Energy
Long freeze on new labels for heaters may slow innovation, decarbonisation
In a possible nod to industry demands, the EU's new energy label regulations will allow a 10-year transition period for heaters until 2030, a move likely to confuse consumers, hinder innovation in clean technology and extend the market life of fossil-fuelled devices, critics said.
Grid operators boss: We are trying to align physics and markets
Security of electricity supply should remain a national responsibility although regional coordination can help provide backup in case of need and avoid overcapacity, according to Laurent Schmitt, the Secretary General of ENTSO-E, in an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia.
Will EU ministers heed Macron’s call to #Makeourplanetgreatagain?
Europe’s proposed 30% energy savings objective means less savings in the period 2020-2030 than in 2010-2020 and are in direct contradiction with the spirit of the Paris Agreement, writes Yamina Saheb as EU energy ministers prepare to meet on Monday (26 June).
Think tank: Lack of EU heating and cooling laws a ‘real failure’
The lack of hard EU legislation for the decarbonisation of Europe’s heating and cooling systems is a failure that puts the bloc’s climate goals at risk, Maarten De Groote, the head of research at the Buildings Performance Institute Europe, has warned.
Short-term views on forest climate benefits is a mistake
The Commission’s land-use proposal risks being a step backwards in transitioning to a fossil fuel-free economy. Mårten Larsson explains the alternatives.
Will EU Council block trillions of investment in energy efficiency?
Politicians have a tendency to play things safe, only committing to policy objectives that are well within reach, even when it goes against long-term EU goals or plain common sense. This seems to be the case for the draft Energy Efficiency Directive, warns Benedek Jávor.
Heating and cooling
The heating and cooling of buildings and industry is responsible for half of the EU’s energy consumption, and “much of it is wasted” according to the European Commission.
Death of coal ‘might take longer than we think’, says EU’s new utility boss
The “denial phase” is over, the outgoing president of Eurelectric said as he opened the trade association’s annual convention in Estoril, Portugal on Monday (19 June).
IEA chief economist: ‘1970s’ power grids need urgent rethink
Electric vehicles could revolutionise Europe’s electricity system, but an outmoded network regulation could hamper progress, according to Laszlo Varro, chief economist at the International Energy Agency.
EU will fail Paris climate challenge unless it tackles heating and cooling
The European Union’s fight against global warming is doomed to fail unless decisive action is taken to change the way we heat and cool our buildings.
Paris Agreement under threat as member states water down building performance measures
While President Trump is grabbing world headlines by publicly trashing the Paris climate agreement, EU member states are also trying to sabotage this deal by watering down measures in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), writes Adrian Joyce.
Why Europe needs an industrial strategy
Global investment in energy efficiency now outstrips investment in conventional power generation. Europe is at the forefront and recognises that energy efficiency represents a vast energy resource that is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, writes Heinz Haller.
Greece and Turkey downplay divisions ahead of fresh Cyprus talks
Greece and Turkey put a territorial dispute in the Aegean on the back-burner in talks in Athens on Monday (19 June). The two countries' prime ministers instead focused on their common commercial interests ahead of another round of UN-sponsored talks on Cyprus.
Storage ‘not fundamentally needed’ for future power grid, scientists say
The emergence of household batteries, along with small-scale solar photovoltaic and plug-in electric cars, is slated to transform electricity storage, according to a new state-of-the-art report by European science academies. But experts claim storage is not actually fundamentally needed.
Energy security: Lowering ambition and leaving Ukraine out in the cold
Short-sightedness and lack of solidarity have hollowed out the energy package. While there are certain positive developments in the Security of Gas Supply Regulation, the EU is simply not up to the game in the new reality of energy geopolitics.
Cities are key players in the clean energy transition
Cities are often leaders in climate action and ambition. National governments need to recognise this and empower them with the financial and technical means to complete their transition away from fossil fuels, writes Abdeluheb Choho.
New US sanctions threaten EU firms involved in Nord Stream 2
The US Senate voted nearly unanimously on Thursday (15 June) for legislation to impose new sanctions on Russia and force President Donald Trump to get Congress' approval before easing any existing sanctions on Russia.
Decoupling energy from GDP growth ‘might be impossible’, Statoil says
The Norwegian oil and gas giant presented its latest Energy Perspectives report in Brussels today (15 June), stressing the need to dramatically reduce global energy consumption as EU member states continued to squabble about the bloc’s energy savings objectives for 2030.
Proposed Nord Stream 2 compromise guarantees Ukraine’s gas transit role
The European Commission hopes to bring together the friends and the foes of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project around a mandate which would guarantee that Ukraine would remain a transit country for Russian gas to the EU.
Proper Energy Union governance is essential to delivering the EU’s Paris Agreement promises
Transparency and long-term planning are the only ways to reduce the cost of the transition and align climate and energy policies, argues Quentin Genard of E3G. The EU’s Governance Regulation can do that.
New energy labels for appliances seen as boon for consumers
The European Parliament approved on Tuesday (June 13) the introduction of new energy labels for household appliances, which MEPs and industry experts said should enable consumers to save money and cut energy consumption while helping the bloc reduce overall carbon emissions.
Healthy Buildings Day 2017
One out of six Europeans – or the equivalent of Germany’s population – today reports living in unhealthy buildings, according to the Healthy Homes Barometer, launched by VELUX at the European Parliament.
FAO official: Food-based biofuels not necessarily bad
Brazil demonstrates that sugar cane cultivation can supply both food and ethanol for fuel without harming the environment or pushing up food prices, a senior official from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has said.
Commission passes the Nord Stream 2 buck to member states
The Commission asked the member states on Friday (9 June) for a mandate to negotiate with Russia an agreement on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. It is very likely to obtain permission, despite several Central European countries strongly oppose it.