Sanctioning Russian fossil may be costly, but it is feasible Published: 21 April 2022 Commentary For decades now, crises have driven European integration and cooperation on various fronts. As the COVID-19 crisis has sparked tense debates and brought about new initiatives on finance and health, we must now do the same and face our deep dependency on imported, and most importantly Russian, fossil fuels. In the midst of a cruel war and an unfolding climate crisis, Europe has to answer a crucial question: how do we cut our energy ties with Russia, while at the same time accelerating our transition towards energy efficiency and a renewable energy system? Commentary by Green MEP Bas Eickhout. By Bas Eickhout
The fossil fuel industry has a stake in the majority of known carbon dioxide removal technologies' projects Published: 17 November 2021 Analysis The fossil fuel industry tries to present carbon dioxide removal technologies as a safe and effective technical solution to climate problems. However, they have not been proven to be safe and effective. Although the technologies have been extensively subsidized and promoted for several decades – with both public and private funding – there has been no significant progress in their development. Many projects have been abandoned due to high costs or technical problems. By Anja Chalmin
EU27 at COP26 - Green perspectives Published: 27 October 2021 Dossier With a one-year delay, the 2021 UN climate change conference (COP26) is scheduled to take place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, under the presidency of the UK. For the first time since the Paris Agreement, signatory states must submit updated and more ambitious greenhouse gas reduction pledges. Will they help closing the so far big gap between necessary reductions and reality? What are ways to achieve them in a socially and gender-just manner? What financing contributions are needed to support developing countries? What false solutions must be avoided? We explore those questions in various contributions, with a focus on the EU.
10 things you need to know about hydrogen Published: 25 October 2021 Listicle The EU and Germany aim to be climate neutral by 2050 and 2045, respectively. The commitment to climate neutrality means that zero-emission alternatives will replace emissions-intensive processes and products. One energy alternative is climate-friendly hydrogen. However, hydrogen is not an all-purpose miracle that solves everything at once. By Stefanie Groll
EU methane legislation – How to reduce the unabated by 2030 Published: 4 October 2021 Event recording Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production to consumption is key in preventing radiative forcing. Shutting down the most immediate unabated emissions of the greenhouse gas methane can be done at no net cost and it has enormous potential in terms of climate policy. Climate tipping points in relation to global warming must be avoided. Yet, the oil and gas industry does not exhaust all options to reduce methane leakages, partly due to a lack of regulation. The EU is planning to deliver binding legislation to this end, covering also gas imports. This event presented concrete policy proposals for a methane charge and a performance standard.
CO2 performance standards and alternative fuels infrastructure proposals: the right direction, but lacking short-term ambition Published: 23 September 2021 Analysis The European Commission's Fit-for-55 package proposal to go to 100% zero emission car sales from 2035 shows a serious commitment for reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, and will put European industry in the driving seat to dominate the new global electric vehicle (EV) market. While this move could democratise the purchase of EVs, policy-makers need to take a small extra step to ensure early build up of EVs to drive cost reductions and fully guarantee that chargers are available in the right locations. By Alex Keynes
About soul and sovereignty: our reaction to Ursula von der Leyen’s 2021 State of the Union address Published: 17 September 2021 Commentary In her 2021 State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appealed to Europe’s soul, which, she said, has been tested to the core in times of multiple crises. The team of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union did its own soul-searching, pointing at the good, the not-so-good and the missing in von der Leyen’s speech. By Eva van de Rakt, Lisa Tostado, Martin Keim, Anna Schwarz, Zora Siebert and Joan Lanfranco
Politicians underestimate methane as a climate killer Published: 16 September 2021 Analysis While the EU's Fit-for-55 Package includes many important files, the European Commission postponed legislation on methane a particularly potent greenhouse gas to December 2021. This article summarises the issues at stake and argues that without stringent regulation on this gas, the Fit-for-55 Package will fail to reach climate goals. By Lisa Tostado
The proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism fails the ambition and equity tests Published: 13 September 2021 Analysis The proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is likely the most contentious element of the Fit for 55 package, with significant ramifications not only internally in the EU but beyond its borders. It is a long-discussed idea whose time has finally come as part of European Commission President von der Leyen’s European Green Deal grand bargain. By Tim Gore
The revision of the Energy Taxation Directive could underpin a fair and green tax reform in Europe Published: 13 September 2021 Analysis Tax systems across the EU are currently neither fair nor green. The burden of taxation has been steadily shifting in recent decades from corporate profits and personal wealth to labour income, especially of lower-income earners, helping to drive growing inequality across the EU. And with men disproportionately represented among the EU’s wealthiest citizens, the system helps underpin gender inequality too. By Tim Gore