Fossil Fuels

The Mercosur Trade Agreement: A lose-lose deal

When you go to the official website of the EU-Mercosur agreement, the first sentence you see is: ‘A union of countries working as one to secure the well-being of their people’. This is outrageous when you realise that this agreement will emphasize deforestation, biodiversity loss, land grabbing, violation of human rights and adding to this, that in Europe our farmers will have to face unfair competition, that will destroy local markets. This agreement is a gift to multinationals!

Plenary session debriefing

8-10 July

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included the programme of the German Presidency, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, EU Hydrogen Strategy, chemicals strategy for sustainability, boosting Roma inclusion process in Europe, state of play Rule of Law in Member States,...

A new European energy infrastructure policy in line with the climate emergency

A blog by Marie Toussaint

During this week’s plenary session, Members of the European Parliament will adopt a resolution setting out the Parliament’s views on the upcoming revision of the trans-European energy infrastructure Regulation (TEN-E Regulation). The current law sets out the process and criteria to select cross-border electricity, gas and oil infrastructure projects of European interest. For the upcoming revision due in December this year, the Greens/EFA group is asking to end EU support for fossil fuel projects, such as gas pipelines. In addition, this year the European Commission should adopt transitional guidance on how to spend EU funds until the revised law enters into force. This is to ensure that only projects in line with the Paris Agreement are supported.

Green hydrogen & renewables

The EU should take the lead now!

On Wednesday 8 July 2020, the European Commission presented its so-called “Hydrogen Strategy”. Our MEPs Henrike Hahn and Damien Carême, co-chairs of Greens/EFA's Green Industrial Policy Campaign look at why hydrogen will be a key energy source to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. But not any type of hydrogen: green hydrogen only!

Hydrogen Strategy must not be excuse to continue polluting the planet

Green Deal

Hydrogen can play a role in decarbonisation and in promoting the greening of European industries and the economy. However, the Hydrogen Strategy must not be allowed to become a greenwashing exercise used to subsidise obsolete gas pipelines. Funding hydrogen from fossil fuels is not sustainable and not in line with our climate commitments.

Plenary Flash - July session

Greens/EFA priorities 8-10 July 2020

This week, the Parliament will debate on the programme of the German Presidency of the EU with Chancellor Merkel, on prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, EU hydrogen strategy, Roma inclusion,... Discover all the other major topics on the agenda and the Greens/EFA priority issues

No community left behind / La population au coeur de la transition

30.06.2020

Putting people at the centre of the just transition

Join Greens/EFA MEPs Mounir Satouri, Henrike Hahn and Green Mayor of Loos-en-Gohelle, Jean-Francois Caron to discuss how to safeguard social and economic justice in the transition, the infrastructure and initiatives that will put people at the centre, and how to support green investment in local industry and start-ups.

The EU recovery plan

In our previous blog, “Financing the green deal,” we have already briefly discussed the EU Recovery Plan. This plan was proposed by the European Commission to define the procedure of recovery in Europe after the COVID crisis. While it is mainly focused on rebuilding the economy, a lot of voices in and outside of the European institutions have expressed that this could be a very important moment for climate. While the world was in lockdown and our economy collapsed, huge amounts of CO2 emissions were continuously released.

A Greens/EFA take on the plenary week

Plenary week, 17-19 June 2020

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included anti-racism protests following the death of George Floyd, Hong Kong, sustainable investment/taxonomy, tax sub-committee, the Disability Strategy, the animal transport inquiry committee, investigation against the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on the misuse of EU funds and potential conflicts of interest, the Future of Europe, recovery/MFF, land grabbing and deforestation in the Amazonas, Brexit, Eastern Partnership and European Council.

EU Funding for Cities

10.06.2020

Webinar

Cities and local governments can take the lead in climate action and realize ambitious action plans for a sustainable future. This recognition leads us to raise the question, how the EU can back cities’ efforts in the most effective way?V4 capital cities are advocating a proposal to strengthen EU financing for cities in the next MFF, the Green Deal and the Recovery Plan. It is already backed by almost 20 European municipalities. How to move forward?

Financing the green deal

As you know the commission proposed a pact called the European Green Deal, that will be the roadmap for Europe to tackle climate change and become carbon neutral in 2050. In our previous blogs we have explained what this pact is, and what it is not. In this blog, we would like to address an important aspect that is missing: MONEY. In the world we live in today, to achieve the goals that the EU has set, we need a good budget.

Recovery Plan - a crucial moment for the EU

WATCH: A webinar with MEPs Bas Eickhout and Rasmus Andresen

During this webinar, we will get together with Daniela Schwarzer, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, and Professor of political science Catherine E. De Vries to gain insight into the economic recovery plan and new multiannual financial framework (MFF) that will be proposed by the European Commission this Wednesday.