Thursday
28th May 2020
The European Commission's €1.85 trillion recovery plan from the coronavirus crisis did not convince environmental NGOs, such as Greenpeace, which believes that the proposal fails to offer a truly 'green recovery' and alternatives to the existing economic model.
Where the hydrogen originates from makes a difference. Experts differentiate between grey, blue and green hydrogen.
Oxford University study says fiscal stimulus for green projects offer higher returns on government spending in the short and long term than traditional incentives on fossil fuels.
Why a contract for consultancy work has angered green groups, and why it must be cancelled.
Germany is set to lead the EU's recovery plan - linking climate protection with economic perspectives - in conjunction with its upcoming EU's presidency.
The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and the environment has said "this is the most important climate change court decision in the world so far, confirming that human rights are jeopardised by the climate emergency."
The European Commission's recovery plan from the coronavirus pandemic gives priority to building renovation, renewables and hydrogen. However, eight member states have insisted that gas plays a crucial role in the transition from fossil fuels to renewables.
The European Commission wants to cut chemical pesticides by 50 percent in the next decade - but the definitive target will be subject to the results of a risk assessment. Green NGOs have urged their full phase-out by 2035.
The European Commission is set to unveil the much-awaited Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategy on Wednesday, after several postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic.
To succeed Timmermans needs to stand up to governments and vested interests rushing to reboot economies crashed by the coronavirus. That means ensuring the trillions of euros the EU and its member states spend transform rather than entrench polluting industries.
While much of the transport sector is pushing for unconditional state aid and to postpone climate policy action, experts believe that this crisis could help to transform the EU's transportation system, making it more resilient, sustainable and flexible.
An average global temperature rise above 1.5 or 2°C creates risks society cannot handle. This dwarfs the fallout of Covid-19.
The coronavirus outbreak exposed the need to transform the EU's farming and food systems, to a more sustainable agricultural system that can be resilient to future shocks. The long-anticipated 'Farm to Fork' strategy can make this difference, campaigners say.
The Flemish government has blocked the signature of a letter from 12 member states reaffirming Europe's commitment to the Green Deal - despite the coronavirus.
A new circular economy strategy was adopted on Wednesday intended to strengthen the EU's economy, empower consumers and protect the environment. However, it fails to set targets for the EU's so-called 'material footprint' and waste reduction for specific waste streams.
The EU commission has published new ideas on how to help industry handle the digital revolution, but decarbonisation and 2050 climate goals took second place.
Romanian policy makers should see Green Deal as helpful, not a hindrance, in pursuit of energy and economic transformation.
ExxonMobil lobbyists pushed the EU commission to weaken climate regulation for the transport sector with a two-pronged strategy: supporting the Paris Agreement, while dwelling on long-term technical solutions and promoting oil and gas usage in the green transition.
"Nature doesn't bargain, and you cannot make deals with physics", activist Greta Thunberg, and a group of 30 youth environmentalists warned, after dubbing the unprecedented EU climate law 'a surrender' for ignoring a carbon budget.
"Food and agriculture are at the heart of the ecological crisis. This is one area where doing right by the planet means doing right by people in the most obvious way," said head of policy at NGO BirdLife, Ariel Brunner.
In Europe the rate of recycling carpet is shockingly low at 1-3 percent. Recyclers stay away from old carpets because they don't know which (potentially dangerous) chemicals they contain, or because they are very complex due to multiple materials used.
Individual contributions of member states to the next EU budget could soon depend on the amount of plastic not recycled. There could also be revenues from a possible carbon border tax on imports into the EU.
Europe is on the verge of allowing centralisation and concentration of farming data at an unprecedented scale, with the absence of any regulation, NGO Friends of the Earth have warned.
Most EU member states are likely to miss the 2020 target on energy efficiency, since they were not legally-binding targets. "Transformative" measures are needed to reduce energy consumption while boosting efficiency, experts say.
The EU Commission is pushing a wave of controversial gas infrastructure projects, in parallel to its much-touted Green Deal. One of those a flagship project of the Republic of Croatia, who currently chairs the EU presidency.
"Improving the statistics and data available will help the commission to know where we are and where we want to be," the European Court of Auditors said on Wednesday.
Some steps have been taken but there is so much more we can still do for the sake of our planet and our own continued existence.
A new report warns companies that their future investments in oil and gas projects, based on 'business as usual' government policies, are likely to be in danger as tougher policies enter into force.
The UK is leaving the EU after playing a key role in climate action - just as COP26 comes to Glasgow. With so many policy negotiations ahead, a split between London and Brussels post-Brexit could undermine the 2050 emissions-neutrality goal.
The first EU-wide climate law will be a "disciplining" exercise to implement the Green Deal - although the Polish climate minister Michal Kurtyka warned the EU Commission about the social cost of delivering the green transition.
The moment Europe revels in its carbon-free transport system, most of the cars that emitted too much for EU standards will still be driving around for years somewhere else in the world.
The EU commissioner for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said on Thursday that member states have a responsibility to implement taxes on carbon to show that emissions have a cost.
MEPs and once all-powerful eurocrat Martin Selmayr just rode the first night train from Vienna to Brussels in support of the green deal, but train ticket prices remain too high.
