Energy & Environment Archives

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday (12 February) against a motion to reject a proposed list of priority energy projects, ignoring the demands of Greens and leftists who warned against funding new gas infrastructure that risks being stranded as Europe moves to a zero-carbon economy.

There has been much fanfare over the EU’s new Green Deal, a three-decade plan to make the EU climate neutral by 2050. Lauded as “revolutionary”, “visionary” and a “game-changer”, it has been applauded across the globe. Understandably so: the stated goals are nothing short of commendable, writes Teresa Kok.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday (12 February) that the  European Green Deal would fail if member states declined to provide the necessary funds to workers and regions affected by the climate transition.

Russian gas giant Gazprom hopes China rather than Europe will take the bulk of US LNG volumes after a trade deal between Washington and Beijing, a company official said.

The inclusion of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the EU's Drinking Water Directive was a step forward that showed the EU's commitment to address these chemicals, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told EURACTIV.

Members of the European Parliament have written to the European Commission, voicing concern that EU spending on LNG and other gas projects “may not be in line with the Union’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement”.

The Finnish government has granted a uranium recovery and refinery permit to Terrafame, a 70% state-owned company. Since the Czech Republic and Romania have stopped their operations, this decision will make Finland the EU's only uranium producer. 

The European Commission is preparing a strategy to curb methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, including fracked LNG imported from the US. But the timing is uncertain because officials are still busy collecting data on which to base …

The EU's recently agreed laws to tackle the most polluting single-use plastics are in danger of being watered down by industry players, writes Delphine Lévi Alvarès.

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.

The EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, published new figures on energy consumption for 2018 this week (4 February). As expected, they weren’t good, with the EU as a whole set to miss its 2020 energy efficiency objective by a margin of up to 5%, in what campaigners called the "biggest miss" of all EU climate targets.

In a sign that Moscow has taken note of the EU’s plan to deploy a carbon border tax, a top Kremlin adviser has urged Russia’s business giants to start adapting now if they want to continue selling their wares in the single market.

Scandinavian governments put the bar high up in their commitment to becoming carbon neutral and several companies have responded by developing new technologies to harness forest resources, the Nordic green gold, in a bid to reduce transport emissions.

Many people claim they are flying less to protect the environment but the figures say otherwise. The aviation industry is doing better than ever and its emissions have more than doubled since 1990. EURACTIV Germany reports.

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.

A month has passed since Russia withheld its regular oil supplies to Belarus, and the country is not out of the woods yet. Mateusz Kubiak argues that any diversification is likely to remain limited.

The European Commission launched on Wednesday (6 February) a consultation with member states, the European Parliament and other stakeholders to review the EU's fiscal rules, the Stability and Growth Pact.

The EU Green Deal “needs digitalisation as an enabler for decarbonisation” in all sectors of the economy, including transport and energy, the European Commission says in a draft policy document, seen by EURACTIV.

A new report commissioned by the Dutch True Animal Protein Price Coalition (TAPP) suggests that retail price of meat does not reflect the environmental costs associated with its production, and calls for a “sustainability charge” on meat.

Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday (5 February), Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo spoke out against a proposed EU list of energy infrastructure projects that will be voted on next week in the European Parliament.

A record 3.6 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity was added across Europe in 2019, but the pace of deployment is still too slow to reach Europe’s ambitious climate targets, according to new industry figures published on Thursday (6 February).

While 0.9% (€68 million) of the EU's Just Transition Fund is designated for Belgium, European Commission criteria for the fund could turn into a "financial hangover" for Flanders, Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) has warned, in a claim that threatens to deepen the debate about regional disparities in Belgium.

A British regulator on Wednesday (5 February) banned advertisements by Ryanair that gave "misleading" claims over the Irish airline's "low" level of carbon emissions - a move welcomed by environmental campaigners.