Environment and Energy

EU secures agreement on carbon market rules and new climate finance goal, with broader contributor base to drive clean investments, increase resilience and prepare the ground for further emission reductions

At the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, the European Commission and EU Member States took the lead in brokering a deal to align global financial flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Through the adoption of a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for Climate Finance, the EU successfully broadened the global contributor base for climate …

Read more

EU continues to be a global leader on sustainable finance

More than three years after the first transaction of our NextGenerationEU (NGEU) Green Bonds, the EU has issued more than €65 billion of NGEU Green Bonds, setting the EU on track to becoming the largest issuer of Green Bonds in the world. In line with the announcement of President von der Leyen in her State of the …

Read more

2024 Carbon Market Report: a stable and well-functioning market, driving emissions from power and industry installations to a historic reduction of 16.5%

The European Commission has adopted the Carbon Market Report, which analyses and presents the functioning of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2023 and the first half of 2024. In 2023, the EU ETS was marked by a historical 16.5% reduction in emissions from stationary installations driven by the power sector. Renewable electricity production increased …

Read more

EU steps up efforts to abate methane emissions with partners at COP29

At COP29 in Baku, the European Commission has launched a new Methane Abatement Partnership Roadmap to further accelerate the reduction of methane emissions associated with fossil energy production and consumption, in collaboration with a number of partner countries, international organisations, NGOs and development banks. This new Roadmap provides a blueprint for cooperation between fossil fuel importing and exporting countries, which …

Read more

EU invests €4.8 billion of emissions trading revenues into innovative net-zero projects

The Commission has selected 85 innovative net-zero projects to receive €4.8 billion in grants from the Innovation Fund, helping to put cutting-edge clean technologies into action across Europe. For the first time, projects of different scales (large, medium and small, alongside pilots) and with a cleantech manufacturing focus are awarded under the 2023 call for proposals. This is the largest …

Read more

EU invests over €380 million in 133 new LIFE projects to support the green transition all around Europe

The Commission has granted more than €380 million to 133 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action. The allocated amount represents more than half of the €574 million total investment needs for these projects – the remainder coming from national, regional and local governments, public-private partnerships, businesses, and civil society organisations. LIFE …

Read more

INCITE platform out for submission of clean technologies

The new INCITE information platform, launched by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), creates a single public space for both submitting and consulting data and information on innovative clean, zero-carbon and circular technologies that will be implemented by large industrial plants and livestock rearing installations during the industrial transition. The shared transparent knowledge will support the deployment of innovative technologies and …

Read more