Climate change Archives

Taxation is the last EU policy area where decision-making exclusively relies on unanimity. A gradual shift to qualified majority voting would help reach environmental objectives more effectively at a time when action on climate change is more urgent than ever, argue Eero Yrjö-Koskinen, Patrick ten Brink and Emma Watkins.

Top business leaders believe that the transition to a climate neutral economy will create new opportunities for Europe. As EU energy and environment ministers meet in the coming days, they must realise this and adopt policies for the long-term, writes Eliot Whittington.

The European Commission has put changes in place that are making household appliances more energy efficient and recyclable. But the key will be in implementation of these rules, says the Commission's director for Industrial transformation.

As EU leaders prepare to debate the European Commission’s proposal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, most eyes will again be on Poland, writes Brook Riley.

Huge amounts of synthetic fuels generated from renewable energies will be required to fully decarbonise the German economy, according to industry association BDI, which eyes yearly imports of 340 terawatt hours (TW/h) by 2050 – the equivalent of Germany’s entire power fleet.

European legislation has made appliances like washing machines and dishwashers even more water and energy efficient than washing clothes and dishes by hand. The next step is to connect these appliances to the web and allow them to act independently.

Reaching net-zero emissions means not only decarbonising the electricity system but the whole energy system. And Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will be necessary to achieve that, writes Guloren Turan.

Germany is at odds over the first draft of its national ‘climate protection law.’ Lessons learned from a similar French law show that one thing is important above all: agreeing on measures as quickly as possible. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Many in Germany want to have their cake and eat it by scrapping nuclear power and avoiding coal at the same time. Pieter Cleppe looks at some of the questions raised by Germany’s decision.

In an opinion piece, 86 French MPs from across the political spectrum have called on the government to find an ‘effective and socially just carbon taxation’ after the carbon tax was abandoned at the height of the ‘yellow vest’ crisis. An interview with Matthieu Orphelin by EURACTIV France’s media partner La Tribune.

In the last five years, the European Investment Bank (EIB) provided over €50 billion in clean energy investments in Europe and around the world. As a new cycle opens, Andrew McDowell explains the key principles that will underpin the EIB’s future lending policy.

As the European Investment Bank (EIB) holds a meeting in Brussels today (25 February) to consult the public on its new energy policy, Wendel Trio reflects on the role the EU’s bank should have in tackling the climate crisis.

Germany's parliament is looking into a law meant to speed up electric grid expansion and move forward the country's energy transition. But German farmers are not happy and have called for more compensation from the federal government. EURACTIV Germany reports.

A dispute between two European Parliament committees threatens to tarnish a debate about the EU’s climate plans for 2050, after MEPs backed two separate resolutions on the European Commission’s strategy.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was in Brussels on Thursday (21 February) to take part in one of the climate school strikes that have taken place every week in Belgium since December. EURACTIV.com does not usually publish speeches. But we decided …

School kids are on climate strike “because we have done our homework” and listened to science, 16-year-old green activist Greta Thunberg told EU policymakers in Brussels today (21 February). “Just unite behind the science, that is our demand,” she said.

Madrid lawmakers are racing against time to sign off on an energy and climate plan for 2030 before domestic politics derail the process. Spain is now the only member states that still has not submitted its national plan, originally due by the end of 2018.

The French green think-tank La Fabrique Ecologique has published eight environmental proposals to contribute to the European election debate. EURACTIV France’s media partner the Journal de l’environnement reports.

Climate change and ecosystem degradation are significant security threats; the European Union should take urgent action to address these as a part of its foreign and security policy, write Johanna Nyman and Marianne Kettunen.

The German SPD published its European election manifesto on Monday (18 February), clearly setting out social justice and fair taxation as the main priorities. But what about environmental policy? EURACTIV Germany reports.

The failure to reverse growth in greenhouse gas emissions means the world is now increasingly dependent on unproven technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere in order to avert dangerous climate change, scientists warned on Tuesday (19 February).

Renewable energy will rewrite the geopolitical map, according to the man tasked with taking clean energy global. Adnan Z. Amin also told EURACTIV that any politicians not worried by the “truly frightening” risks of climate change are not in the right job.

Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Laschet intends to close fewer coal-fired power stations than envisaged by the coal commission. Three of its members are exerting pressure on the federal government to push forward closures as quickly as possible. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Ukraine is sure that Russia actively supports the recent protests in EU countries against global warming, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told a group of Brussels journalists on Monday (18 February).