Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash The King of Belgium has highlighted Europe’s role as a “geo-ecological actor”, and called for the defence of democracy in the face of autocratic trends. In his address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, King Philippe stressed that in recent years, Europe has been marked by crises, and that in “these times…
Photo by Géraud Gordias on Unsplash The EU Council presidency and European Parliament’s negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on the reform of the Single European Sky. The aim of the reform is to try to reduce aviation’s impact on environment and climate. It also hopes to improve the performance, organisation and management of European airspace. The legislative package consists of an amended proposal for the recast of the Single European Sky regulation and a proposal for a regulation amending the EU Aviation Safety Agency basic…
Photo by Gabriel Côté on Unsplash A new draft law on energy consumption has fuelled anger among some MEPs New draft EU legislation has been branded “too burdensome” by some MEPs. Centre-right deputies have come out strongly against the new directive on the energy performance of buildings. Buildings account for 40% of the EU’s final energy consumption and 36% of its energy-related…
Alessandro Bertoldi, Executive Director of the Milton Friedman Institute, invites the EU to revise the sanctions regime against insurance companies to reduce the risks of environmental disaster in light of a recent naval incident and oil spill off Tobago. On the 7th of February, a critical incident unfolded off the south shore of Tobago when…
Photo by Visit Greenland on Unsplash The EU has inaugurated its new office in Nuuk, underlining what it says is “Europe’s concrete presence in Greenland and in the wider Arctic region.” It was opened by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister of Greenland Múte Bourup Egede and the Prime Minister of Denmark Mette…
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash The European People’s Party (EPP) has been accused of “drifting to the far right and dismantling the Green Deal.” The allegation is made by the European Green Party which goes on to claim that the manifesto adopted by the EPP congress in Romania “confirms this worrying trend.” The EPP reportedly backs Ursula von der Leyen…
Photo by Karsten Würth on Unsplash Climate action Network (CAN Europe) has launched a national energy and climate plans tracker tool which,it says, highlights “disparities” between national climate and energy commitments and the actual emission reductions and energy transition at country level. In the aftermath of the European Commission’s announcement of intending to set a 90% net greenhouse…
Photo by eberhard 🖐 grossgasteiger on Unsplash A new research project funded by the EU to the tune of €10m will explore how “aerosol-cloud interactions” impact climate and extreme weather events. The initiative will also investigate the Paris Agreement’s success in limiting global warming. The project, called CleanCloud and funded under the Horizon Europe programme, is coordinated by Ulas…
Photo by Andreas Gücklhorn on Unsplash Concern has been raised about the possible economic impact of the EU’s Green Deal. This came after European entrepreneurs shared their concerns about implementation of the flagship environmental policy with the EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra. Speaking at the SME Climate Dialogue meeting, SMEunited president Petri Salminen conceded that, “The…
MEPs are set to scrutinise fossil fuel companies’ “undue influence” on energy policy, it has emerged. This comes after the European Parliament confirmed it will hold a public hearing to investigate the role played by fossil fuel firms in the EU’s energy crisis response. A petition has already been submitted to the EU by the “Fossil…
