Regards from Sofia, where the author of this Brief has witnessed the first days of the European election campaign and concluded the following: The number one election punching bag is the European Green Deal, and it's no different in many other EU countries.
The New European Bauhaus, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s pet project, has failed spectacularly, and it is mostly her own fault.
The current geopolitical context is pushing the Weimar Triangle of France, Germany and Poland to prioritise defence and security. On the occasion of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 22 April, NGOs, think tanks, and businesses argue that a 'Green …
To stop the far-right piggybacking to power this year, the EU must stop giving ground on hard-won climate rules, writes Isabel Schatzschneider.
The EU is already struggling to meet its 2030 climate and energy targets, so it needs to put farmers as well as the social and environmental benefits first in order to project itself forward to 2040, write Zsolt Lengyel and Erica Johnson.
The approach of 'competitive sustainability' is key to understanding how a measure of competitiveness is needed in the new global context marked by massive US green subsidies and an aggressive industrial strategy from China, writes Martin Porter.
Focusing first on energy and climate in Ukraine's accession negotiations means nothing less than building a common Europe through a pragmatic approach, write Susanne Nies, Olha Bondarenko and Maciej Zaniewicz.
To reduce tensions and speed up the climate transition, the European Union needs to improve its offer on cooperation with other parts of the world, in particular the so-called ‘global South’, writes Mats Engström.
Europe’s lack of own mineral reserves means that any strategy that fails to fully support the development of innovative materials to displace raw materials will fall short, writes Linus Froböse.
The upcoming EU Elections are the opportunity to debate and design the framework to make the electromobility transition a success for climate, people and businesses, write Celine Domecq and Julia Poliscanova.
Lack of finance remains the most frequently reported reason why building owners don’t upgrade their homes to a more energy-efficient one. Peter Sweatman lists five “hidden gems” in the recast EU Buildings Directive which can deliver this.
While rapid and significant reductions in emissions must be the cornerstone of climate action, permanent carbon removals will have a role to play to achieve zero-net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, argue Dr. Felix Schenuit and Martin Birk Rasmussen.
Europe must spend hundreds of billions of euros in the coming years to reach its climate targets, but with public spending limited by strict budget rules, it will be mostly consumers footing the bill.
Despite years of work on the Green Deal, there are still no obligations for large companies in all sectors to actually reduce their emissions. The impending Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) offers a unique opportunity to force them to change their business model, writes Uku Lilleväli.
Instead of attacking and seeking to halt carbon capture and storage, journalists and environmental campaigners should be holding oil companies and countries to account, demanding that they deliver on their CCS commitments, writes Robin Mills.
The emerging CO2 storage market in Europe is becoming increasingly controlled by a North Sea monopoly, putting at risk the decarbonisation of Southern and Eastern Europe, write Eadbhard Pernot, Martin Birk Rasmussen and Lina Strandvåg Nagell.
Building renovations, like those encouraged under the draft Energy Performance of Buildings directive, are key to improving people's well-being and reducing emissions, but they must be flexible and rolled out with social safeguards, writes Ciarán Cuffe.
Wopke Hoekstra's proposed appointment as the next EU Climate Commissioner risks undermining the bloc's Green Deal, argues Anja Hazekamp.
As the European elections draw near, Paris and Berlin should move towards a common European approach to industrial policy – with three key elements: vision, funding, and governance, argue Sabine Nallinger and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin.
Deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) needs to increase at least 100-fold by 2050 for the world to meet its net-zero emissions goals. The US and Norway illustrate how effective government policy can help achieve this, write Jarad Daniels and Nils Rokke.
Global science says that rich nations should achieve climate neutrality no later than 2040, write Leon de Graaf, Dominika Floriánová, Antoine Grall and Ella Oksala.
In 2016, Oslo became the world’s first city to adopt a climate budget. In an update due in September, the Norwegian capital is expected to expand the concept to include indirect greenhouse gas emissions, which would be another major first, writes Michael Shank.
Reforms undertaken as part of the European Green Deal, including the recent update of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), are helping to accelerate the EU's decarbonisation, write Gabriel Papeians and Stefan Feuchtinger.
An efficient Energy Performance of Buildings Directive must look out for the reduction of ‘whole life carbon emissions’ in order to achieve Europe's climate goals, writes Zsolt Toth.
