Arthur Neslen
Europe’s halogen lightbulb ban looms large
After nearly 60 years of brightening our homes and streets, halogen lightbulbs will finally be banned across Europe on 1 September. EURACTIV’s partner The Guardian reports.
Banker: ‘Massive positive change’ underway for building renovation
The energy performance contract model can turn energy efficiency renovation of buildings into a truly popular policy objective among politicians in Central and Eastern Europe because it can be done without any use of public money and has no impact on public debt, says Ivan Lesay.
Romania breaks up alleged €25m illegal logging ring
Romania’s security forces have mounted a series of raids to break up an alleged €25m illegal logging ring, in what is believed to be the largest operation of its kind yet seen in Europe. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
Dutch government appeals against court ruling over emissions cuts
The Dutch government has launched a bid to overturn a landmark climate ruling, arguing that judges in The Hague “sidelined democracy” when they ordered a 25% cut in carbon emissions by 2020. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
Balearics launch pioneering plan to phase out emissions
The Balearic islands’ government has launched a pioneering plan to phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, potentially setting itself on a collision course with the Spanish government. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.
Solar industry says EU tariffs on Chinese imports will raise panel prices
Europe’s solar industry has condemned an EU vote to impose another round of duties on Chinese imports, just weeks before a US trade panel is due to rule on similar tariffs. EURACTIV’s partner The Guardian reports.
The end of coal: EU energy companies pledge no new plants from 2020
Companies from every EU nation except Poland and Greece sign up to initiative in bid to meet Paris pledges and limit effects of climate change. A report from EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian.
EU stalls pledge to carry out independent checks on car emissions
Plans for independent checks of how much pollution new cars emit are being killed off by EU member states, according to leaked documents seen by EURACTIV's partner The Guardian.
Protected forests in Europe felled to meet EU renewable targets – report
Protected forests are being indiscriminately felled across Europe to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets, according to an investigation by the conservation group Birdlife.
Renewables could lose European power grid priority, documents reveal
Windfarms and solar power could soon lose the privilege of getting priority over other energy sources on European electricity grids, leaked documents show.
Petrol cars allowed to exceed pollution limits by 50% under draft EU laws
New European cars with petrol engines will be allowed to overshoot a limit on toxic particulates emissions by 50% under a draft EU regulation backed by the UK and most other EU states. Our partner The Guardian reports.
VW and Shell accused of trying to block EU push for electric cars
VW and Shell have been accused of trying to block Europe’s push for electric cars and more efficient cars, by saying biofuels should be at heart of efforts to green the industry instead.
TTIP: Chevron lobbied for controversial legal right as ‘environmental deterrent’
Chevron lobbied the EU to give foreign investors the legal right to challenge government decisions in a major US-EU trade deal because it would act as a deterrent against laws such as fracking bans, the Guardian can reveal.
EU’s ban on inefficient toasters delayed to avoid pro-Brexit press attack
The EU has put plans to regulate inefficient kettles and toasters into cold storage amid fears in Brussels that they could galvanise support for the leave campaign in the UK’s 23 June referendum.
Germany leads Europe in offshore wind energy growth
Germany has overtaken the UK in the rate at which it is installing wind turbines at sea, industry figures show. Globally, wind installations grew by 25% in 2014, reaching a landmark 62,000 MW of capacity, according to a separate report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
Europe lags behind US in tackling CO2 emissions from planes
Europe is calling for a considerably less ambitious carbon emissions standard for airplanes than the US in a new global push to reduce aviation’s contribution to climate change.
TTIP talks: EU alleged to have given ExxonMobil access to confidential strategies
The EU appears to have given the US oil company ExxonMobil access to confidential negotiating strategies considered too sensitive to be released to the European public during its negotiations with the US on the trade agreement TTIP, documents reveal.
Paris climate deal must be legally binding, EU tells John Kerry
The EU has warned the Obama Administration that a global climate deal at the Paris summit must be legally binding, after the US secretary of state John Kerry said that it “definitively” would not be a treaty.
Carmakers urge EU to delay new emissions limits by a year
European carmakers have lobbied behind the scenes in Brussels for a one-year delay to the introduction of planned EU limits on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, despite public uproar at the VW rigging scandal.
Samsung TVs appear more energy efficient in tests than in real life
Independent lab tests have found that some Samsung TVs in Europe appear to use less energy during official testing conditions than they do during real-world use, raising questions about whether they are set up to game energy efficiency tests.
Europe strengthens ban on seal products after WTO challenge
MEPs voted to tighten a ban on seal products on Tuesday (8 September), in a move that campaigners say will protect millions of seals from commercial slaughter. The vote in Strasbourg brings an existing EU embargo into line with WTO rules. The Guardian reports.
Kyoto protocol’s carbon credit scheme ‘increased emissions by 600m tonnes’
A key carbon offsetting scheme was so open to abuse that three quarters of its allowances lacked environmental integrity, a new report says.
UK lobbying for even weaker EU air pollution laws, leaked papers show
Leaked documents show the UK is pushing for watered-down EU air pollution laws to be weakened further, arguing they would cause pit closures leading to substantial job losses and the need to import coal.