Be more strident and ambitious, take on economic inequality, and progressive voters will reward you as they have the UK’s Greens
Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford
European Green parties have been through a phase of stagnation and crisis in recent years. Long gone seem the days of the “green wave” across Europe. Back in 2019, Green parties secured their best-ever result in the European parliament elections, with 74 seats. In the same year, Green parties also scored record results in Switzerland, Belgium and Austria. Shortly after, they were part of governing coalitions in Finland, Germany, Ireland and Austria.
But more recently, there has been much discussion of a “greenlash”: a backlash against climate policies and other green projects throughout Europe. Across the continent, Green parties dropped out of nearly all government coalitions, and these parties’ recent election results have often failed to meet expectations. With apparently declining enthusiasm for the climate movement, and the decreasing salience of climate breakdown at the ballot box, Green parties are debating how to turn their fortunes around.
Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford
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05/27/2026 - 23:00
05/27/2026 - 23:00
Global temperature record could be broken as soon as 2027, with El Niño expected later this year
A record-breaking hot year is almost certain by 2030 as the climate crisis intensifies, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has warned.
With an El Niño event expected later this year, the global temperature record could fall as soon as 2027.
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05/27/2026 - 10:36
Nature groups urge people to avoid unauthorised areas to protect birds during nesting season
Nature groups have pleaded with swimmers to give wildlife a wide berth after dozens of people swam in a nature pond on Hampstead Heath among nests of baby birds.
Swans and their 12-day-old cygnets were disturbed by hordes of splashing revellers in the north London park on Monday as London reached record 35C temperatures. In one video, a swan was seen poking an unhatched egg with its beak after it fell into the water during the chaos.
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05/27/2026 - 08:50
Of 11 seasonal items in Guardian price comparison, six hit highest price in last three months, with some nearly doubling in price in last week
The heatwave has triggered a surge in prices for seasonal items, with the cost of one inflatable hot tub nearly doubling in a week, while an industry expert said air conditioning units have risen by about 17% since April.
The Guardian looked at the cost of popular items across a range of websites and examined their price on PriceRunner, an independent price comparison service. One of the biggest price increases was for the Bestway inflatable hot tub Lay-Z-Spa Cancún AirJet, which was available for £160 on 21 May but now retails for a minimum of £299.
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05/27/2026 - 06:30
More Americans are using small solar panels in their back yards or balconies as a clean way to cut their electric bills
If you feel like your electricity bill just keeps climbing, you aren’t imagining it. Since 2020, US residential energy prices have surged by about 30%, making power the largest household energy expense behind gasoline, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
But for residents like Alex Curtis, the days of feeling powerless against rising costs are coming to an end. Curtis is waging a war on his electric bill, and his new weapon of choice is a lightweight, thin-film solar panel.
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05/27/2026 - 05:17
The rock shelter was destroyed by contractors building transmission lines for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone
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Indigenous community members have described their shock and anger after an Aboriginal rock shelter was “damaged beyond recovery” by contractors building transmission lines for a New South Wales renewable energy zone.
The heritage site was destroyed by bulldozers in March during the construction of access tracks for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone, a transmission line project located about 300km north-west of Sydney.
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05/27/2026 - 04:35
Invasive vermin decimated the island’s native flora and fauna – but its unique cockroaches and beetles are thriving once again
In the summer months, Lord Howe Island’s unique stag beetle, with wing cases that appear forged from iridescent green metal, fly around the ancient tree tops looking for a mate.
“That’s really something wonderful,” said Ian Hutton, a naturalist and nature guide on the World Heritage-listed island.
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05/27/2026 - 03:00
Calaminarian grassland is a rare habitat where plants thrive in soils contaminated by heavy metals. But should these toxic meadows be protected or allowed to fade away?
At first, the small purple flowers are hard to spot in the weak May sunshine. Slowly the drifts of delicate mountain pansies, along with the white rosettes of alpine pennycress, begin to jump out, scattered across an area little bigger than a football pitch, on the banks of the River Allen in Northumberland.
This is a pocket of calaminarian grassland, an increasingly rare habitat where specialist plants called metallophytes have adapted to live in soils deeply contaminated by heavy metals, the legacy of more than 1,000 years of lead mining.
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05/27/2026 - 01:32
New research suggests Earth’s climate can swing wildly on surprisingly short timescales — even during hot, ice-free greenhouse periods. By studying ancient sediments from the Late Cretaceous, scientists uncovered repeating climate shifts tied to tiny changes in Earth’s orbital wobble. These cycles may have repeatedly pushed the planet between humid and arid states every few thousand years.
05/27/2026 - 01:08
Everyone loves dingoes and if they don’t they should
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