Blog

A future beyond coal in Europe - An interview with Greens/EFA co-president Ska Keller

The Greens/EFA group have been running a fair transition campaign since the end of last year. The end of coal is a reality, mainly for economic reasons. Investing in this type of energy source does simply not make any sense anymore. The phasing out of coal is therefore already happening. For the Green political group, what is now fundamental is to ensure that the miners - the most concerned of all groups - are placed at the core of the transition. We are now questioning the Greens/EFA co-President on how a future beyond coal in Europe is possible, how we can get there and how we can make sure that the miners are consulted, but also empowered as much as possible.  

One Planet Summit - Money should only be used to support renewable energy sources

Following the COP23 and its new alliance, Powering Past Coal, signed by 25 entities to ensure the phasing out of coal from power generation by 2030, the goal of concrete, imminent action against global warming is being pursued in Paris at the One Planet Summit, on 12 December. The Greens urge leaders to turn away from all fossil fuels and support green energy sources...  

Beyond coal - a sustainable alternative for Europe’s citizens

after the big announcement at COP23 of the creation of the “Powering Past Coal” Alliance, one could think that the phase out of coal is now clearly ongoing. Unfortunately there is always a risk to see these plans undermined and the Greens are working hard to ensure that all initiatives at EU level go in the right direction to ensure that coal regions in Europe and their inhabitants get the support they need and that all actors (miners and their families, local and regional representatives) are on board when it comes to deciding about their future.  

Renewables Directive: Europe must not miss this opportunity to become N°1 in renewable energy!

On Tuesday next week, the energy committee of the European Parliament will vote on the recast of the renewables directive. The Green group in the European Parliament is not exactly thrilled by the proposals and fears that the EU will miss this chance to become the leader in renewable energy sources, as was promised by the President of the European Commission three years ago.  

Climate negotiations looking for strong leadership

We are now approaching the final hours of this 23rd round of negotiations. And despite what was initially thought, final outcomes are still hard to predict and the negotiations will not finish on Friday early evening as most participants had thought...  

COP23: Where does Europe really stand?

Now that the US has decided to step out of the Paris climate agreement, the EU has an ever bigger responsibility in the fight against climate change. Europe must reclaim the mantle of world leader on the issue, but is it really doing so?  

#COP23: Women must have a bigger role in tackling the climate crisis

Issues of gender and climate change are important to this year’s COP. Indeed, COP23 presidents Fiji have a delegation made up of almost 50% women, a figure that would put many developed countries to shame. They have made clear several times that they want to make gender issues one of the big priorities at COP23. Several initiatives have been launched to continue raising awareness and pursuing dialogue on a subject that is too often marginalized.  

Political manoeuvring to avoid serious discussion on conflicts of interest in climate policy at COP23 Climate negotiations

A COP23, there is currently a heated debate ongoing about the need to prevent dirty energy companies from disproportionately influencing and watering down climate policy. The subject of conflict of interests is gaining more and more visibility and several actors are trying to undermine the issue... However, our political group has joined forces together with NGOs and the “G77 group” of States to reaffirm the importance of protecting the goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming well below 2°C. .  

COP23 - A little less conversation, a little more Climate action please!

This week sees the beginning of another crucial round of International climate negotiations. This year, the COP will take place for two weeks from the 6th to the 17th of November and will be chaired for the first time by a Small Island Developing State, Fiji Islands, in Bonn, Germany. Once again, thousands of delegates, heads of governments, NGOs, business representatives and experts of all sorts will meet to try and make progress on the goal agreed upon two years ago in Paris at COP21, to limit global warming to safe levels, well below 2 degrees Celsius. The UNEP Emission Gap Report published a few days ago shows that with the current countries’ pledges we are only on track to limit global warming by 3°C by 2100.. Needless to say that there is quite some urgent work to be done by the negotiators...  

