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Community-owned renewables now span all of Europe

In 2019, the EU set into motion dedicated legislation to expand renewable energy communities (RECs) where they already exist, and enable citizen energy in countries – mostly eastern and southern Europe – where there were none at all. The goals: to increase the use of renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy security, and also empower citizens – to make them part of the Energiewende. Member states had five years to transpose these directives and all of them did, though to different degrees and with diverse results. Paul Hockenos gives an overview at the occasion of the European Energy Communities Forum currently organised in Kraków, Poland.

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New German coalition puts climate protection on back burner

On 9 April 2025, Germany’s incoming government of Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) concluded a governing ‘contract’ that paves the way for the partners to take office in May. The new chancellor will be CDU chief Friedrich Merz, who underscored in the campaign that climate protection would not be a top priority. Paul Hockenos reports.

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2025: finally a breakthrough for cross-border passenger rail in the EU?

Boosting passenger train transport is key for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of transport and for accelerating Europe’s energy transition. Are EU railways on track? Establishing a fair picture of the state of Europe’s passenger railways is a hard task. It is essentially a question of whether you see the train as half full or half empty. Jon Worth reports.

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