Climate strategy 2050
Budapest declares climate emergency, teases carbon-neutrality
The new Green mayor of Budapest on Tuesday (5 November) added his city to the growing list of capitals to have declared climate emergencies. It is the first visible break with Viktor Orbán’s government, which still opposes an EU plan to go climate-neutral by 2050.
EU bank tees up fossil fuel compromise ahead of crucial vote
The European Investment Bank will decide on Thursday (14 November) whether or not to purge its loan books of fossil fuel projects. All signs point to the EU lender striking a compromise with Germany and Italy which want more leeway for new gas projects.
Banks taking only ‘superficial’ climate action, study reveals
Despite an explosion in green finance, banks have made only superficial changes to their lending practices, with fossil fuel funding going virtually unabated over the past years, according to a new report by Boston Common Asset Management released today (11 November).
Worried by climate change, EU moves to end fossil fuel funding
The European Union should phase out its funding of oil, gas and coal projects, EU finance ministers said in a joint statement on Friday (8 November), in a move that could mark a major shift in the bloc's efforts to combat climate change.
‘No way around electrification,’ BMW says
Consumers are increasingly turning to electric vehicles – and they’re liking it, said BMW’s chief lobbyist in Europe, calling on policymakers to accelerate charging infrastructure deployment to support the roll-out of electric mobility on a mass scale.
Europe needs to double electricity share to meet climate goals – EU official
The European Green Deal to be unveiled in early 2020 will pursue a strategy of increasing the share of electricity in the EU’s energy mix, the new head of the European Commission’s energy department told a conference in Brussels Wednesday (6 November).
Nine EU countries urge new Commission to tax aviation more
A coalition made up of Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden urged the next European Commission on Thursday (7 November) to propose new measures on aviation pricing.
Metals are Europe’s climate compass. Here’s why
The future of Europe’s metals industry will be an early indicator of whether the EU has succeeded in uniting its Green New Deal and Industrial Strategy, write Tomas Wyns and Gauri Khandekar.
‘Sector coupling’: The EU energy buzzword no-one can actually pin down
For over a year, one expression – “sector coupling” – has been on everybody’s lips among EU energy policy observers in Brussels. The only problem is none of them share the same understanding of what it actually means.
Norwegian scientist: ‘No way’ of reaching climate neutrality without hydrogen
Europe has to get serious about the hydrogen economy if it really wants to reach net-zero emissions as quickly as possible, says Nils Anders Røkke. This is why decarbonised natural gas, using carbon capture and storage (CCS), will be crucial to ramp up hydrogen production in the short term, he argues.
EU-wide innovation support is key to electrolysis in Europe
The German government should support the establishment of an EU-wide framework for green hydrogen to keep electrolysis manufacturing competitive, write Matthias Deutsch and Andreas Graf. Matthias Deutsch is a senior associate at Agora Energiewende, a German think tank and policy...
Transport committee chair: Kerosene is a European ‘tax haven’
The European Parliament's transport committee head, Karima Delli (Greens), spoke about the need to completely overhaul the transport industry to combat climate change, the next transport Commissioner and France's pick for EU internal market chief, in an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia.
Carbon-neutral flying already technically feasible, says German transport expert
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, Matthias von Randow, the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Association of the German Transport Industry, spoke about carbon-neutral aviation fuels and the difficulties of rolling them out on a mass scale.
Oil and gas majors must cut production by a third to meet climate targets: report
The world's largest oil and gas companies must cut combined production by 35% by 2040 if nations are the meet the collective ambitions of the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to below 2C, a new report from Carbon Tracker has found. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.
EU’s new list of energy projects includes 32 gas facilities
The EU says it wants to get out of fossil fuels and become climate neutral as soon as possible. But the European Commission's latest list of energy projects eligible for EU funding nevertheless includes 32 gas projects, including the construction of new LNG terminals, EURACTIV Germany reports.
Chile pulls plug on crucial climate summit, Madrid steps in
Chile will not host the UN’s annual climate summit planned in December, President Sebastian Piñera announced on Wednesday (30 October) as civil unrest continues to wrack the South American nation. Madrid later offered to take on hosting duties.
Bundestag wants to impose climate tax on MPs’ official trips
The Bundestag's Council of Elders decided that there should be a climate tax for the official trips of MPs, starting in 2020. For the first time, the Council has started to debate the building blocks of Germany's recently proposed climate package. EURACTIV's media partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.OpinionPromoted content
Fraudulent Used Cooking Oil biodiesel – bad for the climate and a blow to EU farm, oilseed and plant protein sectors
While the storm brews over fraud in Europe’s used cooking oil biodiesel it is a good idea to reflect on who is actually being defrauded.
Spain’s ‘luxurious’ gas infrastructure under the spotlight
Gas power plants in Spain are running below 25% capacity, according to an investigation published in the Spanish media yesterday (23 October), sparking calls from environmentalists to stop funding the country’s “oversized” gas infrastructure.
Oil and gas giants spent 250m on EU lobbying since 2010: green groups
The five biggest publicly listed oil and gas companies and trade groups representing them spent more than 250 million euros lobbying the European Union to influence climate action since 2014, environmental groups said Thursday (24 October).
Messianic Perry preaches nuclear to sceptical Europeans
Small nuclear reactors can help “vulnerable nations take control of their destinies,” the US energy secretary said in Brussels today (21 October), claiming that small off-grid nuclear plants can bring electricity to poor nations and “disperse the darkness” around the globe.
Poland wants fresh EU money to back climate neutrality goal
Achieving climate neutrality requires “significantly larger” amounts of funding than what is currently on offer in the EU’s long-term budget proposal for 2021-2027, Warsaw said in a memo circulated ahead of an EU leaders’ summit opening today.
Gas industry storms into EU green finance taxonomy debate
Industry executives argue fossil gas should be considered green when it displaces coal in power generation, sparking fresh controversy around an upcoming EU sustainable finance taxonomy aimed at rewarding investments in clean technologies.
EU bank kicks climate can down road to November
The European Investment Bank decided on Tuesday (15 October) to delay a decision on updating its energy lending policy until November. Germany and the European Commission are still pushing for controversial changes to the bank’s original fossil-fuel-free proposal.
