Energy & Environment
Transport committee chair: The aim is to put climate on political agenda in all sectors
In an interview with EURACTIV's partner le Journal de l'Environnement, the newly elected chair of the European Parliament's committee on transport and tourism (TRAN), French Green MEP Karima Delli, spoke about her new priorities. These include relaunching the rail system, regulating transport in a climate-friendly manner and reducing car pollution.
Chizhov: Washington chose to act unilaterally to abrogate nuclear arms treaty
In a wide-ranging interview, Russia's Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov, speaks about nuclear arms control, the EU elections and top jobs, the situation in Ukraine, including the MH17, and America's bid to challenge Russian gas.
Pittsburgh mayor: Europe should be proud of its climate action
In an interview with EURACTIV France, Bill Peduto speaks about Europe's good track record on climate protection, despite the decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Statistics are at the heart of achieving SDGs, says gender equality advocate
In an interview with EURACTIV France, Fatiha Hassouni, head of the gender equality unit of the intergovernmental organisation Union for the Mediterranean, spoke about statistics being a crucial tool for assessing sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially with regards to gender equality.
Researcher: Lowering electricity taxes is cheapest way of meeting EU climate goals
The energy transition will hit the poor hardest unless it's balanced by a shift in taxation, says Christian Egenhofer. The EU needs to acknowledge this and get started by lowering taxes on electricity to achieve the EU’s carbon reduction goals at least cost, he argues.
Sustainable financing can no longer operate as a niche, German finance expert says
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, Deutsche Börse Group's head of sustainability management, Kristina Jeromin, spoke about the increasing involvement of shareholders in the activities of their respective companies and explained why she considers 'Greenwashing' accusations to be destructive.
German conservatives from the CDU/CSU will face difficult times, says former MP
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, former Green member of the Bundestag Hans-Josef Fell spoke about Angela Merkel's climate heritage, record CO2 emissions and why Germany should become carbon neutral by 2030.
Kazakhstan calls EU’s new Central Asia strategy ‘visionary’
Kazakhstan welcomes the EU's new vision for a stronger partnership with Central Asia, particularly as it took into account the country's proposals, its deputy foreign minister told EURACTIV and called the document, due to be adopted next month, "visionary".
Bas Eickhout: EU carbon market needs alignment with 2050 goal
The next European Commission will have to reopen the Emissions Trading Scheme directive if it is serious about reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, argues Bas Eickhout, warning the next Commission chief will need to find a broader majority in the European Parliament than his predecessor.
Manfred Weber: ‘Environmental issues are one of my areas of expertise’
The lead candidate for the centre-right in this week’s European elections says “Europe must move towards net-zero emissions by 2050,” voicing his belief in innovation and new technologies to drive the decarbonisation agenda if he becomes the next president of the European Commission.
Academic: Gas storage has ‘big potential’ in Europe’s low-carbon future
Boasting 1,200 terawatt hours (TWh) of existing capacity, gas storage sites can be a formidable asset for Europe in the transition to a low-carbon economy, providing much-needed flexibility to a future energy system where gas and electricity will be more closely integrated, says Ilaria Conti.
Is climate change affecting our socio-economic classes differently?
Carbon tax has featured prominently during the EU election campaign. The key issue is whether poorer households will be expected to pay a CO2 tax, when they emit less than high earners. In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, two climate scientists discuss climate change affecting the class system and consumer behaviour.
Malaysian minister: ‘Palm oil is a deal-breaker for EU-ASEAN trade relations’
Teresa Kok, Malaysia's Minister of Primary Industries, visited Brussels and other European capitals this week in a last-ditch effort to kill new EU rules that will ban the use of palm oil in biofuels – a measure European adopted because of concerns about deforestation.
Vestager: ‘We need more commissioners working on environmental issues’
Margrethe Vestager, one of the seven lead candidate for the Liberals in next month’s EU elections, views Juncker’s “project teams” as a success and would consider establishing multiple environment commissioners for different areas such as climate change, biodiversity, air pollution or chemicals.
Karmenu Vella on circular economy: ‘Nothing to gain from waiting’
Circular economy wrangling has kept the EU busy for the last few years, from withdrawn policies to far-reaching recycling strategies. The EU's outgoing environment boss, Karmenu Vella, insists that industry is still critical to waste-reducing efforts and that “there is nothing to gain from waiting”.
Zahradil: ‘Going too far, too fast on climate risks destabilising society’
“It’s a good thing that youngsters are getting involved” in climate policy, says Jan Zahradil, the lead candidate for the European Conservatives in next month’s EU elections. But going too far, too fast risks causing tensions with other groups in society, like the Yellow Vests in France, he warned.
Karmenu Vella: ‘Facts and science still carry the day’ for clean air champions
Thousands of protesters across Europe have taken to the streets over the last few years to demand cleaner air. The European Commission's environment chief, Karmenu Vella, explains how he has fought for higher standards during his term in office.
Solar CEO: ‘Heating electrification is one of the biggest mistakes of the energy transition’
Wind and solar photovoltaic are way too small to cope with Europe's massive demand for heating, especially in winter, says Christian Holter who calls for allocating scarce renewable energy resources to economic sectors where they can bring the most in terms of carbon reduction.
‘Europe will have at least ten gigafactories’, says battery boss
Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson wants to build Europe’s largest battery cell plant – in the middle of the Swedish countryside. In an interview, he explained how this should work and gave his thoughts on his new partner Volkswagen’s electromobility offensive.
Eickhout: Next step for Europe is a ‘Green New Deal’ for industry
Europe must adopt an ambitious industrial policy aligned with its climate agenda by investing in clean technologies, and introducing a carbon tariff at the EU’s external border in order to protect industries against environmental dumping, says Bas Eickhout, the lead candidate for the Greens in the European elections.
Gas network chief: ‘By 2050, we assume CO2 emissions from energy will be zero’
Europe’s electricity and gas operators are currently working on a joint network plan based on a carbon budget which includes zero-emission scenarios for 2050. “And that automatically means there will be no fossil gas in the mix by then,” Jan Ingwersen told EURACTIV in an interview.
Researcher: 100% renewable energy requires ‘a lot of green hydrogen’
The production of so-called green hydrogen from wind and solar electricity is seen as a potential game-changer for the transition to a 100% renewable energy system. But getting there will take some time and some intermediary solutions will be needed, says Daan Peters.
Cruise ships chief: ‘The goal is zero impact, just fun’
More gigantic cruise ships will take to the high seas in the coming years, according to industry CEO Michael Thamm. In an interview with EURACTIV, he revealed how cruising intends to embrace low-carbon technologies in an effort to reduce its environmental impact and keep its customers satisfied.