EU Climate Action

According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the June-July-August season for 2023 was the warmest on record globally by a large margin, with an average temperature of 16.77°C, 0.66°C above average.

The Flash Eurobarometer survey published on 11 September showed an overwhelming support among Europeans for the measures taken over the last year to protect consumers and companies from volatility of energy prices, as well as action to foster energy security and the green transition.

In her 2023 State of the Union address, President von der Leyen highlighted the EU's commitment to climate action. Acknowledging the increase in extreme weather events across our continent, she emphasised the significance of the European Green Deal as a response to climate challenges and an opportunity for economic prosperity.

President von der Leyen attended the Climate Ambition Summit organised in New York as part of the 78th UN General Assembly. In her speech, she called for major emitters to step up their emission reduction efforts, as well as urging world leaders to cooperate on the global clean energy transition and on climate finance.

During the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of Kenya Ruto launched the Green Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap for Kenya, with the support of Global Gateway, Europe's investment strategy for the world.

On 22 September, the European Commission has positively assessed Portugal's modified recovery and resilience plan, including a REPowerEU chapter. The plan is now worth €22.2 billion and has a stronger focus on the green transition, devoting 41.2% (up from 37.9% in the original plan) of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives.

On 26 September, the Commission endorsed Czechia's modified recovery and resilience plan, which includes a REPowerEU chapter. The plan is now worth €9.2 billion and focuses strongly on the green transition, dedicating 42.9% (up from 42.4% in the original plan) of the available funds to climate-related measures.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved framework financing of up to €1.7 billion for Solaria to support the construction of some 120 photovoltaic power plants. Mostly located in Spain, as well as Italy and Portugal, they will have a total capacity of approximately 5.6 GW and will produce an estimated 9.29 TWh a year.

The third call for small-scale projects launched under the Innovation Fund and with a grant budget of €100 million closed on 19 September 2023. The call was open to projects working on industrial decarbonisation solutions in the 27 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway that will further boost the deployment of pioneering innovative low-carbon technologies.

The European Commission will invest €90 million in 17 new research projects contributing to the EU Mission: ‘A Soil Deal for Europe'. These projects will work on restoring and protecting soil health for the sustainable production of healthy food, protecting biodiversity, building climate resilience, and contributing to the European Green Deal objectives.

Based in the Flanders region of Belgium, LIFE CityTRAQ helps local administrators measure and analyse air quality and involve citizens in creating plans and initiatives to reduce pollution.

To safeguard the ozone layer, the LIFE Programme funds various projects aimed at reducing emissions of harmful substances known as F-gases. Two such noteworthy projects are LIFE ICEGREEN and LIFE C4R.

Every day, we are seeing the impact of climate change. And it’s only going to get worse unless we drastically cut our carbon emissions. European industry is proving that modernisation and decarbonisation can go hand in hand. We can build a continent reconciled with nature and leading on new technologies.

Climate change is here, it’s real, and it’s having a big impact on our lives. Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond the scary statistics and keep up hope. But the change is happening and it’s not too late! European industry and #cleantech are at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis. They are leading us into the future, driving the green transition through innovation and technology, and creating new green jobs to leave nobody behind. Here are 4️⃣ success stories from across the Union.

Oceans help us fight climate change by absorbing excess heat and CO2 🌍 But new @CopernicusEU data shows alarming 🌊 warming, which limits their ability to regulate the climate and accelerates polar ice melt 🐧 By cutting emissions, we'll protect our planet and its #ocean.

The September edition of the revamped DG ENV newsletter, focused on farming with nature, is out now. Click on the "more" button below to check it out, and don't forget to subscribe!

Assessment and geo-mapping of renewable energy demand for technological paths towards carbon neutrality of EU energy-intensive industries: methodology and results in support to the EU industrial plants database.

Using recovered electric vehicle batteries to create storage for energy surpluses from wind farms in Tenerife is technically and economically feasible, says a study published on the Energy Policy journal. However, if energy prices are too low, this would impair profitability.

Launched by the European Commission, the Pact is part of the European Green Deal and is helping the EU to meet its goal to become climate-neutral by 2050 | Check out the links below to visit the Pact website and subscribe to the Pact newsletter!