Fit for 55 Archives

The price surcharge on fossil fuels such as heating gas, petrol and diesel under the EU’s new carbon market as of 2027 could be well above the €45 limit EU institutions aim for, experts say, blaming lawmakers for creating false expectations.

The European Parliament has adopted its position on the phase-out of F-gases, opting for a faster pathway, much to the consternation of business groups who are now turning to EU countries still deliberating their position.

The unprecedented leak of a draft law banning new fossil heaters in Germany from 2024 is causing trouble at the highest level of government, adding to difficulties in pushing through the proposal.

In a bid to further the EU's energy independence, the European Commission has announced an action plan in the coming months to boost the manufacturing and deployment of heat pumps in Europe.

A draft law to ban the installation of new oil and gas heaters from next year has sparked outrage in Germany, adding fuel to continued government infighting in Berlin between the Greens and the Liberals.

The European Parliament's environment committee voted on Wednesday (1 March) for a quick phasedown of F-gas refrigerants, in a move that drew criticism from the heat pump industry. 

Heat pump sales, an integral part of the EU’s plan to kick Russian gas to the curb, saw record growth in 2022, with France, Poland and Finland standing out most, however, Germany is not among them.

The majority of buildings in Europe are not energy efficient, and a revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is needed to give businesses and investors a clearer policy direction, write Ursula Woodburn, Stephanie Pfeifer and Mike Peirce. Ursula …

Europe's power grid is under pressure, faced with growing demand from electric vehicles and heat pumps as well as lagging investments in new infrastructure. Is a blackout imminent?

A surprise deal struck by EU legislators early Wednesday morning (7 December) affirms that the tax on aviation carbon emissions will continue to apply only to flights within Europe, a blow to environmental campaigners who had lobbied for complete coverage.

Global heat pump sales surged by nearly 15% last year, led by the European Union where energy security concerns caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine are driving demand even further this year, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

To meet the German target of six million heat pumps by 2030, upcoming government support for consumer gas and electricity bills will include a special provision for heat pumps so as not to upset those who already invested in them.

The heat pump industry, the new darling of the German government, must grow rapidly to achieve the 2024 target of beginning the installation of 500,000 pumps a year, which Berlin is happy to assist in.

Faced with an energy crisis, the European Commission has presented an emergency regulation to speed up permitting processes across the EU, which has already drawn criticism for not including district heating and industrial-size heat pumps.

As Europe looks to reach climate neutrality by 2050, it must quickly clamp down on  fluorinated gases, a super-warming gas used mainly in air conditioning and refrigeration but also in green technologies like heat pumps.

Europe’s move away from gas towards heat pumps, which suffers from various bottlenecks, is subject to another scarcity that may impact production volumes: the global chip shortage.

The German government will provide lower subsidy rates for measures undertaken to reduce the energy use of buildings, like changing windows or installing a heat pump, as of Monday (15 August).

The EU is inching closer to implementing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), but the proposal is complex and too ambitious. The war in Ukraine warrants a more cooperative method to raise climate ambition in third countries, write Karsten Neuhoff and Andreas Goldthau.

Lawmakers expressed fears of 'brewing social unrest' akin to that of the Yellow Vests movement after the Council further reduced Parliament's 'already watered down' measures aimed at balancing the social impacts of the EU's Fit for 55 package.

Hoping to achieve its 2024 target of producing 500,000 heat pumps a year, the German government is pushing the industry to make necessary investments amid fears it will end up like the solar panel industry.

The lawmaker overseeing the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in the European Parliament is pushing for a novel approach to buildings that sees them as part of a broader neighbourhood instead of isolated units.

Austria is revamping its renewable heating law in order to reduce the country's immense dependence on Russia: pulling forward a sales phase-out of fossil gas boilers, and requiring broken oil and coal heaters to be replaced with green options.

The European Parliament's proposed reform of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) fails to guarantee emission reductions in the housing and transport sector in line with the bloc's 2030 climate objectives, writes a group of academics and civil society groups.

Heat pumps, considered crucial to climate-neutral heating, are another industrial sector in which nations compete over leadership. The EU learnt a harsh lesson from the loss of its solar industry, can it avoid a repeat of history?