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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

(portmanteau noun) the backlash against environmental policies. Not to be confused with greenwashing, green hushing or green wishing

It seems it was only yesterday that green policies were on the march. If it wasn’t the US passing the biggest climate law in the country’s history, it was the EU legislating for the world’s first major carbon border tax or the UK pledging to end sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. 

Green progress was especially notable in Europe. By 2022, the EU’s renewable power generation had boomed so much that solar and wind overtook gas for the first time. EU emissions plunged 8 per cent in 2023, the steepest annual fall in decades outside of 2020.

But as climate promises were becoming a reality, inflation was spurring cost of living anxieties. Net zero-sceptic populist parties seized on these to denounce green policies as a costly elitist plot against working people. 

As 2023 turned into 2024, the green march began to stumble. Companies backed away from green targets. Germany watered down a contentious heat pump law that had helped to push the far-right AFD party’s poll numbers above 20 per cent. Brussels scrapped a plan to halve pesticide use. Green parties were hammered in June’s European parliament elections.  

In the UK, the former Conservative government pushed back the ban on new petrol and diesel cars to 2035. 

Yet the Conservatives still suffered a crushing election loss to the Labour party, which pledged to restore the 2030 target and is still committed to an ambitious decarbonisation agenda. 

That’s a reminder that the greenlash has limits, as does China’s remorseless charge towards green energy supremacy. But with an incoming Trump administration expected to reverse climate policies, and populism showing no sign of easing in Europe, it is clear that fraught green politics are by no means at an end.

pilita.clark@ft.com

Putin Aide Suggests Punishing Europe Over Its ‘Bloodthirsty Policies’ Against Russia | Ukraine War

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for decisive action against Europe, accusing it of “anti-Russian” policies and advocating political, economic, and hybrid measures to punish European nations aligned with the U.S. His remarks came after a Norwegian ship allegedly refused to rescue Russian sailors following the sinking of a Russian freighter, exacerbating tensions. Medvedev also suggested fostering internal instability within Europe and labeled its policies as deceitful, brainless, and bloodthirsty.

253 views | 13 hours ago

The Food and Drug Administration has classified its recall of eggs sold under Costco’s Kirkland brand as a Class I recall, a designation reserved for instances of the highest potential health risk — including death.

A Class I recall signals that “there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death,” according to the FDA. 

The agency announced the voluntary recall on Nov. 27 and posted news of the Class I designation on Dec. 20; it has not provided updates about whether any possible illnesses or medical cases related to the recall. Neither the agency nor Costco responded to NPR’s messages for comment on Friday.

The eggs were voluntarily recalled by Handsome Brook Farms, which is headquartered in New York. The recall covers 10,800 packages of 24-count eggs, sold under the Kirkland Signature brand name and described as organic and pasture-raised.

The products were sent to 25 Costco stores in five states: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The recall applies to products with a UPC code of 9661910680 that also have the Julian code 327 and a use-by date of Jan 5, 2025.

“Eggs from a positive Salmonella environment were shipped into distribution to retail facilities,” according to the FDA. Handsome Brook Farms said the eggs hadn’t been intended for retail sales — but were mistakenly packaged and distributed.

“Additional supply chain controls and retraining are being put in place to prevent recurrence,” the recall notice states.

The FDA also placed the Class I designation on a recall of cucumbers due to possible salmonella contamination that, as with the eggs, was also announced in late November.

It’s not unusual for salmonella to trigger a Class 1 recall: The bacteria is “the biggest cause of hospitalization and death in our food system,” Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told NPR’s 1A program in September.

Every year, salmonella causes “about 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths” in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.

Symptoms such as diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps can take time to manifest, appearing days or even weeks after the initial infection. Most people usually feel better after four to seven days, but in rare circumstances, salmonella can reach the bloodstream and affect other parts of the body, the CDC says.