Greater efforts to improve EU air quality needed The proposal for a new EU air quality standard is an important step closer to the WHO's guidelines, but there are still health and economic gains in lowering the acceptable levels even further. Read more
Editorial: Air pollution exposure will remain unacceptably high Air pollution is the leading environmental risk factor affecting public health in Europe. The current EU annual PM₂.₅ ambient air quality standard is relatively lax, and notably higher ... Read more
Nitrogen ruling puts Dutch CCS project on hold In 2017 the environmental organisation Mobilisation for the Environment (MOB) went to the European Court of Justice to challenge the Dutch system ... Read more
Ways through the rare earth element bottleneck It has never been so important to find ways to overcome the barriers of dependency on rare earth elements for the renewable energy transition. Read more
Climate change will worsen air quality Scenarios show that global warming will increase the formation of ozone in densely populated regions, and forest fires can affect particle levels far away from the fires. Read more
The remaining global carbon budget leaves little headroom for Europe As the world fails to reduce emissions fast enough, the remaining carbon budget is shrinking rapidly, as shown by recent studies on carbon budgets for Germany and for Europe. Read more
Richest 1% of the world responsible for 17% of emissions New analysis taking into account rich people’s consumption behaviour as well as their investment decisions shows a widening gap in responsibility for the climate crisis between rich and poor Read more
Health effects of extreme high temperatures The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly clear, and the impact of high temperatures is felt universally. AirClim has co-published ... Read more
Air pollution can damage children for life Exposure to air pollution can prevent children's organs from developing to full capacity, since they have more sensitive lungs and immature immune systems. Read more
Proposal to integrate maritime transport in the EU ETS In July 2021, the European Commission proposed, as part of the Fit-for-55 package, to amend the Emissions Trading Directive by including maritime transport in the EU ETS. Read more
EU must phase-out coal and gas and promote plant-rich diets to deliver on methane The draft Methane Action Plan mostly lists existing policies and proposals. To fulfill its 30% reduction commitment the EU must include action to slash the use of fossil fuels and reduce meat consumption. Read more
Whole of Europe must do more to align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target New scientific report presents technically feasible, 1.5°C compatible energy and emissions pathways for the group of 46 countries that make up the whole of Europe. Read more
The higher the energy efficiency target, the greater the benefits A new report by Cambridge Econometrics quantifies the benefits resulting from higher levels of ambition for the 2030 energy efficiency target. Read more
Regulating the most polluting livestock farms is justified Revising the Industrial Emissions Directive to include cattle and lower the size threshold to 150 Livestock Units will only affect 13% of the EU’s largest commercial farms. Read more
EU must reform the ETS to make it an effective instrument The Oeko-Institut suggests a number of technical measures that could be used to strengthen the EU ETS in the coming years. Read more
European research infrastructures for climate change and air pollution policies Behind the acronyms of European research infrastructures there are some useful resources. Here is an overview of some of the most significant. Read more