stall

EV sales have plateaued economic headwinds and weaker state subsidies but the glut might just be a temporary rutElon Musk became the worldโ€™s richest man by evangelising about electric cars โ€“ and delivering them by the million. Yet in recent months his …

How did Norway become the electric car superpower? Oil money, civil disobedience โ€“ and Morten from a-ha

More than 90% of new cars sold in Norway are electric. And it all started with some pop stars driving around in a jerry-rigged Fiat PandaIโ€™m kneeling on the snow outside the kingโ€™s house, impersonating a 1980s heart-throb, with a man named Harald and a…

Leftwing group claim responsibility for Tesla factory arson attack in Berlin

Vulkan activist group release 2,500 word letter claiming it set fire to pylon at factory that produces half a million electric cars a yearLeftwing extremists have claimed responsibility for a dawn arson attack on an electricity pylon at the Tesla car f…

Environmentally friendly heat pumps hit slump in Europe, says lobby group

Sales fell 5% over 14 countries for which data exists, according to the European Heat Pump AssociationEuropeโ€™s heat pump market has hit a slump, industry data shows, holding up the continentโ€™s efforts to heat its homes without polluting the planet.Manu…

Retailers to pay for consumersโ€™ e-waste recycling from 2026 under UK plans

Households will be able to drop off cables and other electrical waste in-store or have home collections, says DefraBritish households will benefit from improved routes for recycling electronic goods from 2026, under government plans to have producers a…

Is it right to be worried about getting stranded in an electric car?

In part three of our series exploring myths surrounding EVs, we look at range anxiety and concerns about the charging networkDo electric cars pose a greater fire risk than petrol or diesel vehicles?How problematic is mineral mining for electric cars?Of…

Ukraine war has marked a turning point in Europeโ€™s gas consumption, says IEA

Global energy watchdog says Russia cutting supplies has prompted efficiency upgrades and move to heat pumpsThe Ukraine crisis has marked a turning point for Europeโ€™s gas consumption, which is expected to fall again this year as homes and firms embrace …

โ€˜The missing linkโ€™: is textile recycling the answer to fashionโ€™s waste crisis?

Millions of tonnes of T-shirts and dresses are dumped or burned every year. Turning old clothes into new ones is possible โ€“ the question is whether it is a realistic solutionThe sun is always shining in the Swedish seaside town of Sundsvall, according …

The zero-waste city: what Kiel in Germany can teach the world

When it comes to recycling, Kiel has pulled ahead of the crowd, with its ban on single-use items, plans for leftover meals and innovative ideas for discarded human hairThe hair that drops in clumps on the floors of some salons in Kiel, a port city in n…

Stitch in time: France to help pay for clothes to be mended to cut waste

People will be able to claim back โ‚ฌ6-โ‚ฌ25 of cost of repairing clothes and shoes in latest environmental measureA broken heel, a rip in trousers, buttons missing from a shirt? Donโ€™t throw them away if you live in France, where the government will pay a …

Brexit โ€˜cliff edgeโ€™ poses threat to UK electric car production, warns industry chief

Head of SMMT raises concerns over tightening of trade rules from January on vehicles exported from UK to EUThe growth of electric car production in Britain is under threat from a Brexit โ€œcliff edgeโ€ in January unless the EU agrees to delay new trade ru…