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RT @NeelieKroesEU: how can a 5c data download turn into €2.60 when we cross an invisible border? #EU #dataroaming http://tiny.cc/mobroam

via:packrati.us dataroaming EU

The EU would be acting in its own economic interest if it raised its 2020 CO2 reduction target to 30%, says a European Parliament resolution approved on (last) Thursday, which also highlights forest protection and climate aid commitments to developing countries as critical areas for progress in upcoming international talks in Cancún, Mexico.

eu greennumbers co2 emissions co2 emissions reductions

RT @NeelieKroesEU: 1st #satellite dedicated to broadband services to #EU launches on an Ariane5 rocket. http://tiny.cc/bbsatellite #bro ...

EU satellite via:packrati.us bro

Smart grids could save the EU €52 billion annually, according to leading smart grid companies that have teamed up to promote European leadership in smart grids.

The sizeable savings would arise from reducing losses in the electricity distribution network through automation and encouraging consumers to cut energy consumption with smart meters that provide more accurate and timely information, experts from the Smart Energy Demand Coalition said at its launch yesterday (15 November) in Brussels

Utilities will also be able to lower the system voltage level and make meter-reading redundant, argued Chris King, chief regulatory officer at eMeter. After deducting necessary costs like the installation of smart meters and new software, the net benefit would still be €31 billion per year, he said.

greennumbers europe eu smart grid smart grids

RT @NeelieKroesEU: 14 #EU countries have failed to make Europe-wide 116 000 hotline for missing children operational. Final call! http:/ ...

via:packrati.us EU

RT @britesprite: RT @OxfamIreland: Worst corporate lobbyists in the #EU revealed! http://bit.ly/d1ZW17 #csr #business

business via:packrati.us csr EU

Europe's current focus on recovery from recession must not distract us from the question of what kind of economy we want to build. Unless we set our countries on a path to a sustainable low-carbon future, we will face continued uncertainty and significant costs from energy price volatility and a destabilising climate.\nThis is why we today set out our belief that the European Union should raise its emissions target. A reduction of 30 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020 would represent a real incentive for innovation and action in the international context. It would be a genuine attempt to restrict the rise in global temperatures to 2°C - the key climate danger threshold - stiffening the resolve of those already proposing ambitious action and encouraging those waiting in the wings. It would also make good business sense.

europe eu low carbon emissions 30% 20% carbon greennumbers

Ciarán Cuffe TD, Minister of State for Horticulture, has welcomed the introduction of the new EU organic “Euro-leaf” symbol which must be used from today on pre-packed organic food products where at least 95% of the ingredients are organic & which meet EU organic food standards.

Ciarán Cuffe eu label euro leaf symbol organic food organic food standards

Raw materials are an essential part of both high tech products and every-day consumer products, such as mobile phones, thin layer photovoltaics, Lithium-ion batteries, fibre optic cable, synthetic fuels, among others. But their availability is increasingly under pressure according to a report published today by an expert group chaired by the European Commission. In this first ever overview on the state of access to raw materials in the EU, the experts label a selection of 14 raw materials as “critical” out of 41 minerals and metals analysed. The growing demand for raw materials is driven by the growth of developing economies and new emerging technologies. The list was established in the framework of the 2008 EU Raw Materials Initiative1 in close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders. The results of the report will be used for the drafting of a forthcoming communication on strategies to ensure access to raw materials which the Commission will publish in autumn 2010.

greennumbers minerals raw materials shortages critical eu

EU lawmakers were today (14 June) accused of watering down landmark climate change legislation in order to allow fuels derived from the controversial Canadian tar sands to be imported into Europe.
Last year the European Commission’s proposals for the Fuel Quality Directive penalised tar sands oil for emitting significantly more greenhouse gases than conventional oil, but following lobbying by the Canadian Government all reference to tar sands has been dropped.

Now a new coalition made up of The Co-operative, WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Transport and Environment, is calling upon the Commission to reverse its decision and will publicly campaign for the European Parliament to reject the proposals in the autumn.

EU lawmakers EU lawmakers European Commission Canadian tar sands europe Canadian tar sands

Sandbag has today released analysis showing how Europe’s carbon caps have turned into a carbon trap.

Emissions have dropped across Europe, however, this has almost exclusively been the result of recession rather than shrewd policy. Perversely though, the current design of the ETS prevents us from capturing any environmental benefit of this downturn. Rather this carbon saving is allowed - under the ETS Directive - to be banked and saved for a rainy day.

eu eu ets emissions trading scheme sandbag carbon caps carbon trap

Sandbag yesterday released analysis (pdf) showing how Europe's carbon caps have turned into a carbon trap.

The EU acknowledges there are problems with the systems and the oversupply of permits, recommending removing 1.4bn tonnes from the scheme from 3013-20. Sandbag analysis shows that that this number is too low, for caps to become effective 2.3bn tonnes need to be removed.

sandbag eu eu ets emissions trading scheme carbon caps

British tax authorities have arrested 21 people after raiding homes and offices across Europe as part of a crackdown on alleged carbon-trading fraud, HM Revenue & Customs confirmed today .

Some 450 staff took part in raids on Wednesday as tax authorities across the continent intensified an ongoing investigation into alleged carbon-trading fraud, which is estimated to have cost €5bn in unpaid taxes.

greennumbers carbon trading fraud carbon trading fraud eu HM Revenue & Customs

New research finds that the condition of European fisheries is worse than previously thought, with stocks of popular fish down more than 90% from peak fishing years early in the last century.

eu fish fisheries collapse over-fishing overfishing greennumbers

The price of carbon in the EU emissions trading scheme hit a record high for the year yesterday, breaking through the €14 (£12.36) a tonne mark for the first time since the week before December's Copenhagen summit.

carbon eu carbon allowances greennumbers ets emissions trading scheme

The US has agreed to back an international ban on trade in critically endangered bluefin tuna, and now the European Union nations will do so as well, with Malta being the only dissenting vote. That still leaves us with Japan, which consumes about 80% of the world's bluefin tuna, saying it won't participate when CITES votes to ban trade next week.

eu us cites tuna bluefin tuna critically endangered japan

The European Union is set to achieve its self-imposed target of deriving at least 20 per cent of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, the bloc's executive said on Thursday. The target is part of the EU's so-called 20-20-20 strategy, which also foresees a 20 per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels and a 20 per cent increase in energy efficiency, all by 2020.

2020 eu energy greennumbers 20-20-20 renewable energy greenhouse gas emissions

On 17 February, the European Commission announced that there are now two new Directorates-General which have been created following the approval of the new European Commission:

* DG Energy (ENER)
* DG Climate Action (CLIM)

EU European Commission Directorates-General DG Energy DG Climate Action

Residents of the southern United States and the Caribbean have seen it many times during the summer months -- a whitish haze in the sky that seems to hang around for days. The resulting thin film of dust on their homes and cars actually is soil from the deserts of Africa, blown across the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, there is new evidence that similar dust storms in the arctic, possibly caused by receding glaciers, may be making similar deposits in northern Europe and North America, according to Joseph Prospero from the University of Miami in a February 19 presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science."

glacial dust Arctic glacial dust dust us eu

New EU rules have come into force that require some stores selling batteries to provide in-store recycling bins.

in-store recycling batteries recycling eu