To achieve the EU’s aim of a 90% drop in transport emissions by 2050, the European Commission has proposed a range of measures, including scrapping the tax-free status of kerosene, and phasing out free CO2 permits handed out to …
Road transport faces a number of challenges heading into the next decade, as competition, environmental and social issues all exert influence over the sector. Here is an overview of the challenges on the road ahead. For all matters related to EU …
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Europe is the cradle of the wind energy industry and is still rightly perceived as a global leader in the sector. But fresh projects have slowed in recent years, pointing to new challenges for the EU's wind energy sector in …
On 27 February 2018, the first informal trilogue on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources will take place in Brussels. Member states reached a general agreement on the Renewable Energy Directive at the Energy Council on 18 …
All European passengers —whether travelling by air, rail bus or boat— are entitled to compensation when their trips are cancelled or delayed. EU policymakers are now considering further measures to ensure equal treatment for travellers and fairer competition between transport …
Pressure is mounting on manufacturers to lower carbon dioxide emissions from trucks, buses and coaches. The European Commission is planning to introduce the first EU-wide standards to measure CO2 from heavy duty vehicles this summer, as a first step to regulate emissions.
The European Commission is preparing an action plan for publication in April to mobilise an estimated €25 billion to harness the potential of the fourth industrial revolution, euractiv.com has learned.
Cities and regions are leading the fight against global warming, calling for the EU to be zero carbon by 2050, as world leaders prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) in November.
Noxious emissions from everyday cars and trucks have long been regulated at European level. But the European Commission believes pollution from so-called non-road mobile machinery – which includes everything from bulldozers to chainsaws – is a problem and is proposing new emission limits on them.
Two decades into the European single market, getting people or goods from one part of the European Union to another on trains remains a challenge – despite rail's potential in reducing traffic pollution and congestion. The European Commission is considering new ways to reach the end station of a common railway market.
Restrictions on tobacco smoke and the Asbestos scandal have put indoor air quality under the spotlight in the recent past, resulting in tough policies to stop damage to human health. While tobacco continues to be the biggest health culprit, nowadays attention is also turning to "chemical cocktails," toxic fumes from heating and cooking, and damp and mould caused by poor ventilation.
Recycling has become a central part of the EU's climate change strategy by helping the bloc to tackle the nearly three billion tonnes of waste produced by Europe annually, much of which enters the atmosphere in the form of CO2 and methane emissions from landfill sites and incineration plants.
Airlines have committed to ramping up their use of biofuels in the belief that they can contribute to achieving the sector's pledges on carbon-neutral growth. For 2050, the EU foresees 40% use of "sustainable low carbon fuels" in aviation.
Biogas has become an attractive alternative source of energy in Europe as the renewable fuel serves several policy priorities, ranging from increased domestic energy production to the reduction of greenhouse gases and more efficient waste treatment.
Amid steady growth in air traffic and related polluting emissions, the aerospace industry is rolling up its sleeves to ensure that the sector grows in a carbon-neutral manner as of 2020.
With the world's population growing and industrialisation rising, competition for raw materials is intensifying, raising concerns about access to key natural resources for European industry.
In the midst of the economic crisis, Iceland identified stabilising its economy by joining the European Union as a viable solution to its problems. The Nordic country, which has a well-developed relationship with the EU as a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), formally applied for EU membership on 16 July 2009.
Significant progress has been made in developing electric cars, but critics complain that the distance these vehicles can cover is still too short and much work is needed to prepare electricity infrastructure for radical change.
With traditional biofuels under fire for driving up food prices and wreaking environmental havoc, industrialists are stepping up research into algae as a sustainable alternative - but many obstacles remain before algae oil finds its way into our cars and planes.
National air safety authorities in the EU are gradually handing over their powers to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is about to become a 'one-stop-shop' for managing the bloc's airspace, amid business fears that additional rules could hamper their competitiveness.
Home to 80% of EU citizens and 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, urban areas play a key role in fighting climate change; but cities' access to funding for green policies is proving a major stumbling block.
Soaring fuel prices, together with growing road congestion and increasingly stringent EU legislation, are forcing freight and delivery services to rethink their transportation strategies so as to save money on fuel and limit their environmental impact.
Following oil slicks that devastated European coasts in the past decade, the Commission is taking further action to improve maritime safety by preventing accidents and pollution and better controlling their effects. Its proposals also seek to enhance passenger and crew safety against the risks of accidents and terrorist attacks.
The climate change imperative has put the spotlight on Europe's cities, which are home to 80% of Europeans and consume a disproportionate share of natural resources relative to their surface area.
