The Council of the EU today adopted the ambitious measures proposed by the Commission to tackle marine litter coming from the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on European beaches, as well as abandoned fishing gear and oxo-degradable plastics. The rules on Single-Use Plastics items and fishing gear envisage different measures to apply to different product […]
European Citizens’ Initiative: Commission registers ‘Save the bees!’ initiative’
Today, the European Commission decided to register a European Citizens’ Initiative entitled ‘Save the bees! Protection of biodiversity and improvement of habitats for insects in Europe‘. The organisers call on the Commission to ‘adopt legislation to maintain and improve habitats for insects as indicators of an undamaged environment’. The Citizens’ Initiative focuses on the creation of mandatory […]
Mechanical sails can help decarbonise the oceans
Decarbonising the shipping industry is a big challenge, but a Finnish company has spent the last two years showing how we can use wind power to save up to 20 % of energy used by ships on long sea voyages. Shipping contributes around one gigaton or one billion metric tons of the roughly forty gigatons […]
Biodiversity loss tops concerns among Europeans
According to a new survey, Europeans are increasingly concerned about the state of the natural world. In an overwhelming consensus, 96 % of the more than 27.000 interviewed citizens said that we have a responsibility to protect nature and that this is also essential for tackling climate change. The Eurobarometer survey reveals awareness is generally […]
State aid: €385 million support for production of electricity from renewable sources in Lithuania
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a scheme to support electricity production from renewable energy sources in Lithuania. The measure, open to all types of renewable generation, will contribute to the EU environmental objectives without unduly distorting competition. On 1 May 2019, Lithuania will introduce a new aid scheme to support […]
Commission adopts €4 billion investment package for infrastructure projects across 10 Member States
Nowadays, the EU Cohesion Policy invests €4 billion of EU funds in 25 large infrastructure projects in 10 Member States. The investment package involves Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Romania. The projects cover a wide range of areas: health, transport, research, environment and energy. With national co-financing, the total investment […]
How do environmental hazards affect vulnerable groups in Europe?
Aleksandra Kazmierczak, a European Environment Agency (EEA) climate change adaptation expert, explains the main findings of a new EEA report that assesses the links between social and demographic inequalities and exposure to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures. What are the key findings of the report? The EEA report ‘Unequal exposure and unequal impacts: social […]
Commission welcomes adoption of new rules on single–use plastics to reduce marine litter
The European Parliament today agreed on the ambitious measures proposed by the Commission to tackle marine litter coming from the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on European beaches, as well as abandoned fishing gear and oxo-degradable plastics. The rules on Single-Use Plastics items and fishing gear, addressing the ten most found items on EU beaches place […]
€750 million in EU funding made available for clean energy infrastructure
The Commission is releasing €750 million of funding for key European energy infrastructure projects with major cross-border benefits. Supporting the construction of necessary infrastructure, contributes to the Commission’s energy policy priorities of improving energy security, whilst giving consumers more choice, and spurring economic growth and jobs. These interconnections are also essential for renewable energy sources […]