European countries should prepare for a far-reaching debate on the “profound lifestyle changes” required to limit climate change, according to a leaked European commission document.

The commission will tell foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday that a Europe-wide debate is needed on how to limit global warming to 1.5C, according to a staff working document for ministers seen by the Guardian.

Former French foreign minister Laurent Fabius will step down as president of COP21, the U.N.'s climate forum, after being appointed head of France's constitutional court, according to a resignation letter seen by Agence France Presse.

Fabius wrote on Monday to President Francois Hollande "to tender (his) resignation" as head of COP21, during which he helped to steer the troubled U.N. climate talks to a successful conclusion in Paris last December.

In freezing President Barack Obama's plan to tackle carbon emissions, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to a global climate deal - but experts say that U.S. commitments to the deal will survive.

Obama's "Clean Power Plan" would require the power sector to cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 32 percent compared to 2005 levels by the year 2030.

EasyJet has unveiled plans to use hydrogen fuel cells on its aircraft to save up to 50,000 tonnes of fuel a year and cut its carbon emissions.

The airline hopes to trial technology later this year that would allow planes to taxi to and from the runway using zero-emissions fuel.

Copenhagen’s mayor has announced plans to divest the city’s 6.9bn kroner (£700m) investment fund of all holdings in coal, oil and gas.

If his proposal is approved at a finance committee meeting next Tuesday, as expected, the Danish capital will become the country’s first investment fund to sell its stocks and bonds in fossil fuels.

As state water regulators consider extending drought restrictions though the fall, officials reported Tuesday that urban Californians had reduced their water use by 18.3% during December.

The savings, which are compared with December 2013 water usage levels, were the smallest in seven months of reporting and put California’s cumulative savings at 25.5%, down from 26.3% in November.

Barack Obama called on Congress to double funding for clean energy research on Saturday, using his final budget request – and one of the last high-profile moments of his presidency – to push for action against climate change.

The president said his final budget on Tuesday would propose doubling clean energy research spending from $6.4bn to $12.8bn by 2020.

In western Massachusetts sits a small liberal arts college doing big things in the way of sustainability.

Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., will soon be home to a "living building" and the only residential college generating 100 percent of its electricity from solar panels.

Experts have reached an agreement marking the first step towards the adoption of long sought-after carbon emissions norms for civil aircraft, a U.N. group said on Tuesday.

The planned measure, which wraps up six years of negotiations, would apply to new aircraft models from 2020, the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said in a statement.

Morocco’s king will switch on the first phase of a concentrated solar power plant on Thursday that will become the world’s largest when completed.

The power station on the edge of the Saharan desert will be the size of the country’s capital city by the time it is finished in 2018, and provide electricity for 1.1 million people.