No. 4 December 2018
EU needs net zero emissions by 2040
In order to stay within the limited carbon budget that is left, the EU will need to reduce its domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 3 per cent per year.
Editorial: Call for Europe to phase out coal by 2025
As a result of the latest extremely alarming scientific findings from the IPCC and WMO, all European countries need to stop using coal for energy production by 2025 and thus avoid large emissions of carbon dioxide.
Ship emissions debated
A ban on carrying high-sulphur fuel oil aboard ships not equipped with scrubbers has been finally adopted by the IMO, but there was no significant progress on agreeing measures to cut ships’ carbon emissions.
What goes up must come down
Over the last decade the downward trend in emissions has flattened out – some countries are even reporting increasing emissions of ammonia and particulate matter.
Levels of long-lived greenhouse gases rose again in 2017
The level of CO2 today is similar to that 3–5 million years ago, when the temperature was 2–3°C warmer and the sea level was 10–20 metres higher than now.
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is possible
Climate Action Network evaluates the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C for the Talanoa Dialogue.
Harmful air pollution levels still much too high
Air pollution remains the largest environmental health risk in Europe. Despite slow improvements, it is still responsible for more than 400,000 premature deaths every year.
Phasing out coal in Europe
Elements for a plan to phase out coal by 2025 are presented.
Cut methane to reduce ozone
Global action to reduce methane emissions could by 2050 avoid 70,000 to 130,000 annual premature deaths due to ozone pollution globally, and 6,000 to 11,000 in the EU alone.
Citizens support diesel bans to tackle air pollution
Two-thirds of EU citizens support the introduction of low-emission zones banning polluting cars from city centres, according to a recent survey.
EU auditors urge tougher action on air quality
Air pollution rules are still too weak and most EU governments are failing to meet current air quality requirements, says a damning report by EU auditors.
Climate targets for trucks and cars in the making
The European Parliament is pushing for more ambitious CO2 standards for cars and lorries by 2030. Though even more cuts are needed to decarbonise the vehicle fleet by 2050.
Livestock sector must contract
Numbers of farm animals in the European Union are not within a “safe operating space” for the climate and nitrogen, states a new report from the RISE foundation.
European lunches leave carbon footprints overseas
Around 30 per cent of greenhouse gases from EU food consumption are emitted in other regions, mainly Latin America, Asia and Africa.
1.5°C is the new 2°C
In the wake of the IPCC publishing their 1.5°C report the global press calls for quick action.
A 1.5°C target is needed to save the Mediterranean region
Climate change is a threat to the Mediterranean sea and surrounding countries. This is featured in a recent short documentary produced by AirClim and SEE.NET.
Benefits of a Mediterranean emission control area
At an IMO meeting in London in October, France presented its impact assessment of a possible emission control area (ECA) in the Mediterranean Sea.
Decarbonising European shipping
Powering ships with batteries, hydrogen or ammonia will decarbonise the European fleet and require only half the amount of renewable electricity that less efficient solutions like synthetic methane or synthetic diesel will need ...
Mercury pollution still a big problem
Historical and current emissions of mercury continue to present a significant risk to the environment and human health, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Hidden subsidies for coal, gas and nuclear
New research by Greenpeace reveals that €58 billion goes to supporting coal, gas and nuclear in the form of so-called capacity mechanisms – a controversial type of subsidy ...
German coal plants can cut much more NOx
Germany’s fleet of hard coal-fired power plants could cut emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) in half tomorrow, if they used already-fitted pollution reduction equipment at full capacity.
Solving the Asian air pollution crisis
A new report by UN Environment identifies and proposes 25 clean air measures that can positively impact human health, crop yields, climate change and socio-economic development ...
Renewable energy now cheapest energy source
“Solar and/or wind are now the cheapest new source of generation in all major economies except Japan, ” according to a new Bloomberg study reported by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis ...
More than 90% of the world’s children breathe toxic air every day
Every day around 93 per cent (1.8 billion) of the world’s children under the age of 15 years breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk. For the year 2016, the WHO ...
Fighting climate change and fossil fuels improves global health
Tackling climate change would save at least a million lives a year, says the World Health Organization. Reducing the burning of fossil fuels is ...
Dutch men encouraged to eat less meat
The Netherlands Nutrition Center, a government-funded agency, has launched a campaign to encourage men to reduce their meat consumption.
Natural gas is as bad for the climate as diesel, petrol and marine fuel
Using natural (fossil) gas for transport is as bad for the climate as using petrol, diesel or conventional marine fuels, according to a new study by Transport & Environment (T&E).
A 1.5°C world increases chances for coral reefs
Tropical coral reefs face high risks of becoming unsustainable if warming exceeds 1.5°C.
In brief
Electric ferries between Sweden and Denmark
In November, Swedish ferry operator HH Ferries Group officially inaugurated the Tycho Brahe and the Aurora (built in 1991 and 1992 respectively) as the world’s largest battery-powered passenger ferries on the high-frequency route between Helsingborg and Helsingör.
In each port, automatic land-based charging stations enable efficient charging of each vessel’s 640 batteries within a few minutes. The batteries are located in containers on top of the ferries along with two deckhouses for transformers, converters and cooling systems. The battery power of each ferry is 4,160 kWh. Although planned to run full time on battery power, the two vessels’ quartets of diesel engines are retained on board as back-up to the battery systems.
Source: Shipinsight, 12 November 2018
Heavily polluting Romanian power plant challenged
Greenpeace Romania, with the support of ClientEarth, has submitted a legal challenge against a lifetime permit granted in September to one of Romania’s oldest and largest coal power plants, Rovinari. The organisations seek to annul the plant’s permit, as it does not comply with EU pollution laws and fails to consider the impact on the health of people and the planet.
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should have been carried out, or at least considered, before extending Rovinari’s permit, and failure to consider an EIA disregards both EU and Romanian law. ClientEarth lawyer Dominique Doyle said: “Rovinari is one of the biggest CO2 polluters in the EU and one of the deadliest in terms of air pollution but amazingly it has been granted fresh permission to pollute indefinitely without having to assess any of these risks.”
The authority has approximately one month to respond to Greenpeace Romania’s administrative challenge. If no changes are made to the permit to rectify the breaches in the law, the campaigners will challenge the permit through the courts.
Source: ClientEarth press release, 31 October 2018. Link: https://www.clientearth.org/legal-challenge-targets-romanian-giant-pollu...
EU rules needed to stop truck NOx fraud
The Danish government has called on the European Commission to develop new rules for member states after its testing revealed that lorries equipped with widely available cheating devices have up to 45 times higher NOx emissions than those with a properly functioning cleaning system. Cheating typically occurs when electronic emulator devices are used to disconnect the engine emission reduction system.
James Nix at Transport & Environment said that far more roadside inspections were needed. Data suggests that more than one third of trucks are cheating, often by adding devices to trick the engine control system that NOx abatement fluid has been added, and a stronger EU response is definitely needed, said Nix, adding that trucks now account for more than 50 per cent of NOx in some cities, including London, Berlin and Stockholm.
Source: Ends Europe Daily, 14 November 2018.
EU auditors critical of CAP proposal
The proposed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2020 falls short of the EU’s ambitions for a greener and more robust performance-based approach, according to an Opinion published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in November.
On climate tracking, the ECA doubts the Commission’s methodology for establishing that 40 per cent of the CAP budget would go to climate action. The estimates of the CAP’s contribution to EU climate change objectives appears unrealistic, they conclude.
Opinion No 7/2018: concerning Commission proposals for regulations relating to the Common Agricultural Policy for the post-2020 period
https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=47751