EU to spend €1.6 million on car emissions tests

The European Commission will make €1.6 million available next year to fund independent testing of cars, in the wake of the 'Dieselgate' scandal.

A Czech private garage carrying out emissions test.

The money will come from the EU budget and has been requested by the European Parliament.

The 2018 budget will be rubber-stamped by MEPs on Thursday (30 November).

It comes after widescale emissions cheating by German carmaker Volkswagen Group was brought to light in the United States through the reports of a non-governmental organisation, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) – and not by the responsible authorities in Europe.

Read the EUObserver story by Peter Teffer - “EU to spend €1.6 million on car emissions tests.”

Carbon Credits Likely Worthless in Reducing Emissions, Study Says

As nations grapple with how they can slash their emissions as part of the Paris climate agreement, some may use international credit schemes that were approved in the treaty process. A new report from the European Commission casts serious doubts about such credits, however, concluding that the vast majority of them likely fail to actually reduce emissions.

Trading emissions credits from clean energy projects
don't help reduce emissions, a new study says. 

The report, which was written last year but not published until this April, concludes that buying and selling emissions credits for overseas projects should be limited to a select list that meet rigorous standards, and used only as part of a transition to more effective policies for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

"Given the inherent shortcomings of crediting mechanisms, we recommend focusing climate mitigation efforts on forms of carbon pricing that do not rely extensively on credits," the report said, adding that credits should play only a limited role after 2020.

Read the Inside Climate News story - “Carbon Credits Likely Worthless in Reducing Emissions, Study Says.”

Last remaining relic of an ancient forest faces the axe

A bison in the Bialowieza Forest, a forest
 the Polish Government wants to log.

Warsaw: It is the last remaining relic of an ancient forest that stretched for millennia across the lowlands of Europe and Russia, a shadowy, mossy woodland where bison and lynx roam beneath towering oak trees up to 600 years old.

Conservationists believe the fate of the Bialowieza Forest, which straddles Poland and Belarus, is more threatened that at any time since the communist era due to a new Polish government plan for extensive logging in parts of the forest. The plan has pitted the government against environmentalists and many scientists, who are fighting to save the UNESCO world heritage site.

Seven environmental groups, including Greenpeace and WWF, have lodged a complaint with the European Commission hoping to prevent the large scale felling of trees, which is due to begin within days. Bialowieza has been declared a Natura 2000 site, meaning it is a protected area under European law. EU officials say they are working with the Polish authorities to ensure that any new interventions in the forest are in line with their regulations, but it's not yet clear what the result will be.

Read Vanessa Gera’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Logging to begin in last remaining European primeval forest.”

Commission seeks sustainable, competitive, energy-efficient and low carbon ideas

The European Commission today launched a public consultation on the development of an Integrated Research, Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy aimed at facilitating the EU’s transition to a sustainable, competitive, energy-efficient and low-carbon economy.

The strategy is linked to the implementation of the Energy Union Communication, which called for more research and innovation to ensure that the energy transition happens via modern, user-friendly, safe, sustainable and secure solutions to the benefit of EU citizens and businesses. Commitments taken at the COP21 international climate conference in Paris in December 2015 reinforce the need to step up efforts for reaching agreed climate targets.

Read the news alert from the European Commission - “Energy Union: Commission seeks views on comprehensive research, innovation and competitiveness strategy.”

British coal-fired power plants closed by 2025

T

he British government on Wednesday called for the closing of all coal-fired power plants in the country by 2025, and proposed that use of the plants be restricted two years before that.

The move, announced in advance of the United Nations conference on climate change set to open in Paris on Nov. 30, appeared aimed at showing Britain as a leader in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The push came as the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said in a report that the bloc would probably achieve its goal of reducing emissions by 20 percent by 2020, compared with levels that existed in 1990.

Read The New York Times story - “Britain Calls for Closing of Coal-Fired Power Plants by 2025.”

European Commission on the road to decarbonising transport

T

he European Commission’s strategy for decarbonising the road transport sector is finally taking shape: Brussels wants efficiency first, electrification second.

But it doesn’t know what to do about biofuels. “There is no appetite for [new] targets”, says Commission Director Marie Donnelly. Sonja van Renssen takes us on the bumpy road to a climate-friendly European transport sector.

The European Commission held a June 18 conference on decarbonising road transport.

It had a star Brussels line-up with no less than three Commissioners (plus one Vice President on video), MEPs, national officials, CEOs, NGOs, the Mayor of the City of Gothenburg and the Chairman of the Management Board of Daimler AG. This was the day on which Brussels formally kicked off debate on a new climate policy for road transport for 2030.

Read the Energy Post story - “On the road: EU goes for efficient and electric, ponders biofuels”.