The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a €700 million green loan to expand Iberdrola’s electricity-distribution grid in Spain. An initial, €500 million tranche was signed in Madrid by EIB Director General for European Union Operations, Jean-Christophe Laloux, and Iberdrola Finance, Control and Corporate Development Director José Sainz Armada. The total investment under the project amounts […]
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Europe Advances Towards a Circular Economy: Strategies to Reduce Textile and Food Waste
Europe is at a crucial moment in transitioning towards a circular economy, seeking innovative solutions to reduce the environmental impact of textile and food waste. In a recent adoption of proposals by the European Parliament, stricter measures have been established to address these challenges, marking a significant step forward in the fight against waste and […]
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Solar irrigation: efficient green energy for the future of agriculture
When it comes to sustainable agriculture, energy-efficient solutions play a fundamental role. In this quest for sustainability, the emergence of solar irrigation (SI) is proving to be a game changer. The EU-funded SolAqua project, which concluded in September 2023, has made huge advances in overcoming barriers to the market uptake of SI in Europe and […]
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Energy efficiency of buildings: MEPs adopt plans to decarbonise the sector
On Tuesday, MEPs adopted plans, already agreed upon with Council, to help reduce energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions from the buildings sector. The proposed revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive aims to progressively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption in the EU building sector, and make it climate neutral by 2050. […]
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Parliament approves measures to reduce industrial and farm pollution
The new rules will reduce harmful emissions from industrial installations and large pig and poultry farms to protect human health and the environment. Parliament adopted the deal with member states on the revision of the industrial emission directive (IED) with 393 votes in favour, 173 against and 49 abstentions, and the new regulation on the Industrial Emissions Portal with […]
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Europe unprepared to cope with rapidly increasing climate risks, EEA says
The extreme heat, drought, forest fires and floods experienced in recent years will worsen in Europe, even under optimistic global warming scenarios, and will affect living conditions across the continent. The EEA is publishing for the first time the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), which will help identify policy priorities for climate change adaptation and […]
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United and prepared against energy supply disruptions
Ministers held an exchange of views on the state of play of security of supply and preparations for winter 2024-2025. Among other things, they addressed ways to avoid, both individually and collectively, new price shocks and to strengthen energy security, while achieving the established targets on decarbonisation and on phasing out Russian fossil fuels. Different […]
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2023 figures show stagnating progress in reducing road fatalities in too many countries
The Commission is publishing preliminary figures on road fatalities for 2023. Around 20,400 people were killed in road crashes in the EU last year, a small 1% decrease on 2022. Despite some progress since the baseline year of 2019[1], few Member States are on track to meet the EU and UN target of halving […]
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Spain: EIB and Otua sign €40 million loan to back the construction of a waste recycling plant in the Basque Country
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Basque Country-based Otua Group have signed a €40 million loan to finance the construction of a new plant for recycling plastics from automotive waste and to upgrade existing facilities for processing metal waste. The EIB loan promotes the transition to circular economy – in which industrial materials get reused rather […]
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