Greta Thunberg tells EU to stop 'pretending' on climate

Yahoo – AFP, March 4, 2020

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said that despite "disregarding" science, the EU
was hoping its climate plan "will somehow solve the biggest crisis humanity has
ever faced" (AFP Photo/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)

Brussels (AFP) - Teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg branded the EU's grand plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 inadequate on Wednesday and said Europe is falsely claiming to lead the world on climate.

The European Union must stop "pretending that you can be a climate leader and still go on building and subsidising new fossil fuel infrastructure," the Swedish activist told a committee hearing at the European Parliament.

Thunberg was addressing MEPs as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new draft law that Brussels has hailed as the cornerstone of Europe's "Green Deal" to fight climate change.

The 17-year-old said that despite "disregarding" science, the EU was hoping its plan "will somehow solve the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (C) announced a new draft law 

that Brussels has hailed as the cornerstone of Europe's "Green Deal" to fight 

climate change (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

"This must come to an end," she said.

Earlier, Thunberg had been a guest at a meeting of top EU officials that approved a proposal to enshrine into law the EU's ambition of net zero carbon emissions by mid-century.

This would bind the EU's 27 member states to balance polluting emissions and the removal of greenhouse gases -- such as by using carbon capture technology or reforestation -- within the next 30 years.

The law, once ratified, would also give the EU executive new powers to impose emission targets on member state governments.

"When your house is on fire, you don't wait a few more years to start putting it out," said Thunberg.

"When the EU presents this climate law and net zero by 2050 you indirectly admit surrender, that you are giving up," she said.

Coalition 'gambles' on making Austria carbon neutral by 2040

Yahoo – AFP, Julia ZAPPEI, January 2, 2020

People's Party (OeVP) leader Sebastian Kurz says his two-party coalition will
'protect the climate and borders' (AFP Photo/ALEX HALADA)

Vienna (AFP) - Austria's first coalition between conservatives and Greens announced Thursday that it would aim for carbon neutrality by 2040 to make the country a European "forerunner" in climate protection.

The two disparate parties have agreed to govern in what Greens leader Werner Kohler called a "gamble" after key election gains in September.

Their alliance means People's Party (Oe Vp) leader Sebastian Kur, 33, returns as chancellor after his previous coalition with the far-right broke apart earlier this year owing to a corruption scandal.

It marks the first time the Greens enter government on a national level though the Oe Vp holds on to controversial anti-immigration measures that have deeply divided Austrians.

"It's worth the gamble" to work with the conservatives, Kohler told reporters when presenting the government programme.

The carbon neutrality goal -- meaning greenhouse gas emissions are balanced with measures that absorb or eliminate carbon -- is ahead of Europe's 2050 ambition.

But the 300-page government programme also highlights security needs, the conservatives' main campaign platform.

"Migration will stay at the heart of my politics," said Kur, who has styled himself as a tough anti-immigration fighter, reiterating his view that the coalition's parties had "succeeded in uniting the best of both worlds".

'Daring experiment'

European Council President Charles Michel said 2020 began with "great news from Austria."

He tweeted: "25 years after its accession, Austria renews its commitment to the European project and is set to become a leader in the fight against climate change."

Observers say Germany and other nations could follow suit for the unlikely marriage of conservatives and ecologists as politicians seek to cater to voters' increasingly populist sentiments as well as worries about climate change.

But many have also warned that the alliance stands on thin ice as particularly the Greens have made key compromises.

A column in the left-leaning Standard on Thursday described the coalition as a "daring experiment" and a "political adventure". Tabloid Oesterreich billed the Oe Vp as "powerful as never before".

Kur announced his party would head 10 ministries, including the interior, foreign, defence and finance.

The Greens will have charge of an enlarged environment ministry, as well as hold the justice, social affairs and sports and culture portfolios with Kohler, 58, nominated as Kur’s vice-chancellor.

In September polls, the Greens gained 13.9 percent of the vote in their best-ever result as the environment replaced immigration as top concern.

The Oe Vp got 37.5 percent as disappointed voters of the scandal-tainted far-right Freedom Party (F Poe) flocked to Kur’s party.

It will now be up to the Greens' almost 280 delegates to give the final go-ahead to the agreement at a party congress on Saturday. The new government is then expected to be sworn in next week.

'50-50 survival chance'

Among a raft of proposals, the programme spells out that all energy should come from renewable resources by 2030 and for more to be invested in public transport.

