Energy, Environment & Transport Pro Brief |
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Mon 21 October 2024 | View online
Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
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Good morning
And welcome toMonday 21 October’s daily Energy, Environment and Transport Pro Brief.
Today COP16 - the biodiversity COP - kicks off. Delegates are gathering in Columbia to follow through on commitments made in 2022, when nature protection was still a top EU priority.
We also look at airport traffic caps - are they an ad hoc decarbonisation tool for one of Europe’s most ‘hard to abate’ sectors?
Here are our top stories for the day:
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| | | | | | | Ursula von der Leyen meets Greens/EFA ITRE coordinators Bloss, Niinistö |
| | North Seas Energy Cooperation ministerial meeting |
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What to expect from this week's biodiversity COP |
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Bárbara Machado looks at what to expect from COP16, which kicks off today in Columbia.
Global biodiversity talks are approaching a moment of truth.
Two years ago, countries across the globe adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The Framework commits signatories to dedicated targets to reverse nature loss by 2030. As part of this signing parties were supposed to submit their biodiversity strategies and action plans before COP16 started.
At time of writing 165 of the 196 parties had not presented anything, and quite a few EU countries are on that list.
It is a not a promising start, for talks which are meant to nail down how high-level targets will be implemented in practice. |
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New marine protected area around Azores |
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On Friday the regional government of the Portuguese Azores islands announced what they say is the largest marine protected area in the North Atlantic.
The zone covers 287,000 square kilometers around the islands, about 30% of the territory’s sea area.
Half of this zone will be ‘fully protected’ meaning no extraction activities will be allowed, while the reminder will be ‘highly protected’. [DC] |
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Europe’s unspoken plan to decarbonise aviation |
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Noise and congestion impacts mean that airport expansion in Europe has never been easy.
But previous national and European authorities, while mindful of local concerns, tended to help get expansion projects over the line.
However as climate concerns came to the forefront of political agendas, authorities have increasingly been happy to put airport expansion on the back-burner.
Over the past three years, expansion plans have been shelved in Paris Charles de Gaulle, London Heathrow, and Brussels Airport
Some airports, such as Amsterdam Schiphol and Dublin, have been dealing with passenger caps that push traffic levels below what their infrastructure can physically accommodate.
Euractiv explored the phenomenon, which one industry insider described as “a flagrant act of self-harm.” |
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Maps of future French offshore wind farms unveiled |
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On Friday morning, the French government release maps of the zones and potential zones withholdings for 15.5 GW of offshore wind, expected to be installed between 2033 and 2040.
By 2040, eight wind farms are planned, including two on the Mediterranean coast and six on the Atlantic coast. |
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Three installation zones have already been selected for the 10th call for tender (CFT10), which covered 8 to 10 GW by 2035, while another zone requires further consultation.
The remaining four zones are planned for 2040 installations, one of which still requires further consultation.
1.5 GW has already been installed in France, comprising of three wind farms from the country’s first tender in 2011. [PM] |
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Report: France ranked ‘least bad’ in Europe on heat pump policy |
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Of 10 large European countries analysed by the Polish think-tank Reform Institute, none are deemed supportive of heat pumps.
France is given 69 out of 100 points due to plentiful “tax credits, green interest-free loans, and direct subsidies at both national and regional levels.”
Romania ranks last at just 21 points, with a minimal market and “high electricity prices without discounts for heat pump owners.”
“Heat pump manufacturing is one of the few clean tech areas where Europe is currently a global leader,” explains Reform’s Maria Niewitała-Rej, with 73% of domestic demand covered by European production.
But with a gloomy outlook – the industry saw a 47% drop in sales in the first half of the year – fears abound of foreign competitors outpacing EU firms. [NK] |
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EU Ombudsman to release chemicals decision today |
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Today European Ombudsman Emer O’Reilly will announce the preliminary results of an investigation into the European Commission's regulation of dangerous chemicals.
In her open letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, O’Reilly highlights "very worrying" delays in the control of hazardous chemicals. These lags in classification allow companies to continue using products that may pose a risk to the public and the environment.
Research by the European Environmental Bureau finds that it typically takes officials around ten years to identify a hazardous chemical in use, and another ten years to halt any dangerous use.
Under the EU’s ‘REACH’ rules, the Commission has just three months to decide on authorisations and restrictions, after receiving advice from the ECHA agency.
The Commission's main explanation is that the increasing scope of recent chemical restrictions requires a longer assessment, making the three-month deadline unrealistic. [NC] |
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‘Over enthusiastic’ MEPs crowd non-binding COP29 resolution |
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The European Parliament’s guiding resolution for the upcoming COP29 cliate talks has been swamped by more than 600 suggestions to change the 20-page document. This is around 50% more than the resolution, prepared for the more consequential COP28 last year.
There are “not so many files yet, so people probably got over enthusiastic,” one Parliament source said. Another cited the increased number of political groups.
ENVI MEPs in Strasbourg will decide on the final text tonight.
“The negotiation was difficult, especially around the language on the EU emission reduction target for 2040, largely because of the EPP's lack of ambition,” the Greens’ Lena Schilling told Euractiv, who negotiated the resolution for her party.
The EPP, for its part, wants to continue wrestling with the Green Deal by pushing to include language slamming it’s “contradictory requirements and non-essential reporting requirements which restrict and burden companies.” [NK] |
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WTO downplays expectations on global carbon pricing initiative |
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Speaking at a conference on geoeconomics in Berlin on Friday, the deputy director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Angela Ellard, downplayed expectations for the institutions' work on a global carbon price.
"The work we're trying to do at the WTO, it's not a negotiation," she said, responding to a question by Euractiv. "It's really more of an opportunity to bring forward information to our membership, and trying to see if we can set up a framework on global pricing."
"All over the world, there are about 70 different carbon pricing schemes, which makes it really difficult for companies, for governments, decision-makers, to be able to navigate," Ellard noted. [JP] |
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Nuclear supporters not yet convinced by new energy commissioner |
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Paul Messad drills into the nuclear-related positions that incoming energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen has been advised to take by Commission services.
While there are more supportive statements than might first be expected, given the Dane’s historical skepticism of nuclear, supporters of the technology are still on guard.
They want to hear more concrete commitments on funding and targets, when Jørgensen takes the hot seat in the Parliament on 5 November. |
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Don’t make promises you can’t keep |
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Briefing notes for incoming commissioners are starting to circulate in Brussels, ahead of of the the Parliament’s auditions from 4 November.
As part of these preparations Commission services are writing briefing notes, and leaked versions are starting to circulate in Brussels.
The largely black and white briefing note for incoming energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen, prepared by Commission services, contains one splash of colour.
A line highlighted in red and yellow concerning future budgets and investments warns “no Commissioner-designate to commit to anything during the hearings.”
This is in line with the briefing for climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra.
Funding may prove to be the elephant in the room during November’s audition.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s competitiveness agenda requires significantly more spending than the current EU budget, but member states are deeply split on how to pay for this.[DC] |
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Opinion: Is carbon pricing becoming taboo? |
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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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