The Brief, powered by FACEBOOK – Different shades of green

COVID has taken many casualties over the last 14 months, one of them being international summitry. Still, the groundwork for the COP26 climate summit is slowly grinding into motion ahead of November’s gathering in Glasgow.

Spanish parliament approves clean energy bill

The Spanish parliament approved a clean energy bill on Thursday (13 May), aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in line with EU-level ambition and banning the sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2040.

EU confirms carbon market permit surplus grew in 2020

The amount of permits in circulation in Europe's carbon market increased last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused emissions covered by the scheme to drop, the European Commission said on Wednesday (12 May).

Can the European Green Deal solve Bulgaria’s demographic crisis?

Bulgaria could take advantage of financing available under the EU Green Deal to solve the most pressing challenge the country is currently faced with – the demographic crisis. But is it really that simple? EURACTIV Bulgaria discussed the issue with leading economist Krassen Stanchev.

US raises concerns over Europe’s planned carbon ‘border tax’

Implementing a border levy to price carbon-intensive imports and protect European industries will be “extremely complicated,” warned Jonathan Pershing, a member of the US climate envoy’s team.

Natural gas bashing is trendy, but is it constructive?

Surely, natural gas, too, will have to be phased out over time, so why not skip this phase and move straight to wind and solar? The idea sounds enticing, but upon closer examination, it is counterproductive if not self-defeating, argues Olga Bielkova.

Dutch government grants €2 billion in subsidies to huge carbon storage project

The Dutch government has granted a consortium that includes oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil around €2 billion in subsidies for what is set to become one of the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the world.

Merkel’s last climate summit fails on finance for poor nations

The 12th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, hosted in Berlin on Thursday (6 May), failed to deliver on expectations of increased financial support for poorer countries.

Social justice and climate action are two pieces of the same puzzle

Politicians attending the Porto Social Summit this week must understand that social justice and climate action go hand in hand and are key to preventing the loss of a generation, writes Tea Jarc and Adélaïde Charlier.  

UN methane report ups pressure on EU to tackle the planet-warming gas

The world must urgently cut its emissions of methane to rein in climate change, a UN report said Thursday (6 May) raising pressure on European Union policymakers who are drafting the bloc's first methane regulations targeting fossil fuels.

Eleven EU countries call to ban fossil fuels from trans-European energy infrastructure

Eleven EU countries have signed a declaration calling on the European Union to stop funding fossil fuels under its trans-European energy infrastructure regulation (TEN-E), which is currently under revision.

France trailing behind EU renewable energy goals

The European Union is expected to soon raise its renewable energy target for 2030, and France, which has already largely missed its 2020 goal, could have difficulties in meeting the new objective. EURACTIV France reports.

Nature is the missed opportunity of the EU’s recovery plans

Post-COVID recovery plans are the perfect moment to reset Europe's economy and become more sustainable, but current plans show that Europe is failing to embrace a systematic change in how it views nature, writes Sandrine Dixson-Decleve and Simon Zadek.

Ambassador: EU and South Korea born to be best like-minded partners

Climate change is likely to be a key area to strengthen cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the EU in the coming years, the country's ambassador to Brussels, Yoon Soon-gu, told EURACTIV in an interview about multilateralism, climate cooperation and the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy.

Union leader: ‘With more social ambition, climate ambitions will also become higher’

European trade unions welcome ambitious EU climate policies, but warn that they need to be implemented alongside an equally ambitious social transition plan or risk sowing the seeds of a backlash, says Judith Kirton-Darling.

EU carbon price hits record €50 per tonne on route to climate target

The European Union carbon price hit a record high of above €50 per tonne on Tuesday (4 May), a key milestone in what analysts say is likely a long-term climb towards the price levels needed to trigger investments in innovative clean technologies.

EU sets plan to promote rapid green transition of key industries

The European Union aims to help industries slash greenhouse gas emissions by promoting a rapid expansion of investment in low-carbon technologies, partly through schemes with easier state aid rules, according to a draft policy plan seen by Reuters.

Germany hatches plan to attract green investment capital

The German government is planning a new green financing strategy to steer capital towards environmental projects and developing Germany into a leading hub for sustainable finance, plans seen by Reuters show.

LEAK: EU’s draft renewables law confirms 38-40% target for 2030

An early draft of the EU’s upcoming renewable energy directive confirms the bloc’s objective of sourcing 38-40% of its energy from renewables by 2030, roughly doubling the share of solar, wind and other renewables in Europe’s energy mix by the end of the decade.

A tale of three countries: how Czechia, Germany, and Poland plan to ditch coal

For decades, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have been at the heart of Europe's so-called "lignite triangle" which produces most of the continent's coal-based electricity. But with climate change now a top political priority, the priority is shifting to renewables.

It’s time to put climate targets first

Legally binding reduction targets for member states should be the unequivocal starting point of making EU laws fit for new EU climate targets. Based on a new distribution formula, national targets should continue until climate neutrality is achieved in 2050, argue Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf, Michał Kaminski, and András Huszár.

Carbon border levy should start with steel, cement and fertilisers, says Poland

Steel, cement and fertilisers should be among the first sectors protected by the upcoming carbon levy to safeguard European business from cheaper, CO2 intensive imports, according to Poland.

Global alliance for phasing out coal not fit for purpose, says NGO

An attempt by the UK government to encourage countries and businesses around the world to quit coal for power generation is failing to make an impact, and in danger of being used as “greenwash”, an assessment has found. EURACTIV media partner, The Guardian, reports.

Urgent methane cuts needed to rein in climate change, UN says

Deep cuts in methane emissions, including from the fossil fuel industry, are urgently needed to slow the rate of global warming and keep it beneath a threshold agreed by world leaders, according to a UN report due to be released next week.