New report on green procurement

The European Commission’s DG Environment published a new brochure titled “Green Public Procurement: A collection of good practices”, illustrating how European local authorities successfully launched green tenders and providing guidance to those wishing to do the same. Green public procurement is highlighted as an important element in the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) guidebook, which … Continue reading New report on green procurement →

Inside the Brussels beltway

Here are updates on some of the on-going issues in Brussels. Ecodesign For those interested in Ecodesign and products, the 2012-2014 Working Plan, which was to have been published already, is still not available. In May EiD was told that it was still in inter-service consultation and it had been hoped it would have been … Continue reading Inside the Brussels beltway →

Public consultation on EIB’s energy lending policy underway

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is launching a public consultation as part of the review of its energy sector lending policy. The review process is expected to be finalised in summer 2013. The EIB’s energy sector lending policy is based on relevant EU sector policies. These policies are translated into lending objectives and project screening … Continue reading Public consultation on EIB’s energy lending policy underway →

EU revisiting biofuels

Reuters news agency provides a good description of the changes underway to renewable energy policy which has given a high priority to the deployment of biofuels. The new proposals have been watered down in a way that have not pleased many stakeholders. Biofuels: EU weakens proposals to reduce indirect climate impact Fuel suppliers will … Continue reading EU revisiting biofuels →

Retrofitting Spain’s hotels

EurActiv recently published a report on how Spain’s hotels are getting support from an EU-funded project to help them improve the energy performance of their buildings. Spanish hotels to get energy-efficiency revamp Spanish hoteliers can now give their buildings an energy-efficient revamp with the help of an online tool calculating their needs, costs and investment … Continue reading Retrofitting Spain’s hotels →

New study on the use of financial instruments to retrofit buildings in Europe

The Buildings Performance Institute Europe has come out with a new report reviewing the use of financial instruments in the European Union. The paper presents an overview of the various financial schemes in place dedicated to the energy efficient renovation of buildings in 2011. It makes a quantitative analysis of the different financing mechanisms and … Continue reading New study on the use of financial instruments to retrofit buildings in Europe →

Gearing up for the autumn

As our summer holidays come to an end and we are starting to focus on sustainable energy issues, some useful sites and news may provide some inspiration. EiD has been attracted to a site created by the Joint Research Centre’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability on Life Cycle Analysis. It is intriguingly called Life … Continue reading Gearing up for the autumn →

Don’t count your chickens . . .

Many member states have been planning to use revenue from the planned auction of allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The UK journal, Energy in Buildings and Industry, reports that introducing a floor price for the scheme risks being seen as a carbon tax. This was the view of the Director General of … Continue reading Don’t count your chickens . . . →

Something to ponder over the summer

In April, the Commission published its evaluation of the Ecodesign directive and (2009/125/EC) and the results were discussed at a Consultation Forum meeting of April 19, 2012. One of the conclusions of the report was: Ex-ante impact assessments estimated that the first 12 Ecodesign Regulations will allow savings of 385TWh per year by 2020, which … Continue reading Something to ponder over the summer →

BMW accused of hypocrisy

This is a thought-provoking article by Adam Vaughan of the Guardian on BMW lobbying against tougher emission proposals while talking up its green credentials as official Olympics. BMW accused of hypocrisy over opposition to European car targets BMW is lobbying to water down European plans to improve the fuel efficiency of cars at the … Continue reading BMW accused of hypocrisy →