Energy transition Archives

Sixty-two major oil and gas companies on Monday (23 November) agreed to a new framework for monitoring, reporting and reducing methane emissions as part of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0.

Over the course of the last two months, China has made an emissions-busting pledge, while Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential race is likely to shift Washington’s climate policy.

The European Commission granted priority status to natural gas projects without properly assessing their impact on climate change, the European Union's Ombudsman said in a decision on Tuesday (17 November).

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday (19 November) urged the European Union to lead global efforts to slash planet-warming emissions by setting a new climate change target next month.

Clean hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), zero-carbon transport and offshore wind are all key pillars of Boris Johnson's Ten Point Plan to push the UK towards net-zero emissions. EURACTIV's media partner, edie.net, reports.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to move the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars forward to 2030, as part of a raft of new policy announcements to drive the UK towards its net-zero target. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

A strengthened emissions trading scheme (ETS) will be vital to drive further CO2 reductions in the European Union as the bloc discusses an increase of its 2030 climate target, policymakers say.

Power plants fuelled by natural gas will not be classed as “sustainable” or “transition” investments in Europe unless they meet emission limits which are so low that none are currently able to comply, according to draft EU rules seen by EURACTIV.

On Monday (9 November), MEPs in the economic affairs and budgetary committees will vote on the EU's recovery fund package, but the ban on spending funds on fossil fuels, suggested by the environment committee, will not be in the final agreement.

COVID-19 has had a wide-ranging impact on oil and gas, with estimates showing that oil demand could peak as early as 2025, rather than 2040, and that gas will be a much shorter bridge into renewables, writes Simon Redmond and Elena Anankina.

Power plants fuelled by natural gas will not be classed as a sustainable investment in Europe, unless they meet an emissions limit that none currently comply with, according to draft European Union regulations seen by Reuters.

A bilateral agreement aimed at increasing German imports of hydrogen produced from solar power plants in Australia could set a milestone in efforts to establish a global hydrogen market.

President Moon Jae-in has announced South Korea will commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of a "Green New Deal" that closely mirrors commitments made by the European Union. EURACTIV's media partner, Climate Home News, reports.

After decades spent extracting fossil fuels from the UK’s North Sea, a consortium of oil companies is preparing to pump Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions back beneath the seabed to help meet the government’s climate ambitions. EURACTIV's media partner partner, The Guardian, reports.

The European Commission “will not stand in the way” of countries that choose to build new nuclear power stations, said EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, who warned however about the life-cycle costs of the technology, “which means that you will be stuck with it for a long, long, long time”.

Japan will join the EU in aiming for net zero emissions by 2050, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Monday (26 October).

Mid-century climate targets are feasible but decisive action needs to be taken in the 2020s to put the world onto the right trajectory, writes Sandrine Dixson-Declève.

The discovery in recent years of huge natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has whetted the appetite of nearby countries but exacerbated geopolitical tensions between Turkey and its neighbours.

The United States presidential election will be "make or break" for the planet after four years during which Donald Trump frustrated global efforts to slash emissions, climate experts warn, fearing his re-election may imperil the world's chances of avoiding catastrophic warming.

India and the European Union are natural partners in the quest for environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, and green growth and development, writes Santosh Jha.

As policymakers, our task is to ensure that no one will be left behind in the energy transition and that the effort of transition will be fairly shared, writes Mounir Satouri. Mounir Satouri is a French Member of the European Parliament …

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has asked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a "plan" to support the country coal phase-out, saying Bulgaria's own capacity was insufficient to achieve the bloc's 2030 climate goals.

The European Commission has opted for a “holistic” approach to address the global warming impact of methane, putting the emphasis on international cooperation first before regulating emissions in sectors like energy and agriculture.