Though renewable energies already account for about a third of Austria's consumption -- almost double the EU average -- the nation of 8.8 million people has been among few EU members that have seen their greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase between 1990 and 2017.

Regarding immigration and security, the coalition wants to introduce preventive detention and extend the headscarf ban for school girls -- clauses which will be hard to swallow for some Greens.

Political analyst Johannes Huber told AFP that the alliance had a "50-50 chance" of survival, depending on which topics came up in the next few years.

Standard daily columnist Eric Frey also wrote that Kur and Kohler would need a "skillfulness as few politicians before them" should tricky issues arise, such as a surge in the number of asylum seekers, worsening climate change or an economic downturn.

Opposition leaders have already criticised the new coalition, with the Social Democrats (Sope) saying the Greens have failed to make a mark, while F Poe leader Norbert Hofer said the programme contained "mainly hot air".

But both the Sope and the F Poe are weakened, with the Social Democrats suffering their worst-ever results in the September polls and the far-right tumbling after the "Ibiza-gate" graft scandal brought down their then-leader and vice-chancellor in May, causing the government to collapse.

EU leader urges MEPs to back green growth plan

Yahoo – AFP, Marine LAOUCHEZ, Dave CLARK, December 11, 2019

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the 'Green New Deal'  to
fight climate change was "Europe's man on the moon moment" (AFP Photo/
Aris Oikonomou)

Brussels (AFP) - The EU's top official Wednesday launched the bloc's new "Green Deal", hailing it as a strategy for jobs and economic growth, not just for cutting emissions.

Unveiling the plan to the European Parliament, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also warned against the steep cost of inaction.

Earlier, she had compared the ambition of the plan to the 1960s US mission to the moon, but Green groups were quick to warn it does not go far enough.

The key element of the plan will be a law committing member states to build a carbon neutral economy by 2050 -- but first it will need the go-ahead from parliament and EU leaders.

"We do not have all the answers yet. Today is the start of a journey. But this is Europe's man on the moon moment," Ursula von der Leyen said.

She promised a "new growth strategy" that "gives back more than it takes away", aiming to mobilise around 100 billion euros to fund clean energy projects.

"We have to make sure no one is left behind," she told reporters. "This transition will either be working for all and be just, or it will not work at all."

In parliament, she said: "Some say the cost of this transition is too high, let us never forget what the cost of non-action would be. It is rising by the year."

The document is the first major political challenge for the former German defence minister since she took charge of the European Commission this month.

And it comes as a UN global climate summit is under way in Madrid -- focusing attention on the crisis -- and on the eve of von der Leyen's first EU summit.

Various leaked versions of the plan have been flying around Brussels for weeks, and lobby groups from all sides of the debate have been piling on pressure.

The European Parliament was the first to officially receive the plan.

"At this point, we can't yet say if it's a Green Deal or green washing," said French Green MEP Karima Delli as associations feared the proposals did not go far enough.

The leaders of EU member states will hear it on Thursday at their Brussels summit and von der Leyen's deputy Frans Timmermans will take it to this week's COP25 forum in Madrid.

"It's important that, in parallel to the announcement, there's a signal" of support from European leaders, European Council President Charles Michel said.

The "European Green Deal" lists legislative proposals, financial instruments and action plans in different sectors, with a timetable.

The key goals are to use a combination of cleaner tech and carbon capture methods to make Europe the first "carbon neutral" economy by 2050.

Global competitors

Three countries still highly dependent on fossil fuels, particularly coal, could still block the way: Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

To convince them, the Commission plans to establish a 100-billion-euro "transition mechanism" to help them transition to renewable energy sources.

"It would help if at the Council we get some progress on carbon neutrality," said MEP Pascal Canfin, chair of the environment committee of the leaders' meeting.

The European Commission wants to set a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 or even 55 percent by 2030, up from its 40 percent goal.

But for some this does not go far enough.

"The promises are too small, too few, and too far off," said Jagoda Munic of Friends of the Earth Europe.

"We're on a runaway train to ecological and climate collapse and the EU Commission is gently switching gears instead of slamming on the brakes."

The action plan also includes plans to extend the EU Emissions Trading System into the highly polluting shipping sector.

And there are plans for a "border adjustment mechanism" aimed at importers to ensure that EU companies do not lose out to competitors who flout the Paris Climate Agreement.

