The European Commission has presented a new strategy to protect and improve the state of Europe’s biodiversity over the next decade. The strategy includes six targets which address the main drivers of biodiversity loss, and which will reduce the main pressures on nature and ecosystem services in the EU by anchoring biodiversity objectives in key sectoral … Read more
The Government is establishing an independent non-statutory Peatlands Council to assist Ireland in responding in a strategic way to the requirements of the EU Habitat’s Directive, which requires Ireland to protect and conserve important peatland habitats. Conor Skehan, a lecturer with DIT’s School of Spatial Planning, has been appointed as chair of the Council. As … Read more
The European Commission is asking Ireland and France to comply with EU legislation requiring Member States to draw up marine strategies to protect their seas. Neither Member State has informed the Commission about the transposition of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which should have been in place by July 15th 2010. If France and Ireland … Read more
Honoured as 2011 European Green Capital by the European Commission, Hamburg, Germany is seizing the opportunity to accelerate its growth as a city of the future. Educational programmes that reach across the community and across the Continent , ambitious carbon emissions reduction targets, aggressive leadership in the management and servicing of renewable energies, and major … Read more
The European Commission has adopted a comprehensive strategy, ‘Transport 2050’, for a competitive transport system designed to increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment. At the same time, the proposals will dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60% by 2050. To … Read more
The EU must put extra legislation in place in the lifetime of the current European Commission if it is to meet its commitment to cut domestic carbon emissions by 80-95% by 2050, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has warned. The European Commission recently released its ‘Roadmap to a low carbon society’ which outlined the … Read more
The European Commission is taking Ireland back to the European Court of Justice for failing to implement an earlier ruling concerning developments that may harm the natural and man-made heritage of the countryside. Two years after the judgment, Ireland has still not adopted legislation to address the issue. The European Commission is referring the case … Read more
The EU 2020 renewable energy policy goals are likely to be met and exceeded if Member States fully implement their national renewable energy action plans and if financing instruments are improved, according to the European Commission. However, the Commission stresses the need for further co-operation between Member States and a better integration of renewable energy … Read more
Alternative fuels have the potential to gradually replace fossil energy sources and make transport sustainable by 2050, according to a report presented to the European Commission by the stakeholder expert group on future transport fuels. The EU will need an oil-free and largely CO2-free energy supply for transport by 2050 due to the need to … Read more
The European Commission has launched the 2011 call for project proposals under the Intelligent Energy – Europe (IEE) funding programme. €57 million are available to co-fund projects that facilitate the widespread use of renewable energy and help realise Europe’s energy saving potential. The projects funded under the Intelligent Energy – Europe programme are designed to … Read more