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Tag:

European Commission

European Union to Overachieve its 2020 Climate Goals

European Union to Overachieve its 2020 Climate Goals

written by Edouard Stenger

Good news everyone: the European Union has already almost achieved its climate and energy goals for 2020 according to the latest data from the European Environmental Agency. The European Commission official statement reports that “  The decrease in emissions of 1.8% in 2013 compared to 2012 implies that total EU emissions are around 19% below 1990 “. 

But there is more good news as the EEA states that: ” With 14 % of final energy consumption generated by renewable sources in 2012, the EU is also ahead of the planned trajectory to hit 20 % renewable energy by 2020. Likewise, the EU’s energy consumption is also falling faster than would be necessary to meet the 2020 energy efficiency target.” 

Euractiv notes that this fall in emissions in the European Union is not exactly taking place in all countries as German emissions rose by 1.2% as more fossil fuel was used for heating and Denmark also emitted 3.1% more greenhouse gases year-on-year, as a fall in imports from the Nordic power market drove it to use more coal.

These two countries are however working hard at their respective energy transition from fossil fuels. Germany is a global leader in this industry and it’s not rare for Denmark to have 100 % of its electricity coming from wind power during the nights.

But such facts aren’t news as I reported a year ago that the European Union was already nearing its 2020 objectives as greenhouse gases emissions fell one percent between 2011 and 2012. If emissions were to keep falling 1.4 percent per year ( which is the average of the emissions cuts for the past two years), emissions would be cut by over ten percent.

I have made previously my case for 30 percent emissions cuts by 2020 and halving EU emissions by 2030. This would be very profitable, would create thousands of jobs and cut our dependance from Russian gas.

 

 



November 14, 2014 1 comment
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EU Leaders Agree on 40 Percent Emissions Reduction by 2030

EU Leaders Agree on 40 Percent Emissions Reduction by 2030

written by Edouard Stenger

Last night, the European Council met with all the heads of State and country leaders. The topic was climate and energy and the goal was to enable the European Union – over half a billion people accounting for as 23 percent of global GDP and 11 percent of global emissions – to reach as ambitious a goal as possible for 2030.

These negotiations took place ahead of the future UNFCCC talks that will take place in December 2015 in Paris.

The outcome could have been better but could have been worse as leaders agreed to a minimum level of 40 percent of emissions reductions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. However, the energy efficiency and renewables targets were watered down, from 30 percent which were asked by the European Commission to 27 percent.

This is a major disappointment as some nations like Germany or Denmark have much more higher national targets for overall emissions reductions and that many other countries are investing – or have been investing – heavily in renewables. Those who read my articles will remember my recent posts on Portugal, Spain or Ireland to name but a few.

But on the other side of the fence of climate change mitigation, we have Poland, which continues to be heavily reliant on coal. The leaders of this great country seem hell-bent on keeping their coal industry, oblivious to the fact that their country could halve coal consumption by 2030 as I reported in an article.

The second reason for disappointment –  some business leaders had called for more ambitious goals. Indeed,  European Industry could benefit from more renewables and energy efficiency as it could lower their energy bills, and thus increase their competitivity. Additionally, many companies are manufacturing and selling these solutions, and thus are depending on larger, tougher goals.

Last but not least, these watered down objectives are being set while the EU continues to purchase from Russia over half a billion euros of oil and natural gas each day.  The amounts total over 200 billion euros ( $277 billion ) a year as I noted on my blog earlier this year. Given how efficiency and renewables could lower these bills, one is truly wondering why our leaders kept such targets… Even more, when one know that 30 percent emissions reductions could be reached as early as 2030.

Time will tell if the European Union will once again lead the fight against climate change.



October 24, 2014 0 comment
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European Commission Official Calls for an End to Landfills

European Commission Official Calls for an End to Landfills

written by Environmental News Network

In a passionate call for change, Karl Falkenberg, European Commission Director-General for Environment calls for a closure of landfilling, as we know it. “Separate collection is very much at the heart of this circular economy – [but] we are coming to realize that separate collection is not enough,” said Falkenberg, the at a conference in Brussels on April 29th.

