Legal challenges over air quality in EU cities

Effective regulation of air pollutant emissions from coal-fired power plants could prevent 20,000 premature deaths every year.

“Small is beautiful” was the catchphrase of the alternative energy movement of the 1970s.

Reducing consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by three quarters in the EU will lead to reductions of 44 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector, but other efforts are also needed to reach a 2-degree target.

Premature deaths due to air pollution cause annual global costs of about US$225 billion in lost work days, and more than US$5 trillion in welfare losses, according to a new study.

The EU, Norway and Russia are all promoting fossil gas as a long-term clean and sustainable energy solution. “There’s no such thing as clean gas”, says Friends of the Earth Europe.

The changed geopolitical situation in Ukraine has led to an energy crisis, and the country is now at a crossroads: sticking with coal and nuclear power or investing in renewables?

Over four in five Euro 5 diesel cars produce more than three times their laboratory limit value for NOx when driven on the road, and two-thirds of Euro 6 diesel cars still emit more than three times their limit.

Swedish steel group SSAB, the country’s top CO₂ emitter, foregoes CCS. It opts to replace coal with hydrogen. The cement industry and refineries also show low-CO₂ potential soon, and without CCS.