Energy & Environment
EU farm chief: Post-coronavirus recovery should be green and sustainable
The Green Deal remains a flagship policy of von der Leyen Commission and the EU should aim for a post-COVID-19 recovery that is green and sustainable, Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski told EURACTIV.com in an exclusive interview.
Environmental law expert: Detecting environmental crime is quite a problem
Water pollution, illegally dumped waste – crimes against the environment are difficult to trace back and prosecute properly. A recent report shows the magnitude and costs of this problem. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Pascal Canfin MEP: EU Climate Law must stick to 2030 timeline
The European Commission must publish its impact assessment on the EU's 2030 climate target in June – not in September like is currently mentioned in the draft Climate Law, MEP Pascal Canfin told EURACTIV in an interview.
Electricity boss: ‘EU climate law should be kept short and simple’
As the European Commission prepares its proposal for a landmark EU Climate Law, Eurelectric boss Kristian Ruby urges policymakers to keep it simple and focus on the long-term.
Nestlé chief: EU’s Green Deal should ensure prosperity too
The announced EU food policy should also strive to create future prosperity for businesses in good harmony with the environment, not only to take policies against some parts of the food value chain, Nestlé Europe chief Marco Settembri told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Dombrovskis: EU’s fiscal rules are flexible for impact of coronavirus
The European Commission will be "flexible" with Italy and other member states affected by the coronavirus when assessing their efforts to balance their public accounts, European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview.
Basescu: European Green Deal risks pushing ‘two or three countries’ towards EU exit
The European Green Deal “will definitely create tensions” inside the EU, and risks pushing “two or three countries” to leave the Union altogether, warns former Romanian President Traian Basescu, saying the real priority in Romania is to build new infrastructure like motorways and exploit natural gas resources from the Black Sea.
‘There is overlap’ between EU’s green trillions, says EIB energy chief
The European Investment Bank decided to scrub its loan books of fossil fuels in 2019 but the lender's head of energy policy, Andrew McDowell, insists that there is more to the change of direction than ditching coal and gas.
Danish MEP: ‘Sector coupling is absolutely key for Europe’s climate and energy ambitions’
When it comes to energy regulations, the EU tends to legislate in silos, writing directives on renewables, energy efficiency or electricity and gas markets. But with the upcoming sector coupling strategy, it needs to do exactly the opposite, says Morten Petersen.
German wind industry chief: 2% of land area should be allocated to wind energy
In an interview with EURACTIV.de, the president of Germany's Wind Energy Association, Hermann Albers, speaks about the sector's struggles, suggesting to allocate 2% of the country's land for wind turbines.
Energy TSOs: ‘We see 300-800 TWh of renewables feeding into electrolysers by 2050’
With Europe’s climate neutrality target soon becoming law, energy TSOs have launched joint scenarios to test gas and electricity networks against growing shares of renewables. Under current plans, they foresee 300-800 TWh of renewables feeding into electrolysers by 2050.
Glass industry boss: Replacing old windows can bring huge energy savings
If Europe goes climate neutral, it will consume more flat glass, predicts Christian Quenett. And the benefits could be huge: simply doubling the replacement rate of windows, in line with the European Green Deal, would achieve 20% of the EU’s energy efficiency targets for 2030, he says.
Busoi MEP: EU’s industrial strategy must be ‘in total accordance’ with Green Deal
Cristian Bușoi, the chair of the European Parliament’s industry and energy committee, says MEPs are eager for a far-reaching strategy from the European Commission.
PwC boss ‘disappointed’ that climate is not considered a top risk for CEOs
The top five challenges for the World Economic Forum this year in Davos were related to climate and sustainability. However, climate is not considered among the top ten risks for CEOs, according to a survey published by accounting firm PwC ahead of the forum on Monday (20 January).
Kadri Simson: We need €260bn per year for European Green Deal
Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson talked about the Green Deal and energy issues with EURACTIV Croatia while she was in Zagreb for the meeting between the Commission and the Croatian government.
EU Central Bank should step up its climate act, French MEP says
In an interview with EURACTIV France, socialist MEP Pierre Larrouturou deplored the meagre €7.5 billion proposed in the European Commission's Just Transition Fund. To finance EU climate action, he suggests some of the ECB's "easy money" could fuel the European Investment Bank (EIB) instead of going into private banks.
Austrian Green MEP: Gas is a better transition alternative to coal than nuclear
The new government in Vienna will aim for “an end to nuclear energy” in the EU, Thomas Waitz told EURACTIV Slovakia. The MEP-elect and Green Party negotiator also calls on the EU to acknowledge that Poland will need financial support in the transition away from coal.
‘We wanted to stop the right-wing authoritarian trend,’ says Green Austrian MP
In an interview with EURACTIV Germany, Green Austrian MP Lukas Hammer spoke about his party's negotiations with the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) while drafting the coalition agreement and why his party took the risk of accepting tough migration policies in exchange for increased climate protection.
German futurologist: Transition to sustainable mobility needs state intervention
In an interview with EURACTIV's partner Wirtschaftswoche, Futurology and Transport Design Professor, Stephan Rammler, predicts the year 2019 may have been a historical turning point for the transport industry.
S&D chief: We hope to cooperate with the Greens on EU legislation
Iratxe García, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D), hopes to achieve closer collaboration with the Greens in light of upcoming legislation on the European Green Deal.
COP25: ‘The European Green Deal gave an important signal. We need more of this’
The longest in the history of UN climate negotiations, the COP25 ended on Sunday (15 September) with almost no significant decisions being made. Julia Panzer gives her take about the business implications of the Madrid climate talks.
UK’s Brexit election explained: ‘There will be one less pro-climate vote in the EU’
With Germany’s dwindling leadership on climate, Britain’s departure from the European Union could have “potentially huge” consequences for climate policy, says Sandrine Dixson-Declève.
COP25: cities are no longer waiting around for nations, Milan’s mayor says
Because there is still a small number of nations blocking progress in implementing the Paris Agreement, and cities already feel their impact of climate change, they are ready to take the lead in fighting global warming, Milan's mayor and C40 network Vice-Chairman Giuseppe Sala told EURACTIV in an interview.