Energy & Environment
EU auditors to assess anti-pollution efforts by testing Brussels air
The European Court of Auditors is to embark on a comprehensive review of the European Union’s efforts to curb air pollution, the main environmental cause of premature deaths in the EU.
EU to aim for 100% emission cuts in new ‘mid-century roadmap’
EXCLUSIVE / The European Commission is preparing an update of its low-carbon economy roadmap for 2050, acknowledging that the bloc’s current target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions at least 80% by mid-century are insufficient, EURACTIV.com has learned.
EU still divided over curbing power subsidies with CO2 cap
A European Commission proposal to put an emissions limit on what power plants can be subsidised continues to divide the member states but the EU executive and the European Parliament stand united in supporting the CO2 cap.
Is German climate leadership being sacrificed on the altar of coal?
The pre-election politicking currently going on in Germany should ring alarm bells among climate policy advocates, warns Julian Schwartzkopff. If Angela Merkel does not take personal ownership of securing a climate-compatible coal phase-out, she could jeopardise her legacy as “climate chancellor”, he writes.
Scrapping old cars and boilers: Hulot’s first measures for decarbonising France
The French minister for ecological transition and solidarity fleshes out four measures of his climate plan. EURACTIV’s partner Journal de l’Environnement reports.
At UN, Macron casts himself as Trump’s antithesis
French President Emmanuel Macron cast himself as the antithesis of Donald Trump at the United Nations yesterday (19 September), a position that could enable him to play the honest broker in international conflicts.
Environmentalists find renewed hope in ‘industrial’ CCS
Considered almost dead and buried a few years ago, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is enjoying renewed support among environmentalists, providing fresh hopes that the much decried technology may finally be coming of age and play its part in the fight against climate change.
Oslo Mayor: Here’s how we plan to become a carbon neutral city
The city of Oslo surprised observers last year by announcing plans to introduce a “carbon budget” with the objective of halving its global warming emissions by 2020 and becoming carbon neutral by 2030. The city’s Mayor, Raymond Johansen, told EURACTIV.com how he intends to achieve this ambitious objective.
Emissions Trading System failures sour energy policy efforts
Doubts about the effectiveness of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) resurfaced on Tuesday (19 September) at an energy conference in Estonia, as a low carbon price continues to stymie energy market efforts.
Estonian presidency champions energy market digitalisation
Ahead of an informal meeting of EU energy and transport ministers in Estonia on Wednesday (20 September), politicians and industry representatives signed the Tallinn e-energy declaration, with the aim of digitising the market even further.
The Brief: Should climate really end up on EU’s back burner?
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in Brussels, or in any part of Europe for that matter, who isn’t worried about climate change. So why isn’t the EU putting all its efforts into fighting this immense threat?
Britain to end love affair with coal and cash in on health savings
Britain has announced the phase-out of coal-fired power plants by 2025, ending its 250-year-long love affair with coal, in a move welcomed by health practitioners
EU must cut emissions and adapt to climate change now, auditors urge
A wide-reaching report on the European Union’s climate action has urged Brussels to step up emissions cuts and adapt more quickly to climate change because its current efforts were not sufficient.
My climate journey through Trump’s America
Does Trump speak for the American heartlands on climate change? Rosalind Cook spent two weeks travelling across the country meeting a range of people to ascertain what the thinking is at grassroots level. And it wasn’t what she expected.
Figueres calls for EU action plan on ‘imported deforestation’
Former UN climate Chief Christiana Figueres, one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, has called on the European Union to step up regulatory action against deforestation in the global south by tackling emissions of imported agricultural goods, like beef, soy and palm oil.
Copper: A key facilitator of a low-carbon economy
This week, international leaders from business, government and civil society are meeting in New York to discuss how to keep the momentum going, particularly considering Washington's withdrawal from the agreement, writes Fleming Voetmann.
It’s time to switch gears on electric vehicle uptake across Europe
Next week's European Mobility Week in Brussels provides a good opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved to date, and what is still required to enable and accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles in Europe, write Hans De Keulenaer and Diego Garcia Carvajal.
Trump told that Paris Agreement is ‘irreversible and non-negotiable’
The terms of the Paris Agreement are set in stone, the EU, China and Canada agreed at a summit in Montreal this weekend, while Washington was forced to deny that the US is planning to stay in the accord.
Scientists link ‘Dieselgate’ to 5,000 premature deaths per year in Europe
Emissions from diesel cars rigged to appear eco-friendly may be responsible for 5,000 extra deaths from air pollution per year in Europe alone, according to a new study published on Monday (18 September).
It’s cheaper to save energy than to buy it, despite misleading claims
“Energy efficiency is too expensive, will increase costs to consumers and push people into energy poverty” - this is a claim made by some commentators in Brussels recently. As the Energy Efficiency Directive is being negotiated in the Parliament, Jan Rosenow reveals how little truth there is to such claims.
Green groups say Greece granting illegal permits to polluting plants
Environmental activists have accused Greece of violating an international convention by directly granting permits to its national energy company and making it impossible for anyone to launch a legal challenge against them.
Report: Nuclear power on the decline
Nuclear power seems on its way out, as construction of only one new nuclear reactor was undertaken in 2017, according to the World Nuclear Industry Report 2017. EURACTIV France reports.
Parliament adds forest ‘sinks’ to EU’s 2030 carbon budget
MEPs approved new rules on Wednesday (13 September) accounting for the "negative emissions" from forestry as part of the EU’s 2030 climate change policy, a move welcomed by conservationists but which scientists warn risks creating incentives to burn cheap biomass.
Juncker’s pledge to ‘make the planet great again’ fails to satisfy
Environmental groups and MEPs were left disappointed by Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union address on Wednesday (13 September), after the Commission president only mentioned climate change anecdotally.