Tuesday
22nd Sep 2020
The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wants to cut at least 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - saying the Green Deal is a "cultural project" that goes beyond simply cutting emissions.
Some 150 randomly-picked men and women make up Emmanuel Macron's Citizens' Climate Convention. This week Macron invited them to the Élysée Palace and promised - nearly - all of their wishes would come true .
France's oldest nuclear power plant finally closed on Tuesday, one day after president Emmanuel Macron pledged to speed up the country's transition to a greener economy responding to the proposals from the French citizens' convention on climate.
It is of utmost concern to the environmental health community that forces within the EU Commission are actively trying to push back against a European Green Deal that is supposed to put people's health at its core.
Why is the EU Commission promoting a lose-lose (pay more, get less) strategy rather than the straightforward use of green electricity, where it will deliver bigger CO2-reductions and for less money?
The renovation of old buildings will be crucial to the success of the European Green Deal and a clean, robust economic recovery. Unless there is serious commitment from policymakers, we risk the Green Deal turning into a pumpkin.
Fossil-fuel backed lobby group Hydrogen Europe has taken charge of the EU's flagship alliance on clean hydrogen. NGOs say those who really want clean hydrogen are being bullied out.
The EU's updated 2030 climate-target plan, due to be presented by the European Commission, have been criticised for including land and forest carbon sinks in its emissions-reduction goal. Green groups describe it as an "accounting trick".
The European Commission is now considering issuing 'green bonds' for the first ever time, after green groups and other critical voices called for the unprecedented commercial-markets debt to be used on environmental projects.
Members of the European Parliament's environment committee on Thursday will vote on a crucial report about the new EU climate law. Lead rapporteur MEP Jytte Guteland expects that most MEPs will support at least 60-percent target for 2030.
Air and noise pollution, extreme weather conditions or high exposure to chemicals are key drivers of terminal diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, pulmonary disease and stroke.
The lockdown period of this pandemic was an important reminder of the value of clean air and proof that it's still possible to achieve.
First and foremost, do no harm: The danger of a rebound in greenhouse gas emissions after the coronavirus crisis is looming on the horizon.
A new report indicates that the EU's plan to reduce the bloc's greenhouse emissions by 55 percent by 2030 is "technically and economically feasible" - with a reform of EU carbon market and "adequate safeguards" for low-income EU countries.
Bornholm and Samsø are the two most sustainable and responsible islands in Europe according to the European Commission's RESponsible Island Prize.
Many capitals, experts and politicians see Poland as the 'enfant terrible' of climate negotiations. Everybody asks why? But the answer is darn simple. Money and time.
EU leaders agreed that about a third of the €750bn recovery package and the €1.074 trillion seven-year budget will be invested in projects contributing to climate action. However, environmental activists said that the package falls short on climate safeguards.
Green NGOs urge the EU Commission to align its reform of the Common Agriculture Policy with the ambitions set in the EU Green Deal. The commission wants member states to reach an agreement.
EU auditors concluded on Thursday that EU key policies adopted to protect and halt the decline of pollinators across the bloc have been largely inefficient and called on the European Commission to better address this issue.
MEPs adopted on Thursday the Mobility Package covering truck drivers' working conditions - rejecting amendments pushed by central and eastern member states. However, the European Commission warned that two new rules might be not align with the Green Deal.
Civil society organisations criticised that the commission is relying on early-stage technologies that require the continued use of fossil fuels, undermining the EU's 2050 climate-neutrality target set in the Green Deal.
As with the German government – which presented its own hydrogen strategy last month – the European Commission and other EU institutions appear to be similarly intoxicated by the false promises of the gas industry.
The EU's regions urged the unlocking of the potential of hydrogen produced from renewable sources, so-called 'green hydrogen', to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Majority of member states are off-track to deliver on air pollution reduction commitments for 2020 and 2030, EU estimates, as emissions from new cars and vans increased again.
Eight EU countries on Tuesday called on the European Commission to strengthen the Green Deal, while central and eastern Europe remain cautious - citing different starting positions and deepen inequalities.
A new report on the EU's progress on the United Nations' sustainable development goals reveals the bloc is struggling on both climate change and gender inequality.
Although Friday's summit was supposed to be an opportunity for Poland to commit to climate neutrality by 2050 - like the rest of the EU - the coronavirus has postponed that discussion, with domestic elections also upcoming.
An MEP from the European Parliament's largest political group, the centre-right EPP, is tabling pro-industry amendments on a bill to regulate carbon emissions on ships. The same MEP received campaign backing and support from industry lobbyists.
Top economists and civil society have called on EU Commission and states to add stronger green conditions on how the EU spends its corona-bailout billions.
The European Court of Auditors has urged the European Commission to establish measurable commitments to tackle biodiversity loss caused by intensive farming - as the Common Agriculture Policy has so far failed to reverse this long-standing issue.
If you want to make money outside the law, forget guns, drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. Trade in illegal pesticides combines high profits with lower risks.
The European Commission said on Tuesday that the updated budget for the Common Agrculture Policy will make farms "green, digital and more resilient". Meanwhile, countries like France and Spain welcomed the commission proposal as a step in the right direction.
The European Commission's recovery package increases five-fold the Just Transition Fund, which aims to support the transition of fossil fuel-dependent regions. But commission vice-president Frans Timmermans warned the allocation of funds could be anchored to Green Deal commitments.
