The French Parliament recently published the final report from a special inquiry committee looking into “the reasons for France’s loss of energy sovereignty and independence”. EURACTIV spoke to its lead rapporteur, centrist MP Antoine Armand.
EU member states that have a very high share of renewable heat tend to be the countries that burn a lot of biomass. And if they burn it inefficiently, it’s even better for them because they get more credit under the EU's renewable energy directive, says Jan Rosenow.
Renewable gases are gaining ground in Europe, with France on track to exceed its 2023 intermediate objectives for biomethane injection into the grid. To catch up with the industry, EURACTIV France spoke to Laurence Poirier-Dietz, director general of GRDF, Europe's largest gas distributor.
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.
One of the lawmakers steering the revision of the EU’s renewable energy directive in the European Parliament has called on the European Union to "at least triple" or even quadruple the production of clean energy from solar thermal by the end of the decade.
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.
Geothermal power is a reliable and renewable energy source that is local by its nature and offers baseload power generation. Alongside energy efficiency measures and other renewable heat sources, like heat pumps, it could be part of the solution to Europe's energy crisis, says Sanjeev Kumar.
New forms of ocean energy are gaining interest globally, and because European companies are leaders on tidal and wave technologies, that is good news for the environment and for the European economy, argues Francesco la Camera.
The European Commission’s decision to approve an agreement between Germany’s big power firms risks distorting energy market competition, according to the head of another company, who explained to EURACTIV Germany why he has started legal action.
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 price of CO2 credits on Europe’s emissions trading scheme needs to rise to around €50 per tonne in order to drive the long-term development of Europe’s biomethane industry, says Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, a French researcher.
Wind and solar photovoltaic are way too small to cope with Europe's massive demand for heating, especially in winter, says Christian Holter who calls for allocating scarce renewable energy resources to economic sectors where they can bring the most in terms of carbon reduction.
The production of so-called green hydrogen from wind and solar electricity is seen as a potential game-changer for the transition to a 100% renewable energy system. But getting there will take some time and some intermediary solutions will be needed, says Daan Peters.
Renewable energy will rewrite the geopolitical map, according to the man tasked with taking clean energy global. Adnan Z. Amin also told EURACTIV that any politicians not worried by the “truly frightening” risks of climate change are not in the right job.
Nordic countries have relegated fuel poverty to the history books by setting legal minimum standards for heating and giving house-owners a strong incentive to invest in refurbishment, says the mayor of the Swedish capital.
Solar energy will be critical to German and European efforts to decarbonise their economies. EURACTIV Germany reports on what contribution local schemes can make to European energy policy.
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.
More and more member states are adopting bioeconomy plans and the EU is actively encouraging its Central and Eastern European partners to develop their own strategies. EURACTIV Slovakia talked to the Commission’s John Bell about the issue.
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.
The best thing to do to win back public opinion in Europe and globally is to build reactors on time and on budget, Jean-Paul Poncelet told EURACTIV.sk at the European Nuclear Energy Forum in Bratislava.
EU trade defence measures on solar imports from China are, in effect, a European Commission-backed cartel, which benefits only German and Chinese panel producers and makes the fight against climate change more expensive, Christofer Fjellner MEP has said.
Atomic energy is not competitive in the energy sector and must not be artificially preserved at the expense of renewable alternatives, Benedek Jávor, Green MEP and member of Nuclear Transparency Watch, told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Years of inaction on climate change have significantly held back the world’s economic growth, according to the secretary general of the OECD. But fossil fuel subsidies are still commonplace, Angel Gurría told EURACTIV partner La Tribune.
