Over 97% of recent car sales in Norway are electric and hybrid vehicles

Plugin EVs reached a record 87% share of auto market in September, PHEVs (plugin hybrids) are adding another 6.0%, and the share of hybrid vehicles is 4.3%.

EU countries lead the way to decarbonization and decoupling of economic growth and carbon emissions

 Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden are among those EU countries who achieved the success in growing their economies and, at the same time, reducing CO2 emissions during last 30 years.

The agreement on the EU Emissions Trading System and the Social Climate Fund

 The European Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on legislative proposals of the ‘Fit for 55’ package that will allow the EU to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to achieve climate neutrality in 2050 while making sure the most vulnerable citizens and micro-enterprises are effectively supported in the climate transition.

The Council and Parliament agreed to increase the overall ambition of emissions reductions by 2030 in the sectors covered by the EU ETS to 62%.

The largest in the world carbon capture plant is build in Iceland

 The largest in the world “direct air capture” (DAC) plant will allow to capture and remove annually from the atmosphere the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to emissions produced by 870 cars. CO2 is filtered out, mixed with water, and pumped into deep underground wells, where over the course of a few years it turns to stone. The plant was opened in September 2021 in Iceland, and it is operated by the Swiss engineering startup Climeworks.

EU funds the energy efficiency improvements in buildings

 Around EUR 25 billion have been allocated in energy efficiency investments in buildings from EU funds over the period 2014-2020, while more than half of these fundings (EUR 12.7 billion) have been invested in the public sector, according to the recent JRC report " Financing energy renovations at local and regional levels. European status and good practices".

Public procurement and grants & subsidies represent more than 80% of all financial instruments adopted and reported by local authorities for the achievement of the 2030 target within the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) initiative.

Source: https://lnkd.in/ghf8kAK9

Electric and hybrid car sales reached almost 90% of total September car sales in Norway

 ... and the country leads the world in the percentage of electric and hybrid cars on its roads (see the chart below). 

The monthly cost of owning a mid-sized electric car in Norway averaged over a four-year period ($883)  is substantially lower than for petrol ($1,002) and diesel ($1,075)  cars. The costs include fuel, depreciation, taxes, insurance, and maintenance.

While in 2019 the total world's electric car stock was around 7.5 million, or just 1.5-2% of the total world's car stock, continuously decreasing battery prices together with undeniable environmental benefits will inevitably lead to hybrid and electric car domination all around the world within the next couple of decades.

European Commission raised Europe’s 2030 climate ambition

UPDATED.  On October 6, the European Parliament voted to increase the EU’s climate target for 2030, supporting a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, up from 40% currently. It is impressive that the adopted target is higher than one earlier proposed by the European Commission (55%)!

 EU-wide net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target of at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels was proposed by EC on September 17.  Achieving of this level of ambition for the next decade will put the EU on a balanced pathway to reaching climate neutrality by 2050 but will require action in all sectors of the economy (see diagram below).

A comprehensive Impact Assessment of the social, economic, and environmental impacts demonstrates that this course of action is realistic and feasible.

CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, and together with fugitive non-CO2 emissions in the energy system, they are responsible for over 75% of EU greenhouse gas emissions.

Germany, Spain, Ukraine and Netherlands are the leaders of European PV market

There was a sharp growth during the  last year in solar demand across multiple markets in Europe after several years of modest growth. Demand is concentrated within the top four markets of Germany, Spain, Ukraine, and the Netherlands. At 13 GW of installations, they are collectively representing almost 60% of the European  PV market in 2019.

This rapid rate of utility-scale growth allowed ground-mount installations to pass rooftop installations in 2019 for the first time in four years. Utility-scale installations are expected to account for 43% of total European installations in 2019, but distributed PV (both residential and commercial) are remaining a large and growing market segment, as self-consumption becomes increasingly important. 

