The European Commission is preparing to unveil 12 climate change policies in July, all designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions faster. A revamp of the EU’s renewable energy regulations is among them. EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said the revamp will promote power purchase agreements for renewable energy and target …
Read More »EU Lawmakers Give Final Approval to Bloc’s Green Transition Fund
The European Parliament formally approved the European Union’s multi-billion euro fund on Tuesday (18 May) to support countries as they wind down fossil fuel industries as part of Europe’s push towards fighting climate change. The €17.5 billion Just Transition Fund (JTF) combines cash from the EU’s budget and its COVID-19 …
Read More »Europe’s Zero Pollution Dreams
Of all the objectives in the European Green Deal, presented in December 2019, the “Zero Pollution Action Plan” immediately jumped out as the one policymakers were likely to struggle with the most. “Creating a toxic-free environment” with zero air, water and soil pollution is something hardly anyone can disagree with. …
Read More »The EU Carbon Tax could Create a New Era of Trade Wars
Europe’s carbon border levy to increase the cost of CO2-intensive goods entering the EU could push the Global South towards less restrictive trade deals, ultimately causing more harm to the environment, writes Muhammed Magassy. Muhammed Magassy is a Member of Parliament for ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States), …
Read More »Eleven EU Countries Call to Ban Fossil Fuels from Trans-European Energy Infrastructure
Eleven EU countries have signed a declaration calling on the European Union to stop funding fossil fuels under its trans-European energy infrastructure regulation (TEN-E), which is currently under revision. The non-paper – EU jargon for an informal document – follows discussions in Brussels on Wednesday (5 May) about the contribution …
Read More »Gazprom’s Exports to Europe Fell by 12% in 2020
Russian energy giant Gazprom on Monday (15 February) announced a drop in its exports to Europe in 2020, when prices and demand in the energy industry collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gazprom, which includes Turkey in Europe, said its European exports fell by 12.1% in 2020 year-on-year, down to …
Read More »Energy Majors Re-Route LNG Supplies from Europe to Asia
Global energy majors including Royal Dutch Shell and Total are expected to benefit most from January’s gas price spike, beating rival trading houses and non-integrated producers thanks to their access to multiple sources of the fuel. Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices have rocketed to record highs in January due …
Read More »Greece Becomes most Important Hub for Alternative Gas in Southeast Europe
As the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) became operational last month, a Greek official stated that his country had become the most important hub for gas from sources other than Russia in Southeastern Europe, also thanks to its LNG terminals. Kostis Hatzidakis, Greece’s minister of environment and energy, hailed the start of …
Read More »EU Energy Ministers Back 2030 Climate Goal Update, Leave Deal for Later
Germany’s Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said talks on Tuesday (6 October) between energy ministers from the 27 EU members had shown that a majority want to update the emissions-cutting target by 2030 for the bloc, on its way to climate neutrality by 2050. “We have a historic window of opportunity …
Read More »North Sea Countries Vow Closer Cooperation on Offshore Wind
Ministers of the North Seas countries have called for an EU framework to tackle barriers to the deployment of multinational “hybrid” offshore wind energy projects. Energy Ministers from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Germany and the European Commission met by videoconference on 6 July 2020 under …
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