Energy & Environment Archives

The European Commission will not propose banning gas-fired home boilers “overnight”, a senior EU official has said, explaining that differences in energy mix between EU member states are just too big to apply a one-size-fits-all solution.

Bulgaria will try to negotiate 2040 as its target deadline to phase out coal for electricity production when it submits its coronavirus recovery plan to the European Commission, interim PM Stefan Yanev said Thursday (14 October).

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, in a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk on Thursday (14 October), called on Russia to "do more to ensure European energy security," the US State Department said.

The current energy price spike is something of a storm. But it is also wind in the sails of nuclear energy in Europe, after many years of being given the cold shoulder.

G7 Finance Ministers have agreed on a new set of principles aimed at improving global supply chain resiliency and backing a new initiative from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at helping developing countries boost green economic opportunities. EURACTIV's media partner, Edie.net, reports.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said that if she is elected president next year she will end all subsidies for renewable energy and will take down France's wind turbines.

If dealt with properly, renewable hydrogen has the power to help decarbonise Europe. Still, policymakers need to maintain the idea of additionality so that renewable electricity is not diverted away from energy production, opening the door for gas and coal, writes Marta Lovisolo.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday (13 October) that the reason for the energy price spike is the shortage of electricity as a result of increased use of renewable energy.

Convincing other countries to pursue a ban on exploiting new fossil fuel deposits in the Arctic will require diplomatic efforts, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told EURACTIV as the European Commission unveiled a new Arctic strategy on Wednesday (13 October) in response to growing geopolitical tensions in the region.

Recent studies suggest that hydrogen could be a contributor to the greenhouse effect when it leaks through infrastructure.

EU institutions have limited room to manoeuvre when it comes to going to Russia with requests for more gas in order to alleviate the energy crisis and help Europe get through the winter, warns Andrei Belyi.

Consumers' craving for ever-increasing sustainable products is leaving its mark on the textile industry, creating a shift toward a 'greener' manufacturing process that requires new ways to assess its impact on the environment.

The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday (13 October) a “toolbox” of measures  EU countries will be able to draw from when responding to rising energy prices in the short term, while pointing to an upcoming gas market reform for measures to be considered in the long term.

“Dear Germany, please keep your nuclear reactors online,” 25 leading foreign and domestic writers, journalists, and intellectuals wrote in a joint letter, warning that dropping nuclear power would only increase Germany's carbon emissions.

Eleven European countries have called on the European Commission to put forward ambitious measures to crack down on waste in the textiles industry in its textiles strategy, expected to be proposed in the coming months.

The crisis currently gripping global energy markets has exposed the EU’s inability to deal with surging prices in the short term, leaving national governments to fight the fires while Brussels focuses on the long term.

In its annual World Energy Outlook, published on Wednesday (13 October), the International Energy Agency says $4tn investment are needed this decade to reach net zero target. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron presented a massive investment plan, “France 2030”, on Tuesday (12 October). Backed by €30 billion, the plan will support innovation in flagship projects such as small-scale nuclear reactors and the first low-carbon aircraft.

The European Commission on Tuesday (12 Octobre) issued €12 billion worth of green bonds on financial markets to finance the green parts of its €800 billion coronavirus recovery fund. This represents the world’s largest green bond issuance to date.

The European Commission’s plan to introduce a separate carbon market for road transport and the building sector, alongside the EU's existing Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), was widely criticised by EU environment ministers at their meeting last week.

Tens of thousands of protestors marched through Brussels on Sunday (10 October). They called for more ambition at the COP26 climate summit, due to be held in Glasgow in November.

“Nuclear power must be part of the solution” to the climate crisis and the rise in energy prices, according to a group of 10 EU countries led by France and Poland who signed a joint opinion article published across major European newspapers on Monday (11 October).

The European Union will look into an option for member states to jointly buy natural gas as the bloc considers ways to protect itself against surging energy prices, according to a draft document.

As political support grows to place methane emissions reduction at the top of the global agenda, 24 additional countries agreed on Monday (11 October) to sign the EU-US-led Global Methane Pledge ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow.