The Eurasian Climate Brief

Vanishing before our eyes: the race to save the Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth. It is also facing an escalating environmental crisis that has seen its water levels fall by 2.5 meters ove

Melting giants: the history of glaciology across Central Asia

Melting glaciers are often regarded as icons of climate change. But how were they viewed in the early days of glaciology and, more specifically, climate change research?

Breathless in Bishkek: the struggle for clean air in a city contested by geography, urban development and climate change

The Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek ranks among the largest cities in all of Central Asia. Located close to the country's border with Kazakhstan, it lies just off the nort

Saving Balkhash: Kazakhstan's largest lake under threat from extractivism and climate change

Lake Balkhash is the 14th largest lake in the world and one of the largest in Asia. Its ecological importance is matched by the number of threats it has been facing for d

From Central Asia to the Amazon: preparing for COP30

Central Asia is among the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change. Already today, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are facin

From coal to clean? Renewable energy pioneers in Central Asia

Central Asia is among the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change. And while some of the Central Asian countries are heavily reliant on fossil fuels, there

Of trolleybuses and mountains: struggling for clean air in Kyrgyzstan and community empowerment in Tajikistan

Today, we are introducing you to two people at the forefront of activism and resistance to very concrete environmental issues in their home countries, Kyrgyzstan and Taji

Critical Raw Materials in Central Asia

The green transition aims to overcome fossil dependencies. But what about the materials required for renewable energy? And why are the EU and others actors so interested

After COP29: what's next for climate action?

The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) ended in late November in Baku. Two weeks of intense climate negotiations unveiled deep divides—particularly between the Glo

From Central Asia to COP29

This year's UN Climate Change Conference (COP29 in Baku) is just a few days away. Against armed conflicts around the world, geopolitical uncertainty and an accelerat

How one Bulgarian tycoon could get away with gaming the EU's carbon market

This week, the Eurasian Climate Brief team heads to the Balkans, Bulgaria, to look into the cracks of the European Union's carbon market (a.k.a., EU ETS). In July

Displaced: climate migration in Central Asia and beyond

Climate change affects almost all sectors of human societies and life. One underrated and underreported consequence of the climate crisis is taking so-called climate migr

After the ban: which way forward for Russia's climate activists?

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian civil society has faced increasing repression at home. The environmental movement is no exception. While they kept commun

Not a breath of fresh air: Pollution in Serbia

Air pollution has blighted Serbia for years. This is due to the country’s heavy reliance on coal, which in 2021 powered around 70% of its electricity.  Old diesel-powered

One year of full-scale war in Ukraine

It’s been a year since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has killed hundreds of thousands both sides included and displaced millions of Ukrainians

2022's top Eurasian climate stories in review

The Eurasian Climate Brief team gets together to look back on the top climate stories that have taken place during 2022 across Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Ce

COP27 wrap-up & the power of Ukrainian climate activism

A little more than two weeks after the end of COP27, the Eurasian Climate Brief team takes stock on what the summit in Sharm El-Cheikh has achieved, and where it fell sho

COP27: what's left of Russian climate action?

As COP27 draws to a close, we take another deep dive into the impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the climate negotiations and climate action at large. What were M

Countdown to COP27: the Eurasian delegations

Just a year ago, in the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, we published the first Eurasian Climate Brief episode. With this year's COP on the doorstep - this time in Sharm-

The state of renewables in Albania (and beyond)

The six Western Balkan countries are struggling to embrace the EU’s plan on green energy. Albania produces almost all its electricity from hydropower plants, but at what