The EU and US agreed to a new trade deal in recent days, to a distinctly mixed reaction. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Europe’s largest network of environmental NGOs, warns that the centrepiece of the deal, a €700 billion pledge to buy U.S. fossil fuels and nuclear energy over the next three years, is fundamentally incompatible with the EU’s 2030 climate targets. The EEB is calling on the European Parliament and Member States to scrutinise and reject any elements of the agreement that undermine Europe’s climate goals, energy sovereignty, or international credibility.
The Financial Times reports that Standard Chartered chief Bill Winters has attacked companies that have scrapped their sustainability and ESG policies in the Trump era for political gain, and lamented US and UK aid cuts as bad for the world. ‘Shame on them,’ Winters said in attacking companies ditching ESG pledges, He criticised firms that had jumped on the climate bandwagon when it was “fashionable”, but had since rolled back on their green ambitions or gone quiet on the subject.
The Guardian reports that Barclays has become the second UK bank to withdraw from a UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), claiming that a wave of defections by international lenders meant it was no longer fit for purpose. HSBC left in early July. “Barclays said it was no longer effective, given it no longer counted some of the world’s biggest lenders as members. The US lenders who cancelled their membership at the start of the year include JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.” Barclays issued this statement: “We are committed to our ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050,” Barclays said, adding that its plans to issue $1tn (£750bn) in loans to fund sustainable projects and help firms transition to more climate-friendly operations “remain unchanged. We continue to work with our clients on their transition, finance the transition and scale climate tech, while helping to ensure energy security for our customers and clients.” They better.
The European Environment Agency has announced the winners of its “Environment&Me 2025” photo competition. Check out the winners here.
Don’t forget eceee’s Zero Carbon Industry event in Rome in February 2026. The deadline for submitting abstracts is September 15th.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:
- Country Living Magazine provides 3 European train routes set to transform travel in 2025
- Check out the Good Night Train website for the unique way to travel through Europe while you sleep.
- World Walks provides us with walking holidays in Europe.
- For those who want to combine hiking with food and wine in Europe and Australia, check out the Hedonistic Hiking website.
- Cycling for Softies provides us with the 15 Best Cycling Holidays in Europe 2025.
Herman Melville (1819-1891), an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period, best-known for his novel Moby Dick, asks an important question: “Is there some principal of nature which states that we never know the quality of what we have until it is gone?”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- EU policies aimed at cutting energy are ‘lamentably inadequate’
- The US Department of Energy marginalises GHG emissions in new report
- Five legal strategies to protect the environment
- Adapting Germany’s trains to a changing climate
- Blog by Jane Marsh – Green Energy’s Environmental Impact: What the Industry Isn’t Always Telling You
- With the US leaving the global stage in addressing climate change, there are signs that a new set of leaders is rising to the occasion
- The overlooked power of energy efficiency
- The largest project in history has begun: 52 billion solar panels to cover America
- The shift to EVs and electric water heating has a huge silver lining
Please send your comments on any of the posts. Please recommend EiD to your friends and colleagues.
If you know anyone who would like to receive this weekly notice, please have them contact EiD at energyindemand@gmail.com. It is not available on the WordPress website.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 