Energy & Environment Archives

Before the Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) was built, Italian businesses were paying a higher price for energy compared to their European peers, said Vugar Veysalov, head of external affairs at TAP. The new pipeline, which will also supply Greece and Bulgaria, will bring greater flexibility of prices, he told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

Innovation in agriculture and beyond is vital to close the widening gap that leads to polarisation and tension between rural and urban areas, says Jan Huitema MEP. Rural development plans must be made with the local community and not just in Brussels offices, he argues.

The European Union has ambitious plans to corner a significant chunk of the global battery market but how does a new strategy aimed at regulating chemicals management affect those objectives? Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius shared his views.

As negotiations on the EU's proposed climate law enter the home straight, Pascal Canfin highlights the European Parliament's red lines in talks with EU member states.

Airlines are at the forefront of changes made to the way the aviation industry does business. When it comes to what to fuel aircraft with, carriers are increasingly turning to greener options. EURACTIV spoke to an airline executive about that fuel shift.

Cooperation in the renewable energy sector, such as hydropower, wind power and photovoltaic, between China and countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or third countries has significantly grown in recent years. A senior scientist suggests an EU-China partnership could benefit all involved.

Geothermal is competitive with wind and solar technologies and can work together with them to create a reliable supply of renewable energy, according to Francesco La Camera, who sees geothermal capacity as growing up to eight-fold in the EU by mid-century.

Around half of e-waste plastics are not recycled in Europe but rather shipped abroad where they often end up being dumped or burnt. Simpler laws on recycling in Europe would help keep those materials at home and recycle them, argues Chris Slijkhuis.

As long as greener alternatives to hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants are not available at a competitive price, they should not be banned, says Cristian Bușoi.

Futuristic flight technologies like battery-power and hydrogen are on the radar but sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are an already-available option that should be utilised more, MEP Elsi Katainen told EURACTIV.

The first step to bring forestry under the EU’s emissions trading scheme is to ensure that every tonne of carbon dioxide in the forest is counted so that a certification system for carbon removals can be put in place, Artur Runge-Metzger told EURACTIV.

The European Union “cannot achieve” climate neutrality without critical raw materials like lithium and rare earths, says Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič. It now needs to be “much more strategic” in relations with supplier countries in order to ensure the bloc's “strategic autonomy,” he argues.

After long negotiations, MEPs voted on Tuesday (6 October) in favour of further increasing the bloc's emissions target to 60% by 2030. In a double-interview with EURACTIV Germany, two German MEPs discuss what this could mean for the EU and Germany, as well as how the new target could be achieved.

The European Parliament will vote Tuesday (6 October) on the EU’s proposed Climate Law, which seeks to put Europe on track to reduce emissions to net-zero by 2050. “I expect the vote to be very tight,” says lawmaker Pascal Canfin.

After announcing €30 billion in support of an ecological transition last Thursday, the French government presented a controversial bill authorising an exemption from the ban on neonicotinoid insecticides, a class of pesticides suspected to be harmful to bees. German Green MEP Martin Häusling explains to EURACTIV FRANCE why he is challenging the decision.

New forms of ocean energy are gaining interest globally, and because European companies are leaders on tidal and wave technologies, that is good news for the environment and for the European economy, argues Francesco la Camera.

Whether in the European recovery plan or the just transition fund, Pascal Canfin says he is in favour of applying the EU sustainable finance taxonomy, which allows drawing a line between gas projects that merit public funding and those that don’t.

Lack of trust and information about energy performance contracts are the most frequently cited reasons why some municipalities have become sceptical about energy service companies (ESCOs). In the future, greater standardisation should help overcome issues, says Nick Keegan.

Reporting on greenhouse gas emissions should become mandatory "as soon as possible" for companies with more than 250 employees, argues Michèle Lacroix, an EU expert who helped design the EU's landmark green finance taxonomy.

The European Commission’s decision to approve an agreement between Germany’s big power firms risks distorting energy market competition, according to the head of another company, who explained to EURACTIV Germany why he has started legal action.

In an interview with EURACTIV's partner Le Journal de l'environnement, French socialist MEP Éric Andrieu (S&D) said that climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic make it necessary to put agriculture back at the heart of the debate and to change the agricultural model with targeted tools and resources.

To be effective, forest conservation initiatives must be rooted in a local context – including the land ownership and tenure ecosystems in which they operate, says Keith Kline, from the prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes the “real Europe is standing up” to the coronavirus crisis now. In a written interview with EURACTIV's media partner Efe, she spoke about a broad range of issues, from the challenges facing the Eurogroup earlier this month to the expectations for the summit of European leaders this week.

The forests in Europe that can be considered “old growth” – and therefore declared protected areas – depends on the definition, says Petri Sarvamaa. “And that’s where the political fight begins,” he told EURACTIV in an interview.