Energy & Environment Archives

In connection with reports of a Polish 'waste mafia' earning money from garbage, the Commission has announced that it would monitor the situation. However, it emphasised that enforcement is the responsibility of the member states. EURACTIV Poland reports.

While Europe is undergoing an unusual summer weather pattern, infected ticks and the related Lyme disease are spreading through the continent, reflecting the growing impact of climate change on health.

Greece was in mourning on Tuesday (24 July) following some of the worst wildfires this century, with fears the toll -- at least 74 dead and 187 injured so far -- could rise, as rescuers search for people trapped in their homes or burned-out cars.

The Belgian Naturism Federation has come to the defence of its burgeoning membership after the Flemish wildlife agency blocked an application for a second nudist beach in the country on the grounds that bathers’ “subsidiary activities” would pose a threat to a rare bird. 

Greece has appealed for help from other countries to help tackle a spate of fires which were raging uncontrolled in the country on Monday (23 July), its fire brigade said.

Following the move by major European insurers Allianz, AXA, Generali and SCOR, the two French insurance companies Macif and AG2R La Mondiale will no longer invest in companies planning new coal-fired power plants. Germany’s top utility RWE is among the companies most affected by the new decision.

The European Union has successfully coordinated a mass effort to fight the wildfires raging in the Arctic Circle, dispatching planes and firefighters in what has been dubbed "solidarity in action".

British environmental campaigners have lost their high court challenge against the government over its policy for tackling climate change. EURACTIV's partner The Guardian reports.

The world’s largest ever trade deal is also the first Europe has signed that commits both parties to upholding the UN climate accord. EURACTIV's media partner Climate Home News reports.

Europe's market for recycled plastics will never pick up unless regulators make a decisive move and impose a minimum amount of recycled materials into new products, said a wide coalition of businesses, local authorities and environmental NGOs.

The EU is open to palm oil and there is no ban on the commodity, the head of the European Union Delegation to Malaysia, ambassador Maria Castillo Fernandez, said on 16 July in an apparent attempt to appease Asian producers.

From mobility services to recycling applications, the sharing economy holds many promises. Whether to regulate it at European level remains a disputed question, however.

While a coordinated operation of all building systems can achieve significant energy savings, those systems are too often installed in siloes hindering to unlock the full potential, writes Tom Machinchick.

The energy performance contract model can turn energy efficiency renovation of buildings into a truly popular policy objective among politicians in Central and Eastern Europe because it can be done without any use of public money and has no impact on public debt, says Ivan Lesay.

Carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) offers “one of the greatest industrial opportunities” for Britain as the world pivots to a low-carbon economy, said Claire Perry, the UK's Energy and Clean Growth Minister.

The European Commission has repeated its insistence on breaking up the Ukrainian national gas and oil monopoly Naftogaz, separating transmission from production and supply, which the country had agreed to as a condition for receiving massive Western financing.

Donald Trump wants Europe to spend more on defence. He’s right. But forget about tanks, missiles and guns: we need to pump cash into an energy arms race. There’s no doubt we’d win it.

An EU-wide ban on ivory trade is essential if the global trend to close down markets is to succeed in protecting elephants from poachers, argue Mark Jones and Joanna Swabe.

Together, the five largest meat and dairy corporations (JBS, Tyson, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America and Fonterra) are already responsible for more annual greenhouse gas emissions than ExxonMobil, Shell or BP, a new study released on Wednesday (18 July) warns.

Back in May, a lavender farmer and 10 other families decided to sue the European Union for failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now, the fragrant-flower farmer explains the rationale behind the landmark case. EURACTIV.fr reports.

Among alternative fuel vehicles, electric cars are the best positioned to overcome refuelling infrastructure challenges, writes Ian McClenny. The difficulty lies in having sufficient vehicle charging availability to reduce consumer’s range anxiety.

One of Bulgaria’s cornerstone coal mines has been forced to shut down, raising questions over the future of energy production and employment in the region, as well as coal’s future in the country, write Violeta Keremdchieva and Ellen Baker.

Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir confirmed at last week's NATO summit that her country would launch an investigation into Iceland’s controversial whaling industry, following the killing of what is thought to be a protected blue whale.

More than a billion people are at risk from a lack of air conditioning and refrigeration to keep them cool and to preserve food and medicines as global warming brings more high temperatures, a study showed on Monday (16 July).