Why women should be involved as full time actors in the energy transition

Differences in the actors and victims of Climate Change are visible across the world, with the Southern part of the globe and women being the most likely to be impacted, and the most severely. What dimension does this impact on gender have? Is it a South-centered issue? What about the northern countries? What can be done to balance this trend? In a will to answer these questions, the Greens/EFA group organised a conference on the matter on the 19th of October at the European Parliament, to analyse the situation and develop solutions with several experts working on Climate Justice and the engendering of the energy transition...  

"Gas is a bridge to nowhere: only renewables serve the common interest"

Tomorrow, the European Commission will come together with national representatives in Brussels for a final meeting to agree on the 3rd EU list of energy ‘Projects of Common Interests’ (the so called ‘PCI List’)*. These PCIs are key energy infrastructure projects that aim to create an integrated EU energy market. Very worryingly, about 55 gas projects could get the financial support of the EU. For the Greens, there is not such thing as gas as a 'bridge fuel'. Here is why...  

The energy package has huge potential to help all citizens to gain access to green energy... provided that we take the right decisions

Almost one year ago, the European Commission presented its “clean energy for all Europeans” package. The Greens/EFA group wants to make sure that citizens are truly put centre stage, so that the name of this big legislative work does not remain a slogan but actually materialises in access to sustainable energy...  

Greens MEP Benedek Javor on the climate fight over our forests

Benedek Javor is a Green Hungarian MEP. He has been working on a key file in the European Parliament on Climate change, the so-called ‘Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry' regulation, a key part of the European energy and climate policy framework for 2030. In this interview, he explains the importance of forests in the fight against climate change but also the challenges when it comes to ensuring that they continue to be able to help us decreasing our emissions....  

Greens/ EFA group launches an ambitious political roadmap for the EU to respect the objectives of the Paris Agreement

The Greens/EFA group is the first political family in the European Parliament to have a concrete, scientifically-based and transparent roadmap to ensure the EU respects its commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce its carbon emissions, and limit global warming to well below 2 degrees. It presented its 'Vision Scenario' to the press on 20th September...  

We need to call time on “stop the clock”: why the EU must take action on aviation emissions - Jakop Dalunde

The European Parliament is about to vote on a crucial piece of its environmental legislation - the aviation part of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Until now, international aviation has largely been let off the hook and it’s vital that progress is made to curb its emissions. Green MEP Jakop Dalunde explains the story until now, and puts forward our demands.  

World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017 once again confirms that supporting renewable energy is the right political move - Rebecca Harms

Rebecca Harms is a Green Member of the European Parliament and has been a passionate anti nuclear activist for several years. In this opinion article she presents the main findings of the new World Nuclear Status Report and explains why it is important to phase out this old fashion type of energy and boost renewable energy sources.  

G20: Climate change needs more than a family picture!

At the end of this week, the G20 will hold is meeting in Hamburg, Germany. With the recent geopolitical developments, the EU - which is the largest trader in the world and which always presents itself as being the leader in the fight against climate change - has a particularly important role to play. The G20 must clearly come with more than just a mere family photo...  

A chance for EU ministers to deliver on the Paris Agreement: the Energy Efficiency legislation

Today EU Energy ministers will meet to discuss a crucial file of the Energy Package: the Energy Efficiency Directive. The Greens urge EU Energy Ministers to raise their ambition on this particular legislation, as not only it is key for Europe to respect its commitments to the Paris Agreement, but energy efficiency also because offers numerous benefits to all of us.  

LULUCF - Agriculture can play its part in reducing GHG emissions, the status quo is NOT an option!

Today, the Agriculture committee will vote on its position on the so-called ‘LULUCF’ file. What is hiding behind this enigmatic acronym is the contribution of the agriculture and forest sectors to the reduction of climate change. Until now, they had been left out of the collective effort to reach the goals set up collectively by the parties in the Paris agreement. It’s high time to make a change!  

In just a few days, at the next G7 meeting in Taormina, Sicily, on 27/28th May, all eyes will be on newly elected French President Macron. With worrying signals coming from the Trump administration and the failure from G7 energy ministers to agree on a joint statement on climate in rome some times ago, the pressure on the young President to ensure the swift implementation of the Paris Agreement is immense....