The College of Commissioners and its counterparts from the Belgian Government met in the Egmont Palace in Brussels to discuss the priorities of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU that started on 1 January and will run until the end of June.
Our towns and cities may be becoming friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians, but many of us still choose to take the car over the bus, the bicycle or our own two feet. Why? Because this is what we’ve always done, argues Janet Veldstra, expert at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.
Our awareness of the consequences of climate change is growing, and so are the numbers of electric cars on our roads and solar panels on our rooftops. But we still have to do more, and faster. Here are a few examples from our Climate Pact Ambassadors on what this looks like on the ground!
Local governments who have signed the Covenant of Mayors have put a lot of work and effort into developing their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP). But this is just the beginning. To reach the objectives set out in their SECAP, they need to be sure they are taking the most effective and impactful measures every step of the way!
2024 is a pivotal year for Europe’s green agenda, and it’s time to reassert mayors’ protagonist role in implementing the European Green Deal and getting things done. Let's make sure to put local and regional leaders in the spotlight this year.
The pioneering GoProFor LIFE project aims to collect and share hundreds of sustainable forest actions, tools and experiences in a unique good practices database for use by forest managers all over Europe. Deep in the heart of the Casentinesi Forests National Park in Italy a quiet revolution in sustainable forest management is taking place.
The LIFE Programme has recently garnered significant attention from renowned media outlets, including The Guardian, BBC, and Euronews. This recognition underscores the program's impactful initiatives and its role in shaping a sustainable future.
LIFE Programme highlights in the next 12 months include new LIFE Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) and Strategic Nature Projects (SNAPs), results of the LIFE 2023 calls for proposals, and the LIFE Awards 2024, among others.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a €150 million cornerstone commitment to the White Summit Capital Decarbonisation Infrastructure Fund II (WDIF II), backed by the InvestEU programme.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) will take part in the project finance deal to support H2 Green Steel's large-scale production facility in Northern Sweden, backed by the European Union's InvestEU programme.
The European Commission has approved a €902 million German measure to support Northvolt in the construction of a plant for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. In line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan, this will facilitate the move towards a carbon-neutral economy.
The European Commission has approved a €2.9 billion French scheme for supporting investment in green industries to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan.
On 29 January strengthened rules on the use of fluorinated gases (F-gases) and ozone-depleting substances (ODS) were adopted, which currently represent over 3 percent of the EU's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the conclusion of the legislative process, one more piece of the EU Green Deal has been completed.
On 18 January, an agreement was reached between the European Parliament and Council on a provisional political agreement strengthening CO2 emissions standards for new heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) entering the EU market from 2030. The Regulation will set new ambitious CO2 emissions reduction targets for 2030, 2035 and 2040.
Global emissions are set to peak this decade, then fall to 2017 levels by 2030 and lead to a 3°C temperature rise by 2100 in a Reference scenario. To keep the 1.5°C target possible, massive investment in decarbonisation is needed in the current decade, according to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
That the concept of a carbon footprint was developed in the 1990s?
