Energy & Environment Archives

France, Spain, and Portugal launched the joint Cetambicion marine project on 15 March to protect cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay, but researchers and civil society campaigners say it is a waste of 'precious' time. EURACTIV France reports.

Poland, Bulgaria and seven other countries have stepped up their push to ensure natural gas is classed as a sustainable investment under EU finance rules, warning Brussels its latest proposal falls short, a document seen by Reuters showed.

The grounding of the Ever Given has caught the public’s attention. But it’s just the latest example of an accident in an industry where losing control can have disastrous consequences, writes Albert de Hoop.

The UK Government has confirmed that it will axe its Green Homes Grant Scheme, which had £1.5bn of its £2bn funding pot withdrawn, on Wednesday (31 March).

Europe has set a clear goal for full decarbonisation by 2050, with renewables-based electricity set to become the dominant energy carrier, and that means fossil gas will have “only a marginal role” in the long run, EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said on Thursday (25 March). 

The European Commission has made it clear that industries covered by the EU’s upcoming carbon border levy will no longer receive free CO2 allowances under the bloc’s carbon market, the emissions trading scheme (EU ETS).

Some African countries consider the EU's planned carbon border levy to be "protectionist". That was the upshot of a conference organised by the French government on Tuesday (23 March), which examined the challenges posed by the EU's upcoming mechanism. EURACTIV France reports.

The European Commission's upcoming June package of energy and climate laws will “propose the extension of the emission trading scheme to sectors such as building and road transport,” the EU's energy commissioner Kadri Simson said on Thursday (25 March).

Europe has the opportunity to lead the global shift towards net-zero emissions and reap the rewards of the green transformation, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at an event on Wednesday (24 March).

A group of seven European leaders fronted by French President Emmanuel Macron has called on the European Commission to stop hindering nuclear power and consider ways of bringing atomic energy into the EU’s green finance rule book ahead of an EU summit on Thursday (25 March).

A solitary trip in a petrol or diesel-powered car may release more emissions per passenger than an intra-EU flight, a new EU study into the environmental impact of transport modes has found.

The renewed focus on the COVID-19 crisis and delays with the European vaccination campaign are set to overshadow talks on how to align industrial policy with the EU's climate goals at an EU summit meeting on Thursday (25 March).

The environment ministers of Poland, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic have criticised the constraints imposed by the "do no significant harm" principle when it comes to EU funding. Others like Denmark, meanwhile, defend strict limits on fossil fuel spending in the EU's recovery plan.

Greetings and welcome to EURACTIV's Green Brief. Below you’ll find the latest roundup of news covering energy & environment from across Europe. You can subscribe to the weekly newsletter here.   The media are often criticised for being overly cynical or …

As European energy and environment ministers join their peers at the International Energy Agency’s COP26 Net-Zero summit, they must set the pace for the global phase-out of coal, writes Maria Mendiluce.

The current political debate on industrial policy lacks an honest acknowledgement of how much is already decided – from EU recovery budgets to the 2030 climate targets, write Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Janez Potočnik. Sandrine Dixson-Declève is the president of The Club …

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday (23 March) the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany ran counter to the European Union's own interests and could undermine Ukraine.

The steel industry is a major contributor to the overall CO2 emissions worldwide, and, therefore, a significant driver of climate change. The sector generated about 2 billion tons of CO2 in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency, which is double the volume of 2000.

An analysis of the anti-deforestation work of 553 of the world's largest businesses has found that just 1% are taking 'best practice' action. This is despite the multi-billion-dollar risks associated with inaction, EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

Half of Europe's 324 coal-fuelled power plants have either closed or announced a retirement date before 2030, it emerged on Monday (22 March) when French power utility EDF announced the 162nd plant will close in 2022.

The European Commission is set to propose legislation making it compulsory for companies to ensure that their supply chains are free of human rights and environmental abuse and corruption. And the direction of the debate among national and EU lawmakers, and among companies, is only going one way, says MEP Heidi Hautala.