Illustration: ©Lars-Erik Håkansson
No. 1, April 2015
Bridge to nowhere
Is natural gas a “bridge” to a sustainable energy system? That is what the gas industry has been saying for decades. But the bridge is not needed. Sustainable technology is here now.
Editorial: 1.5°C to stay alive
Greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced drastically to avoid dangerous climate change due to rising global temperature and to fulfil the objective of the 1992 UN Climate Convention.
Flexibilities threaten emission cuts from MCPs
Member states want to water down proposed new emission standards for medium-sized combustion plants, and there is now a risk that the European Parliament will push for even more exemptions.
Falling costs for renewable energy
A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) highlights the plummeting costs for renewable energy – making renewable energy more competitive then ever.
EU industrial air pollution cost up to €189 billion per year
The cost of damage caused by pollutant emissions into the air from the largest 14,000 industrial facilities in 2012 has been estimated as at least €59-189 billion, and half of the total cost was caused by just one per cent of the industrial plants.
German experts: Nitrogen cuts urgently needed
Excessive emissions of nitrogen compounds into the environment pose a threat to human health, waterways, biodiversity, and the climate.
Norwegian CCS ambitions might move to the EU
Norway wants an agreement with the EU on collective delivery of a common climate target. This could make it easier to finance a full-scale CCS plant in one of the EU member states.
Modest growth of renewables in EU area
An EEA report shows modest growth in renewable energy consumption with a dominance by PV and wind in 2013. Another study claims that the integration of around 60 per cent ..
Enforcement of ship sulphur standards
Member states must carry out inspections on at least one-tenth of the ships calling each year, and test the fuel on at least 20–40 per cent of the inspected ships.
Launch of Energy Union – mixed messages
The Commission proposes a range of policy and legislative packages to realise the Energy Union in the next five years. Environmental organisations are critical of mixed messages, inconsistencies and continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Bad air quality prevails
More than nine out of ten urban citizens in the EU are exposed to harmful levels of the air pollutants PM2.5 and ozone.
Carbon storage a dead-end
CCS could make sense for industrial emissions. Or, then again, maybe not.
East German lignite at a crossroads
Lignite power in eastern Germany is disastrous for the climate and displaces more people than any other industry in Europe. Despite a target of 80 per cent renewable energy by 2050, phase-out plans are conspicuous by their absence.
Achieving NEC targets will cost less
Achieving the Commission’s health protection target for 2030 will be a third cheaper than previously estimated, according to new data.
Sweden: High health costs of bad air quality
Every year over 5,000 people in Sweden die prematurely due to air pollution, and the annual cost to society of health damage due to nitrogen oxides and particulate matter is estimated at SEK 42 billion.
Air pollution prevails in Germany
In 2014, levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exceeded the EU air quality limit value at about half of the monitoring stations on busy roads, according to preliminary evaluations by the German Federal Environment Agency ..
US penalty policy for sulphur violations
On 16 January 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a penalty policy for violations of the sulphur emissions limit for ships operating in the North American ..
ECA compliance much cheaper than expected
As a result of the big fall in oil prices in the second half of 2014, compliance with the sulphur emission control area (ECA) regulation is less costly than originally expected.
Poland must reduce PM10 levels
According to the Commission, the latest figures from Poland show that the maximum daily limit for fine dust particles (PM10) – that should have been achieved since 2005 – is being exceeded in 36 zones ..
Cleaner air would bring benefits in Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro
In a series of briefing papers, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) highlights the heavy toll on health resulting from exposure to poor air quality in Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro.
Emission standards for wood heaters in the US
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued updated air pollutant emission standards for woodstoves and set the first-ever federal standards for hydronic heaters, wood-fired forced air furnaces and pellet stoves.
Existing sources ignored in US methane proposal
On 14 January the Obama Administration announced a new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40–45 per cent from 2012 levels by 2025. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ..
Commission tells Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Bulgaria to act on air quality
In Austria, PM10 levels are too high in the zone of Graz, and in Germany in the zones of Stuttgart and Leipzig. In Slovakia, six zones exceed the daily limit value for PM10 ..