Falkenberg, speaking at the event hosted by TEPPFA, the European plastic pipes and fittings association, added that an EU-wide ban on landfilling would provide “security for recyclers”. The event was the first satellite event before Green Week, an annual conference on European environmental policy, which is to take place from 3 to 5 June, in Brussels.

This would encourage re-use or material recycling, or encourage waste management companies to transform waste into energy, through incineration.

“We need to close the easy door to landfilling,” he said, emphasizing the environmental damage and human health risks posed by this form of waste management.

“China is maybe the best demonstration of the environmental cost of our way of producing. How do we ensure that our air remains reasonably clear, that our drinking water is not making anyone sick? All of this makes real sense,” he said.

Plastic: ‘fantastic’ but ‘drastic’

Falkenberg’s directorate has focused much of its work on plastic, which has been referred to by the EU’s environment commissioner, Janez Potočnik, as both “fantastic”, due to its adaptability, but “drastic”, due to its environmental impact.

Last year the directorate carried out a public consultation on plastic waste, in which respondents called for greater collection and recycling rates and a ban on landfilling. Regulation is expected this year.

“Plastic is one of those materials that can be recycled over and over again. Streams in which we collect need to be organised for recycling,” said Falkenberg, also issuing a call to plastic producers to be careful that the materials that they use are amenable to recycling and do not pose a health risk.

The environment directorate is expected to release a target of 70% plastic recycling by 2020.

“We want clear messages that this is the direction that society is moving”, Falkenberg said, adding that this would allow “sound investment decisions”. “Those are the broad lines we are trying to develop for our circular economy,” he added.

Members of the plastic industry called for a regulatory framework that was “supportive rather than restrictive” of this goal.



May 5, 2014 0 comment
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European Emissions Decreased by 2.1 Percent in 2012

written by Edouard Stenger

According to the latest statistics from Eurostat – the data agency for the European Commission – greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union fell by 2.1 percent from 2011 to 2012. This takes place after a massive 4.1 percent decrease from 2010 to 2011.

This decrease can be explained by the increased importance of renewable energy sources, by more energy efficiency and conservation but also by a warmer winter and the economic crisis. Unemployment in the Euro area has reached a staggering 12.2 percent.

As the official press release notes :

Eurostat estimates that from 2011 to 2012 CO2 emissions decreased in nearly all Member States, except Malta (+6.3%), the United Kingdom (+3.9%), Lithuania (+1.7%) and Germany (+0.9%).

The largest decreases were recorded in Belgium and Finland (both -11.8%), Sweden (-10.1%), Denmark (-9.4%), Cyprus (-8.5%), Bulgaria (-6.9%), Slovakia (-6.5%), the Czech Republic (-5.2%), Italy and Poland (both -5.1%).

Given how in 2010, greenhouse gas emissions were already 15.4 percent lower than in 1990 (source: Eurostat), the goal of slashing emissions by 20 percent from 1990 to 2020 is within reach.

As the European Environmental Agency notes, ” The European Union’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 were 18.4 % below 1990 levels, according to the EU greenhouse gas inventory.”

This is why the European Parliament has called for 30 percent cuts last year. Environmental organizations such as the WWF stated last week that “There’s no reason now to go sit on our hands for 7 years, knowing that by keeping up the recent pace we could reach the 95% cuts needed by 2050 to keep Europe in line with efforts to avoid dangerous global warming.”

As we have seen before, going for 30 percent cuts would enable the European Union to create long lasting jobs, decrease air pollution levels and could even allow some country members to pay back their debts…



June 4, 2013 0 comment
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Hiriko, The Folding Electric Car

written by Edouard Stenger

Cities are facing many problems, including the lack of parking spaces and air pollution. Regular electric vehicles would solve the air pollution issue, but not the parking one.

This is probably why the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) worked on a folding electric car codenamed CityCar. The result is Hiriko (“urban” in Basque language), a folding electric car that will soon be built by a consortium of Spanish and Basque companies.

The vehicle was presented officially to the press and general public by the European Commission’s President, José Manuel Durao Barroso, which touted it as an answer to the crisis.

A two-seater, the car has a 120 kilometers (75 miles) autonomy and can go to up to 50 kmph (31 mph), which is the maximum speed in many, if not most European cities. The limited range, speed and space make it an urban city vehicle only.