The Commission will also lay out the timetable for its "from farm to fork" strategy to promote sustainable and quality agriculture, as well as that on biodiversity.

But however ambitious von der Leyen's environmental plan is, it will be very dependent on the money EU members are willing to spend on it.

For the moment, this is the unknown. Negotiations for the multi-year MFF budget for the period 2021-2027 are running late and entering a difficult stage.

Germany and the Netherlands meet to discuss climate change plans

DutchNews, August 16, 2019

 Photo: DutchNews.nl 

The Netherlands and Germany will hold a joint summit next week to discuss how to dovetail their plans to combat climate change, the Financieele Dagblad said on Friday. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte and German chancellor Angela Merkel will meet in The Hague on Thursday with other government ministers to talk about working more closely together, the paper said. 

The meeting is a preparatory one, and further, more detailed, talks will take place in October. The agenda for next week includes the introduction of a carbon tax on industry and plans to store carbon dioxide underground. 

Jan Braun of The Hague’s Centre for Strategic Studies told the paper that if the Netherlands and Germany can take the same approach they will be able to act as a role model for other EU countries. In addition, their alliance will boost the likelihood of a Europe-wide carbon tax being introduced, he said.

Sweden wants EU to switch to emission-free cars by 2030

Yahoo – AFP, October 22, 2016

Sweden's environment minister urged the European Union to ban petrol and
diesel-powered vehicles from 2030 (AFP Photo/Fred Tanneau)

Stockholm (AFP) - Sweden's environment minister on Saturday urged the European Union to ban petrol and diesel-powered vehicles from 2030.

Speaking to the Aftonbladet daily, Isabella Lovin of the Green Party hailed a non-binding resolution adopted by Germany's upper house of parliament to switch to emission-free cars by 2030.

"It's a really interesting proposition ... In order to achieve it, we will need to implement an EU-wide ban along the same lines," she said.

"As the environment minister, I do not see any other way than to relegate vehicles powered by fossil fuels to the dustbin of history."

The Swedish government aims to produce all of its power from renewable energy sources by 2040.

Volkswagen CEO apologizes for cheating on US auto emissions tests

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has apologized for manipulating US diesel emissions tests. Fines and recalls loom on the horizon. But the biggest price to pay is VW's loss of face - and that of the German auto industry.

Deutsche Welle, 20 Sep 2015

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has been forced to apologize after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the firm had been using software to trick regulators into thinking the carmaker was complying with clean air laws.

Fresh from presenting the Volkswagen Group's latest models to champagne and flashing lights at the Frankfurt International Motor Show earlier this week, Winterkorn on Sunday avoided directly admitting willful deception. But the EPA's evidence was presumably strong enough to merit an apology.

Long winter ahead?

"I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public," said Winterkorn in a statement. "We will cooperate fully with the responsible agencies, with transparency and urgency, to clearly, openly and completely establish all of the facts of this case."

He added that VW has also ordered an external investigation. And in the spirit of further damage control, the carmaker has pulled from YouTube its ads marketing the diesel-powered cars as being better for the environment.

VW is facing fines of up to $18
billion in the US

The technology used by VW in the EPA tests allowed its diesel cars to release fewer smog-causing pollutants during tests than in real-world driving conditions.

Environmental, consumer health hazards

Despite the apology, things are already looking grim for the carmaker. The EPA said VW installed the software in nearly half a million cars in models from the last seven years, including the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat - and that the software may have hidden up to 40 times the acceptable level of harmful pollutants, causing both environmental and consumer health hazards.

VW is facing fines of up to $18 billion (15.9 billion euros). It will also have to fix the cars at its own expense. But the bigger cost of the EPA's discovery is to VW's image - and potentially that of the German car industry as a whole.

Daimler, which shares the German auto industry's Big Three label along with VW and BMW, commented sparingly on the issue.

"I know too little about the case to judge just how justified the accusations against Volkswagen are, and whether we can be a 100 percent certain of them in every way," said CEO Dieter Zetsche.

Coming clean

But a transparent approach to an impending crisis is key, said Stefan Bratzel, a professor specializing in innovation research at the Bergisch Gladbach University of Applied Sciences.

"This is obviously negative for the German car industry, but speculation has to be kept in check," Bratzel told DW. "Volkswagen and - if it comes to it - other German carmakers have to be proactive and transparent and say whether this was an isolated problem in the US, or whether this is a pattern."

