A collection of 35 posts
The fourth Budapest Climate Summit on December 4, brought together over 40 speakers from 25 countries to discuss climate change challenges and opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). At the summit, Attila Steiner, Hungary’s State Secretary of Energy and Climate Policy, spoke about Hungary’s achievements in reducing
Europe will require annual investments of more than EUR 700bn (USD 762.44bn) to meet its energy transition goals to combat climate change, a senior European Commission (EC) official said on Thursday, 6 July. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic made the comments as the EC released the 2023 Strategic
A coalition of 11 European Union states led by Denmark wants to accelerate the continent’s green transformation, in order to end the bloc’s dependence on Russian energy. EU governments last year commenced talks on reforms aimed at meeting 2030 emissions reduction goals. Now some countries including Poland want
In Europe and in Hungary, initiatives to expand use of hydrogen as an energy source have been given the green light, as without it the EU’s 2050 climate targets seem unattainable. Carbon-neutral or low-carbon – green and blue hydrogen – could be one of the key energy sources for the climate-friendly
Czechia will stop burning coal by 2033, five years earlier than previously planned, the country’s incoming governing coalition revealed in its policy programme on Friday. The outgoing government led by Andrej Babis had targeted 2038 as a possible exit for coal, but made no formal commitment. The new Czech
A look at the inventory of world’s nuclear power plants reveals a surprisingly large gap in central Europe: Poland. The country of 38 million is the only economy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) without nuclear energy, with the exception of the tiny Baltic states. Poland’s other neighbours
Polish Climate and Environment minister Anna Moskwa appeared to reverse Poland’s commitment to cutting coal power by 2030 on Thursday, just hours after her government had signed up for the policy at the COP26 climate conference. More than 40 major fuel-burning countries including Poland and Ukraine pledged to phase
The Hungarian government is opposed to the introduction of a single EU carbon price and extension of the EU’s Emissions Trading System to households, namely buildings and the transport sector, according to state secretary for the Development of Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy, Attila Steiner, who noted that
Lots of extreme weather – including an increasing number of heatwaves, floods, etc. – is being forecast for Europe in the future, according to a dire climate scenario released this week by the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report writes that high temperatures on the continent are set to
Latvia, a country with less than 2 million people, already has low CO2 emissions (half the OECD average), but they still see room for improvement: last September Latvia’s government pledged its support to the European Climate law, cementing its commitment to more rigorous decarbonization. Latvia will achieve a low-carbon
The European Commission has approved the Czech Republic’s EUR 7 billion plan to recover from the pandemic and transform the country’s economy into one that is greener and more digital. The scheme will be financed from EU grants until 2026. Once the plan is also approved by EU
Russia is ready to supply Europe with what it considers the energy of the future: hydrogen. According to media reports, Russia immediately saw an opportunity to replace the oil and natural gas sales it makes to the EU, which will decline in the forthcoming decades, with deliveries of hydrogen. The
On a global scale, Estonia does not emit high levels of greenhouse gasses, but on a per capita basis, it is the second-largest emitter in Europe. The country has ambitious goals to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, Estonia wants to be one of the top green energy producers.
Hungary’s Minister Heading the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás said that the Hungarian government finds the EU’s Fit for 55 package unacceptable and will not endorse it. Since unanimity is required, the package will not be accepted in its present form, he predicted. Government-funded thinktank Századvég wrote
It’s looking like the end of the road for fossil fuel-burning cars (even hybrids) in Europe, according to the European Union’s plans that would ban the sale of polluting vehicles by 2035. According to proposals tabled by the European Commission as part of its “Fit for 55” plan,