Climate change Archives

A global fund originally set up in 2010 under the aegis of the UNFCCC to assist developing countries fight global warming got back on track with a $1 billion splurge, but the US vetoed a project that would have loaned $100 million to China. EURACTIV's media partner Climate Home News reports.

Should he be picked as the European People's Party (EPP) lead candidate for the European Commission’s top job, Alexander Stubb vows to “work towards a carbon neutral Europe by 2045”. EURACTIV's media partner Climate Home News reports.

87% of assets managed by the world’s 100 largest public pension funds are yet to undergo formal climate risk assessment, according to research published on Tuesday (23 October), with only 15% of them adopting a coal exclusion policy.

Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is not a silver bullet solution for climate change but a vital tool for reducing industrial emissions and enabling clean hydrogen production, argues Graeme Sweeney.

Climate change is increasing the risk of extreme weather events, including droughts, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires. In 2017, costs were estimated to be $306 billion, which is almost double 2016’s loss of $188 billion.

Poles vote in local elections on Sunday (21 October), seen as a key test for the country’s nationalist governing party. Until very recently, energy transition was a political no-go in the coal-dependent country but the situation is evolving, a climate activist and Green local politician in the COP24 host city of Katowice told EURACTIV.com.

Support for the EU is at its highest level for 26 years. However, this enthusiasm is not reflected in the projections for turnout at the next European elections. EURACTIV France reports.

UPDATE: Lawmakers in the European Parliament backed a 35% cut in carbon dioxide emissions from new trucks by 2030, in a vote on Thursday (18 October) over new rules that seek to fight global warming without harming industry.

Global carbon emissions will rise to a new record level in 2018, making the chances of reaching a target to keep temperature increases to 1.5 or 2°C "weaker and weaker every year, every month," the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.

A parliamentary group, bringing together 135 French MPs from across the political spectrum, wants to collectively carry the issues of the ecological transition, particularly during the debate on the 2019 finance bill. EURACTIV France’s media partner the Journal de l’environnement reports.

Shipping is responsible for over 3% of global emissions with that number expected to grow. Owners and operators will have to decide how to clean up their vessels and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a potential solution, Gas Infrastructure Europe's Wim Groenendijk told EURACTIV.

The newly-established €100 million fund will help innovative European companies bring “radically new” clean energy technologies to the market, including the “holy grail” of batteries, the European Commission said.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that biofuels will need to rise 260% by 2030 and 750% by 2050 in order to contain global warming below 1.5°C. Yet, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, published days after, seems to ignore this, writes James Cogan.

There is now a clear EU majority, led by the Nordic countries, for tougher targets on car emissions, writes Sanjeev Kumar. The big questions now relates to charging points for electric vehicles and whether they can charge fast enough, he writes.

It is a bit surprising to see the Commission chief advocating additional imports in the EU of US LNG, a fossil fuel which produces a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, writes Danila Bochkarev.

Sobering warnings from the UN about the impact of climate change on our planet and human health has one obvious solution: increase the rate of building renovation, in order to massively cut energy use, writes Vijoleta Gordeljevic.

Stark warnings from the United Nations ahead of a make-or-break summit in Poland in December have propelled climate change up the political agenda. Now, an experimental approach at regional level hopes to help the EU hit its emission reduction targets.

Unlike the energy sector, agriculture does not benefit from public policies geared towards a low carbon transition, which means farming is still a significant contributor to climate change due to meat over-consumption, a new report published on 16 October revealed.

In Belgium, Luxembourg and Bavaria, the Greens have been the big winners at the weekend’s elections by attracting new voters. EURACTIV France’s media partner Ouest-France reports.

Renewable methane – whether produced from waste, manure or synthetic sources – could displace at most 7% of natural gas in Europe at the current demand rate, according to a new study by the International Council on Clean Transport (ICCT).

Poland has some of the worst air quality in the EU. But fighting smog is expensive. The Modernisation Fund set up as part of the Emissions Trading Scheme could help here, writes Joanna Maćkowiak-Pandera.

Climate change has been described as one of the biggest global threats of the 21st century. Dimitris Dimitriadis explains what the European Union needs to do to improve its civil protection capacities.

We are a long way from 2015. That year, the world committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate - promising to end extreme poverty, address corrosive inequality, boost peace and prosperity, and stop climate change, write leaders of five European think tanks.