The Australian government has won an appeal against a ruling that it has a duty of care to protect children from harm caused by climate change

Last year, eight teenagers and an 87-year-old nun convinced a court that the government had a legal duty to children when assessing fossil fuel projects. The decision was hailed as a world first, but it has been successfully challenged by the environment minister. The situation is discussed in a news item on the BBC News … Continue reading The Australian government has won an appeal against a ruling that it has a duty of care to protect children from harm caused by climate change →

New energy efficiency regulations for renovation work in Finland

Finland’s Ministry of the Environment issued new regulations on February 27th for improving the energy efficiency of buildings during renovation and alteration works. The regulations will come into effect on June 1, 2013 for buildings in public use and on September 1, 2013 for other buildings. The regulations define the minimum requirements for energy efficiency … Continue reading New energy efficiency regulations for renovation work in Finland →

Renewables in Poland

Sandra Enkhardt writes in PV magazine about the progress underway in Poland to pass a renewable energy law. Poland: Renewable energy law could be adopted in March Poland’s new renewable energy law is expected to be adopted by the government by the end of March. However, due to the EC notification process, it is … Continue reading Renewables in Poland →

VAT challenge could harm Green Deal prospects

The UK government is to fight an EU ruling that the UK must raise VAT on energy efficiency products from 5% to 20%. VAT was reduced to 5% on energy efficiency products in the UK because government wants to tackle fuel poverty, reduce carbon emissions and create jobs. Andrew Warren of the Association for the … Continue reading VAT challenge could harm Green Deal prospects →

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 →

Quote of the week

The European Council met in Brussels June 28th and 29th and formally approved the Energy Efficiency Directive. The Communiqué states: Following the formal adoption of the Energy Efficiency Directive, Member States must rapidly implement it, making full use of its provisions in order to exploit the significant potential for job creation in this sector. Council … Continue reading Quote of the week →

Supreme Court Justice says courts are crucial to environmental protection

Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, a justice of the UK supreme court, writes in the Guardian of the missed opportunity at Rio+20 to emphasise how people can effect real change through the courts: Judges for the environment: we have a crucial role to play While politicians may have failed to agree any headline-grabbing commitments … Continue reading Supreme Court Justice says courts are crucial to environmental protection →

EU holds out hope for UK’s green goods tax break

BusinessGreen reports (below) that the European Commission recently ordered the UK government to repeal a law that allows reduced rates of VAT on insulation materials and solar panels, on the grounds that it fails to comply with the EU's VAT Directive. In a bizarre move, the European Commission suggests a defence that the UK can … Continue reading EU holds out hope for UK’s green goods tax break →

Number of the week . . . or how the European Energy Efficiency Directive succeeded

Finally on June 13th, the rabbit was pulled out of the hat and an agreement was reached on a compromise Energy Efficiency Directive. According to many within the Coalition for Energy Savings, there is disappointment because the measures do not sufficiently close the gap to reach the 20% energy savings target by 2020. The Commission … Continue reading Number of the week . . . or how the European Energy Efficiency Directive succeeded →

Energy Efficiency Directive negotiations update

Concern is growing that the negotiations between the European Council, Parliament and Commission may collapse because of a lack of serious movement on the part of Council. While there has been some change of position by Council on energy efficiency obligations and cogeneration, Council seems reluctant to budge on the retrofit of buildings. There is … Continue reading Energy Efficiency Directive negotiations update →