Each year Europe wastes millions of tonnes of valuable metals by landfilling or exporting them. How can policy measures increase the recovery of these materials?
The green economy usually brings to mind traditional renewable materials such as wood, biomass, water and earth. Less likely poster children are the big metals that have formed the backbone of the industrial revolution – steel, copper, iron, tin and aluminium.
As excitement builds about the opportunities of the new green economy, concerns are growing as well. The economic transition will require new grid infrastructure, new distribution models and, perhaps most importantly, more raw materials, says Kornelis Blok.
Vanadium, borate, bismuth, gallium – they may sound like planets from a science fiction movie, but in fact they are some of the most critical elements of the European Union’s economy.
The patchwork of measures to fight air pollution currently in place across European cities is not only inefficient but sometimes counter-productive, said participants at a EURACTIV event on Tuesday (26 June).
The use of palm oil as fuel should disappear in Europe by 2030 under a reform of the bloc’s renewable energy laws agreed this morning after all-night negotiations.
Talks on renewable energy policy in Europe reached un unexpected breakthrough early this morning after negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states were able to reach a compromise on a 32% headline objective and a complete phase out of palm oil use in transport by 2030.
The degree to which member state positions on the EU’s clean energy package have shifted was on display on Monday (11 June) when energy ministers met for a council meeting in Luxembourg. EURACTIV brings you a video compilation from the public debate.
The European Commission’s proposal for new car CO2 limits left many disappointed. But a spate of new governments in Europe – and shifting positions in Berlin – means those who want higher targets and an electric vehicle mandate have everything to play for.
The automotive industry is warning that an EU proposal set to be adopted on Wednesday (16 May) does not give enough lead time before limits will be required. But the US and China have had limits in place for several years.
The European Commission is looking at different types of fiscal incentives to increase demand for recycled plastics, which are currently more costly than virgin materials, Jyrki Katainen told EURACTIV in an interview.
The EU is losing 95% of the value of the plastics it produces. But the European Commission has a strategy to make plastic packaging more sustainable, both environmentally and economically.
EU national governments say harbouring dodgy money is wrong - unless you’re European. After months of intense negotiations, the 28 EU finance ministers finally published their much-awaited blacklist of tax havens this week. And it landed like a damp squib.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the 28 member states have agreed a deal for EU oversight of national car approval authorities to prevent another Dieselgate scandal, despite resistance from Germany.
Despite German opposition, member states have consented to letting Brussels oversee their national car authorities to avoid another Dieselgate. But the oversight could be very light.
Under new leadership since last year, industry association Eurelectic has committed to making European power generation carbon neutral well before 2050. But getting agreement within the group remains difficult.
Lawmakers will vote on Thursday (7 December) on a new energy regime that is meant to ensure the European Union meets its Paris Agreement goals. But much disagreement remains.
The European Parliament says the EU’s proposed 2030 target for renewable energy needs to be raised in order to speed up deployment early in the next decade. But EU member states have a different idea.
The European Commission is on track to miss its target of decreasing cancer deaths by 15% by 2020. But a focus on thrombosis, the subject of a global awareness campaign today, could turn things around.
