Energy
Jerzy Buzek: Deal on Nord Stream 2 is good for Poland and EU
The revised EU gas directive agreed on Tuesday night (12 February) gives guarantees that the EU’s interests are preserved, by giving the European Commission a key role in the permitting process of all pipelines linking Europe with foreign countries, including Russia, says MEP Jerzy Buzek. EURACTIV Poland reports.
UNEP chief: EU should aim for 55% CO2 reduction by 2030
The European Union needs to revise its 2030 CO2 reduction target from 40% to 55% if it wants to meet the 1.5°C global warming objective of the Paris Agreement, says Joyce Msuya.
Cañete: ‘No way around it’, climate neutral EU is needed
EU climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete is in no doubt that the EU has to achieve ‘climate neutrality’ by 2050 and wants to use his final months in the job to push the bloc towards Paris Agreement-compliance.
EY consultant: Europe is lagging behind in power grid digitalisation
The volume of solar panels and electric cars connected to the grid is still manageable for now. But massive new load expected from electric vehicles in the coming years will require stepping up network digitalisation, warns Serge Colle.
Green tech expert: ‘Car ownership is nonsense’
The sharing economy can kill two birds with one stone by lowering the cost of green technologies and reducing polluting emissions, cleantech expert Radoslav Mizera told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Academic: Oil and gas boilers should be banned across Europe by 2030
Emissions from residential heating can be drastically reduced if Europe agrees a ban on new oil and gas boiler installations by 2030 at the latest, according to a Danish researcher who led an EU-wide study to decarbonise the heating and cooling sector.
Activist: Poland’s ‘just transition’ declaration is just posturing
The just transition declaration adopted at the COP24 in Poland sounds good but it is not connected to any kind of climate ambition or specific energy projects involving local communities, Alexandru Mustata told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Utilities see opportunity in EU’s 2050 climate strategy
Vienna’s energy and infrastructure utilities say the Commission’s long-term strategy unveiled this week is in line with own their forecasts and goals.
Foratom: ‘Balance of power in the EU is shifting against nuclear’
Eastern EU countries have a positive opinion of nuclear energy while others like Belgium and Spain are shifting against, says Yves Desbazeille. The big question for the industry is whether Germany will turn even more anti-nuclear than it already is, he says. EURACTIV Slovakia reports.
EU’s Sefcovic: Real risk that ‘raw materials become the new oil’
Europeans have to be “very vigilant” that today’s dependency on imported oil and gas is not replaced by dependency on lithium, cobalt, copper and other raw materials that industries need for the green transition, Maroš Šefčovič told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Injecting responsibility into recycling
Collecting and recycling waste is more important than ever, since EU targets ask more and more from member states. But national capitals face a dilemma about how best to recycle more, as two distinct schemes offer two very different solutions.
Sefcovic: We want to be carbon neutral
With its Clean Energy package, the European Commission wants to combat climate change, further develop the internal market for electricity and promote a carbon neutral future with a concept. EURACTIV Germany spoke to Maroš Šefčovič.
EU official: Rich people win most from regulated energy tariffs
Whether it’s for heating their swimming pools or to power their air conditioning systems and home appliances, regulated electricity prices “give the greatest potential benefit to richer households” who consume the largest amounts of energy, says Klaus-Dieter Borchard.
WindEurope: Regulated prices ‘can only slow the pace of the energy transition’
With growing shares of renewable energies added to the system, the dynamic pricing of electricity becomes even more important in order to provide flexibility on the demand side, says Pierre Tardieu. This is why regulated energy prices can only slow the pace of the energy transition, he argues.
Think-tank: Artificially low electricity prices ‘not good for EDF’ nor consumers
Artificially low energy prices in France are one of the reasons why former state monopoly EDF loses money, says Thomas Pellerin-Carlin. Moreover, regulated prices are useless to protect vulnerable consumers from energy poverty and “almost never leads to low energy bills,” he argues.
Gas chief: LNG can help cut air pollution, boost human health
Shipping is responsible for over 3% of global emissions with that number expected to grow. Owners and operators will have to decide how to clean up their vessels and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a potential solution, Gas Infrastructure Europe's Wim Groenendijk told EURACTIV.
French MP: Building renovation needs to get everyone on board
To succeed in renovating the European building stock by 2050, all the governance levels need to be involved, from local to national, French MP Marjolaine Meynier-Millefert told EURACTIV, adding that people who cannot afford the costs of renovation must not be left behind.
Norwegian activist: CCS is the only way to deal with CO2 from cement, steel
Industrial sectors such as cement and steelmaking will continue emitting CO2 even if they switch to 100% renewable energy, says Camilla Skriung who calls on the Norwegian government to take action now – without waiting for EU funding – in order to get the first projects off the ground.
Healthy buildings expert: ‘Homes cause hurricanes’
At the Healthy Buildings Day (HBD) in Brussels last week (26 September), academic experts painted a vivid picture of how the edifices we spend our days in shape our lives and the planet itself.
COP24 president: People most affected by change should be invited to the conversation
As Poland readies itself to welcome the world in December, the man tasked with organising the COP24 Katowice summit told EURACTIV how preparations are going for what is likely to be make-or-break climate talks for the Paris Agreement.
Bendt Bendtsen MEP: Time for EU countries to draft building strategies, ‘we’ll be watching’
Nearly half of Europe’s energy is used up by buildings but new rules adopted by the EU earlier this year wants to inject efficiency en masse into the sector and improve massively the edifices in which we live and work. EURACTIV spoke with the lawmaker behind the new legislation.
Energy Web Foundation: Blockchain essential for EV growth, community solar
Distributed energy solutions such as solar PV, batteries, and smart controls are getting cheaper by the day and will soon outperform traditional energy sources such as coal, gas, and nuclear power, says Hervé Touati. In any case, Blockchain-type solutions will be needed for the mass deployment of electric vehicles, he warns.Special ReportPromoted content
PKEE: Polish capacity market is designed for low-carbon electricity
The capacity market in Poland has a so-called “green bonus”, which allows a two-year extension of the multiannual capacity contracts provided that a 450 kg CO2/MWh emission performance standard is met, says Maciej Burny.