Energy
EU countries dragging their feet on building renovation plans
Only five EU member states have submitted long-term renovation strategies that were due last month under the revised energy performance of buildings directive: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands and Sweden.
How to finance virus response in a sustainable way? Scale up synergies with the Green Deal
EU member states should not have to choose between financing the COVID-19 response, undertaking crucial long-term investments to tackle the climate crisis, and debt sustainability, write Irene Monasterolo and Ulrich Volz.
Lithium tipped for EU list of critical raw materials
The soft, silvery-white alkali metal is expected to enter the EU list of critical raw materials later this year because of its strategic importance to the automotive industry, EURACTIV has learned.
EU urged to bring building ‘renovation wave’ into recovery plan
The European Commission should make its future pandemic recovery plan conditional on commitments to the green transition, says Bendt Bendtsen, a former MEP who is now leading a Danish interest group lobbying for energy efficiency.
Spain finally sends 2030 climate plan to Brussels
The Spanish government has submitted its energy and climate plan for 2030 to the European Commission, three months after the deadline, while five EU countries, including France, still need to turn in their strategies.InterviewPromoted content
PGE President: In the new strategy, we will definitely accelerate the green direction
Wojciech Dąbrowski, the newly appointed President of the Management Board of PGE, Poland's largest energy sector company, sat in an interview with the Polish Press Agency.
A resilient EU economy must be built on strong local communities
The political and economic measures taken to revive our economy following the Corona crisis need to ensure long-term resilience of the system. Strengthening local communities will be the key to achieving this objective, says Dirk Vansintjan.
Hydrogen alliance could help rebuild European unity
A hydrogen alliance initiated by Poland and Germany could be one of the ways to preserve European unity in the face of the looming economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, writes Wojciech Jakóbik.
EU carbon market emissions (excluding aviation) fell 8.7% in 2019
Greenhouse gas emissions regulated under Europe's carbon market fell by 8.7% last year, according to preliminary like-for-like European Commission data examined by carbon analysts at Refinitiv.
Dutch outline clean hydrogen ‘vision’, aim at global market
The Netherlands want to use their “unique starting position” in the gas value chain to become world leaders in the production and use of clean hydrogen, saying the fuel “can become a globally traded commodity”.
Europe’s domestic air travel emissions increase again
Greenhouse gas output from plane journeys within the EU rose again in 2019, according to new data from the European Commission, but that growth is likely to stop for a while, with 2020 set to be a lean year for airlines because of coronavirus.
EU sticks to carbon reporting deadlines, rejects industry calls for coronavirus delay
An EU-wide April 30 deadline for firms to surrender emissions trading system (ETS) carbon allowances will stand, the European Commission said, despite calls from the cement and steel industry to extend it due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond the corona darkness: Bringing light, air and sustainability into people’s homes
The European Green Deal must be central to the recovery programme needed to transition out of the crisis caused by COVID-19, writes Oliver Rapf. And the European Commission's upcoming building renovation wave should be at the centre of it, he argues.
Thyssenkrupp to scrap 3,000 steel jobs as part of coronavirus ‘crisis package’
German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp on Wednesday (25 March) announced it was scrapping 3,000 jobs in its troubled steel unit as part of a coronavirus "crisis package".
EU carbon market ‘the first victim’ as electricity demand collapses
Every country in Europe has seen electricity demand decrease by 2 to 7% week-on-week as coronavirus-related confinement measures were enforced, according to new research by Ember, a climate think tank. Some analysts are now calling for urgent measures to prevent the EU carbon market from collapsing.
COVID-19 stimulus should address health, economy and climate together
Governments around the globe are quickly designing some of the biggest economic stimulus plan ever seen in peacetime in response to the COVD-19 pandemic. But while the health crisis has forced all concerned to take swift action, we are still moving too slowly when it comes to the climate crisis, writes María Mendiluce.
EU cost-benefit study seen backing 55% emissions cut by 2030
In the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak, the European Commission published last week what would have otherwise been a high-profile initiative: the launch of a cost-benefit analysis of increasing the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 in view of reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century.
German CO2 emissions dive amid coronavirus slump
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a dramatic impact on Germany's demand for electricity. According to initial projections, Germany could emit between 50 and 120 million tons less CO2 this year, meaning it could even exceed its climate target. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Enel says digital drive has given it hedge on coronavirus threat
Italy’s biggest utility, Enel, does not expect the coronavirus epidemic to have any major impact on its results and says its drive to digitalise operations has given it an advantage. Enel has been ramping up spending on digital networks to...
Heavy-emitting firms ‘off-track’ from 2C climate target
More than 80% of the highest-emitting listed companies are failing to deliver emissions reductions aligned to the Paris Agreement's 2C global warming limit, with many of them also failing to account for climate mitigation and risk strategies. EURACTIV's media partner, edie.net, reports.
Green Deal deserves a better Energy Taxation Directive in 2020, not years from now
Europe has a choice between getting a good taxation directive this year or waiting years for something not yet defined that may never win agreement. For the sake of climate progress, it should take its chances with what it has now, writes Jim Power.
EU should scrap emissions trading scheme, Polish official says
The European Union should scrap its Emissions Trading System or exempt Poland from the scheme, which helps combat global warming, to free up funds for Warsaw to fight the effects of the coronavirus, a senior Polish official said.
Total to build France’s largest battery
Energy major Total has lifted the lid on a project that aims to construct the largest battery storage facility in France. It could help boost the growth of intermittent renewable power in the French energy mix.
Europe warned about virus impact on clean tech
Governments across Europe should keep clean energy top of mind as they consider measures to protect their economies against a likely recession caused by the coronavirus, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.