About: carbon footprint

EU’s hydrogen strategy a good start but key problems sidestepped

Europe’s hydrogen strategy mostly points in the right direction by identifying renewable hydrogen as a key energy vector and necessary storage solution for delivering a zero-carbon EU, but it side-steps several key problems that go to the core of what...

Last year the EU slashed single-use plastics. Now it needs to do the same for all other resources

Last year the EU passed ambitious new laws to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics. That same thinking now needs to be applied to the economy as a whole, argues Meadhbh Bolger, saying Europe can get started by setting targets in its upcoming Circular Economy Action Plan.

Which is more blue, Arctic sealing or the EU seal ban?

The EU advocates for Blue Economy, the new framework for the sustainable growth in the marine sector. Does Arctic sealing, a traditional activity widely condemned by the EU and others, actually qualify as a component of the blue economy?

Resource efficiency work must start now, not in 10 years

This spring the European Commission will publish a package on resource efficiency and the circular economy. This must include strong indicators on the EU’s use of resources and set a clear path to reduce the overconsumption of water, land, raw materials and carbon, writes Magda Stoczkiewicz.

ILUC factors could jeopardise how we measure the carbon footprint of a product

As the European Union seeks to address whether biofuels production increases greenhouse gas emissions and whether to tackle the issue by including indirect land use change (ILUC) factors in the environmental assessments, it has ignored the fact that ILUC can neither be observed nor measured and is therefore not a scientifically robust  solution, says Matthias Finkbeiner.