Markets & Corporate

A top EU trade official has said he does not believe that retrofitting the EU-Mercosur trade deal is the best way to address environmental concerns, instead endorsing a partnership-based approach.

The German government’s plan to pay two electricity firms billions of euros in compensation for the early retirement of lignite-fired power plants is facing awkward questions from EU state aid investigators.

Five environmental groups have withdrawn from the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance, accusing the European Commission of ignoring scientific advice in endorsing crop-based biomass and wood burning as “sustainable” energy sources.

Natural gas could be subject to fresh legislation, European Commission officials said on Wednesday as, after a fierce political debate, it was omitted from criteria that sectors must meet to receive official EU endorsement as ‘sustainable’ business activities.

A coalition of NGOs has said that the European Commission’s efforts to improve the forthcoming Non-Financial Reporting Directive falls short of ambitions to regulate polluting companies regardless of their size.