The European Parliament’s influential Industry Committee (ITRE) has voted to call on the European Commission to “analyse and if appropriate to increase the legally binding renewable energy target beyond.” This is the latest signal that European Union policy makers are seriously considering extending renewable energy targets beyond 2020. Recently Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told The Guardian … Read more
The European Commission has published a report on indirect land use change related to biofuels and bioliquids. The report acknowledges that indirect land use change can reduce greenhouse gas emissions savings associated with biofuels, but also identifies a number of uncertainties. The Commission will now conduct an impact assessment, thereby taking into consideration potential changes … Read more
The European Commission says that this week’s UN climate change conference in Cancun (Mexico) should work towards a legally binding agreement. Key parts of the current agreement on climate change, known as the Kyoto Protocol, expire after 2012 and there is also need for urgent action on the ground. Last year’s international agreement at Copenhagen … Read more
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on how to achieve a low carbon European economy by 2050. In early 2011, the Commission plans to publish a Roadmap on options for ‘decarbonising’ the European economy by 2050 and the public consultation will feed into this. The roadmap will set out a strategy for reducing … Read more
The European Commission has adopted a Regulation approving the use of a tool to estimate fuel consumption by small aircraft operators as part of their compliance with the EU Emissions Trading System. The tool was developed by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol). The tool enables aircraft operators with few flights … Read more