By Climate Scorecard EU Manager Brittany DemogenesIn December 2018, a recast Renewable Energy Directive in the EU entered into force. The recast directive sets a binding renewable energy target of at least 32% by 2030 with a clause for potential upward revision by 2023. In 2019, for the first time ever, EU power production from...
Policy Recommendation # 1: Adopt Stronger Goals for the EU’s Market Stability Reserve Fund Policy Recommendation # 2: Adopt a Phased-In Approach for Having the Aviation Industry Pay for the Allowances It Receives Under the Market Stability Reserve Fund The European Union’s emissions trading system (ETS) is one of the primary mechanisms supporting the reduction...
Image 1 (source) The European Union’s electricity consumption has seen a number of positive trends since 1990, especially with the use of coal and oil in decline and an increase in renewable energy usage. However, in order to achieve the targets outlined by the Paris agreement, it is clear that the energy sector must continue...
Recently Reported Greenhouse Gas Emissions Level: 3737.36 MT in 2019, a Decrease of 24% Compared to 1990 Level (European Environmental Agency estimate) The most recent greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) estimates for the EU from 2019 were conducted by the European Environment Agency. Through analyzation of their approximated GHG inventory, they found that the EU’s total...
There have been numerous discussions in the EU within the past months regarding Climate Change mitigation efforts and it is becoming apparent the EU wants to fortify some of its ambitious goals. Some recent events that highlight the emphasis on the EU’s restructuring of its goals, as well as the larger discussion surrounding climate change,...
One of the European Commission’s goals is to continue to explore the impacts of climate change and to determine effective responses that can be taken to lessen both present and future impacts. The European Commission is currently partnered with the Joint Programming Initiative on Climate Change, the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the Global Framework for...
Eco-industry has played a large role in the sustenance of the EU’s economy. The European Environment State and Outlook Report (SOER), which analyzed Europe’s green industries between 2000 and 2010, found that Europe’s green industries grew by 50%, despite the prevalence of economic busts during the time. In 2014, 4.2 million people in the EU...
The impact of COVID-19 on the world economy is huge. Closure of borders, restrictions on traveling, and dramatic reduction of commercial flights have led to an unprecedented drop in the number of tourists worldwide, nearly leading to a collapse of the tourism sector in many countries. Tourism is considered to be a major world industry...
The European Union accounts for 179 million hectares of forests which make up 44.6% of its land and approximately 5% of the world’s forests. Contrary to what is happening in many other places around the world, the EU has set a strategy for protecting and restoring the loss of forests, leading to a slow increase...
In her speech to the European Parliament on 26 March 2020, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen announced a series of packages to support the healthcare systems of EU countries. EUR 6 billion euro in total has been dedicated to financing the Emergency Support Instrument and RescEU, from which EUR 3...
