Ireland has set some important emissions reductions goals for 2050 – but greenhouse gases from agriculture remain a stumbling block. In addition, Ireland’s share of renewables in the energy mix is relatively low. Claire Dupont takes a look at what the country can do to jump-start the energy transition.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy efficiency is the one energy resource that every country possesses in abundance and is the quickest and least costly way of addressing energy security, environmental and economic challenges. Stefan Jungcurt elaborates on recent initiatives which have sought to boost energy efficiency.
Since the 1950s, the Euratom Treaty has encouraged large investments into nuclear energy projects and funding for nuclear research. In all this time, the treaty was never revised to suit present-day demands. The trend towards cheaper renewable energy is ignored, while millions of euros that go towards nuclear research are legitimated. Cordula Büsch takes a look at why the Euratom treaty needs to be reformed, if not abolished.
The political changes in Poland have claimed ecology as another victim. For conservative politicians, ecology is just a dangerous whim and they would very happily spend the money allocated to it elsewhere. Michał Olszewski takes a critical look.
When Germans cast their vote in the national elections on September 24 they will also be deciding on the direction of the country’s energy policy. Arne Jungjohann takes a look at how German politics may help, or hinder, the energy transition.
50,000 people from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands formed a cross-border 90 km-long human chain on Sunday, 25 June to protest against the controversial Tihange nuclear power plant. Micro-cracks were recently discovered in one of the facility’s reactors. Sam Morgan has the details.
East European EU states are mounting a behind-the-scenes revolt against the Paris Agreement, blocking key measures needed to deliver the pledge that they signed up to 18 months ago. Poland and the Czech Republic led the charge, Arthur Nelsen of Climate Home explains.
In mid-May, European grid regulators spoke out against priority grid dispatch for renewables. If the European Commission adopts their suggestions into law, it will be hard to add more wind or solar capacity. Craig Morris explains what this means for Europe.
Governance is not about imposing new obligations to member states. It is about mobilising and coordinating all relevant actors, including cities and regions. Europe is changing. Europe is greening. Let’s embrace this change rather than falter, write Michèle Rivasi and Claude Turmes.
The UK recorded the largest decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union (EU) in 2015, although new research has found the emissions from the bloc increased for the first time in five years. Matt Mace of Edie Newsroom explains.
