European nature is not in a good state and it has shown few signs of improvement over the past years. According to European Environment Agency’s (EEA) briefing, published this week, restoration efforts and better ongoing management of ecosystems are needed to safeguard a range of benefits delivered by a healthy nature — to people’s health, … Continue reading New EEA briefing on need for restoration efforts of ecosystems
Category: EU policies
Update on the energy performance of buildings
Improving the energy performance of our buildings is a high priority as countries roll out their net-zero energy transition strategies. This week there were two interesting articles you should be aware of: The Mortgage Solutions website writes that around 80 per cent of landlords have already completed energy efficiency works in the UK. Check out … Continue reading Update on the energy performance of buildings
European Green Deal: new law agreed to cut aviation emissions by promoting sustainable aviation fuels
A political agreement on the ReFuelEU Aviation proposal was reached April 25th between the European Parliament and the Council. Once in place, the new rules will help decarbonise the aviation sector by requiring fuel suppliers to blend sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) with kerosene in increasing amounts from 2025. This measure on its own is projected … Continue reading European Green Deal: new law agreed to cut aviation emissions by promoting sustainable aviation fuels
Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe
Fiona Harvey writes on The Guardian website about a recent report from the European Environmental Agency on Europe’s air quality status. Dirty air causes premature death of at least 1,200 children across Europe every year. Europe ‘failing its children’ on air pollution, EEA says Europe is failing its children when it comes to air pollution, … Continue reading Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe
New EEA report on the shift to a sustainable food system
Europe’s shift to a sustainable food system will involve huge changes in the way we produce and consume food. Achieving this depends on ambitious and coherent EU policies to promote and guide innovation and behavioural change, phase out harmful practices and ensure a just transition, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published recently. … Continue reading New EEA report on the shift to a sustainable food system
A political battle over firewood’s future in the EU’s energy transition is playing out in Brussels
As Europe races to replace Russian fossil fuels with cleaner power sources, EU lawmakers are weighing up the future of firewood as a renewable energy source. The debate is getting heated. In an article on the Deutsche Welle website, Sarah Steffen and Tamsin Walker discuss latest developments. EU weighs up future of wood-burning as … Continue reading A political battle over firewood’s future in the EU’s energy transition is playing out in Brussels
“We are not fully in agreement yet” – Germany facing a growing backlash inside the EU over its U-turn on a law to phase out the combustion engine in new cars by 2035
The row is a further signal of tensions over the green deal landmark proposals to tackle climate crisis. In an article on the Guardian website, Jennifer Rankin and Philip Oltermann discuss what happened in this week’s meetings in Brussels. Germany faces EU backlash over U-turn on phasing out combustion engine Germany is facing a … Continue reading “We are not fully in agreement yet” – Germany facing a growing backlash inside the EU over its U-turn on a law to phase out the combustion engine in new cars by 2035
The EU’s plans to reduce GHG emissions are still not in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement
Science says it loud and clear that the EU’s plans to reduce emissions are not in line with the Paris Agreement. The question is whether EU member states will set things right and shoot beyond the minimum ambition with their National Climate and Energy Plans, write Brigitta Bozsó and Klaus Röhrig, policy experts at Climate … Continue reading The EU’s plans to reduce GHG emissions are still not in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement
The EU Net Zero Industry Act must not be protectionist
How the EU might respond to clean teach subsidies, in the form of a leaked draft law entitled the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), is deeply worrisome. Niclas Poitiers, André Sapir, Simone Tagliapietra, Reinhilde Veugelers and Jeromin Zettelmeyer explain their views in an article on the Breugel website. Bruegel is the European think tank that … Continue reading The EU Net Zero Industry Act must not be protectionist
The challenge for making the EU Green Deal industrial plan as effective as possible
In the race to avoid climate breakdown, talk of a subsidy race with the United States is misplaced. EU leaders would be better off focusing on making the Green Deal Industrial Plan as effective as possible to ensure win-wins, write Jakob Hafele and Jonathan Barth, co-founders of the ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies, in an … Continue reading The challenge for making the EU Green Deal industrial plan as effective as possible