The Hiriko is powered by four individual in-wheel electric motors that enable the car to spin in a 360 or park easily. Both driver and passenger enter and exit the vehicle by the front.

The folding capacities and the tiny size ( just 2.5 meters (8 feet) long unfolded, under 2 meters folded ) of the car enable to park three of them once they are folded in a regular parking space.

Driving might differ from your daily experience as the official website notes that:

” HIRIKO will be driven by means of a haptic steering wheel, without a steering bar, and it will be electronically managed. The joystick will be an option offered to those customers who demand it.”

Folding the car can be done by activating a command on the in-built screen of the steering wheel.

The cities of Berlin, Madrid, Malmö, Hong Kong, Quito and San Francisco will soon test these vehicles. The Huffington Post reports that talks are under way with Paris, London, Boston, Dubai and Brussels.

If all these tests are positive, you may see these cars in your city sometime in the not too distant future.



April 2, 2012 0 comment
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European Energy Companies Form Alternative Energy Alliance

written by Walter Wang

European energy companies have come together to call for 2030 targets in emissions reductions, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Formed by Acciona (Spain), DONG Energy (Denmark), EDP (Portugal), Eneco (the Netherlands), EWE (Germany), Public Power Corporation (Greece),

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March 1, 2012 0 comment
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EU Grid Code Compliance Targets Wind Turbines

written by Walter Wang

The advancement in offshore wind power technology has led to larger turbines and larger wind farms being deployed throughout Europe. Where previously wind farms had been thought of as single distributed power generators, they must now be considered as integral components of the overall energy supply

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November 11, 2011 1 comment
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The Future for Electricity Transmission in Europe and the Integration of Wind Power

written by Walter Wang

The European Commission’s energy strategy for Europe requires that 20% of all energy consumed within the EU is from renewable sources by 2020. The Commission estimates that 12% of overall energy use should be supplied by offshore wind. Further, the Renewable Directives also require member

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November 9, 2011 0 comment
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China’s Per Capita Emissions Could Rival U.S.’s By 2017

written by Yale Environment 360

The carbon footprint for the average Chinese individual is quickly approaching levels common in the world’s industrialized nations and, if current trends continue, could match or exceed U.S. levels by 2017, a new report says.

Since 1990, CO2 emissions in China have increased

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September 29, 2011 0 comment
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‘No More Nuclear’ Germany Will Maintain its Cleantech Edge

written by Walter Wang

The energy efficiency sector has had a healthy injection of venture capital over the past 18 months. In Q2, investment in energy efficiency accounted for almost a quarter of cleantech venture capital commitments (Cleantech Group).

It is an increasingly appealing sector for VCs in the

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August 23, 2011 0 comment
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U.K. to Continue Driving Differently: No Support for E.U. Petrol Car Ban

written by Walter Wang

The European Commission has adopted Transport 2050, a plan to increase mobility and decrease oil dependence which also reduces carbon emissions from the transportation sector by 60%. Eliminating conventionally fueled cars from city centers is a key tenet to the plan. U.K. Transport Minister Norman Baker said that such a decision rests in the authority of the

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March 29, 2011 0 comment
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European Commission Will Not Target Tougher Carbon Measures

written by Justmeans

Tougher targets and measures to cut carbon emissions will not be adopted by the European Commission, even though it will be more cost efficient in the long term.

The European Commission is expected to release its plans in a road map on climate change and energy policy. The European Union is currently expected to meet two of

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March 17, 2011 0 comment
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Biofuel Indirect Land Use on European Commission Agenda in 2011

written by EnergyRefuge.com

To address problematic issues related to indirect land use by biofuel crops, the European Commission today published a report on the topic related to both biofuels and bioliquids.

The Commission says it will conduct an impact assessment which may result in changes to existing legislation.

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December 23, 2010 0 comment
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European Commission to Limit Trading of Carbon Credits

written by Environmental News Network

The European Commission said on Monday a proposal to limit the use of some carbon credits from industrial gas projects in its emissions trading scheme might be unveiled during a United Nations climate summit in Mexico next week. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is the largest multi-national emissions trading scheme in the world. The trading scheme currently

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November 23, 2010 0 comment
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