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Miriam Goebbels RWE (DW/G. Rueter)

Dealing with Germany's brown coal phaseout

As Germany's coal commission and Chancellor Angela Merkel mull over a strategy for the country's exit from coal, DW's Gero Rueter visits the Rhineland region to meet those whose livelihoods could be on the line.  

A U.S. worker inspects a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall

How Trump's wall endangers wildlife

Donald Trump's "big, beautiful wall" will prevent endangered wildlife from roaming crossborder habitats.  

Our environment in pictures
  • Windmills and a green field in front of expansive sky

    Starting off the year with good news

    Renewables taking over

    Last year marked the first in which renewables surpassed coal as Germany's main energy source. They accounted for more than 40 percent of the country's 2018 electricity production. The nation plans to increase that share to 65 percent in 2030.

  • A woman checks out at a grocery store with plastic bags

    Starting off the year with good news

    A check on single-use plastics

    South Korea is the most recent nation to join a growing list of countries (including China, France, Kenya and Australia) ruling out single-use plastic bags. Supermarkets there are now banned from using them, and violation of the new regulations will result in fines.

  • Electric car charging in Norway

    Starting off the year with good news

    More (electric) cars on the road

    Norway, which is home to Europe's 2019 eco capital, Oslo, has recorded an increase in e-car sales. A third of new cars registered in the country last year were electric. Tax exemptions and free parking are believed to be fueling the growing popularity of such vehicles.

  • Washing machine overflowing with suds

    Starting off the year with good news

    The right to repair

    European environment ministers have proposed a series of rules to force manufacturers to make goods that are easier to fix and that last longer. In the US, 18 states are considering similar laws to tackle the planned obsolescence that many companies build into their products.

  • North Atlantic right whale on the surface of the water, showing its baleen

    Starting off the year with good news

    Making things right for whales

    News that no North Atlantic right whales were killed in Canadian waters in 2018 was welcomed by those working to protect the endangered species. The previous year, in which 12 of the marine animals were slaughtered, was the deadliest ever recorded for the species. Today, their population hovers around 400.

  • Styrofoam coffee cups

    Starting off the year with good news

    No more (Styro)foam with your cappuccino

    As of the first of the year, plastic-foam products such as cups, packing peanuts, and food containers are banned in New York City. From July 1, anyone flouting the new regulations, which were originally proposed in 2013, will face a fine.

    Author: Sam Baker


Bluefin tuna: A delicacy in peril

8 species on the brink in 2019

Climate change hits the Bavarian Alps

Watch eco africa
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02:41 mins.

Growth of urban farming systems in Nigeria

As desertification and soil erosion have damaged arable land, could hydroponic farming be a sustainable alternative?  

More videos

DW Eco Africa - Urban farming in Nigeria

Growth of urban farming systems in Nigeria

DW Eco Africa - e-mobility in Germany

Are e-trucks the future of transport in German cities?

DW Eco Africa - Senegalese disappearing town

The Senegalese town on the verge of disappearance

DW Eco Africa - Art in Ghana's classrooms

Ghana's youth get creative in tackling air pollution

Our energy sources
Modern electricity-producing windmill in Germany silhouetted against the sun (picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte)

Renewables beat coal as Germany's power source

Although Germany now gets 40 percent of its electricity from "green" energy sources, it still might not be enough.  

All creatures great and small
Bison looking into the camera

Return of the American buffalo

Native Americans are giving wild bison space to roam the prairie once again.  

Listen to Living Planet
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10:37 mins.

Living Planet podcast

Argentina's power struggles

Argentina’s energy strategy relies on a major expansion of shale gas and oil drilling and the government hopes that it can raise natural gas production from 130 million cubic meters a day to 260 million, supplying the country and providing gas to export. Will this compromise Argentina's commitment towards the environment?  

More audios

Fracking in Patagonien, Argentinien (Observatorio Petrolero Sur)

Argentina's power struggles

Insekten für die menschliche Ernährung (Getty Images/AFP/P. Kittiwongsakul)

Insects as a climate friendly alternative to meat?

Farming cucumbers in Israel

Saving water in Israel

The Debed Canyon in Armenia

Organic farming, a hope for Armenia?

Statue on the Siegessäule in Berlin with a breathing mask

Personal climate action in Berlin

A group of medical students take part in a performance at COP24 in Poland

Could focusing on health help fight climate change?

Rentiere (picture-alliance/blickwinkel/M. Woike)

How is climate change affecting reindeer?

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Our land and how we use it
Wild tea in Thailand

Saving Thai forests with wild tea

Wild Miang tea trees, the forerunner of plantation tea, taste great and could help foster biodiversity.  

Positive impact
Trash is strewn across a beach in Honduras

Do beach clean-ups really make a difference?

Some experts warn that removing trash from the environment doesn't get to the root of the problem.  

Watch eco india
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05:17 mins.

Saving Delhi's birds of prey

A Delhi bird shelter where injured birds of prey are treated and nursed back to health.  

More videos

DW EcoIndia Sendung 12 (DW)

Saving Delhi's birds of prey

DW EcoIndia Sendung 12 (DW)

Plantable paper and pencils

DW EcoIndia Sendung 12 (DW)

Indian entrepreneurs fight the waste crisis

DW EcoIndia Sendung 12 (DW)

Sheep dung: Fertilizing Rajasthan's fields

EcoIndia 11 (DW)

Designed for durability

EcoIndia 11 (DW)

Why the grass is always greener…