European Union News - Environmnet

The search has begun to find the cities that will become the next European Green Capitals. The prestigious European Green Capital Award recognises cities that are at the forefront of environmentally-friendly urban living. Earlier this year, Stockholm and Hamburg were named as the first winners of the title for 2010 and 2011, respectively. Now the race is on to find the cities that will claim the coveted title for 2012 and 2013. The annual award is intended to help European cities become more attractive and healthy places.

Reaching an ambitious international agreement at the Copenhagen climate change conference will require emission reduction targets for developed and developing countries, financing commitments and sanctions for non-compliance. This is the view of the EP Environment Committee, which has argued that future generations might not be able to control climate change if global action is further delayed.

The European Commission has presented a Progress Report outlining the achievements of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) over the past two years and looking out into its future. Alongside this, the Commission has tabled concrete proposals on two major IMP issues – the integration across sectors and countries of maritime surveillance and the international dimension of Europe’s maritime policy.

Stavros Dimas will participate today between 14 and 17 hours in a digital interview in which he will answer the questions of the Europeans about climate change and the attitude of the Union ahead the Copenhagen summit

Europe needs to spend an extra €50bn on developing clean energy over the next 10 years, nearly triple its current investment, according to the EU's latest estimate. Solar energy and carbon capture and storage earmarked for lion's share of extra technology funding.

The European Commission has adopted new rules to broaden the scope of its successful Marco Polo programme, which has been supporting sustainable transport projects since 2003. The programme gives financial support to the transport industry in order to reduce road freight on our congested roads or to shift it to other more sustainable transport modes, like shipping, rail or inland waterways. The conditions for participation have been improved to further increase its appeal to the industry, will apply to the next call for proposals due for the beginning of next year.