Tag: climate

Now that a budget deal has been brokered between EU heads of states and governments, NGOs intend to be uncompromising in tracking the spending decisions at national level, writes Markus Trilling .

Where the EU has otherwise been a trendsetter in international negotiations, it is most unfortunate that even California seems to have outpaced the EU on the balanced and equal integration of developing world forests into the carbon trading framework, argue David Ellison, Hans Petersson and Mattias Lundblad.

The "greenest Olympics ever" could have been a great deal greener than they will be, says a critical new report that finds fault with the handling of the Games' environmental impact.

Earmarking too large a chunk of the European Union’s cohesion funds for environmental projects in the 2014-2020 budget could be "detrimental", MEPs said.

The European Parliament must take into account the effects of climate change in the developing world and vote for deeper emissions cuts, argues Chris Bain.

Delegates from 193 nations are struggling to strike a deal on steps to fight global warming before the UN Cancún climate conference's scheduled deadline of Friday 10 December. If they fail, it will herald a damaging setback for the multilateral process after the Copenhagen summit ended in disarray last year.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) warned on Wednesday (1 December) that global efforts to address climate change are destined to fail unless local and regional authorities are given a greater role.

More investments in energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies, more jobs, better health, some regained climate leadership on a global level and an increased chance of keeping global temperature rises below 2°C by the end of the century are among the reasons why the EU should adopt a target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2020, writes Stephen Boucher, programme director for EU climate policies, in an exclusive commentary for EurActiv to mark the beginning of the Cancún climate negotiations. 

As the prospects for swift closure of a global climate treaty cloud over, bilateral agreements to cut greenhouse gas emissions are gaining traction. But experts warn they are no replacement for an international treaty.

Although the EU has been the driving force behind the 'two-degree target' in the global climate debate, it should scrap this goal and instead advocate more flexible benchmarks, writes Oliver Geden, senior research fellow at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), in an opinion piece sent exclusively to EurActiv.

The incoming Slovak government will have to define national targets based on the EU's 20/20/20 climate and energy goals. A clear national climate strategy is lacking so far, as is the clear attribution of primary institutional responsibility in this area. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

Bulgaria, the country with the most energy-intensive economy in the European Union, would benefit from aligning itself with the 'Europe 2020' targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and boosting renewable energies, as inevitably the measures introduced would boost competitiveness, experts said. Dnevnik, EurActiv's partner in Bulgaria, reports.

Leaders did not deliver an international agreement in Copenhagen and the US is dragging its feet on a climate bill, but all is not lost as positive action on reducing carbon emissions is developing quickly and we are rapidly approaching the climate-energy tipping point, American climate guru Lester Brown told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

EU environment ministers are meeting today (15 March) to debate their strategy for international climate negotiations, but no consensus is emerging about whether the EU should raise its target for greenhouse gas emission reductions for 2020.

While the EU has decided to stick to its pledge of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, other countries are struggling to come up with targets and policy actions by the end-January deadline set by the UN to fulfil the Copenhagen Accord, as the chances of securing a legally-binding agreement by the end of the year recede further.

The European Union is unlikely to raise its commitment to cut carbon emissions by 30% from the current 20% until other countries show greater willingness to follow suit, ministers said on Saturday (16 January).

As world diplomats struggle to hammer out a climate agreement in Copenhagen, former senior EU negotiator on the Kyoto Protocol Jørgen Knud Henningsen told EurActiv in an interview that the debate on targets is ill-fated. He said leaders would be better off concentrating on the 1992 UN convention ratified by the US and devising policies to achieve the long-term goal of cutting C02 emissions by 80% before 2050. 

Climate action is not about the environment, but about building a new economic order, the vice-chair of the European Parliament's delegation in Copenhagen, Karl-Heinz Florenz MEP, told EurActiv in an interview, arguing that the investments of today will be the growth of tomorrow and trigger a sustainable development revolution.

With nearly 200 nations having begun climate talks in Copenhagen, a genuine global regulatory framework is required to create a level playing field for businesses seeking to slash their emissions and move towards a low-carbon future, Giuseppe Montesano, head of environmental policy at Italian power company Enel, told EurActiv in an interview.

While EU leaders are expected to agree on immediate action to provide financial support for developing countries in Brussels today (11 December), in Copenhagen billionaire investor George Soros has unveiled a plan to provide up to 150 billion dollars for poor countries to access clean technologies.

A row in Copenhagen widened divisions between developed and developing countries yesterday (8 December) over a leaked document spelling out details of a political agreement which is reportedly seen as setting unequal limits per capita carbon emissions between rich and poor countries. But negotiators called for order and a focus on the essentials.

Setting a clear timetable for delivering a comprehensive, legally-binding climate treaty by mid-2010 is a must, the EU's Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told EurActiv in an interview.

Long-awaited international talks kick off today (7 December) in Copenhagen, with negotiators from 192 countries meeting to hammer out a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change.