Politics & Law

The coronavirus crisis ‘clearly increases pressure on public authorities’ to allocate funding wisely and direct Europe's recovery towards ‘future proof solutions’, the European Commission said on Monday after president Ursula von der Leyen called for ‘smart and sustainable’ investment

A week of clear blue skies in Brussels – with the vapour trails of jet engines an increasingly rare sight (weekly average traffic is down 78.3% compared to the same period in 2019, and even then Belgium has seen one Europe's lowest fall-offs during the coronavirus crisis) – has seen an intensification of the debate over the nexus between the European Green Deal aspirations and its response to the pandemic

The geothermal energy industry has written to European Commission president Ursua von der Leyen, asking for the establishment of an internal market for heat to rebalance the advantages given to fossil gas and promote decarbonisation

An MEP has called for the European Commission to prioritise the green deal along with Covid-19 emergency measures, suggesting the pandemic is caused by ecosystem disruption.

Campaigners have warned the EU risks giving a double subsidy to Europe’s biggest carbon emitters if it bows to industry pressure to maintain free emissions trading system allowances alongside a proposed levy on imports from countries with lower carbon prices