World Bank President, dogged by climate questions, will step down early

David Malpass’s decision to quit has delighted frustrated developing nations, donors, experts and campaigners. Fiona Harvey provides latest developments in an article on The Guardian website. Why World Bank head’s resignation is good news for climate crisis fight The resignation of David Malpass, president of the World Bank, was greeted with relief and joy … Continue reading World Bank President, dogged by climate questions, will step down early →

Italy is pushing back against EU directive aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings

As the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive slowly winds its way through the approval process from EU institutions, Crispian Balmer and Valentina Za write on the Reuters website that the new Italian government is throwing up some obstacles. How serious are they? Italy gets cold feet over EU greener buildings plan … Continue reading Italy is pushing back against EU directive aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings →

The European Commission has told member countries that a joint EU exit from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty appears inevitable

A news item on the EURACTIV website says that it is now inevitable that the EU will leave the Energy Charter Treaty. The last related post on EiD was only two weeks ago. Climate Home News writes that the United Kingdom’s government said it is “closely monitoring the situation”. The Swiss energy ministry’s Jean-Christophe Fueeg … Continue reading The European Commission has told member countries that a joint EU exit from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty appears inevitable →

Academia is vital if we are to train people with the right skills required for sustainable industry

Hussam Jouhara, a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at Brunel University in the UK discusses an EU Horizon 2020 research project iWAYS in an article on the university world news website. Academia and industry: alliances for future sustainability The European Union has set high targets for making our environment cleaner, and this means not … Continue reading Academia is vital if we are to train people with the right skills required for sustainable industry →

Connecting Europe by train: European Commission announces 10 pilot services to boost cross-border rail

This week the European Commission announced it will support 10 pilot projects to establish new rail services or improve existing ones. Together, they will improve cross-border rail connections across the EU, making them faster, more frequent and more affordable. After careful evaluation, the Commission has selected the following proposals for cross-border pilot services, in order … Continue reading Connecting Europe by train: European Commission announces 10 pilot services to boost cross-border rail →

European Commission announces the Green Deal Industrial Plan: putting Europe’s net-zero industry in the lead

This week, the Commission presents a Green Deal Industrial Plan to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality. The Plan aims to provide a more supportive environment for the scaling up of the EU's manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies and products required to meet Europe's ambitious … Continue reading European Commission announces the Green Deal Industrial Plan: putting Europe’s net-zero industry in the lead →

Fossil fuel companies spent millions of dollars on advertisements containing climate disinformation and greenwashing at COP27

Fossil fuel companies spent $4m on climate disinformation at COP27 in Egypt, with majority of content originating from a US based PR firm. Stuti Mishra discusses the disinformation efforts in an article on The Independent website. Fossil fuel lobby waged $4m disinformation campaign during climate summit, report finds Fossil fuel companies spent millions of … Continue reading Fossil fuel companies spent millions of dollars on advertisements containing climate disinformation and greenwashing at COP27 →

India will pitch for an “Energy Efficiency Partnership for 2030″ during its G20 presidency this year

Rituraj Baruah writes on the Mint website that India is likely to call for an energy efficiency pact as it holds this year’s presidency of the G20. It is expected that the G20 discussions will focus on accelerating energy efficiency across demand-driven sectors. India to moot energy efficiency pact at G20 India will pitch … Continue reading India will pitch for an “Energy Efficiency Partnership for 2030″ during its G20 presidency this year →

Next steps for the Energy Charter Treaty?

Since October 2022, seven EU member states have announced plans to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Across the board, the message is clear: the insufficient and potentially climate-damaging treaty reform effort is no longer a politically viable option, write Christina Eckes, Lea Main-Klingst and Lukas Schaugg. Christina Eckes is a professor of European … Continue reading Next steps for the Energy Charter Treaty? →

New EEA assessment on secondary raw material markets in Europe

Europe’s ambitions for a circular economy require the timely provision of good-quality recycled raw materials to manufacturers. However, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment published this week, from the eight most common recyclables, only aluminium, paper and glass have well-functioning secondary markets. Lack of standardisation and competition with new materials are among the … Continue reading New EEA assessment on secondary raw material markets in Europe →