Energy, Environment & Transport Pro Brief |
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Mon 14 October 2024 | View online
Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
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Good morning
And welcome toMonday 14 October’s daily Energy, Environment and Transport Pro Brief.
Environment ministers are meeting in Luxembourg this morning to find an ambitious -but flexible- negotiating position, ahead of November’s global plastic treaty talks.
They may have to tread lightly - last week the EU’s global powerbroker moves earned it the ‘neo-colonial’ label.
And check out below our calendar for the week ahead.
Here are our top stories for the day:
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| | | | | Elisa Ferreira keynote at Just Transition Platform event |
| Didier Reynders in Right to Repair Europe videoconference |
| Wopke Hoekstra receives Chinese Special Envoy for Climate Change |
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| | | Expert G: Aviation Safety |
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| | | | Kadri Simson in Iceland - Artic Circle Assembly/Iceland PM/China envoy |
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| Kadri Simson in Iceland: Meets President & Energy Minister |
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Environment ministers prepare for troubled global plastics talks |
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The EU is striving for an ambitious global plastics treaty, but is facing strong opposition from a “small but influential group of countries” who are “refusing to engage constructively” according to the Commission.
Global talks have been stormy, with the same Commision representative saying negotations have been “marked by a high level of conflictual discussions.”
At the heart of the issue is the scope of the proposed plastics treaty. Europe wants it to cover the whole lifecycle of plastics. Others do not.
Barbara Machado looks ahead to today’s meeting of environment ministers, who will try to hammer out a more flexible EU negotiating position, ahead of the next round of talks in November. |
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EU’s Global Gateway programme dismissed as ‘neo-colonial’ |
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Launched in 2021, the Global Gateway is a European Commission initiative that aims to offer developing countries a more sustainable and transparent investment alternative to China's ‘Belt and Road’ programme.
By 2027, the European Union aims to leverage investments worth €300 billion in physical infrastructure, such as undersea cables, transport corridors and renewable energy solutions, while promoting reforms to facilitate European investment in participating countries.
The initiative is sold as a win-win partnership between countries of the South seeking to develop and European companies looking for new markets
However NGOs and some representatives of countries targeted by the initiative are deeply skeptical.
At an event in Brussels to launch a report on the issue, several NGOs pointed to what they consider to be the strong influence of large private European companies in the governance and definition of the fund's priorities.
And the hand of history weights heavy on the debate. Nathan Canas attended the event, where the European Commission was forced to defend against charges of ‘neo-colonialism’ |
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Finally, a mandate for Hoekstra |
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The EU’s current and designated Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will finally have an up-to-date brief when environment ministers agree the conclusive negotiation mandate for COP29 at their meeting in Luxembourg today
The lack of such a mandate has not stopped him from extensive groundwork at the preparatory pre-COP meetings in Azerbaijan this week.
Two issues are key for the EU this year: the post-2025 finance framework and global carbon markets, colloquially called ‘Article 6’.
Last week EU finance ministers stressed the “importance of an integrated multi-layered approach” with public finance “provided and mobilised from a broader base of contributors, including those countries that are capable of contributing.”.
The finance minister mandate presents a red line of sorts by insisting on “the need for expanding the group of contributors as a prerequisite for an ambitious” new finance goal.
When it comes to global carbon markets, the EU has historically been a hawk on matters of measuring, reporting and verification – building on its own ETS experience, and is not expected to abandon its stance. [NK] |
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Environment ministers to adopt higher air quality standards |
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Today the Council is expected to formally adopt the revised air quality directive, a Green Deal initiative aimed at reducing air pollution levels, which cause around 300,000 premature deaths per year in the EU.
The current directive sets standards for 12 air pollutants, which are not aligned with the World Health Organisation’s guidelines. However, the February 2024 deal to revise the directive also failed to align with global standards.
Nevertheless, the revision is still hailed as an improvement, as the new rules set stricter 2030 limits and target values for pollutants with a severe impact on human health. [BM] |
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Energy ministers to debate tighter biofuel imports |
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Together with Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, Ireland will push in tomorrow’s Energy Council for tighter controls on imported biofuels - with a focus on palm oil mill effluent (POME).
POME is derived from the waste of palm oil and is considered sustainable under EU rules.
But POME imports spiked in 2023 and Ireland fears that fraud is at play, saying imported volumes “appear disproportionately large in comparison to estimated possible global availability of this type of biofuel.”
The move has two goals. Firstly to protect the environment against unsustainable palm oil plantations for fuel. And secondly to ensure fair competition for indigenous European biofuel producers.
Ireland has taken the lead on several EU environmental dossiers in recent months, including the Nature Restoration Law and the greening of corporate vehicle fleets.
The push comes from green Eamon Ryan, who is the country’s minister for the environment, climate, communications and transport. Ryan recently stepped down as party leader and will not contest Ireland’s next national elections, which could take place as early as next month. [DC] |
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ENVI Committee: Expect powerless outrage over deforestation law |
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This evening left-wing MEPs in the Parliament’s ENVI Committee will flag their outrage following the proposed one-year postponment of the implementation of the EU’s anti-deforestation law.
The Greens Virginijus Sinkevičius said in a 2 October social media post that the move puts “80,000 acres of forest at risk daily;” breaks trust with partners; and damaging the bloc’s climate credibility.
As the ENVI Committee does not get to vote on the Commisison’s proposal, the motion is expected to go straight to the hemicycle’s plenary assembly.
The move, which “undermines the Green Deal,” as S&D MEP Mohammed Chahim put it previously, will see MEPs positioning themselves along the following battle line. Some will grudgingly accept the delay but gear up to defend the law’s core. Others will seek even deeper changes to the text.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure that the conservative EPP group … does not exploit the newly opened legislative procedure … to shrink [it] into a toothless paper tiger together with far-right groups,” said German S&D MEP Delara Burkhardt in a statement in early October. [NK] |
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China first, Europe second in net-zero industrial race |
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A new report released this morning by Strategic Perspectives, a pan-European think tank, finds that Europe remains the second most attractive location for net-zero investors in 2023, after China but ahead of the US.
However, China's cleantech might threatens to shrink the EU's net-zero industries.
Beijing accounts for 39% of global net-zero investment; dominates in solar industry; controls 60% of the wind value chain; and plans to multiply battery production fourfold by 2030.
The US are positioning themselves as the technological leaders of the future, attracting more than a third of global investment in start-ups in the clean energy sector, well ahead of Europe.
In order to keep its position, the EU needs to keep mobilising sufficient investment, stimulating innovation and supporting EU-made products, according to the report.
In Europe, some countries are doing better than others.
“Poland has become the world's second largest battery manufacturer in terms of capacity, just behind China. Germany, France and Hungary also have a solid reserve of battery production capacity between now and 2030. These developments underline the importance of building a robust and resilient net-zero value chain here in Europe.” said Aymeric Kouam, Energy Analyst at Strategic Perspectives, at a press event to launch the report.
“No single EU member state can compete in this race alone. Only a robust Clean Industrial Deal can position Europe as a net-zero powerhouse,” the report stresses. [NC] |
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Opinion: Enlargement the overlooked factor in 2040 climate drive |
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Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Energy, Environment & Transport team |
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Today’s briefing was prepared by the Energy, Environment and Transport team: Donagh Cagney, Nathan Canas, Paul Messad, Nikolaus J.Kurmayer and Bárbara Machado, but not with the keen eyes of any proofreaders. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com. |
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