Volkswagen will also eventually have to make clear who within the organizational structure is responsible, and just how high up they are.

"An administrator didn't just decide this on his own," said Bratzel. "Somebody would have signed off on this."

Trouble on the homefront

Calls for an investigation have already come in VW's native market. Germany's Green Party wants a probe to determine whether emissions test manipulation has also taken place in Germany.

"We will emphatically demand an investigation in parliament and examine whether German authorities have helped along illegal activities by deliberately looking the other way," said Bärbel Höhn, the chair of the Green Party's environmental committee.

All this comes at a time when the biggest threat to the German car industry was thought to be the Chinese economic slowdown. But as VW's shareholders are bound to learn when markets open on Monday, what's bad for the environment and for health will likely end up being bad for business.

(dpa, AP)

US government has expanded its investigation of pollution-skirting devices in

 diesel vehicles to other manufacturers after Volkswagen admitted it used them

to thwart environmental standards (AFP Photo/Thomas Samson)

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Auto expert: 'A conscious breach of US law'

EU climate envoy welcomes Obama's carbon plan

A senior EU figure on climate change has hailed US President Obama's plan to limit the country's carbon emissions. Obama's announcement came ahead of a global climate summit in Paris.

Deutsche Welle, 4 Aug 2015

EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete holds
 a joint news conference with European Commissioner for Energy Union, Maros
 Sefcovic (not pictured) at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels,
Belgium, 25 February 2015.

In a series of statements on Twitter, the European Union's commissioner for climate action and energy, Miguel Arias Canete, praised the Clean Power Plan, which had been announced by US President Barack Obama on Monday.

Canete (pictured) called the plan "a positive step forward" in efforts by the US - the world's second-biggest carbon polluter after China - to cut down on its emissions.

2/3 #CleanPowerPlan gives further momentum to #COP21, shows US commitment to underpin its international climate pledge with domestic action

— Miguel Arias Cañete (@MAC_europa) 3 augustus 2015

3/3 The #CleanPowerPlan, IF fully implemented, can boost clean energy and speed up the low-carbon transformation in the US.

— Miguel Arias Cañete (@MAC_europa) 3 augustus 2015

UN leaders are due to gather in the French capital in four months time for a climate conference (COP21) with the aim of agreeing on measures to limit global temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The vast majority of scientists accept that climate change caused by human's creation of greenhouse gases is a grave threat to life on Earth.

Obama's plan marked the first time power plants in the US have been targeted by mandatory regulations on carbon dioxide emissions. The measures force power plant owners to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

"We're the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it," Obama told a gathering of supporters at the White House.

Member states of the European Union, which is the world's third largest carbon emitter, have already agreed to cut emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2030.

se/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Related Article:

Obama unveils landmark regulations to combat climate change

EU agrees deal to slash emissions, boost renewables

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed on a new target for the reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030. Members also reached a deal on increasing the proportion of renewable energy used.

Deutsche Welle, 24 Oct 2014

EU President Herman Van Rompuy said early on Friday that leaders had set a new target for 2030, significantly reducing the levels of greenhouse gases produced by member states.

Deal! At least 40% emissions cut by 2030. World's most ambitious, cost-effective, fair #EU2030 climate energy policy agreed #EUCO
— Herman Van Rompuy (@euHvR) October 23, 2014

The agreement is for a 40 percent cut in emissions compared with the levels produced in the benchmark year of 1990.

The heads of government meeting in Brussels agreed two other 2030 targets to increase the proportion of renewable energy used and improve energy efficiency.

Members agreed to derive at least 27 percent of EU energy from renewable sources such as solar power and wind.

By boosting energy efficiency, members also seek to reduce in energy consumption by at least 27 percent.

Individual concerns

The talks stretched into the early hours on Friday as Poland made a case for protections for its coal industry. Other states also sought to tweak the guideline text on global warming to protect economic interests regarding issues such as nuclear power and cross-border power lines.

An existing goal that envisaged a 20-percent cut by 2020 is already close to being met, in no small part as a result of the collapse of communist-era industry in Eastern Europe.

