Fit for 55

EU ponders 20% hydrogen-ready standard for gas boilers

New gas boilers placed on the European market could soon be required to operate with “at least 20% hydrogen” under new standards being envisaged at EU level.

Businesses in Central and Eastern Europe are getting serious about climate action

Businesses from Central and Eastern Europe are ready to embark on the journey to climate neutrality. If Central and Eastern European governments don’t want their economies to fall behind, they need to start helping their corporate leaders to go green. The EU’s ’Fit for 55’ package is an opportunity to do so, argues Rebekka Popp.

Europe’s social climate fund too small to make a difference, critics say

The European Commission proposed a "social climate fund" to protect vulnerable people from changes brought by the energy transition. Still, it is not fit for purpose, according to researchers and policymakers in the European Parliament.

EU rules out banning gas boilers, aims for ‘gradual phase-out’ instead

The European Commission will not propose banning gas-fired home boilers “overnight”, a senior EU official has said, explaining that differences in energy mix between EU member states are just too big to apply a one-size-fits-all solution.

EU countries urged to step up emission cuts in buildings, transport and agriculture

Lawmakers in the European Parliament's environment committee urged EU countries on Monday (27 September) to step up their efforts to reduce emissions in sectors such as agriculture, buildings and transport, which are currently not covered by the bloc's emissions trading scheme.

Energy ministers to hold first exchange on EU’s 2030 climate laws

In their first meeting since the European Commission tabled an overhaul of climate legislation in July, EU energy ministers are due to discuss two major files that will drive Europe’s push towards clean energy, according to a room document seen by EURACTIV.

Europe needs to speed up on climate action

Europe's recent push to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions is desperately needed, but it is happening too slowly, with many key measures laid out in the Fit for 55 climate package not coming into force until the 2030s, writes Michael Bloss.

German industry gears up for its next lobbying battle: the internal combustion engine

While German carmakers unveil their latest electric vehicles at the International Motor Show in Munich, the industry associations they are members of have made their position clear: the next German government must fight for the internal combustion engine at EU level.

MEPs blast Commission’s flagship forest strategy as vague, overstepping EU remit

European lawmakers from across the political spectrum have united in criticism against the European Commission’s new flagship Forest Strategy, describing it as vague and superficial while flagging concerns that it goes beyond the remit of EU competences.

EU biofuel reform plan risks undermining waste-based fuels: industry

The European Commission's proposal to halt advanced biofuels from being double-counted towards road transport energy targets would diminish the use of waste-based fuels in favour of cheaper crop-based biofuels, a leading industry organisation has told EURACTIV.

German think-tanks ring climate alarm as candidates squabble over minutiae

Five million Germans watched their future Chancellor debate environmental issues on Sunday (29 August), amid calls from prominent think-tanks who highlighted Germany’s legal obligation to cut emissions 65% by 2030.

German car parts suppliers fret over combustion engine phase-out

The European Commission’s Fit for 55 package will rapidly tighten emission standards for cars, effectively banning the sale of vehicles fitted with internal combustion engines by 2035. German carmakers had preempted the move, but parts suppliers and employees are worried.

Carbon pricing in buildings? Help renovate and fuel-switch to renewables first

Including buildings in an emissions trading scheme will have a limited impact on emissions. The EU must also focus on an ambitious revision of the energy performance of buildings directive to ensure that emissions are sufficiently decreased, writes Monica Frassoni.

Firms propose green solutions for France’s EU presidency bid

A group of major French companies have sent a letter to Prime Minister Jean Castex  proposing solutions to best support Europe in its energy transition once France assumes the six month rotating EU Council presidency at the start of 2022. EURACTIV France reports.

EU drops ‘accounting trick’ to boost green fuel in road transport

The biofuels industry has welcomed the European Commission's proposal to end the statistical inflation of waste-based biofuels in the EU's road transport energy mix, a practice they say camouflaged the use of fossil fuels.

EU’s new climate package must now close the ‘National Ownership Gap’

Europe must go beyond EU-level targets and ambition to implement climate action across member states, if it wants to reach its own ambition and limit the world to 1.5°C warming, write Sharon Turner and Thomas Muinzer.

French gas association optimistic about reaching 2023 biomethane target this year

The gas industry is committed to ensuring that by 2050, 100% of gas is renewable or decarbonised, but to achieve that, it will have to diversify, Patrick Corbin, president of the French Gas Association (AFG) said in an interview with EURACTIV France.

Critics warn carbon price proposal would exacerbate energy poverty

Energy poverty could be exacerbated ad prices rise under the European Commission's proposed revamped emissions trading scheme, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has warned, with other stakeholders raising similar misgivings. 

Tackling energy poverty is a non-negotiable part of the green transition

Europe's new climate legislation must focus on renovating its inefficient buildings and lifting millions of people out of energy poverty, but that is only possible if the EU works together with local governments, writes Emil Boc.

EU industry shuns carbon border levy, calls for export rebates

European industries covered by the EU's future carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) have expressed doubts about the proposal, tabled last week. In addition to border measures, they are calling for an export rebate scheme to help green EU products compete on global markets.

EU ministers attack plans to extend carbon pricing to heating, transport

EU environment ministers expressed "quite a lot of reservations" about European Commission plans to set up a second emissions trading scheme for road transport and buildings at their first meeting since Brussels tabled the proposal last week.

EU’s green hydrogen plans hailed as ‘true game-changer’ by industry

The European Commission boosted regulatory support for green hydrogen in its proposed overhaul of climate legislation published last week, with the renewable hydrogen coalition calling it "a true game changer" for the nascent EU industry.

Fit for 55 will penalise poor Europeans

The European Commission's 'Fit for 55' legislative package will penalise poor Europeans. This is not the just energy transition the EU promised, writes Martha Myers.