The value of European fossil infrastructure protected by the Energy Charter Treaty is almost €345 billion, says research by Nico Schmidt and Oliver Moldenhauer at Investigate Europe. Lawsuits, allowed by the treaty, are likely to prevent states from adopting ambitious climate policies.

Italy is putting many eggs in the hydrogen basket to decarbonise its heavy industry, including its prized steel sector. Authorities dream of converted hydrogen steel plants and “hydrogen valleys” dotted across the country. But while attention is focussed on whether hydrogen can solve Italy’s problems, other key ingredients to make the hydrogen green are being ignored.

The state of the environment in Europe is negatively affecting the health and quality of life of its citizens, EEA latest report shows. Data produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that there were 630,000 deaths attributable to the environmental factors in the EU in 2012.

In her novel Sur, the author Ursula K. Le Guin imagines an expedition to the South Pole by a group of South American women. The subtitle specifies that it’s A Summary Report of the Yelcho Expedition to the Antarctic, 1909–1910, written to be kept in a trunk in the attic and be found by the narrator’s grandchildren - just like an old buccaneer’s diary. Le Guin used her works of speculative fiction to ironically criticise and then undo both misogyny and colonialism.

Pictures of clean Venice canals, dolphins in Cagliari and swans in Milan were all around the internet last week and - many argued - were signs of nature healing itself when people are not around. While air is undoubtedly less polluted because of a drop in greenhouse gases’ emissions, the impact of self-isolation on the environment is less than thought.

Deforestation, intensive agriculture and rising urbanisation are all putting intense pressure on the Earth’s natural resources and resilience to climate change. But how exactly does the way we use land need to change if we are to take care of the planet and provide enough food and resources to sustain a growing population?