The agreement comes ahead of a global summit in Paris next year, which will involve industrial powers from Asia, North America and the rest of the world.

rc/av (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)

Wind power was Spain's top source of electricity in 2013

Surge in wind power and hydropower drives emissions down by more than 23%, reports BusinessGreen

theguardian.com, James Murray for BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network Monday 6 January 2014

Wind turbines a La Muela near Zaragoza. Wind power was the top generator of electricity in Spain in 2013. Photograph: Tor Eigeland/Alamy

Remarkable new figures from Spain's grid operator have revealed that greenhouse gas emissions from the country's power sector are likely to have fallen 23.1% last year, as power generation from wind farms and hydroelectric plants soared.

Red Eléctrica de España (REE) released a preliminary report on the country's power system late last month, revealing that for "the first time ever, [wind power] contributed most to the annual electricity demand coverage". According to the figures, wind turbines met 21.1% of electricity demand on the Spanish peninsular, narrowly beating the region's fleet of nuclear reactors, which provided 21% of power.

In total, wind farms are estimated to have generated 53,926 gigawatt hours of electricity, up 12% on 2012, while high levels of rainfall meant hydroelectric power output was 16% higher than the historical average, climbing to 32,205GWh.

"Throughout 2013, the all-time highs of wind power production were exceeded," the report stated. "On 6 February, wind power recorded a new maximum of instantaneous power with 17,056MW at 3:49 pm (2.5 per cent up on the previous record registered in April 2012), and that same day the all-time maximum for hourly energy was also exceeded reaching 16,918MWh. Similarly, in January, February, March and November wind power generation was the technology that made the largest contribution towards the total energy production of the system."

An increase in wind power capacity of 173MW coupled with an increase in solar PV capacity of 140MW and solar thermal capacity of 300MW meant that by the end of the year renewables represented 49.1% of total installed power capacity on the Spanish peninsula.

In contrast, the preliminary figures show that power output from combined cycle gas plants fell 34.2% year-on-year, coal-fired plants saw generation fall 27.3%, and nuclear power output fell 8.3%.

The dramatic shift towards renewable generation coupled with a fall in overall power demand of 2.1% led to a similarly drastic reductions in emissions from the peninsular's power sector. "The increased weight of renewable energy in the generation mix structure of 2013 compared to the previous year has reduced CO2 emissions of the electricity sector on the Spanish peninsula to 61.4 million tonnes, 23.1% lower than in 2012," the report stated.

The study follows news last year that Portugal had successfully generated over 70% of its power from renewables during the first quarter of the year, driven by a surge in wind and hydro power output.

The latest figures are likely to be seized upon by renewable energy firms as further evidence that the sector can provide a high proportion of power to a modern economy without risk of blackouts.

Germany criticized as EU's introduction of carbon emissions rules for cars stalls

Deutsche Welle, 14 October 2013

Germany has been accused of slowing the European Union's efforts to limit vehicle emissions. Fresh talks on when new rules would be introduced faltered, with Germany wary of harming its car industry.

European Union environment ministers met in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the implementation of new rules governing vehicle emissions.

In June, governments and the European Parliament had agreed to force carmakers to limit the average carbon dioxide emissions of new cars to 95 grams per kilometer by 2020. A limit of 135 grams per kilometer, agreed in 2009, is scheduled to take full effect in 2015. As some ministers sought stricter targets for 2020, Germany was blamed for pushing to delay the new plan until 2024.

European Union Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard raised concerns at the latest road block to a solution. She said an agreement must be made “within weeks” if the current European Parliament can approve the changes before its term expires in May.

"This cannot be a never-ending story ... There was a very clear understanding that this has to be a very swift thing," Hedegaard said. "The room for maneuvering is quite limited."

Hedegaard was one of many critics of Germany's delay tactics. Sweden's Environment Minister Lena Ek called the move "dangerous." Greg Archer, the spokesman for campaign group Transport and Environment, spoke of "dirty deals."

Sharing the blame

Germany has some support, however, with Lithuanian Environmental Minister Valentinas Mazuronis - also chairman of Monday's talks - moving to deflect criticism leveled at Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He told journalists no one country "could be blamed or suspected of anything."

Prior to the talks, Germany's Environment Minister Peter Altmaier defended his nation's stance to journalists and pointed to its "cutting edge" environmental protection policies.

"But as environment minister, I'm also saying that we have to take care not to lose jobs to countries that pursue less climate protection," he added.

Altmaier had also expressed confidence a compromise could be reached within weeks.

ph/msh (AP, dpa)