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EU news and policy positions: Sustainable development

Industry deal key to EU climate efforts, says Commission
Publish Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 10:45:00 GMT
With global negotiations for an international agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol "hardly progressing", the EU is keen to assuage industry concerns about rising emissions costs and prevent plant delocalisation, the Commission said on 15 May.

EPIA: Solar technology prices getting 'better and better'
Publish Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT
With prices for solar panels expected to drop as fossil fuel prices soar, Europe's photovoltaic (PV) industry is poised to benefit from strong growth in the coming years, explains Ernesto Macias Galán, vice president of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). He spoke with EurActiv in an interview.

Interview: Solar on the rise, despite 'enemies'
Publish Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 06:55:00 GMT
Technology breakthroughs and falling solar panel prices point to a bright future for Europe's photovoltaic (PV) sector. But the industry still faces a number of obstacles, including public misconceptions and hesitant investors, says Ernesto Macias Galán, vice president of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).

Turmes: Seeks revamped renewables trading, rejects biofuels target
Publish Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 11:00:00 GMT
The Commission's use of an existing mechanism for trading renewable energy based on guarantee of origin certificates is inappropriate for the purposes of promoting renewables use in the EU, according to MEP Claude Turmes. He spoke with EurActiv in an interview.

Interview: MEP seeks revamped EU renewables law
Publish Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 10:55:00 GMT
The EU's biofuel targets should be scrapped and the renewables trading mechanism as proposed by the Commission should be redesigned to avoid fraud and legal complications, says Green MEP Claude Turmes, who spoke with EurActiv in an interview.

Europe's energy revolution taking shape?
Publish Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 07:00:00 GMT
As the EU's energy liberalisation drive heats up, European consumers may be wondering when and in what shape the EU's new energy policy will begin to transform the way energy is produced and consumed, and if the change will mean lower prices or higher industry profits.

MEPs stand by plans to ban chemicals in water
Publish Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 10:40:00 GMT
The European Parliament's environment committee has reinstated a list of priority hazardous substances to be banned from water by 2025, putting it on a collision course with those EU member states which had already rejected the proposal a year ago.

MEP calls for mandatory CO2 capture by 2025
Publish Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 10:55:00 GMT
UK Liberal MEP Chris Davies wants all existing fossil fuel power plants to be retrofitted with CO2 capture and storage technology by 2025, and is calling for a moratorium on new plant constructions after 2015 unless the facilities are able to prevent 90% of their CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.

Biofuels 'scapegoat' in food price row, says EU farm chief
Publish Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 06:55:00 GMT
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has rejected allegations that EU policies to promote biofuels are to blame for rising food prices amid calls by the UN to "cut back significantly" on agrofuel support programmes.

Interview: No 'huge' CO2 cuts for coal until after 2020
Publish Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 10:55:00 GMT
The EU should adopt a strict timeline with mandatory requirements to ensure that all new coal-fired power plants are capturing and storing the CO2 they emit by 2030, says UK Liberal MEP Chris Davies. He spoke to EurActiv in an interview.