About: CO2 targets Archives

Developing countries such as India and Brazil will drive strong growth of wind energy in the next five years, according to the latest industry forecasts, but European firms still have the edge, says the head of Europe’s wind industry.

Ministers have been advised to allow the controversial practice of fracking for shale gas to be extended in Britain, despite it causing two earthquakes and the emergence of serious doubts over the safety of the wells that have already been drilled.

Conventional biofuels like biodiesel increase carbon dioxide emissions and are too expensive to consider as a long-term alternative fuel, a draft EU report says.

India will urge its airlines not to take part in the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS), a senior government official said, the latest salvo in the row over an EU law requiring all flights in and out of Europe to pay for their emissions.

Global greenhouse gas emissions could rise 50% by 2050 without more ambitious climate policies, as fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy mix, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says in a new report.

Nuclear plants have remained closed in Japan since the Fukushima disaster because of ‘nuclear-phobia’ among local communities, the Japanese trade envoy has told a meeting in Brussels.

The UK government wants nuclear power to be given parity with renewables in Europe, in a move that would significantly boost atomic energy in Britain but downgrade investment in renewable generation, according to a leaked document seen by the Guardian newspaper.

Volkswagen has stunned Brussels by reconsidering its fierce opposition to EU automobile emissions targets, and promising to reduce its carbon emissions to 120 grams of CO2 per kilometre by 2015, a full 10 grams below the EU’s target.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) seems to be on a policy collision course with the European Union, having failed to make headway on market-based measures to curb carbon dioxide emissions from global shipping.

A Czech bid for almost €2 billion of free allowances under the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) – equal to almost half Prague’s 2012 budget deficit – has drawn heavy fire from Brussels and European environmentalists, who say it will do little to combat CO2 emissions. 

If ships were obliged to immediately cut their speeds, they could also slash 15% of their carbon emissions and save billions in lower ship fuel bills, according to a new report.

A senior Shell executive has called for “decisive action” to recalibrate the Emissions Trading System (ETS), as a key European Parliament committee prepares to vote on a ‘set-aside’ of EU allowances in a bid to raise the carbon price.

Billions of pounds' worth of investment in Britain's energy infrastructure is on hold or uncertain because of concerns over the government's commitment to wind energy.

Eight of Europe’s largest energy companies have launched a clean energy alliance with a call for the EU to set legally enforceable targets for 2030 in emissions reductions, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Europe should remain firm in its target to stay away from high-carbon oil and resist the pressure from some Canadian tar sands lobbies, writes Pieter De Pous from the European Environmental Bureau.

Canada is threatening trade retaliation if the EU tries to tighten regulations on oil from its highly polluting tar sands in a Fuel Quality Directive, according to documents seen by EURACTIV.

The EU should bin incentives for road-transport biodiesel or provide equal ones for the production of biokerosene used in airplanes, a senior Airbus executive has told EURACTIV.

Europe’s 27 environment ministers will call for a 40% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030 if they follow draft conclusions - seen by EURACTIV - prepared by the Danish EU presidency ahead of a meeting on 9 March.

The huge reserves of coal, oil and gas held by companies listed in the City of London are "sub-prime" assets posing a systemic risk to economic stability, a high-profile coalition of investors, politicians and scientists has warned the Bank of England's governor, Mervyn King.

Raising the European Union's 2020 emission reduction target from 20% to 30% would be much less costly than was assumed in 2008, and the effort could be shared fairly among governments, according to a draft EU document.

EU plans to move towards a low-carbon economy depend upon a transformed cross-border transmissions system that can integrate renewables and smart meters alike, offering energy consumption savings at source. But is Europe on track to meet the challenge?

A quarter of Europe’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions come from homes, says a new analysis by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

European clean energy advocates criticised the European Commission’s energy roadmap for 2050, published today (15 December), as a "missed opportunity" for omitting intermediate targets from the final text.

The European Investment Bank has been accused of funding the fossil fuel industry with €16 billion of loans since 2007, more than that stumped up for any other energy source.