The European Commission is proposing a ban on single-use plastic items like straws and utensils according to draft rules released this week.
European Union
In another recycling commitment made this week, a number of European organizations say they will recycle 50% of plastics waste by 2040, but that reaching the goal will include investment in developing
The shipping industry may not ultimately be able to regulate itself in terms of cutting carbon emissions, according to some within the European Union; the International Maritime Organization (IMO) disagrees, according to Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide. The IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee has worked within the shipping industry to create a reduction strategy that … Read more »
The European Commission is changing the way it accounts for carbon emission from aircraft following an agreement it reached with International Civil Aviation Organization.
Swedish fuel cell company PowerCell is leading a project to convert toxic waste from olive oil production into electricity. Biogas2PEM-FC is an European Union-funded project coordinated by PowerCell with partners from Spain, Greece, Sweden and the UK. It includes a pilot plant in Andalucía, Spain. The waste from olive oil … Read more »
Ship owners will, for the first time, have to monitor carbon emissions from ships of more than 5,000 gross tons under a European Union law approved last week, the Guardian reports. The law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2018. It doesn’t include shipping in the EU’s Emissions Trading System, but … Read more »
European Union greenhouse gas emissions fell almost 2 percent between 2012 and 2013, putting the EU very close to its 2020 reduction target, according to analysis from the European Environment Agency. The EU is also on track to meet two other targets to boost renewable energy and energy efficiency by … Read more »
Maersk Line says Europe’s new low-sulfur fuel rules will cost it an extra $200 million a year, Reuters reports. Similarly, P&O Ferries’ tells the news agency its fuel bill will increase about 30 million pounds ($50 million) a year, which it will pass onto customers. Under the European Union rules, … Read more »
“Best before” labels add to food waste, according to several European Union states that are asking the European Commission to exempt products — such as some long-life produce — from the mandatory labels. According to a discussion paper, put forward by the Netherlands and Sweden and backed by Austria, Denmark, … Read more »
A European Union survey found death rates of honeybees lower than feared, countering concerns about the collapse the crop-pollinating insect colonies caused by pests and disease. The study of 32,000 bee colonies across 17 EU member states from late 2012 until summer 2013 found winter mortality rates ranged from 3.5 … Read more »
The European Parliament yesterday postponed, to 2017, the date by which the EU’s Emissions Trading System will apply to the entire length of flights in and out of Europe. The 458-120 vote brings three decades of contentious negotiation to a close, Reuters reports. EU rules bringing aviation into the ETS, with … Read more »
The globally-traded carbon market will rise by two thirds from 2013 to this year to reach 64 billion euros, according to analysis by Thomson Reuters Point Carbon. The market was 39 billion euros in 2013, with volume increasing by 3 percent to 9.6 gigatons. Most of this year’s growth by … Read more »
