European Union News - Environmnet

The European Parliament refused to remove diesel tax advantage over petrol according to a resolution that was passed in plenary session on the proposal to reform energy taxation. The report approved by the Parliament also provides recommendations to the Council of Ministers, which must decide unanimously for any changes to take effect.

19 winners in 10 EU countries are 2012's winners of the energy efficiency awards for buildings and lighting (GreenBuilding and GreenLight). These awards, managed by the Joint Research Centre, promote the reduction of energy consumption by public and private organisations on a voluntary basis.

According to a report published by the European Commission, six Member States combine virtually zero landfilling and high recycling rates. They achieved it by making prevention, reuse and recycling more economically attractive through a selection of economic instruments. The report shows that the best performers did it by combining economic instruments to get resources.

Bristol, Copenhagen and Frankfurt are the cities proposed by an independent panel of experts to become the Europe's Green Capital for 2014. In 2012, the current holder is Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, and Nantes, who will hold the title in 2013.

The Danish Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament's negotiating team agreed on giving more and powers to the European Agency for Maritime Safety (EMSA) to step up cooperation against piracy, prevent maritime pollution, improve training for seafarers and help establish an EU maritime space without barriers. The informal deal needs to be formally approved by the Council and the Parliament.

According to the EU High Representative, Catherine Asthon, the EU wants to go beyond its traditional donor-recipient relationship with Pacific islands, and develop a more comprehensive partnership which can successfully address issues of global importance such as climate change. The EU therefore proposes to renew its EU-Pacific development partnership so that economic growth goes hand in hand with good governance, sustainability and shared responsibilities for common goods.

The European Commission published new guidelines which call for smarter spatial planning and using more permeable materials to preserve our soil. The guidelines have been published bearing in mind that soil sealing – the covering of the ground by an impermeable material – is one of the main causes of soil degradation in the EU.

According to an Eurobarometer survey, nine out of ten EU citizens want the EU to help people in developing countries to gain access to energy. 82% also think that the percentage of EU development aid that is spent on improving energy access should be higher than its current level of 2%.

According to a report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), in summer 2011, exceedances of ozone targets were lower than average. However, the long-term objective was exceeded in all EU Member States and it is likely many of them will not meet the target value, applicable as of 2010.

The Joint Research Centre and University College Cork (Ireland) published a joint study which includes their findings on a new methodology to assess the pumped hydropower storage (PHS) which is currently the only widespread, large-scale electricity storage technology. The study also provides case studies for Croatia and Turkey.

European delegations and MEPs reached an agreement to further acceleration of the phase-out scheme for the single-hull tankers than previously agreed upon to minimise the risk of oil pollution. At the same they introduced a new set of rules to limit the transport of oil in single-hull tankers to and from ports in the Member States.