http://www.endseurope.com/news ENDS Europe: Europe's environmental news service Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:31:11 GMT Saturday Sunday 180 http://www.endseurope.com/feeds/europeLogo318x66.png http://www.endseurope.com/news http://www.endseurope.com/28121?rss=news The EU could change the rules including aviation in its emissions trading scheme (ETS) within the next year if the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) makes enough progress towards a global emissions deal, a top EU official said on Tuesday. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28122?rss=news The European Commission will establish a post-2020 energy policy framework to give more certainty to investors by the end of next year, energy commissioner Günther Oettinger said at a conference on Tuesday. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28125?rss=news The heads of WWF offices in 12 member states and the NGO's European bureau have written to the Bulgarian government, urging it to ditch proposed changes to the country's forest law aimed at developing the tourism industry. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28130?rss=news The European Commission intends to publish a green infrastructure plan that promotes an integrated and sustainable approach to land use. The plan, expected this autumn, will integrate recommendations by stakeholders and member states. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28112?rss=news The EU's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has recommended criteria for deciding when glass collected for recycling should stop being classed as waste. The draft end-of-waste criteria will be considered by a regulatory committee in May. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28113?rss=news The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) plans to hire 19 staff this year to prepare for the EU biocide regime and will need more than 100 to process the 300 authorisation requests expected annually by 2020, it said last week. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28114?rss=news An EU scientific opinion on how to deal with the risks from chemical mixtures fails to fully address the problem, according to Brunel University's professor Andreas Kortenkamp, a European expert on the subject. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28118?rss=news Ambient concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) in German cities in 2011 were in many cases higher than in previous years, according to preliminary air quality data published by federal environment agency UBA on Monday. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28101?rss=news The Estonian government must ditch a proposal to cut feed-in tariffs (FITs) for renewable energy production from January 2013, including subsidies that have already been approved, two renewables trade bodies have said. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28105?rss=news China turned up the heat in its battle against the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) on Monday, saying its airlines would be banned from the scheme. The new threat was shrugged off by a European Commission spokesman. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28108?rss=news The EU is unlikely to achieve its aim to have 136 substances of very high concern (SVHC) on the REACH candidate list by the end of the year, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) admitted on Friday. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28110?rss=news An EU consortium on the geological disposal of radioactive waste has issued a research plan to deliver scientific and technological information on the construction of permanent underground sites. A consultation on the plan runs until next week. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28091?rss=news Use of the precautionary principle enshrined in the French constitution since 2005 must be completely transparent and applied using well-defined rules, French MPs said in a resolution adopted this week. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28092?rss=news At least 2,300 substances will be registered by the next REACH deadline, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) said on Friday. Preparations are further ahead than they were for the first deadline in 2010, it notes. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28093?rss=news The next EU budget for 2014-20 must allocate sufficient funds to address major shortcomings in the implementation of the Natura 2000 network of protected sites, according to a report by environmental group EEB published on Thursday. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28094?rss=news Spain's new centre-right government wants to reform major areas of environmental legislation to ensure it "does not act as an obstacle to economic development", environment minister Miguel Arias Cañete told MPs on Wednesday. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28082?rss=news Stakeholder platforms, increased research funding and public-private partnerships are among several proposals in a draft EU action plan to boost the bio-based economy, seen by ENDS. The plan will be unveiled on 13 February. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28083?rss=news Meeting the EU's 2020 target for biofuel use in transport will cost up to €126bn, according to Friends of the Earth Europe and ActionAid. Studies for the European Commission also confirm that more CO2 could be emitted, the NGOs said on Thursday. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28084?rss=news Member states are opposing proposals to earmark some cohesion funds for low-carbon projects under the next EU budget and to make funding conditional on compliance with environmental laws, according to green groups. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://www.endseurope.com/28085?rss=news A bonus scheme set up to encourage German renewables producers to install energy storage capacity, which has been in place since January, is not having its intended effect and costs much more than anticipated, according to trade association Eurosolar. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT