As expected, the summit’s mainstay was the announcement of America’s new 2030 climate target.
Yet, when it comes to research and innovation, the US is capable of quickly surpassing the EU.
However, the reality may be quite different when it comes to getting things done.
At the end of the day, the EU should remain focused on its own energy and climate agenda, regardless of what America does.
The national recovery and resilience plan, which includes €2.3 billion for green economic transition, has received positive feedback in Brussels, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on Tuesday following his first in-person meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel since he took office on 1 April.
US car giant Ford announced on Tuesday it will invest $300 million to build a new light commercial vehicle at its Romanian plant in Craiova starting in 2023, with an all-electric model version added in the following year.
Ford is the first manufacturer to announce it will build an all-electric vehicle in Romania.
We are introducing reforms for the benefit of French citizens and the nation,” said French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire who spoke alongside his German counterpart Olaf Scholz at a joint press conference Tuesday.
“The recent presentation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan was insufficiently transparent and that is problematic,” Zoran Milanović said on Saturday, adding that the public lacks precise information about how the EU funds will be spent.
According to drafts, the plan foresees the allocation of €221.5 billion, of which €191.5 billion will come from the EU and €30 billion from a complementary fund created by the government, business daily Il Sole 24 ore reported.
The EU’s environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius met with Huang Runqiu, China’s environment minister at the the 8th EU-China Ministerial Environment Policy Dialogue, held on Tuesday , which is scheduled to be held in China in October this year.
The European Commission published its final report on Tuesday to conclude a two-year study on how to set up and implement carbon farming in the EU.
Europe must access to justice on environmental matters under the Aarhus Convention and make sure EU acts are in line with green goals, according to MEPs, who adopted a report in the European Parliament’s environment committee.
“The new text gives businesses and public authorities the right to be heard,” said Christian Doleschal, who is rapporteur on the proposal for the European People’s Party .
“The EU’s breach of the international Aarhus Convention has been a longstanding environmental democracy and accountability issue.
The European Commission “treats the Nordic forest industry like a fool,” said Finnish MEP Petri Sarvamaa after the Commission presented its first batch of criteria under the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy last Wednesday.
It is indeed absurd to punish the forestry practices that will help EU Member States such as Finland and Sweden to achieve more ambitious climate goals in a shorter timeframe than the EU average,” the Finnish MEP said.
By contrast, green campaigners were disappointed with the Commission’s taxonomy proposal.
“This Facility is an important tool to help our regions and communities meet the challenges stemming from climate transition.
The Just Transition Fund, worth €17.5 billion, was agreed in December and is one of the EU’s key tools to support regions in the transition towards climate neutrality by 2050.
The research covers 10 EU member states: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
“It will be a mistake if future legislation will ignore this,” she added, calling for “an inclusive and technology-neutral approach” to deliver on the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goal.