Poland needs to speed up its transition to renewables and nuclear power in order to tackle soaring utility bills and concerns about security of energy supply, according to Maciej Markiewicz.
Although the recent COP26 conference in Glasgow made progress on climate ambition, there is still a lot of work left to do to limit global warming to 1.5°C and prevent runaway climate change, according to Green MEP Bas Eickhout.
Kazakhstan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, which means expanding the share of renewables to 83% and halting heat generation from coal after 2050, Serikkali Brekeshev told EURACTIV in an interview.
European trade unions welcome ambitious EU climate policies, but warn that they need to be implemented alongside an equally ambitious social transition plan or risk sowing the seeds of a backlash, says Judith Kirton-Darling.
In an interview with EURACTIV.de, the president of Germany's Wind Energy Association, Hermann Albers, speaks about the sector's struggles, suggesting to allocate 2% of the country's land for wind turbines.
The new government in Vienna will aim for “an end to nuclear energy” in the EU, Thomas Waitz told EURACTIV Slovakia. The MEP-elect and Green Party negotiator also calls on the EU to acknowledge that Poland will need financial support in the transition away from coal.
Switching from coal to gas in power generation is the single most important action Europe can take to get on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050, argues Simon Blakey, a European gas expert.
The energy transition will hit the poor hardest unless it's balanced by a shift in taxation, says Christian Egenhofer. The EU needs to acknowledge this and get started by lowering taxes on electricity to achieve the EU’s carbon reduction goals at least cost, he argues.
The just transition declaration adopted at the COP24 in Poland sounds good but it is not connected to any kind of climate ambition or specific energy projects involving local communities, Alexandru Mustata told EURACTIV Slovakia.
The capacity market in Poland has a so-called “green bonus”, which allows a two-year extension of the multiannual capacity contracts provided that a 450 kg CO2/MWh emission performance standard is met, says Maciej Burny.
While some countries like the United Kingdom quit brown coal some time ago, Germany is still struggling. A new commission is meant to sketch out structural changes but the Bundesrepublik is no longer a pioneer of climate protection, one political scientist told EURACTIV Germany
The city of Wrocław is one of Poland’s success stories, where job creation has hit record highs and environmental objectives are taken seriously. Wrocław’s long-serving mayor revealed his city’s future-leaning path and the advantages of being part of a Europe-wide network of mayors.
Poland formally adopted its first Electro-Mobility Act on Monday (5 February), a document branded as a new “constitution” for the development of electric cars and buses in the coal-dependent country.
While EU countries step up efforts to phase out coal, the European Commission is preparing a new initiative to support regions in transition, says Dominique Ristori.
The unfolding crisis in the coal sector is leaving Poland with a looming power generation gap which is forcing decision-makers to reconsider the country’s energy mix. But politicians have until now delayed hard decisions and a transparent debate about it, says Joanna Maćkowiak Pandera.
The European Commission’s proposal for a CO2 limit on power plant subsidies is supported by the Council of Ministers, insists Ando Leppiman. But now the issue is more how it can be managed, he told EURACTIV.sk.
Apart from Poland, there are no plans to build new coal-fired power plants in Europe, says Francesco Starace. The hard question today is instead who will build a new gas power plant. “And many companies are not doing that either,” he told EURACTIV in an interview.
Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič told EURACTIV.com that the Trump administration may be more protectionist than its predecessor. But he is not worried about the impact on the energy market, despite Europe’s immense import needs.
Germany is a rich country that can afford to pay off coal workers and invest millions of euros in the affected regions, E3G’s Sabrina Schulz told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Western companies should participate in managing the Ukrainian gas transit system, German Energy Envoy Peter Fischer told EURACTIV Slovakia at the SET Plan – Central European Energy Conference X in Bratislava.
Current market failures are well identified in the Winter Package. However, we feel that some of the proposals do not match the reality, Maciej Burny told EURACTIV Slovakia.
From nuclear plants in the UK and Hungary to coal-fired power stations in Germany, member states always manage to forge ahead with their energy projects, according to Georg Zachmann, who calls on EU leaders to sit down and seriously discuss the Energy Union’s governance.
If European Union leaders don’t believe markets can work, then there’s no point having a carbon price to encourage renewable energies. And the energy market will always be “orchestrated” by national governments keeping fossil fuels subsidised, says Hans Ten Berge.
Poland should continue relying on coal but only at the condition that it uses the newest technologies, says Jerzy Buzek, as COP21 enters its second week.
