About: 2030 climate and energy targets
Industrial decarbonisation and the EU Green Deal: The case for bold action
The green deal is a credible first step to decarbonise energy-intensive industries such as steelmaking and chemicals. However, the transition to climate neutrality will also depend on the development of a comprehensive, integrated industrial strategy, writes Gauri Khandekar.
Germany’s new coal phase-out plan: Lots of money, little climate ambition
An agreement reached in the early hours of Thursday (16 January) between the federal government and representatives of the four German coal states won't bring the country much closer to reaching its climate goals, analysts said.
Time for a new deal for our planet, our communities and our future
The transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 is a massive challenge, but also a huge opportunity – a chance to design a socially inclusive, clean future, argue Sharan Burrow, Paul Polman and Laurence Tubiana.
Massive rise in EV charging points needed to reach EU climate goals, analysis finds
Europe needs fifteen times more electric vehicle public charging points by 2030 to support the EU’s goal of becoming “climate neutral” by mid-century, according to new research published today (8 January).
Germany missed EU deadline to submit national climate plan
All EU member states should have submitted their climate protection plans for the coming decade to the European Commission by 31 December 2019. But some missed the deadline, including Germany. EURACTIV.de reports.
2020: A test year for Europe’s much-vaunted Green Deal
Ursula von der Leyen, the new president of the European Commission, surprised even environmentalists when she announced she would make climate policy the “hallmark” of her five-year mandate. Now comes the hard part: the delivery.
UK’s Brexit election explained: ‘There will be one less pro-climate vote in the EU’
With Germany’s dwindling leadership on climate, Britain’s departure from the European Union could have “potentially huge” consequences for climate policy, says Sandrine Dixson-Declève.
Worries over ‘fresh money’ as EU cooks up energy transition fund
Eastern EU countries, backed by trade unions, are putting pressure on EU leaders to come up with “fresh money” to support the energy transition in coal-dependent regions as part of a Green Deal due to be unveiled this week.
Time is ripe to align EU policies with Paris Climate Agreement
It’s the new Commission’s first weeks in office and climate is in the spotlight, with a European Green Deal expected to be tabled on 11 December. To succeed, the deal needs to enshrine increased climate ambition for the next decade, align the EU budget accordingly and boost EU support to developing countries, writes Wendel Trio.
Europe’s environment ‘at a tipping point’, EU agency says
Europe faces environmental challenges “of unprecedented scale and urgency,” according to a comprehensive overview of air, land and water ecosystems published on Wednesday (4 December) by the European Environment Agency.
Progressive businesses support a 55% carbon reduction target in Europe
The COP25 climate summit in Madrid needs to lay the groundwork for 2020 when countries and blocs will be measured against their commitment to the Paris Agreement. At EU level, this should translate into an ambitious European Green Deal, writes Eliot Whittington.
Pascal Canfin MEP: Time to declare climate emergency in Europe
The MEP chairing the European Parliament’s environment committee has called on the Assembly to declare climate emergency at the next plenary session in November. "It would be important to do it at that time," he told EURACTIV in a wide-ranging interview.
EU rethinks future gas strategy in light of ‘European Green Deal’
Many in the European Commission were taken by surprise when their incoming president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced bold new climate objectives for 2030 and 2050, sending officials working on a draft gas package of legislation back to the drawing board.
Germany’s missed opportunity to regain climate leadership
The German climate cabinet’s plans for 2030, published last Friday, are a step forward for climate action but they are insufficient to achieve the government’s own targets, write Felix Heilmann, Alexander Reitzenstein and Brick Medak.
Three EU countries bump up renewable energy goal for 2030
France, Greece and Bulgaria have pledged to update their national targets for renewable energy and bump up the share of wind, solar and other renewables to 33%, 35% and 27% of their energy consumption respectively by 2030.
Paris promises: where the world’s biggest polluters stand
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has convened a major new climate summit on September 23 because the world's main polluters remain well behind their goals as laid out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
EU continues to fund coal and steel research
A relatively unknown EU fund supports coal and steel research projects. Among other things, the money is used to purchase highly toxic gases and optimise processes in the coal industry. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Poland set to delay EU deal on 2050 ‘climate neutrality’ target
European leaders will struggle to broker a stronger climate package before December, experts say, as Warsaw prepares to play hard for funding. EURACTIV's media partner Climate Home News reports.
Wind power: What next for Europe?
Europe is the cradle of the wind energy industry and is still rightly perceived as a global leader in the sector. But fresh projects have slowed in recent years, pointing to new challenges for the EU’s wind energy sector in...
EU Commission nominee backs 50% carbon cut by 2030, fails to win Greens’ support
Ursula von der Leyen said Europe should become the world’s first climate neutral continent, as she sought lawmakers’ backing for the top job on Wednesday (10 July). EURACTIV's media partner Climate Home News reports.
EU top jobs leave big questions hanging on climate policy
Ursula von der Leyen has been nominated to lead the EU’s executive at a critical moment for climate policy, but she has no record on the issue. EURACTIV's media partner Climate Home News reports.
Investors with $34 trillion demand urgent climate change action
Investors managing more than $34 trillion in assets, nearly half the world’s invested capital, are demanding urgent action from governments on climate change, piling pressure on leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies meeting this week.
Powering today’s world with tomorrow in mind
Twelve years. According to the latest IPCC report, that’s how long we have left to make sure global warming doesn’t increase beyond 1.5C. Waiting any longer or allowing temperatures to rise above this limit risks “irreversible impacts.”