Wildfires & Heat: France and Spain are battling record-breaking wildfires as a new heatwave looms, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee and firefighting stretched thin—fresh debate is also growing over whether Europe is prepared enough for climate-driven extremes. Marine Pollution & Regulation: A Swedish-led independent study finds biocide-free silicone antifouling boat paint performs best, while a “green” copper-free option still released biocides at thousands of times above acceptable levels—supporting calls to phase out high-copper coatings. Climate Risk & Food Security: El Niño is intensifying, raising the odds of drought or flooding across major farming regions, and analysts warn it could push food inflation higher—on top of war-linked supply shocks. Energy Transition & Industry: Europe faces high energy prices that are hollowing out industry, and the EU is urged to expand nuclear and renewables to keep power affordable for households and the AI boom. Sweden-linked Tech & Infrastructure: Sweden’s Chalmers researchers’ antifouling work adds to the policy pressure, while the EU’s AI “gigafactory” plan highlights a funding and chip-supply gap that could slow Europe’s compute ambitions.