Ursula von der Leyen used her 2021 State of the European Union address to urge urgent climate action, but EU capitals will likely deflate the ambition of her proposal over the coming months – and escape scrutiny for doing so.
The droughts, wildfires, floods and hurricanes of the past months have prompted US and EU leaders to connect domestic weather events to climate change in an unprecedented way – but will they change policy?
Global clean energy investment is insufficient to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In the US, Senate Democrats intend to use an arcane parliamentary procedure to advance Joe Biden’s climate agenda. It may be the world's best chance to close the spending gap.
Arguing that electrification will increase carbon emissions is misguided, argues Jan Rosenow from the Regulatory Assistance Project. Instead, the focus must be on bringing more renewables online to make electricity production as clean as possible.
The 'Fit for 55' package announced by the European Commission should be taken as a starting point for ambitious climate action. The European Parliament and EU member states must build on it, not delay its adoption or water down the proposals.
The EU's 'Fit for 55' package is an opportunity to make climate action more effective by bringing clean energy and circular economy policies closer together, to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and waste.
Bumping up EU climate decisions to national leaders might seem like recognition of the urgency to act, but in reality it may slow down Europe’s energy transition.
All the indicators are clear: investing in green growth offers a better rate of return than the conventional equivalent in both the short and long term.
Creating jobs is now firmly at the heart of the energy transition narrative, but trade unions in Europe and the UK are concerned not enough attention is being paid to ensuring these jobs are good jobs that offer proper long-term contracts and protection for workers.
The UK has announced an emissions reduction target that would see a faster decline than the EU and US, but working out who has the policies to deliver on their targets is no easy task.
Global net-zero ambitions require a fresh focus on the demand side, from how energy is used to social justice to jobs and individuals as agents of change, argues Angela Wilkinson, CEO of the World Energy Council.
German Greens put up their first-ever candidate for chancellor in an election that will be dominated by Covid and climate change.
Donald Trump’s hostility to clean energy and aversion to internationalism damaged the US’s standing on the global stage. With sufficient ambition, Joe Biden can reassert US leadership at this week’s climate summit.
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