EU boosts the circular economy among SMEs

Source: EC, 2016

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are well aware of the benefits and advantages of improving resource efficiency, such as saving material costs, creating competitive advantages, and accessing new markets.  However, small and medium businesses are facing various barriers and challenges in their transition to a circular economy, major of which are a lack of financial resources and lack of technical skills.
After adopting an ambitious Circular Economy Package in 2016,  the European Commission is introducing  measures to cut resource use, reduce waste and boost sustainable production and consumption, which will impact SMEs through  reinforcement of waste management (e.g.: reuse, recycling), measures on the usage of critical raw materials (e.g.: lithium) and support to implement the circular economy strategies and practices.

European Green Deal: putting Europe on track to reach net-zero global warming emissions by 2050

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced hotly anticipated European Green Deal on 11 October 2019,  and on 11 December she outlined a long list of policy initiatives to support Green Deal, including major policy area:

Clean energy - Opportunities for alternative, cleaner sources of energy

Sustainable industry - Ways to ensure more sustainable, more environmentally respectful production cycles

Building and renovating - The need for a cleaner construction sector

European Investment Bank launches fund to support the circular bioeconomy

The new EIB fund will provide access to finance – in the form of equity, debt or quasi-equity – to innovative circular bioeconomy companies and projects of various sizes. 
ECBF Management GmbH and Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services S.A. will act as the Alternative Investment Fund Manager.  ECBF Management will raise funds from public and private investors with a target fund volume of EUR 250 million and aims for a first close in Q1 2020. 
It is expected that EIB also will invest up to EUR 100 million in the fund.

Ecopreneur Circular Economy Update report 2019

Ecopreneur.eu published the report with an overview of circular economy policies in all EU member states. Combining the Circular Economy Monitoring Framework of the European Commission with available rankings, databases and reports, Ecopreneur presents 28 country profiles using a combination of available quantitative data and qualitative information to highlight specific indicators covering various aspects of the circular economy.

Report on climate change impacts and costs in Europe

Report, published by European Environment Agency, shows that climate change is already having wide-ranging impacts on ecosystems, economic sectors and human health and well-being in Europe. Climate change is affecting all regions in Europe, but the impacts are not uniform. Most impacts of climate change across Europe have been adverse, although some impacts have been beneficial.

Renewables provided one-third of power generation in Germany in 2016

According to The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, in 2016 Germany used more renewable electricity than ever before, receiving 32 percent of the gross amount of electricity consumed in the country from renewable sources.

EC's new Clean Energy for All Europeans package: energy efficiency first

The European Commission has proposed a binding EU-wide target of 30% for energy efficiency by 2030. EC plans to reach this target through:

The launch of the world’s first large-scale tidal energy farm in Scotland

The initial phase of MeyGen tidal wave project was launched in Scotland in September. Four tidal wave turbines will be installed underwater simultaneously. The turbine is about 15 metres tall (49ft), with 16 metres blades diameter, and weighing in at almost 200 tonnes, each will produce 1.5 megawatts electricity.

Electric car market n Europe is set to surpass the 200,000 units by year end

Despite some slowdown in sales, European EV  market had more than 13,000 sales in July. 

EU debates about energy efficiency target are ranging between 27% and 40%

The European Commission is studying a range of options for the revision of the 2030 energy efficiency target, from the current 27% target to the European Parliament’s preferred goal of 40%. The Commission’s own analysis shows that the higher the target, the better the results for jobs, energy security and economic turnover.

First ever grid-connected wave power station in Europe was launched in Gibraltar

Last month, the first ever grid-connected wave power station in Europe was opened for business in Gibraltar, tiny British territory. Eco Wave Power (EWP) developed innovative wave energy station, which is installed on the ammunition jetty and will be producing 15 percent of the territory's energy needs.

Germany decided to replace feed-in tariffs with energy auctions to cut costs of renewables

Feed-in tariffs worked well in the past, when renewable energy was still relatively expensive and number of installations was comparatively low. Germany went from 6 percent renewables share in 2000 to more than one-third in 2015, while photovoltaic solar costs, for example, dropped by 80 percent.